To all teens/20s thinking of buying a used BMW. (Limited funds, in school, 540, etc)

[Jko]

17 with a 2005 325Ci.
19-current with a 2005 330Ci ZHP.
Appreciate the thread but sometimes people need to learn the hard way: experience.

[catalyst.]

Yea you shouldnt waste money on aesthetics before maintenance, but OP your list is crazy. Replace things when they break not before, this is a CAR not an aircraft.

I have never had to change one engine sensor and my car has 240k on it, runs better than any other e36 i have been in. Fuel pump, i change those when i am dead on the side of the road

The things that you really should change are, all suspension bushings, transmission mounts, shift linkage bushings (if needed), all fluids, brakes (if needed), struts/springs (if needed), clean ICV. All this will set you back well over a grand.

[ross1]

[QUOTE=OnTheFence;23790427]It seems like there's one of these threads each week.
And each week, the same good advice is given.
I dug up some of my old replies and assembled this thread to refer future queries to.
Feel free to add your stock response as well.

The premise is always the same:

Young kid between age 17-24.
He can afford the car, and not much more.
He has no real concept of "cost of ownership"
Usually has some minimum wage job and/or is a student.
His real career not yet begun.
He's often in school (which means big debt these days)
The person is basically broke, yet wants to drive a BMW or Benz, because he thinks he's a special snowflake.


Quite an assumption there.
Not every young guy's experience will be the expensive one you've had. There are good condition cars out there at reasonable prices that won't cost a fortune to keep up and also young people smart enough to find them. The others won't be swayed by your pontifications.

[Cyrix2k]

Just throwing this out there - I bought my 540i/6 just after my 19th birthday while in school all the way back in 2008. Not everyone's circumstances are the same. There are some students that *can* afford nice cars - and believe me, my car was on the low end of some of the cars floating around my university. Heck, my TA bought a brand new Audi RS4 and for it in full. Like others have said, I would not recommend an expensive car to a cash strapped person - student or otherwise.

[pyroontheflyyo]

Im 17, got a 1995 e34 540i a year ago for a grand and it hasnt given me too much trouble so far (knock on wood). Only spent a grand for the purchase and about a grand on repairs. No ricer rims or bags. I like the clean look of the car and dont look to ruin it . I dont know why all teenagers have to be categorized as irresponsible money spenders with bad taste haha. I get where its coming from but you must understand that more teens/young adults than you think have the knowledge and ability to realize that it will not be a cheap car and manage money accordingly. I dont know if its beneficial or if or not put i only run 91 octane which comes out to 50-55 dollars a tank. Worth every penny in my eyes. Dont know if im blinded by the 540 beauty or what. I make enough with my job to pay for that and cover car insurance. Once i have more bills to pay i may have trouble with it but until then, I'm going to enjoy the car. It is a hell of a fun car. My first car actually

[biasvoltage]

I have to say I've been impressed by the pragmatism and resourcefulness of the younger guys on the E34 forum, both here and on facebook. Guys in their early 20s doing full restorations, ambitious engine swaps, custom suspension and exhaust work, and instantly put the smack down on noobs coming in who only want to know what the "best" rimzzzz are and how many coils to cut off the springs to slam it. God help you if you post a picture of an E34 with those corny aftermarket angel eye headlights.

[kis71014]

I mean I'm 23 married with 2 kids, I've worked at the same construction company since I was 13. I've only owned family vehicles since i have had kids and when i was in highschool i drove a jeep. We just bought a house in january and since i have space and am not paying 1700 in rent anymore, my mortgage and insurance is only 800 a month combined i decided to dive into the bmw world and bought an e30. I really think you should re-word your thread and aim it toward the people that don't work or have ownership of anything. Because like i said I'm only 23 and I know people in there 40's who still haven't bought a house.

[chris30o0]

Okay, so first note that this thread is from 2012 ;-)

While I agree that the wording could be different, I do get his point.
However, the main statement here is: If you don't have enough money, don't buy the car.

Tbh, if I were looking into buying my E60 again I wouldn't have read this thread, thinking it'd be just some dude telling me what not to do.
I believe this applies to any car - especially that age. Repairs are just part of the whole thing.
If a 'kid' does not get that on his own, a thread like this usually won't change it.
I got mine when I was 19 but I don't have to worry about my financial situation at the moment.

Really, it always astonishes me reading how normal debt is for Americans.
How do you have (college-)debt and also money to spend for a BMW - or any other car for that matter?

[MIKYZZ4]

Really, it always astonishes me reading how normal debt is for Americans.
How do you have (college-)debt and also money to spend for a BMW - or any other car for that matter?

Creative financing, lol. It's an American Thing.
American necessities:
A fine car,
Latest smartphone,
Fastest internet service providing movie streaming,
Luxuries like a healthy diet , a healthy spiritual life, healthy relationships, a debt free lifestyle,
are secondary-more like an option, not a prerequisite!

[Broombroom]

I think this thread is intended for Americans where the minimum wage is shit, it takes decades to find parts locally (because international shipping is out of the question) and the only way to get ahead is to take on debt that you will spend the rest of your life paying off.

I'm a 21 year old Australian. I can easily afford a BMW that's as old as me including maintenance and repairs. I've already crashed it so I would know. The minimum wage is higher here, international shipping isn't ridiculous and Euro cars were everywhere in the 90s and early 2000s.

I've replaced several things already with OEM parts, half has been shipped from the UK and half has been bought 5 minutes down the road.

If you're my age and American - don't buy anything you don't need, you're essentially a scavenger at this point in your life (unless you have rich parents).

[MauiM3Mania]

You do realize that BMWs have a dealer network in North America? The need for international shipping is as nil.

[McLarenBMW]

This guy is completely blowing it out of proportion, owning an old BMW at a young age is much easier now if you get the parts cheap and do your own maintenance, avoiding the stealership at all costs. The turbocharged 35is and M cars will rape your wallet but normal Bimmers are reliable enough with proper maintenance. Basically if you're scared of labor and tools then don't go near old German cars

[Chinman]

it takes decades to find parts locally

No, it doesn't. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, quality parts are still readily available through many online sources.

You do realize that BMWs have a dealer network in North America? The need for international shipping is as nil.

Apparently he does not.

[pbonsalb]

BMW sales in the US are probably 10 times that of BMW sales in AU per year. Correlates with the populations and total car sales. I checked a few recent years and the ratio holds up. It is probably in the ballpark for 20 years ago also, when the US BMW sales were about 4 times AU’s current BMW sales (I could not quickly find 20 year old data for AU).

[White94RX]

This guy is completely blowing it out of proportion, owning an old BMW at a young age is much easier now if you get the parts cheap and do your own maintenance, avoiding the stealership at all costs. The turbocharged 35is and M cars will rape your wallet but normal Bimmers are reliable enough with proper maintenance. Basically if you're scared of labor and tools then don't go near old German cars

I see you're new here. You might want to take a look at the forum rules. The term "stealership" is pretty much forbidden. There are a crap ton of dealership employees on this forum, with an expansive wealth of knowledge to share and help others with. Insulting them is not the way to go about keeping them on this board and willing to donate their knowledge, experience, and expertise. I'm one of them.

[OnTheFence]

Bump for the new gen

[pbonsalb]

The kids are on social media, not here. This forum is the old folks’ home.

[BimmerBreaker]

Are we really gatekeeping BMW ownership now? Let people do what they want lol. No need to yell at clouds here

Most kids these days are going to buy the most clapped out 335i they can find, install the biggest/cheapest turbo they can, and blow up their N54, sell it as a parts car, and repeat until they run out of money. I'm proud of them for that.

[RBNetEngr]

Are we really gatekeeping BMW ownership now? Let people do what they want lol. No need to yell at clouds here

Most kids these days are going to buy the most clapped out 335i they can find, install the biggest/cheapest turbo they can, and blow up their N54, sell it as a parts car, and repeat until they run out of money. I'm proud of them for that.

Or…crash it while trying to drift it…


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[BimmerBreaker]

Teenagers have been crashing cars since cars have existed. At least newer cars have more safety features in place

[varg]

Are we really gatekeeping BMW ownership now? Let people do what they want lol.

Your E90 example aside, because I don't go to BMW meets or BMW clubs, only the ones that are for the classics, but I'm going to say I'm solidly pro-gatekeeping. Ever have a good fishing spot get blown up? A good quiet hiking trail start getting rowdy tourists? An urbex spot get posted on social media and immediately ransacked? A local surf spot wind up crowded and covered in trash after it becomes non-local? Your cars and coffee almost get kicked out of its prime venue because of takeover kids attending and doing burnouts and donuts, and crashing leaving the lot? I have seen all of these things happen firsthand, the last one happened just this year. Yeah, gatekeeping is good, some things can't become for everybody because they go to shit with no barrier to entry.

[circuit.heart]

Your E90 example aside, because I don't go to BMW meets or BMW clubs, only the ones that are for the classics, but I'm going to say I'm solidly pro-gatekeeping. Ever have a good fishing spot get blown up? A good quiet hiking trail start getting rowdy tourists? An urbex spot get posted on social media and immediately ransacked? A local surf spot wind up crowded and covered in trash after it becomes non-local? Your cars and coffee almost get kicked out of its prime venue because of takeover kids attending and doing burnouts and donuts, and crashing leaving the lot? I have seen all of these things happen firsthand, the last one happened just this year. Yeah, gatekeeping is good, some things can't become for everybody because they go to shit with no barrier to entry.

I have to agree with this. If you let people do whatever they want you just get anarchy. Is gatekeeping kind to earnest newbies who just want to participate? No. But there's a solid argument for institutions to gatekeep in the interests of self-preservation and maintain a mission statement that is not just "make people happy".

[Hellfromabove]

Couldn't help, but smirk and laugh to the first portion of the OPs post. Still see the younger crowd doing this today. I will say, I did blow my money on cosmetics on my first car. Thank God I drove a Toyota so, no real issues other than it getting totaled down the road. That taught me a lesson, the money I put in was not coming back out.

No joke, drove up to an El Pollo Loco drive thru and guy started chatting me up about whatever car I was driving at the time and how it was tuned, etc. Guy working the window said he had three cars, including a 600 whp STI. His Corolla ran, but the other two vehicles were in the garage "being worked on". Kid was in high school, working three part time jobs. I straight up asked him why he thought that was a good idea. He could have been fibbing, but I'm taking the information at face value.

Also, you guys think this is bad? I'm seeing this happen in the GTR community now. Prices on high mileage CBA R35s have come down. Now all the kids want mommy and daddy to help pony up cash so they can afford it. Only research these kids do is look at all the flame thrower vids, GTR vids where they're beating the pants off everyone, and car influencer vids. They don't realize a trans rebuild is like $5k minimum. If that trans goes, that's $20k. I... I... have no idea what I'm going to do when I finally see a stanced to fudge R35 just scrapping everywhere. I'll more than likely curl up in to the fetal position and cry.

[OnTheFence]

Are we really gatekeeping BMW ownership now?.

It's not gatekeeping.
It's telling young idiots how how to be an idiot.
IQ keeping?