Moving to Italy - Need Used BMW for Less than $5000 - E39, E60/61, E46, E90 or E30?

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Fellas -

I'm active duty military. Moving from Seoul, South Korea to Naples Italy in 30 days. We're shipping the wife's car over from here (2013 Infiniti FX37) but it won't be there until about 3 months after we arrive. Instead of renting something for 3 months, I plan to buy a used BMW with the proceeds from selling my SUV (1999 Yukon 4WD). The wife and I will share it at first. Once her car arrives, I'll probably drive it back and forth to work.

Budget is $5,000, but would prefer $4,000 if I can find it. Has to have 4 doors; we have a 2 year old and don't want the hassle of getting her in and out of a 2 door. Has to have an automatic. Wife -- bless her heart -- can't drive a stick.

Will need to be fairly reliable. I do all my own work, and can handle just about any job, but don't want to end up with something that's known for breakdowns.

I'd love an M5 or M3, but think all of these have manual transmissions, so that's a no-go.

A buddy of mine is trying to convince me to buy an E30 wagon. I suppose that would be fine if I could find one in mint condition with an automatic trans but I think that's going to be tough to find.

The E60/61 models are affordable; maybe even more affordable than the E90. Not sure why that is. Maybe because yearly tax in Italy is based on engine size.

Websites I'm using to find cars: www.subito.it or www.mobile.de (set search to Italy).

Don't want something too big or too nice; driving in Naples is nucking futs.

I suppose I would be ok with a diesel if I could find one with some guts/torque.

I also plan to buy something exotic (Fiat Dino, Masser Merak, Lambo Urraco, etc) for a weekend toy, but that's another discussion entirely.

Please let me know what you think.

Scott

[323i E30]

Get an E36 318i touring imo. You should easily find an ok one for a few hundred bucks.
I recently sold mine for 500 which was in ok condition.

E30 wagons/tourings all come with belt driven engines (M40 & M20), which can seriously lower the reliability unless you choose to change it right after you bought it. Well cared for ones will be relatively expensive.

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Picked up a clean 99 318i with an auto trans. 87k miles. Allegedly a two owner car, but first owner had it until 6 months ago.

[323i E30]

Sounds good!