Looking to buy my first BMW and need advice

[WickedApex]

I am new here and want to introduce myself before I start picking your brains. So a little about me. I am a recently divorced 45 year old Manager of a CNC department at a small race shop near Indianapolis IN. I have been a gearhead my whole life, always having some type of Pony in the shed. Mostly I was into Mustangs, with a couple of them being modified with up to 500 HP and lots of corner carving goodies installed. I have always wanted a BMW. Ever since I knew what a BMW was. I don't know why I have never purchased one. And now that I am old I think I would much rather have something comfortable and fun to drive as opposed to life threatening with a bone rattling ride.


I have some things to consider when buying another car. I have a 3 year old son that I need to be able to get in and out of the car easily. So a 4 door car for now is a must. I can't afford a new car at the moment. But I have noticed there are a lot of very nice BMW's available for less than $20k used. Which is right in my price range. Also, I drive 70 miles each way to work and whatever I buy will likely become my daily driver for a year or so. So gas mileage is somewhat important. But in my current car I am spending roughly $70-$80 per week in gas at $2.00/gallon average and that surprisingly doesn't bother me too much. The additional car payment and still paying that much a week in gas might though.


I have always loved a car with great handling. So I really want something that is fun to drive. This probably won't be a car I hand down to my son or anything like that. But I like to tinker with most things I own so I wouldn't mind getting something I can have a little fun with until the next toy comes along. I usually do exhaust, suspension, and braking upgrades on most of the cars I have owned. But do you do those sort of things to a BMW? Sorry if I just broke the law by asking. I am sure after I browse around here I will find lots of modified BMW's lurking in the shadows. I also need something reliable. I don't want to get into a car that is going to need a lot of expensive maintenance.


I have been looking at the 3 and 5 series. I would really love to have an M3 or M5 some day. But I won't be able to afford anything like that until next year. I am thinking I will enter the fold with a 328i since it seems to be the entry level model. But I was wondering about the xDrive option. Is it worth looking for a car with that since I live in a state that has potentially bad winters? The 535i is also a gorgeous car. After opening my search these past few days to include them I think I would go for one of them instead if the right car came along. I have been looking for a couple weeks now. And there are so many models available and so many options I am not sure what the differences are from one model to the next.

This week I plan to go take some cars for a drive and see what moves me. But I wanted to ask here first and see if there are any things with either of these two models I should watch out for. Any options that are preferable would be good to know to throw around at the dealerships when they start haggling about prices. And I am sorry I wrote a book for my first post here. But I wanted to give you guys enough info that maybe someone can help point me in the right direction to buy my first BMW. I just feel like I should know more about BMW's than I do before going to look at one.

Thanks for taking the time to read all that!
Kevin

[MarcoZandrini]

I am new here and want to introduce myself before I start picking your brains. So a little about me. I am a recently divorced 45 year old Manager of a CNC department at a small race shop near Indianapolis IN. I have been a gearhead my whole life, always having some type of Pony in the shed. Mostly I was into Mustangs, with a couple of them being modified with up to 500 HP and lots of corner carving goodies installed. I have always wanted a BMW. Ever since I knew what a BMW was. I don't know why I have never purchased one. And now that I am old I think I would much rather have something comfortable and fun to drive as opposed to life threatening with a bone rattling ride. I have some things to consider when buying another car. I have a 3 year old son that I need to be able to get in and out of the car easily. So a 4 door car for now is a must. I can't afford a new car at the moment. But I have noticed there are a lot of very nice BMW's available for less than $20k used. Which is right in my price range. Also, I drive 70 miles each way to work and whatever I buy will likely become my daily driver for a year or so. So gas mileage is somewhat important. But in my current car I am spending roughly $70-$80 per week in gas at $2.00/gallon average and that surprisingly doesn't bother me too much. The additional car payment and still paying that much a week in gas might though. I have always loved a car with great handling. So I really want something that is fun to drive. This probably won't be a car I hand down to my son or anything like that. But I like to tinker with most things I own so I wouldn't mind getting something I can have a little fun with until the next toy comes along. I usually do exhaust, suspension, and braking upgrades on most of the cars I have owned. But do you do those sort of things to a BMW? Sorry if I just broke the law by asking. I am sure after I browse around here I will find lots of modified BMW's lurking in the shadows. I also need something reliable. I don't want to get into a car that is going to need a lot of expensive maintenance. I have been looking at the 3 and 5 series. I would really love to have an M3 or M5 some day. But I won't be able to afford anything like that until next year. I am thinking I will enter the fold with a 328i since it seems to be the entry level model. But I was wondering about the xDrive option. Is it worth looking for a car with that since I live in a state that has potentially bad winters? The 535i is also a gorgeous car. After opening my search these past few days to include them I think I would go for one of them instead if the right car came along. I have been looking for a couple weeks now. And there are so many models available and so many options I am not sure what the differences are from one model to the next. This week I plan to go take some cars for a drive and see what moves me. But I wanted to ask here first and see if there are any things with either of these two models I should watch out for. Any options that are preferable would be good to know to throw around at the dealerships when they start haggling about prices. And I am sorry I wrote a book for my first post here. But I wanted to give you guys enough info that maybe someone can help point me in the right direction to buy my first BMW. I just feel like I should know more about BMW's than I do before going to look at one. Thanks for taking the time to read all that! Kevin

Kevin,
Your post is well written. Don't worry about criticism. At least you've finally seen the light and have decided on becoming a BMW driver (not just an owner).

I own a 2001 330Ci and I'm not up to speed on newer models. I consider them to be techno-toys. I'm retired and will probably never buy another car.

That said, please have a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) performed on whichever BMW trips your trigger. All used cars have something wrong. As I'm sure you're aware, maintenance records are critical when shopping for a used bmw. These cars require require quality maintenance. "Quality" meaning that the maintenance is performed by a shop that knows BMWs inside and out and/or by a very knowledgeable owner. And, that only dealer sourced or OEM parts are used. That said, the cooling system on modern BMWs seem to be the weakest point. BMW tunes its engines to get the max performance from them. As a result, the engines stress their cooling systems. BMW complicates the matter by making the cooling systems from plastics. The consensus here and on other forums is that the cooling system needs to be overhauled every 100k miles using dealer and/or OEM parts, and BMW (ONLY) coolant and distilled water.

"X" models seem to have a weakness in the front drive axles and cv joints. I think the issue is that most "X" drivers don't routinely check the cv joint covers for tears. As a result, the cv joint grease gets contaminated and the cv joint dies.

These cars, like all modern cars, are chock full of computers. So, it's critical that the battery is checked regularly. Btw, BMW puts the battery in the trunk for better weight distribution.

It sounds like you're handy with the spanners (as the Brits say) so you first tool needs to be the OBDFusion app and the proper interface device. The app is $10 on iTunes and $4 on google store. The interface device needs to be wifi for the iOS and Bluetooth for android. The app allows you to clear codes and to log various data streams when diagnosing a problem, which you'll have. I speak with more than 40 years of BMW ownership experience!

Join the BMW Car Club of America. I've been a member since 1983. Chapters have driving schools (aka High Performance Driving Events), auto-cross events, social events and DIY events at local shops. The club puts out the Roundel, a monthly mag about club events, BMW racing, tech issues, etc. Also, most dealers give club members discounts on part, usually 10%-15%.

Learn to love www.realoem.com. It provides part #s for our cars.

There are other BMW forums such as BimmerFest. You've joined this forum. Great. There's a wealth of knowledge here and everyone shares their experiences freely. We also have 2 resident techs: bmwdirtracer and dworthy. The former is in North Carolina and the latter in Europe. Both are gurus. What they write you can put in stone. Period.

Talk about long winded!! Welcome to the addiction.
Mark

[Doge]

Kevin,
Your post is well written. Don't worry about criticism...That said, please have a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) performed on whichever BMW trips your trigger...That said, the cooling system on modern BMWs seem to be the weakest point...BMW (ONLY) coolant and distilled water...Learn to love www.realoem.com. It provides part #s for our cars...We also have 2 resident techs: bmwdirtracer and dworthy. The former is in North Carolina and the latter in Europe. Both are gurus. 'What they write you can put in stone. Period.'

+1...no...+20 (I am the lorax, I speak for the Trees!)

I can't really expand on anything here...I have said it once, and I'll say it again. Marco is sage.

Well written post Kevin, well written response from Marco.
I would suggest a 3-series. Possibly an E46 over an E90, not an E36...(not to offend those owners) but an E36 will likely have too many problems to hunt. E90s will have a higher price tag, but usually lower mileage counted. E46s will have more problems to fix, but will have a lower starting price point for a beautiful car all the same.
You could also look into an E39 for a 5-series, there is a huge following to these cars still (I want one too) and the community on here is SUPER supportive. Though that applies for any chassis type you decide on.
Gas consumption will be hard to escape, but a lower price point car will help a great deal; additionally, if properly maintained, these cars can last a while. Standard transmissions, of course, have better average consumption...Though I am quite certain I don't need to tell you that.
Look into purchasing a Bentley Service Manual, it is my Bible for my car. And has already paid for itself x10 over; it is a pricey manual too.
Listen to Marco...Regardless of the car GET A PPI done by the dealer (Or a reputable specialist indy, but they must be quality...So the dealer is the default).

Welcome Brother, we are one...we are many.

[WickedApex]

Sorry for the delayed response. I have been rather busy with loads of stressful life problems. One of which being the bonus I was expecting seems to have been pipe dreams to lure me into my new position. Bad move on their part I guess. Dumb move on mine.

One thing that pushed me in the BMW direction lately was my old boss bought a 335 right before I left that job. It was a gorgeous car. He bought it used. Now a year later I got in touch with him and he said he sold it because of high maintenence costs and too many problems with the car. It looked to have very low miles on it, but I never asked. Anyway, he told me to steer clear.

A bit discouraging, and not getting a bonus is really not helping my decision. But I still want one. @Doge - can you point me to somewhere that I can read about the different chassis codes? I assume those have to do with the various drivetrain options?

Thanks for the help guys. Still looking.

[Doge]

Wikipedia has accurate enough information for the chassis codes. (They're just chassis codes, the trim designates the power plant [e.g., x25i or x35i...])
Also, if you look at the model specific sub-forums it tags the sub-sub-forums by those chassis codes as well.
3-series - E21, E30, E36, E46, E9x, F3x (for an example...plus I like the 3-series)

Your boss is kind of correct. There are some costs to consider, but if you wrench and you have a tool box your own you should have no major issue. (E9x are heavy with electronics (335) and may have been some of his issue, especially if he took it to a dealer for service)
There are more than enough DIYs on this forum and others, along with youtube. There are many on this forum (including myself) who will always help when possible.

If money is a foreseeable issue I would then recommend an E36. They are older, they will likely have more issues to be remedied...However, in New Jersey, almost every junk yard has a pile of E36s and they get recycled pretty regularly. There are A LOT of parts for them and they are "relatively" cheap, compared to my E46 it would seem.
The E36 community is stacked here, and very active. My friend has (1) E36 M3, (1) E36 328i, and (1) E87 135i....he loves the E36, it's a very "raw" car. And it was one of the best selling cars BMW made. Just my $0.02...sometimes less.

Side note: I think every model specific sub-forum has a "common issues" thread, take a look at those...If nothing else, it's good reading.
Side, SIDE not: If a BMW doesn't make sense, get something that does...we aren't going anywhere, and neither is BMW...Here in the shadows we wait.

[montaillou]

And now that I am old...

I'm older than you, but I don't think I'm old.

I have a 3 year old son that I need to be able to get in and out of the car easily.

He can't ride in the front seat? There are child seats that work in front seats. He'll won't be 3 forever.

Considering your commute (I assume it's mostly highway miles), I'd recommend you get a car with good gas mileage (gas won't be $2/gal for much longer and BMW's tend to use premium) for your commute and a separate car to have fun with. Budget is a consideration, but you're a gear head, so get a project BMW, maybe one of those M's. There is no magic car that gets good mileage is a great family car and is fun to drive without compromises. Why compromise on one car, get two to fit the bill.

Wikipedia is a pretty good source for info on model differences.

[pbonsalb]

Most BMW want premium gas. Up your maintenance budget as well. Figure BMW parts cost 50% more than Ford parts.

The 2008-2010 N54 motor 335i and 535i can be cheaply modded for 25% more power. Performance bargains to me. I have an 08 535xit with JB4 tune.

E46 330i is also a good choice.

E39 M5 is 13+ years old and most need work. E60 M5 is a risk due to rod bearings, SMG, vanos and throttle actuators -- you would want to not worry about a few thousand in parts.

I do not know much about the newer F series cars. I had a 528i N20 loaner for a few days and thought it was a nice car but it did not have the performance I would like (my turbo E36M3 has about 600 rwhp, my modded E90M3 has about 375 rwhp, and my tuned E61 535xit has about 350 rwhp). I also rented a 328i with N20 for a week and did not really like it much. But Burger has tunes for them and with mods you can get near 300 rwhp.

Good luck. If there is some car you have always wanted and you can afford it, buy it. For me that car is a Porsche 911 twin turbo. I am in your age range and hoping to buy one in a few years. I could have bought an out of warranty 996TT instead of my CPO E90M3 five years ago, but was worried about possible out of warranty costs.