If you had £5000 which BMW would you buy

I might be missing something, but why does it have to be a BMW?

My suggestion would be an E39 540i with a 6 speed box, a stupid amount of car for the money and in my opinion a far better investment than a ordinary E46 that will be worth approximately 30p in a couple of years.

I'd dare to say It would be a far safer bet than a ropey M3 Evo too!
 
Joshy said:
I might be missing something, but why does it have to be a BMW?

My suggestion would be an E39 540i with a 6 speed box, a stupid amount of car for the money and in my opinion a far better investment than a ordinary E46 that will be worth approximately 30p in a couple of years.
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Actually E46s have been much better for depreciation than E39s over the past year or so. I actually made money on my 328ci after nearly a year of owning it.
 
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Wicksta said:
Actually E46s have been much better for depreciation than E39s over the past year or so. I actually made money on my 328ci after nearly a year of owning it.
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Fair enough, but with 540i Manuals selling for as little as £2,000, I don't think E39s have got much more to fall. E46s prices? Well, history tells us old 3 series BMWs don't exactly hold their prices in the long run. E36 anyone? :)

OllyM said:
Good luck finding a manual E39 540i :)
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To me that just means your investment is better protected :p.
 
Joshy said:
Fair enough, but with 540i Manuals selling for as little as £2,000, I don't think E39s have got much more to fall. E46s prices? Well, history tells us old 3 series BMWs don't exactly hold their prices in the long run. E36 anyone? :)
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A mint e36 328i sport would still hold quite a premium I would have thought? I guess it depends what you buy in the first place.
 
if a 1999 subaru is going to feel a bit tired, then surely some of these 100k miler bmw will be feeling a bit long in the tooth also? i know they are built to last but things wear out.
 
Nickg said:
if a 1999 subaru is going to feel a bit tired, then surely some of these 100k miler bmw will be feeling a bit long in the tooth also? i know they are built to last but things wear out.
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Thats why i sugested giving his car a freshen up. Better the devil you know if your just making a sideways step, not going noticably forward.
 
Nickg said:
if a 1999 subaru is going to feel a bit tired, then surely some of these 100k miler bmw will be feeling a bit long in the tooth also? i know they are built to last but things wear out.
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My 140,000 mile 325i feels as tight as any other e46 I've had, even the low mileage ones. It's had new wishbones though which will help. Generally a well maintained car will have had parts renewed over time.
 
It dosent have to be a beemer, its just the only thing I could think of that would feel like an upgrade. A CTR would fit the bill but I reckon I would need an extra grand to get a decent one (may pester the missus). Might stick with what I have got and refresh it as its being a fantastic car with nothing going wrong in the 4-5 years I have owned it.
What would you renew to make it feel more new? bushes?, wishbones?
A remap will probably be in order for a bit more power and a proper full service and full decat will probably make me feel better :)
 
You're worried about spending 6k to get a good CTR but are considering 540s and M3s for 5k? :confused:

If I had 5k, I wouldnt be buying a BMW - what are you after in a car?
 
22B said:
All in mate, tight budget as getting things done to my house too.
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Then might I suggest you don't bother with a BMW. Seriously - they are great cars, I wouldnt drive anything else at the moment, but they have the potential to constantly throw irritating niggly bills at you and require money spent on them to keep them in good condition and keep them on the road, especially as they age. Only this week I've thrown yet another £320 at mine for example.

If £5k is a 'tight' budget then perhaps something else, or keeping your Scoob, might be in order. A cheaper BMW is the sort of thing you buy if you've got a bigger budget but fancy keeping some cash in reserve to run something a little more expensive.

iaind said:
I'd rather have a lowish mileage 325/328 than a higher mileage 330i. I'd certainly rather have one over a moon mileage alpina or M3
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Can't think why, a 328 will be older than a 330 (The 330 replaced it) and IMHO age has a more detrimental effect on a cars condition than how long the previous owners journeys were. Though I will say that 330's for less than £5k, whilst they certainly exist, do not exist in the form I'd want to actually spend money buying. The bottom end of the BMW market is a magnet for complete morons and buying cars from this sort of person, who invariably now own most sub £6-7k cars, is not advised.
 
Nickg said:
if a 1999 subaru is going to feel a bit tired, then surely some of these 100k miler bmw will be feeling a bit long in the tooth also? i know they are built to last but things wear out.
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Not really, firstly his Subaru probably feels tired because it's 10 years old, and secondly the BMW's are built (Note, this doesn't mean in terms of reliability..) to a higher more exacting standard than a Subaru - they feel tighter for longer, as wicksta has demonstrated.
 
iaind said:
You're worried about spending 6k to get a good CTR but are considering 540s and M3s for 5k? :confused:

If I had 5k, I wouldnt be buying a BMW - what are you after in a car?
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No not considering a 5 series or M3. A 3 series would be better, however if anyone has any suggestions im all ears. Might just throw cauton to the wind and get an evo 4 but that would be foolish i think.
What am I after? something quick and comfy with four doors. Thinking abot it theres not many options other than another Subaru :confused:
 
[TW]Fox;14644310 said:
Then might I suggest you don't bother with a BMW. Seriously - they are great cars, I wouldnt drive anything else at the moment, but they have the potential to constantly throw irritating niggly bills at you and require money spent on them to keep them in good condition and keep them on the road, especially as they age. Only this week I've thrown yet another £320 at mine for example.

If £5k is a 'tight' budget then perhaps something else, or keeping your Scoob, might be in order. A cheaper BMW is the sort of thing you buy if you've got a bigger budget but fancy keeping some cash in reserve to run something a little more expensive.



Can't think why, a 328 will be older than a 330 (The 330 replaced it) and IMHO age has a more detrimental effect on a cars condition than how long the previous owners journeys were. Though I will say that 330's for less than £5k, whilst they certainly exist, do not exist in the form I'd want to actually spend money buying. The bottom end of the BMW market is a magnet for complete morons and buying cars from this sort of person, who invariably now own most sub £6-7k cars, is not advised.
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Thanks for that Fox, How do ST220 hold up? are they worth a look?
 
ST220's are worth a shout at the top end of your budget. It's not built like a BMW in terms of interior and exterior quality and fit and finish but they do tend to be more reliable and have less potential issues. You are still looking at a car you need to throw cash at - it sounds like you'd be better off with a £3-4k performance car and £1-2k kicking around to offset the running costs a bit?
 
[TW]Fox;14644310 said:
Can't think why, a 328 will be older than a 330 (The 330 replaced it) and IMHO age has a more detrimental effect on a cars condition than how long the previous owners journeys were. Though I will say that 330's for less than £5k, whilst they certainly exist, do not exist in the form I'd want to actually spend money buying. The bottom end of the BMW market is a magnet for complete morons and buying cars from this sort of person, who invariably now own most sub £6-7k cars, is not advised.
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I dont know the ins and outs of which models came when, my point was I'd prefer something a bit slower thats newer, lower mileage and better looked after

22B said:
No not considering a 5 series or M3. A 3 series would be better, however if anyone has any suggestions im all ears. Might just throw cauton to the wind and get an evo 4 but that would be foolish i think.
What am I after? something quick and comfy with four doors. Thinking abot it theres not many options other than another Subaru :confused:
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http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18040822 :)
 
iaind said:
I dont know the ins and outs of which models came when, my point was I'd prefer something a bit slower thats newer, lower mileage and better looked after
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I see you are one of those who assumes mileage is directly proportional to how well a car has been looked after so I won't bother to persue this any further. It's impossible to find a 328 thats newer than a 330 anyway. If you are not familiar with the cars may I suggest that offering advice on which would be the better buy is perhaps a bit daft? :confused:

It is age and ever increasing number of owners which tends to allow you to better guess whether a car has been cared for or not, but it's still not infallible..
 
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