First Car and I want a great one

[slym]

Hi all,

I have been lurking on this forum as a guest for a bit and finally signed up!

So here is my question and any input would be fantastic.

I am looking for my first car I am 21 and have been looking for something sporty, I looked at MX5's (but am too tall) looked at RX8's (but talked myself out because of the premium grade gas and mileage) I am sort of interested in Kompressors or Tiburons, but when I went to the wrong dealership and sat in a BMW i really loved it!

Now as I said this will be my first car and I am looking for a used BMW don't want to spend much more than 7 grand, a lot of the ones I am looking at have high mileage but the sellers say they run well, some have rust but that isn't too big of a deal, my dad professionally worked on cars for a good chunk of his life so any work the car needs I will do myself (with him of course)

Should I be cautious on 200k mileage mark?
what are some of the most expensive problems that I might face?
What should i look for when seeing a BMW?
Is there any model that is better than the others? (I like the 325i made in 2002 i believe)
Is there any more advice somebody like you guys would offer me?

Sorry for the long post but I really don't want to waste my hard earned money on something I will end up hating.

[justinca540i]

Pretty much any BMW you find will use premium grade fuel. The 2002 325i is a pretty good car. Plus it'll help working on it. Try to get one well maintained. If it has been it'll last a while. It's not uncommon for BMWs to hit 250k - 300k

[Yasir]

I understand you are concerned about the premium gas and also understand about the free labor part but what about the BMW parts, they definitely aren't cheap.

Your best bet for the first car would be a Toyota where you can use the lower grade gas and parts are relatively cheaper too.

[B8SHX]

Bmw very good choice!! You'll enjoy the solid drive and handling. If it's your first car I'd go for the BMW 1 series petrol or diesel,with the budget you've got your mileage will be miles under the 200k mark! You should be looking more under 100k with that sort of money and the car being maybe 6 to 8 yrs old.
Look for one with service history and just take your dad along with you when you go to view it,sure he'll spot a good one...