Hi, new member here, and aspiring to be a new bimmer owner as well! I've recently been in the market for a 'new' (used) 'mobile. My 99 Chevy Cavy has held up pretty well, but I'm looking to 'step up'. I looked at Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais, Mazdas, etc etc. While searching one day, I happened to stumble onto late 90's BMW E36s, and realized that they are well within my price range, something I didn't expect (more out of ignorance than anything else I suppose ). After countless hours and days of reading up and getting somewhat familiarized with BMWs, I think that this is the car for me!
Now onto the car itself.
'97 328iS
AT (say what you want , I do more city than hwy driving)
White w/ grey int.
Sport Package
74k miles
Price = 9,995
Question is, good deal or no? I am not sure of what a good 'deal' would be, since I'm not that well versed in bmws as of now. Most of what I read on the forums so far is that it may be a bit overpriced, but it does have a good miles, and all pictures I have seen would make me assume it is clean. Also to note, checked carfax, and was owned by one owner for over 9 years, and routinely serviced every 10-12k miles.
I plan on test driving on Saturday .. what questions should I ask, and what should I look for?
The only other question I can think of right now, is for other E36 owners .. how much would I expect to pay yearly for maintenence only? (not mods). Even though after trade-in, I'm really only paying 7k .. It'd be good to know how much extra I would have to spend on insurance and maintenence.
Any other comments are surely welcome! Thank you for taking out the time in advance.
PS - Just found another bimmer. Same year and type, just with MT, w/o sport package, and 115k miles. $7995. Good or no?
Get him to 9k and you're good to go.
Starting my BMW stable one car at a time.
do you have $2-3k/year on maintenance? If yes than go ahead and buy the E36 and enjoy it. The truth is your American chevy is more reliable than these cars
yea i think it is a good deal, i just picked mine up (1997 328is sport) in mint condition, hellrot red on black leather 5 speed with 82k miles for 9,500$...i didnt want to pay more than 9,000 for the car however it was a second owner, the guy before me was liek in the late 60's...everyoen on the car works and is clean, new brakes and he had all the service records which were all performed by tthe local bmw dealership so it was worth knwoign that the car has been taken care of and completely stock..for now althought i wouldnt want an automatic, its a good deal if you do, try to lower the price a little bit tho!
Update - took the test drive today. Everything felt, looked, and worked like it should. Taking corners felt so smooth, acceleration out of the turn sooo nice. Then again, I'm comparing this to my Cavvy, so it's night and day really! The interior could use a little bit of conditioning, but it's something a day off work could remedy.
The dealer was quite friendly and not pushy. Said that they were more of a 'internet' store than an actual car lot (First time purchasing a vehicle, could someone tell me what that really means?) For that reason alone, he said he wouldn't negoitiate down more than 9,700. I would have liked him to go down more .. but the car is in such nice condition.. and under 75k miles. My main surprise though was they are giving me more than I thought on my trade. Expected 2.7-2.8. Would get 3.5! I know I probably won't get a better offer on it, as the years go by and my mileage goes up. I know it's time to buy, but I hope I'm just getting a good deal. It would come up to $7200-7500 financed. Also something I wanted to ask.. they stated that their doc fee is $250. Is that 'normal' for a used car?
I'm to receive a call back Monday afternoon, the car is pretty much mine if I want it, just a question now if I need a co-signer. (Wanted to surprise the family, but that may be out of the equation now ) Anyways, I'll try posting some pics too, see what you guys think. (I know I can't post links, just delete the space in the 'http'
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These cars have to have the cooling system (radiator, water pump, thermostat and housing, hoses) replaced and much of the suspension (ball joints, tie rod ends, front and rear control arm bushings, shocks and struts) between 80k-100k miles. If the car with 100k miles on it has had this work done it may be a better choice than the car with 74k miles. Otherwise it is worth the extra $ to get the lower mileage car.
If you can't do work like this yourself then you will be spending $1 - 2k per year on repairs for a while. This isn't your fathers Toyota !
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