Can I get a decent 3 series for £10K?

EddScott

EddScott

EddScott

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Pembrokeshire
I've pretty much given up with my Audi. Its a B7 A4 170TDI and yes I'm aware its not really very good out the box and I have to agree.

I've spent £500 on fixing an oil leak, £1000 on a new turbo and this morning its stuck in neutral. I know we all need a reliable car but recently my wife has become very ill and the car seems to fail just at the point I need it most. I really need it next week as she is having daily treatment and now I've got this stupid car to deal with. Frankly I've had enough.

I say 3 series because its what I want. Pretty much put off by anything VAG and don't really want a Mondeo. I like the look of the Insignia tourer but my father in law has one and it feels a bit cheap inside.

I figure I could probably get about £8K for mine so looking at about £10K or a bit more.
 
Is it? I always assumed it was a decent car.

I'm just highly cheesed off that my car has found something else to go wrong. I really do actually like the car but I can't have a car breaking down on me.

We only have the one car at the moment because we've lent my wifes car to a friend as my wife can't drive at the moment.
 
They were just never as good as the E46 led you to believe it would be. I was thoroughly disappointed with my brothers 320i E90.
 
The E90 isn't awful.. It's a car, that will get you A-B.. It's reliable, economic, and pretty practical..

But it isn't an event. It doesn't feel special. It's fairly bland. You just don't really feel any emotion driving it. I've had mine for 2 1/2 years and I've been bored of it for the last 2.
 
Compared to the E46, the interior felt shocking, the styling is "meh", and the dash layout isn't exactly great.

Reliable and economic(al) are engine dependent, and the amount of car you get for your investment is pretty rubbish. You "could" get an E60, but to be fair, they are also pretty poor compared to the E39.
 
Get yourself a Honda Accord, not quite as sharp as a 3 series, but its a better bet than an Audi B7 A4. Good car to drive, diesels are pretty decent, and its a nice place to sit.

Sadly the E90 as good as it is to drive, it not a particularly great place to be in, and you really need a decent spec car for it to feel remotely special, and sadly its still got a face only a mother can love.
 
If you've replaced the turbo and have the auto box repaired it doesn't leave any expensive components left so keep the Audi I say. What's to say a £10k bmw won't have issues?
 
This is what I thought after the turbo went. I wanted to sell then but having forked out for the turbo I decided to keep it. Plus as you say, there is no guarantee another car won't play up.

It's actually a manual and I can't select a gear. If I put it in gear and start it the car moves forward. My limited knowledge of car mechanics has me thinking its a master or slave cylinder.
 
EddScott said:
This is what I thought after the turbo went. I wanted to sell then but having forked out for the turbo I decided to keep it. Plus as you say, there is no guarantee another car won't play up.

It's actually a manual and I can't select a gear. If I put it in gear and start it the car moves forward. My limited knowledge of car mechanics has me thinking its a master or slave cylinder.
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Has the car been standing for a long period of time?
 
If rock solid reliability is what you need then surely it has got to be a Jap car? Not that I am saying that BMW's are not reliable, far from it but generally Japs come out tops.
 
paradigm said:
Compared to the E46, the interior felt shocking, the styling is "meh", and the dash layout isn't exactly great.

Reliable and economic(al) are engine dependent, and the amount of car you get for your investment is pretty rubbish. You "could" get an E60, but to be fair, they are also pretty poor compared to the E39.
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Nothing wrong with both the e46 or the e39 (which I own) but they are both looking dated these days, and lack the tech of newer cars, although pretty good bang for buck if your looking to spend sub £5k, having driven the e90 and the e60 they are both very good cars and the e60 is better represented here than the Audi and other competitors of that era.
 
Slumberbox said:
having driven the e90 and the e60 they are both very good cars and the e60 is better represented here than the Audi and other competitors of that era.
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I'd much rather have (and did) a C6 (4F) Audi A6 than an E60 5-series.

And I hated the E90 with a passion.
 
Third Opinion said:
If rock solid reliability is what you need then surely it has got to be a Jap car? Not that I am saying that BMW's are not reliable, far from it but generally Japs come out tops.
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I think plenty 10k cars would be rock solid reliable, it's really when you get down to 1-2k that the jap cars start to differentiate themselves in reliability terms.

Tbh, a well made and reliable premium car with decent running costs sounds like an Audi a4 to me - sounds like the OP has been unlucky but I understand not wanting to go back if you've been burned

With the e90, The concerns over driving dynamics, interior quality and things...do they sound like things that would bother someone who bought an a4 and likes the insignia? He obviously likes the e90 styling so I'm sure he can get one which would suit his needs just fine for 10k.

However, is it the right thing to do? The a4 isn't inherently unreliable, he's going to have to sort the gearbox one way or another if he doesn't want a massive loss so is there really any need changing, or is it a rash reaction to unfortunate timing of a problem. One of the biggest bills a diesel can throw at you has already been taken care of, it would properly suck to throw 10k into a 320d and have it need a turbo itself in 6 months time!
 
EddScott said:
It's actually a manual and I can't select a gear. If I put it in gear and start it the car moves forward. My limited knowledge of car mechanics has me thinking its a master or slave cylinder.
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Likely cheaper than having an auto repaired then. I'd definitely have it fixed and keep it.
 
Not really sure why you think a 3 Series would be any less likely to give you bills your Audi has? This is what tends to happen with 6-7+ year old cars, and cars that were 30k new tend to be at least 6-7 years old before they hit £10k.

There is no real cheap way of owning this sort of car, you either pay a fortune in depreciation with a much newer one or you swap the depreciation for maintenance bills on an older one.

You need to decide what you want - reliability from a newer car, or a bit of 'prestige' from an older Audi or BMW. You'll pay more to own the latter.

If you want car you absolutely know you can ALWAYS depend upon, then it has to be something non German, IMHO.
 
It's not the bills I mind as such. If I have to spend money to maintain the car then so be it but for things to break pretty much every few months it gets a bit tedious.

And it's always when I really need it. Won't go into details as you won't believe just how unfair life has been to my family recently but we have to go back and for to hospital every day for a few weeks for my wife's treatment. I had the turbo changed after noticing a big puddle of oil out of one of tailpipes and that was walking back to the carpark from another hospital after she had quite a big operation. I needed the car quickly so had a new one fitted rather than the old one refurbed.

She's actually entitled to motobility now (trust me, I wish she wasn't) but we could just get shot of the audi and get a new car on the scheme. I just wish I hadn't allowed myself to be talked into this car. I wanted another Impreza as my last two were bulletproof but got talked into buying a sensible family car.
 
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