(Fox) Thinking of a Bmw .. My options ?

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With a chang of Job and circumstances im considering a Bmw as a second/weekend car . Purley for lesure ...probably under 5k miles as will have the bike as well .

Now willing to spend up to 10k but prefer the 3 series and would prefer the 3 litre ... Would also prefer a sport as the se looks a bit plain .
Whats my options as far as 3 series are concerened or is the 5 a better buy? Would prefer to pay as little as possible and dont care if its starship mileage as long as its not a dog .

Dont care for satnav or any specific extras ..Must have leather and air con though and decent looking wheels ... prefer a manual .

Also always had my eye on a touring ....dont know if this will give me less choice or limit my options...coupe is also an option ... but for the moment i would prefer a touring then a normal 4 door then coupe .

So spec me pls ... or gimme valid alternatives ... (no mercs) (can be sporting though but must be semi luxuirous so no mx5/elise etc )

Persil
 
Jaguar XKR 99/00 ish - might not find many manuals about, all i have seen are Auto

jag.jpeg


8k seems to get you a decent one, and they look pretty nice i reckon :) No idea about running costs of reliability though. Still, as a weekend car i suppose thats not too important!
 
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msm722 said:
Just out of curiosity - why a BMW 3/5 series for a weekend car?
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Had company cars for last 15 years and a bike for weekend play ..
Can take a choice of company cars atm but atm given the project im on i have took a van .
I find its fine for the mileage i do... and its basically a car without windows .. Also the extra cash i am making is nice instead of paying for a car .

The reason for a Bmw is i dont need something silly fast ... Done the scooby/kit car etc . Was also a test driver for a year so driven quite a few excotics in my time .
I just want summt quickish.. that will clock up the miles in comfort and has a few toys .. Mostly for weekends away or going to see family ..maybe the odd trip abroad .

I have the bike for going mad/fast on so dont need a bonkers car .. But i am open to options as long as its not to extreme .

Persil
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
Jaguar XKR 99/00 ish - might not find many manuals about, all i have seen are Auto
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I did have a quick shot in one of these as my mate was tinting one ... nice enough and plenty fast enough but never liked the driving position at all and never felt comfortable ...and i think the running costs would be to high


probably to fill full of holiday gear seeing as a touring is specified or an avid carbooter
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lol no car boots and no big gear to carry .. just like the touring ...and would look lovely lowered with some posh wheels

Why not a merc?
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Never liked them .. Been in a few AMG's and cant complain about the engines but wrong image for me and to many about my area . Wont really say anymore than that :)

Persil
 
you'll get a good 330i facelift sports estate for a lot less than 10k with plenty of options! I'd drive the 3 and the 5 if you want to know which you prefer though, as if you're generally wafting away on weekends then a 5 might be a better bet, 3 series if you're planning on hitting the backroads more than the motorways. Also, the 3 is far less dated (IMO) than the 5 both inside and out (despite the lack of "signature" features such as LED tail lights and angel eyes) and they have proper xenons instead of the half arsed low beam only efforts on the 5.

On the flipside, the 5 is more comfortable for long journeys and is a bit better screwed together.

IMO get a 330i Touring with bixenons sat nav bluetooth etc in estoril blue and you'll be laughing :)
 
IMO get a 330i Touring with bixenons sat nav bluetooth etc in estoril blue and you'll be laughing
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Can i really get that kinda spec for my cash ? If so i would be well happy :)

More interested in the 3 than the 5 for the reasons you listed and dont plan on doing that many miles that the 5's extra comfort comes into play .

I am browsing Pistonheads atm but only found 1 Sports Touring and its a 325 but still looking

Persil
 
I'll try and do you a sensible, rational reply without any of the 'my car is better' bias from rg-tom ('proper' Xenons? Give me strength...)

Your budget is sufficient to get a decent 330i Sport Saloon or Touring or 530i Sport Saloon or Touring. You also have enough for a 330Ci Sport Coupe as well but I suggest you dont bother with these because they attract a premium due to be 'cool' - you'll get a better saloon or touring for the same money.

Firstly, 3 v 5. They are largely very similar cars - hardly suprising given the significant component/electrical system sharing between the two cars. The E46 is marginally more agile, the E39 is marginally more refined. The difference is as you'd expect between two cars with a 90kg weight difference (A lot less than people think). It is not a case of barge versus super nimble awesome handling machine when you compare two like for like cars. So, really, drive both and pick the one you like best because both are excellent and both differ slightly in terms of characteristics. I'm not going to waste my time banging on about asthetics because they are entirely subjective (I happen to think the back end of the E46 with its rubbish lights and awkward mis-shaped light clusters is terrible, but this is opinion is worthless becuase it says nothing of the cars ability and you can judge for yourself which one you think is prettier), although be aware that the E46 has neither Angel Eyes nor LED rear lights (The latter do come on facelift Coupes but probably out of budget).

rg-toms advice is far too specific - go for condition first, kit later. The E46 is easier to retrofit Navigation too, the E39 is easier to retrofit Xenons to. Swings and roundabouts although as you've said you don't give a stuff about kit I'd rather suggest you dont waste your time looking for a loaded one - frankly they are hardly poor specified cars as standard although leather is a must and if you are buying an E46 do find one with factory Xenons becuase you cannot retrofit them to a non-Xenon model as they have reflector lenses. E39 is an easy retrofit becuase the actual headlight unit is the same whether the car is a Xenon or Halogen model. Also ignore the Estoril Blue stuff - yes its the best colour, but it's ridiculously rare so it's rather pointless wasting effort chasing unicorns. If you see one, great, but don't seek out one because there must be about 5 cars in the entire country with the spec rg-tom has recommended you try and buy.

Instead, the most important thing to do is try and find a 1 or 2 owner car in perfect condition. These are getting rare as the cars age - the newest E46's are on 54 plates, the newest E39's are on 53 plates (With a handful on 04's but they are rare) so they are getting on a bit now. There are plenty of scabby cheap heaps of crap in both E39 and E46 form advertised as 'Motorway Mileage' from some guy living in a dodgy part of Birmingham who is the 8th owner. Leave him to sell his car to somebody else. Buy one from a respectable gentlemen with more money than sense who either bought the car new or bought it when it was significantly expensive enough that fitting replica rims and linglong tyres was not something he'd ever have considered.

Oh do make sure whichever you buy is a Sport - the SE's are nice enough but the Sport is the model you want. They handle noticeably better and the seats are awesome. Plus they look good.

Have a read of this - its a guide I wrote for buying an E39 but most of it applies to the E46 as well:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12035951&postcount=7

With your budget and age I suspect running costs are not a concern but i've detailed the sort of things to expect in the above post.

Good luck :)
 
knew that'd rile you fox :p estoril blue would be nice but of course that doesnt matter that much, hense the one I linked to NOT being estoril :p

BTW this isnt a my car is better than your car thread, i havnt developed these opinions from owning one, i bought one because of these opinions! You do have to admit that the lack of high beam xenons is a bit of a farce, it's the main point of having xenons bar looking "cool"!

For £10k these days you CAN afford to be fussy with spec AND condition, its a complete buyers market.
 
rG-tom said:
BTW this isnt a my car is better than your car thread, i havnt developed these opinions from owning one, i bought one because of these opinions! You do have to admit that the lack of high beam xenons is a bit of a farce, it's the main point of having xenons bar looking "cool"!
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Not really - Xenons are useful in a main beam situation not a high beam situation. I find the light from halogens is fine when you can blast light everywhere - its only when you cant that Xenons come into their own. I drove back from Bournemouth last night at 10pm, high beam on most of the way and not once did I feel I needed extra light but the times I did have to move back to main beam I was glad of having the Xenons. Don't forget your main and high beam come through the same headlight - whereas on the E39 it's different, they both have seperate projectors which helps towards mitigating the 'issue' :)

For £10k these days you CAN afford to be fussy with spec AND condition, its a complete buyers market.
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If he's not bothered about spec it should be secondary to finding a car with the history and condition that matters.
 
part of my high beam (and the halogen one) does actually come through a seperate light, but it is a reflector not a projector, the projector is only on the xenon part
 
[TW]Fox;12526780 said:
I'll try and do you a sensible, rational reply without any of the 'my car is better' bias from rg-tom ('proper' Xenons? Give me strength...)

Your budget is sufficient to get a decent 330i Sport Saloon or Touring or 530i Sport Saloon or Touring. You also have enough for a 330Ci Sport Coupe as well but I suggest you dont bother with these because they attract a premium due to be 'cool' - you'll get a better saloon or touring for the same money.

Firstly, 3 v 5. They are largely very similar cars - hardly suprising given the significant component/electrical system sharing between the two cars. The E46 is marginally more agile, the E39 is marginally more refined. The difference is as you'd expect between two cars with a 90kg weight difference (A lot less than people think). It is not a case of barge versus super nimble awesome handling machine when you compare two like for like cars. So, really, drive both and pick the one you like best because both are excellent and both differ slightly in terms of characteristics. I'm not going to waste my time banging on about asthetics because they are entirely subjective (I happen to think the back end of the E46 with its rubbish lights and awkward mis-shaped light clusters is terrible, but this is opinion is worthless becuase it says nothing of the cars ability and you can judge for yourself which one you think is prettier), although be aware that the E46 has neither Angel Eyes nor LED rear lights (The latter do come on facelift Coupes but probably out of budget).

rg-toms advice is far too specific - go for condition first, kit later. The E46 is easier to retrofit Navigation too, the E39 is easier to retrofit Xenons to. Swings and roundabouts although as you've said you don't give a stuff about kit I'd rather suggest you dont waste your time looking for a loaded one - frankly they are hardly poor specified cars as standard although leather is a must and if you are buying an E46 do find one with factory Xenons becuase you cannot retrofit them to a non-Xenon model as they have reflector lenses. E39 is an easy retrofit becuase the actual headlight unit is the same whether the car is a Xenon or Halogen model. Also ignore the Estoril Blue stuff - yes its the best colour, but it's ridiculously rare so it's rather pointless wasting effort chasing unicorns. If you see one, great, but don't seek out one because there must be about 5 cars in the entire country with the spec rg-tom has recommended you try and buy.

Instead, the most important thing to do is try and find a 1 or 2 owner car in perfect condition. These are getting rare as the cars age - the newest E46's are on 54 plates, the newest E39's are on 53 plates (With a handful on 04's but they are rare) so they are getting on a bit now. There are plenty of scabby cheap heaps of crap in both E39 and E46 form advertised as 'Motorway Mileage' from some guy living in a dodgy part of Birmingham who is the 8th owner. Leave him to sell his car to somebody else. Buy one from a respectable gentlemen with more money than sense who either bought the car new or bought it when it was significantly expensive enough that fitting replica rims and linglong tyres was not something he'd ever have considered.

Oh do make sure whichever you buy is a Sport - the SE's are nice enough but the Sport is the model you want. They handle noticeably better and the seats are awesome. Plus they look good.

Have a read of this - its a guide I wrote for buying an E39 but most of it applies to the E46 as well:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12035951&postcount=7

With your budget and age I suspect running costs are not a concern but i've detailed the sort of things to expect in the above post.

Good luck :)
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Why are you talking about E46/E39, when for £10k you can get E60/E90s? Fine, it will be a challenge to find something more powerful than the 525i/325i, but wouldn't you think it is an acceptable trade-off?
 
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