First Car Advice

[Vincenzo1998]

Hi everyone, I wanted some background info of what its like to own and maintain a bmw. I am looking to buy my first car and as a student athlete still in high school I do not have the kind of money to be constantly spending thousands on repairs. However used 03-06 bmw cars seem to be in my price range and truth is I love the cars. But... I've had family mechanics tell me that maintenance on the older bmws is very expensive as they're likely to break down and I should be looking into Hondas instead. So whats it like to own and maintain one of these cars? What problems am I likely to incur from buying a used one with 100,000+ miles and am I better off looking at Hondas instead to fit my budget? Thank you!

[justinca540i]

It really depends on how well it was maintained. Some are more prone to need repairs than others. I'd say 100+K isn't a bad time to own because for the most part a lot of things that go bad have already gone bad and replaced. But one way to save is to do everything your self or if you have relatives that could help out would be great and avoid dealers or any shops. I think it would probably be best to look only at BMWs with inline 6. Avoid V8s as they tend to need a little more and everything cost more.

[E39 Expert]

It really depends on how well it was maintained. Some are more prone to need repairs than others. I'd say 100+K isn't a bad time to own because for the most part a lot of things that go bad have already gone bad and replaced. But one way to save is to do everything your self or if you have relatives that could help out would be great and avoid dealers or any shops. I think it would probably be best to look only at BMWs with inline 6. Avoid V8s as they tend to need a little more and everything cost more.

Be prepared to check for leaks because a lot of 100k mile BMW will be leaking from somewhere.