Help needed buying a used BMW

tee_3

Hi

I am a Northern Ireland MSE'r who is wanting to buy a second hand BMW 3 series coupe, about two to three years old. Having looked at prices on the internet and in local garages it appears that I could save between £1k to £3k by buying in England. (there is a high demand for these models here, therefore the premium)

So this is where I am asking for help with a couple of things
- any suggestions regarding auctions of BMW's and comments on how good they are
- suggestions on car supermarkets which hold a high stock of this type of car
- any specific experiences of 2 supermarkets I have found on the web and am considering visiting - cargiant.co.uk and bigmotoringworld.co.uk

I can travel to anywhere, so no geographies are out of the question

Any help/opinions/advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

Tee

inmypocketnottheirs

Try Fords of Winsford https://www.fow.co.uk and https://www.trade-sales.co.uk in Slough. Another suggestion would be to register on the Autotrader web site and do a search there https://www.autotrader.co.uk

It is not a high volume car obviously like a Mondeo or Vectra so unlikely you will get any supermarket with 30 models in stock. You could also try searching the BMW main dealers. Google for the model you are looking for.

Also https://www.parkers.co.uk for the Parkers Guide. I bought a Saab 95 in March from an ad on the Parkers web site.

HTH

ArsenalFC

I have heard Ireland have very high prices for cars in generally.

I have been to cargiants many times in the past, never bought a car
there myself but on the lookout for others. Although their cars are high milers, its fine because they are usually company reps cars doing motorways miles with FSH.

Another company I suggest you should also look at is www.trade-sales.co.uk
(inmypockets got there 1st as I was doing something before posting this )
They are based in slough 5miles or so off heathrow airport.

sheeny_2

I saw a magazine article about buying BMWs.. a plus point is that they will do big mileages without problems, as long as they are regularly serviced.

Unfortunately this makes them a favourite car for 'clocking'.

So, the article said, buy a high mileage one. At least then you'll know the mileage is genuine.

tee_3

Thanks for the replies folks - unfortunately trade sales do not seem to have any 3 series coupes.

I have been keeping an eye on auto-trader, but private sales scare me, especially when I am a boat trip away from the seller. At least with a garage you have some level of comeback.

Any views on auctions?

Tee

ArsenalFC

Give trade sales a call and ask to see what they can do for you.
No idea on auctions, there are others who have that may can help you.

sjb1

tee wrote: »

Hi

I am a Northern Ireland MSE'r who is wanting to buy a second hand BMW 3 series coupe, about two to three years old. Having looked at prices on the internet and in local garages it appears that I could save between £1k to £3k by buying in England. (there is a high demand for these models here, therefore the premium)

So this is where I am asking for help with a couple of things
- any suggestions regarding auctions of BMW's and comments on how good they are
- suggestions on car supermarkets which hold a high stock of this type of car
- any specific experiences of 2 supermarkets I have found on the web and am considering visiting - cargiant.co.uk and bigmotoringworld.co.uk

I can travel to anywhere, so no geographies are out of the question

Any help/opinions/advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

Tee

A nightmare story brought an X5 paid over 15,000 pounds for it, picked it up from the Big Motoring World in Kent straight away most of the instruments lights, petrol gauge was not working car was sold with one years mot but it only has 4 months, told them straight away and I was told to contact the service department, they told me to claim for warranty, been to BMW for the part 891 and the warty will only pay 300 with the VAT called south largest independent BMW specialist in, and they said “ well its not a new car” they never returned my calls and now I have to go down the legal route, think twice before you buy from these jokers

jammin_2

ArsenalFC wrote: »

I have heard Ireland have very high prices for cars in generally..

This is true, Ireland does have very high prices for cars. But the OP is from Northern Ireland.

Anyway, for car supermarkets I'd personally recommend Motorpoint. They've branches in Derby, Glasgow, Peterborough and Newport (and maybe one more - I think). I recently bought my car from the Newport branch. They're a very professional outfit and I'm happy with my car, including the price, the service and the car's history.

I'm not sure what stock Motorpoint have of BMWs, but check their website. Btw, are you sure you want a BMW, OP? Don't they all have faulty indicators? :rotfl:

anewman

sjb1 wrote: »

A nightmare story brought an X5 paid over 15,000 pounds for it, picked it up from the Big Motoring World in Kent straight away most of the instruments lights, petrol gauge was not working car was sold with one years mot but it only has 4 months, told them straight away and I was told to contact the service department, they told me to claim for warranty, been to BMW for the part 891 and the warty will only pay 300 with the VAT called south largest independent BMW specialist in, and they said “ well its not a new car” they never returned my calls and now I have to go down the legal route, think twice before you buy from these jokers

Come on, after spending £15k on a car, a couple hundred quid repair is peanuts.

goldspanners

jammin wrote: »

Btw, are you sure you want a BMW, OP? Don't they all have faulty indicators? :rotfl:

indicators are an optional extra on all BMW's. so even if they are fitted they must be expensive to replace bulbs in them as most BMW drivers never use them.

jeannieblue

ArsenalFC wrote: »

Give trade sales a call and ask to see what they can do for you.
No idea on auctions, there are others who have that may can help you.

Well hello! Not spotted you before! Nasri looks good...