BMW owners? Car Smarties?

[stoops the eternal pimp]

My commute to work is quite a bit longer now, so I've been looking at getting a older car to putt putt back and forth to work in and I stumbled upon a 2003 BMW 330i with about 95,000 miles on it..1 owner, old guy...car still looks brand new inside..8500 bucks is what he told me he would sell it to me for...

Anybody have some knowledge on what typical mileage life of a BMW engine is...or any other information..

All I know is that the 2008 ford f150 badlander is costing me too much in gas to drive back and forth

[olevetonahill]

If its been maintained well it should last ya a long time.

I have a 93 Chevy P/U that has over 250K on it .

In the Bad old days before Unleaded gas an engine got 100K on it and it was shot .
Todays engines can and will run into the 2 and 300 K range with little wear.

[C&CDean]

Dude, whatever you do do NOT buy a BMW. I used to work on them. They're POS. Trust me on this one. And when it does need parts, you're gonna need a bank loan to pay for them. Seriously, do the anti-vampire sign and walk away from that evil thing.

For $8,500 you can pick up something like a Ford Escort, or a Toyota Corolla or Nissan or Honda. Those Escorts have been getting very high ratings the past few years, and you'll get ~35 mpg.

[GottaHavePride]

Yeah, if you want fuel efficient car to go back and forth to work with, I wouldn't go for a BMW. Especially not one 6 years old already.

[C&CDean]

And by "Ford Escort" I actually mean "Ford Focus."

[BudSooner]

And by "Ford Escort" I actually mean "Ford Focus."

Gotta go with Dean on this one, the engines are pretty solid and yeah the MPG is as good if not better than some of the news cars put today.

[GottaHavePride]

And by "Ford Escort" I actually mean "Ford Focus."

Man, the guys on Top Gear had some hilarious fun when they got their hands on a Focus R.

[yermom]

i wouldn't buy a Focus with someone else's money

that Focus RS, other than being FWD looks pretty awesome though

[delhalew]

The Focus is trash. While the BMW may not be the wisest choice, the 85' 325e I had back around 2000 was very dependable and fun. It had a ****load of miles when I bought it. It had been poorly maintained so I took it to a guy and dropped less than five hundred replacing hoses and tuning the engine so it would quit dying. After that it was a monster until I totaled it 3 years later. It just ran so good I couldn't help getting stupid in it. I actually evaded the popo in that car, and that was in Atlanta. They'll get a chopper on your butt.

[Zbird]

My commute to work is quite a bit longer now, so I've been looking at getting a older car to putt putt back and forth to work in and I stumbled upon a 2003 BMW 330i with about 95,000 miles on it..1 owner, old guy...car still looks brand new inside..8500 bucks is what he told me he would sell it to me for...

Anybody have some knowledge on what typical mileage life of a BMW engine is...or any other information..

All I know is that the 2008 ford f150 badlander is costing me too much in gas to drive back and forth

The W doesn't mean anything. Acronym for the rest of the name tells it all. Great car when it's running OK. Expensive and hard to get parts and difficulty with the same part # not being the same specs.

Just sayin'

[Zbird]

i wouldn't buy a Focus with someone else's money

that Focus RS, other than being FWD looks pretty awesome though

What yermom said. Stick with Honda. My daughter bought a used Accord with 45,000 miles on it. Drove it 5 years and I got it from her with about 130,000.
It's my daily driver, and all it's ever needed is oil & filter changes every 3000 Timing belts every 90,000 and Tires. Just turned 190,00, runs like its new and it'll outlast any new ford focus starting now.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I had a 2002 330i and you will pay just as much in gas as you do with your F150 because you have to put super unleaded in it. And dean is right, it seemed every corner I turned something went wrong and parts are VERY expensive. However, they are fun to drive.

[GKeeper316]

you can pick up a nissan maxima for less.

nissan engines are built with timing chains instead of belts, so you should never have to dump 600-800 into it for a new timing belt.

and nissans are the best engineered cars coming out of japan, except for the subaru, which is arguably the best engineered cars on the planet, not counting exotics.

[SoonerInKCMO]

BMWs are definitely something you only want to get new - under warranty and with maintenance included. For the $8500 you'd spend on the BMW you could get any number of compact or midsize cars that get better mpg, are newer, have fewer miles on 'em and are more reliable. If you're used to a larger vehicle, maybe the Impala would be more your style than a Civic or Corolla... You could get a 2004 or 2005 for $7-8k - and the 3.8l engines in them, while they'll never be considered sophisticated, run forever and get decent mpg.

[SoonerInKCMO]

you can pick up a nissan maxima for less.

nissan engines are built with timing chains instead of belts, so you should never have to dump 600-800 into it for a new timing belt.

and nissans are the best engineered cars coming out of japan, except for the subaru, which is arguably the best engineered cars on the planet, not counting exotics.

IIRC, the 3.5l used in Maximas, Altimas, G35s and the 350Z won a few 'engine of the year' prizes back in the mid-aughts.

[Turd_Ferguson]

You could get one of these for tree fitty...plus, you could sell ice cream to help with gas...

Big Worm

[SoonerInKCMO]

Screw the ice cream truck - get a sexxx van.



I can almost hear Foghat by just looking at that picture.

[SCOUT]

I had a 2002 330i and then a 2006 330i. I never had a single problem with either of them. I recognize that the parts and maintenance are really expensive but I guess I had really good luck.

As far as mileage goes, I would say that those two cars average just under 20 mpg. Not awful but not that great either.

I loved driving them though.

[BudSooner]

Screw the ice cream truck - get a sexxx van.



I can almost hear Foghat by just looking at that picture.

Damn, i'm liking that idea.

[Veritas]

BMWs are definitely something you only want to get new - under warranty and with maintenance included.

My personal experience has been otherwise; I buy 4-5 year old big motor 5-series between 45-50,000 miles and unload them when they hit 80K. I've never had to do anything but change oil (which is about $100, but every 15K miles) and straighten bent rims (BMW uses really soft alloy). Depreciation usually hits me for 11-14 cents a mile.

For the $8500 you'd spend on the BMW you could get any number of compact or midsize cars that get better mpg, are newer, have fewer miles on 'em and are more reliable. If you're used to a larger vehicle, maybe the Impala would be more your style than a Civic or Corolla... You could get a 2004 or 2005 for $7-8k - and the 3.8l engines in them, while they'll never be considered sophisticated, run forever and get decent mpg.

Agree wholeheartedly.

Stay away from high mile 6-cylinder BMWs.
Yes, yes, and yes. Do not buy a BMW if you are shooting for economy or efficiency,