Newbie here!!!

[bigell29]

Good afternoon people!!! I am in the market for my first BMW...i see some really good deals on early to mid 2000's 3Series convertibles and coupes. The mileage is in the 60K- 80K range. What problems should I be looking for in these cars? An aftermarket warranty will be wise to get I know, but luxury cars and expensive maintenance/repair costs go hand in hand. Any help will be appreciated!!!!!

[bigell29]

Good afternoon people!!! I am in the market for my first BMW...i see some really good deals on early to mid 2000's 3Series convertibles and coupes. The mileage is in the 60K- 80K range. What problems should I be looking for in these cars? An aftermarket warranty will be wise to get I know, but luxury cars and expensive maintenance/repair costs go hand in hand. Any help will be appreciated!!!!!
Good afternoon people!!! I am in the market for my first BMW...i see some really good deals on early to mid 2000's 3Series convertibles and coupes. The mileage is in the 60K- 80K range. What problems should I be looking for in these cars? An aftermarket warranty will be wise to get I know, but luxury cars and expensive maintenance/repair costs go hand in hand. Any help will be appreciated!!!!!

[dworthy]

Welcome to the Forum!

Early 2000's 3-Series will be your E-46's and the Mid-ish 2000's will be the E-9x, so be sure to know what year you are looking at for in MY-06 the Coupes and Verts were E-46's and the Sedans and wagons were the E-9x.

So the best thing to do is find a shop who specializes in Euro cars and get a PPI (Pre-Purchase Inspection) completed if you are serious about buying a BMW. This can tell you want's bad or broken and that can be used to bring the price down, or allow you to walk away if it's bad enough before getting a big repair bill.

Each model has their own issues, so it's best to identify what year/model so you can get better replies otherwise people will just keep scrolling.

[marvinstockman]

What dworthy said, but remember that unless you're going to do some maintenance yourself, a used BMW can be an expensive proposition.

[JDStrickland]

Good afternoon people!!! I am in the market for my first BMW...i see some really good deals on early to mid 2000's 3Series convertibles and coupes. The mileage is in the 60K- 80K range. What problems should I be looking for in these cars? An aftermarket warranty will be wise to get I know, but luxury cars and expensive maintenance/repair costs go hand in hand. Any help will be appreciated!!!!!

10+ year old car with 80,000 miles or less. Yeah, that's going to be tough. Well, in Calif. it would be damn near impossible, but New York could be different I suppose. Having said that, I recently scored an '08 with 68,000 miles, so it's possible to find what you are asking for.

[bigell29]

UPDATE!!! Found a 2011 328i coupe,white exterior brown interior 73K miles. Listed at $13700...This is in NY....Any info on the usual problems with this model would be great! I know a mechanic who works on foreign cars so that’s a plus!!

[dworthy]

UPDATE!!! Found a 2011 328i coupe,white exterior brown interior 73K miles. Listed at $13700...This is in NY....Any info on the usual problems with this model would be great! I know a mechanic who works on foreign cars so that’s a plus!!

Those tend to be solid cars, just make sure you have your mechanic do a good once over. The common problems will tend to be valve cover gaskets that leak, typically around 10 years of age. Also if it's an automatic, it will be due a transmission fluid and filter change. BTW on those transmission, the filter is built into the pan, and you are looking at about 250 bucks just for parts. Also the water pumps and thermostats are electrical so at 10 years they too would need to be replaced. Lastly watch out for the belt, if it comes off the motor will eat it and not in a good way.

Lastly be sure to check receipts, and ensure that your mechanic can look at them as well. No receipts = no maintenance, and think of the worse.

Good luck with your purchase!

[bigell29]

Got it....The service records on this one are on the CARFAX....every well
maintained from what I see.....they also did the recall repairs that were listed....I’m glad I have a mechanic that can take a look at it......my one downside is there is no navigation screen on this model.

[durntootin]

Welcome. From my experience with cars in general, always always always check compression. I learned the hard way with my e39 that headgaskets are sneaky sometimes and don't always cause watery or "milky" oil. I'm a new guy here and not a professional, just thought I'd share what I've learned.

[Sleepyhead97]

Welcome both of you!

[marvinstockman]

In 9/19, I bought a 2011 E90 with 52K miles. I live in Maryland and the car came from CA. The car is an SULEV, which meets a very low CA emission requirement. Check to see if your car is an SULEV. If it is, it is covered by a 15 yr and 150K mile emission warranty, in CA and a group of other states, which I think includes NY.

My valve cover was recently replaced under warranty, as it had micro cracks. Note, I thought it was the gasket. The amount of oil it leaked was very small, but the leak was positioned directly over the cat and the oil would smoke as it hit the cat.

Knowledge is power!