Alright !!! need some good advise from BMW owners.

I'm completely new to the BMW cars, wanted to purchase a used car.

I am willing to pay upto $9999 for a used car.

1) Which series is good and are they any flaws is certains series of car
which I should be looking at while buying the car ?


2) What would be the maintenance cost on a used BMW (8-10 yrs
car) ?

3) Whats the average life of BMW cars in terms of mileage ?

4) Any other suggestions or recommendations ?



I had seen a car with following spec: please advise
1993 BMW 325is Manual Coupe $9,995 (65K miles)




------Thanks
Cathy

You access to a good mechanic is a prime motivator.

"1) Which series is good and are they any flaws is certains series of car
which I should be looking at while buying the car ?"

The smaller 3 series are better at miliege, and they are priced as such.
A 10 year old 3 series may be 40% of SRP.
A 10 year old 8 series will be 20% of SRP.
There are no known lemon issues.

"2) What would be the maintenance cost on a used BMW (8-10 yrs
car) ? "

The maintenance cost is directly associated to your location.
Cost in Dallas, Texas is lower than Broken Bow, South Dakota.
Use 10% of sales price as a guide to yearly maintenance.

"3) Whats the average life of BMW cars in terms of mileage ?"

I have the first BMW I ever bought and it is over 500k and still runs just fine. Like shoes some owners need guicker changes than others.
There is only a cost factor to determine the length of usage.
Most mechanical parts if they have not failed in the first 20 years can be expected to last indefinately.

"4) Any other suggestions or recommendations ?"

Price on the internet and buy local, never buy sight unseen.
Get a local mechanic to review any purchase before you pay.

"I had seen a car with following spec: please advise
1993 BMW 325is Manual Coupe $9,995 (65K miles)"

A 1993 with 65k means it was a 5k a year usage and that is very good.
On E-Bay there are 4 or 5 each 1993 325is for $5k to $9k buy it now with over 100k miles.

There are a couple asking over $10k for modified 1993 cars.


My best advise is let a local mechanic provide guidance as to condition and pricing.

Later,

PS:
All my care are twice that old, of course I need to fix one today.

http://members.roadfly.com/kcroncarter/marcus.JPG

I bought a '95 325i with 80,000mi for 9995. I love the car, it runs great, I have had it since October of 2003 and I have about 90,000 mi on it now. The only thing I have had to do to it is regular stuff like oxygen sensor and brakes. I also had the air recharged and it is cold as can be now. The leather is a little worn and I am looking into replacing that now. I had the hood repainted (tons of stone chips) and headlights replaced with angel eyes. I got some nice wheels for summer and mounted snows on the stock wheels for winter. I love the car and I will never buy an even close to new car. Its not worth it when you are buying BMW's. Definitly have a mechanic check the frame and everything to make sure it isnt a lemon. If you take care of it it will run forever. Good luck!

i just bought a second hand 2002 320i last month, so i guess im still new to my car, but so far, its been great =)
i have 16 300 mileage on it right now. There are only minor problems to it like the braking belt and such :) Im sure BMWs are very well made to start with.

We have had 92 325 for month now, and love it. Had to take care of some neglect issues from prev owner, but we expected that. We love the car, and consider it the best $4500 we ever spent! It it is pristine condition inside and out, and husband's father didn't speak to us for a week he was so jealous! (he runs a car lot and said he can't buy one at auction that cheap!) I found ours FSBO, when some punk kid passed me on the right in a residential area. He was glad to be rid of it, prob b/c quality maint. can be an issue for a college kid.
When you find the right car, don't let it get away! We almost didn't buy this one. Good luck!

I recently bought a 96 328I for 10K. I love driving the car and the sound system is incredible. Unfortunately I have had to pay close to 2000 in repairs. It's probably going to last forever now but I think I will sell it. It has 78000 miles. I will have a hard letting it go, but I need to. Maybe I will own one again in the future. BMW's are awesome to drive.

What all did you have to do to the car? I havent had any problems (knock on wood).

What all did you have to do to the car? I havent had any problems (knock on wood).
I bought the car online from Expo Motorcars out of Houston (never again). When i got the car it I had to repair the rear hub assembly bearing and the tires due to split tread and have it aligned. 2 weeks later I had to replace the radiator, water pump, and fan clutch. 3 weeks after that my left rear axle broke. I had them both rebuilt. Runs great now. Like I said it's probably in great shape now but I am consigned to sell it.

No way! My dad bought a 540i last year from them, it had problems too. None mechanical but they didnt include the cd magazine for the changer, the foglight was cracked, the winshield had a nice chip in it, and the bumper cover was pulled away from the front a little (they said one of the clips broke it was probably caught on a curb). Expo is definitly not the greatest place to shop for cars. My car was bought from a trusted local dealer here in PA and it was previously a 1 owner meticulously kept car. That is what you need to find unless you get a really good deal and it is worth putting the money into. Good luck with your car.

No way! My dad bought a 540i last year from them, it had problems too. None mechanical but they didnt include the cd magazine for the changer, the foglight was cracked, the winshield had a nice chip in it, and the bumper cover was pulled away from the front a little (they said one of the clips broke it was probably caught on a curb). Expo is definitly not the greatest place to shop for cars. My car was bought from a trusted local dealer here in PA and it was previously a 1 owner meticulously kept car. That is what you need to find unless you get a really good deal and it is worth putting the money into. Good luck with your car.

That's wild. I bought the car for 10k which I think is a good deal. It only had 75000 miles which is why I was surprised that it needed these repairs. It's a beautiful car and now it drives like a dream. I'm going to see if I get any bites now that I have advertised it. You can probably see the ad on www.autotrader.com look for a 96 328I in New Mexico.
Thanks for replying. Tell me about your beemer.

I bought my car last October at Autotech Performance in Pittsburgh, PA. They are really great there and know what they are doing as they service all of the vehicles and everything. It is a 1995 325i Auto, Boston Green with tan leather. It is in very good condition. I bought it with 80,000 mi on it, now it has close to 90 and I haven't had any problems except I had to change the o2 sensor (usually have to change them around 100,000 mi). I love the car, it goes great in winter with Blizzaks on it and i got a set of new M3 wheels for the summer. They look really nice on it. Also I put the z3 style fenders on it (the ones with the gills), euro style halo headlights, and an M3 front bumper. I am having the car painted next week and I am going to have them paint the sideskirts and rear bumper. It should look very nice when completed. Here is a pic from before the wheels and one after the wheels. Once painted I will get pics up of the completed car.

http://home.comcast.net/~Ehalusic/P1010049.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~Ehalusic/P1010017.JPG

I bought my car last October at Autotech Performance in Pittsburgh, PA. They are really great there and know what they are doing as they service all of the vehicles and everything. It is a 1995 325i Auto, Boston Green with tan leather. It is in very good condition. I bought it with 80,000 mi on it, now it has close to 90 and I haven't had any problems except I had to change the o2 sensor (usually have to change them around 100,000 mi). I love the car, it goes great in winter with Blizzaks on it and i got a set of new M3 wheels for the summer. They look really nice on it. Also I put the z3 style fenders on it (the ones with the gills), euro style halo headlights, and an M3 front bumper. I am having the car painted next week and I am going to have them paint the sideskirts and rear bumper. It should look very nice when completed. Here is a pic from before the wheels and one after the wheels. Once painted I will get pics up of the completed car.

http://home.comcast.net/~Ehalusic/P1010049.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/~Ehalusic/P1010017.JPG


What size are those M3 wheels? They look good I was thinking of buying some oversized rims for my 328I

They are 18x8's, the fit very nicely. You can fit 19's on without having problems but it looks almost too much, i didnt like the look at all. I was debating between 17's and 18's and im glad i went with 18. They arent OEM wheels by the way, I bought them from AAA Rims (www.aaarims.com). They are replicas from Europe and they were only $1200 for the wheel AND tire package, really good deal. They came in perfect condition, with the tires mounted and balanced, ready to put on the car. I actually put them on in my garage with the tool that was in the trunk for changing a flat (saved some money). They came with the lugs and centercaps too. They are holding up great so far. I have closeups of the wheels if you would like. If you are going to get wheels and dont have wads of cash definitly check them out at aaarims.com, they have several styles and lots of pics with the wheels on the cars. They have the M5 wheel and the M parallel too, along with many others. Really great site. I would recommend them to anyone.