bmw for under a grand

Nearly_Old

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Once upon a time BMW used to be a respectable mans car. Now along with those, all the chavs and crackheads have them too.

BMW drivers are also bloody arrogant on the roads, undertaking, never indicating, coming at you with foglights on, driving round like king of the road etc.

My post was more aimed at the BMW = money pit attitude as having been involved in buying and running vehicle fleets they are generally economical which is probably why there are so many 320d's on the road.

I am generally a very defensive driver and I do get some funny looks when on the motorway and someone indicates to move out and I flash them and let them out.

On the other side of the coin I have been on a good A road and come up behind someone doing 40/45 mph. I keep a good distance away, we reach a straight section, mirror, signal, mirror, start to move out and the car in front swerves right over the white line to delberately block me.

As to build quality that seems to have fallen off in recent years across all manufacturers as cost cutting is the name of the game - hence I do tend to drive older cars. As a driver the thing I like about the Z3 and Z4 dashboards is that they are uncomplicated and everything is where you expect it to be. Also no iDrives, ebrakes, etc, etc.

As my wife is always telling me - buy quality and look after it. Her record is buying a new car and keeping it for 12 years!

andygb

s_b wrote: »

buy a good 1.8 petrol mondeo
or a good petrol 1,8/2.0 litre focus
for a grand



bmw =money pit at this end



message ends

Excellent advice!
A "W" or "X" reg Mk2 Mondeo, LX or Verona spec with the 1.8 petrol engine, will be comfortable (Air con, EW, CL, nice seats and ride quality), cheap to insure and run, very economical (35 + MPG).
I have had BMWs in the past, and the Mondeo will do anything that a 2 litre 3 or even 5 series will do.

andygb

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Ok, Try owning one. When you find that they're refined, comfortable, handle well, are well specified and powerful, and to cap it all are actually the cheapest car to run you've ever owned despite being 2.8 litres and ~200bhp, get back to us.

There's a reason BMW drivers drive like gits. It's because they ARE better than you and they know it.....

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Meanwhile in reality World, the rest of us are keeping our feet on the ground. As someone who has owned five BMWs in the past (1972 2002, 1980 323i, 1979 518i, 1982 528i, 1998 520i), and thoroughly enjoyed the driving experience, I can safely say that they are not the cheapest car to run:D
If you drive a 528i on the continent at 130KPH, then you can actually watch the petrol gauge needle falling as you drive along.
Tyre wear and tyre size add to the running costs, as well as insurance and higher tax.

rodenal

andygb wrote: »

Excellent advice!
A "W" or "X" reg Mk2 Mondeo, LX or Verona spec with the 1.8 petrol engine, will be comfortable (Air con, EW, CL, nice seats and ride quality), cheap to insure and run, very economical (35 + MPG).
I have had BMWs in the past, and the Mondeo will do anything that a 2 litre 3 or even 5 series will do.

No it won't - if you're comparing with a 520i, 523i, 320i and maybe 323i then ok but a 325/328i/528i has more than any mondeo including the v6 can ever offer. They're also extremely well kitted out though in fairness so is the mondeo at this level.

Don't get me wrong I like that generation of mondeo too and they're frankly excellent value now but they don't compare to the noise or driving experience of the larger engined e36 or e39 imo. Both have properly weighted steering / pedals and still feel very, very solid even at 13+ years old - Any mondeo of a similar age that has been looked after i've driven still feels ok but have all started to creak and squeak a bit with the leather if fitted really quire worn(not really massive issues imo but not the point) What the mondeo absolutely definately does have over the bmw's is better fuel economy - I got mid 20's out of my bmw 6 and would expect to improve on that substantially even with the v6 mondeo. Having said that it's a lighter car with a bit less power.

The tax and insurance issue is a non starter, the 328i has the exact same tax as the v6 mondeo and I found mine dirt cheap to insure

I definately agree that you can pick up some absolute nails especially when starting to look at the e39, some have had a very very hard life but it's the exact same situation with the mondeo - anything that hasn't been looked after properly won't be worth owning in later life. I loved my e36 and would have another in a heartbeat but would be very picky over what one I took, quite fancy a tourer

Weird_Nev

andygb wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Meanwhile in reality World, the rest of us are keeping our feet on the ground. As someone who has owned five BMWs in the past (1972 2002, 1980 323i, 1979 518i, 1982 528i, 1998 520i), and thoroughly enjoyed the driving experience, I can safely say that they are not the cheapest car to run:D
If you drive a 528i on the continent at 130KPH, then you can actually watch the petrol gauge needle falling as you drive along.
Tyre wear and tyre size add to the running costs, as well as insurance and higher tax.

Only speaking from experience.
I buy my cars and keep them 2 years in general, because I get bored. My BMW 328i has been the cheapest car to run I've ever owned - including tax ,insurance and everything else, and that's against 1.9 TDi Audis, A 1988 MR2, and (admittedly not cheap to run) a Nissan 200SX.
Bought for £700, Insured for under £300; £215 tax, 30mpg average and cheap to fix/service. It's for sale now and It looks like it's sold for the £700 I paid for it 2 years and 16,000 miles ago.
That's bangernomcs only with a really nice car in my book.
I've kept records and it's cost me 29p per mile, but that's assuming total depreciation so it will drop a bit.
Find me a real world car that's cheaper to run! New, used, I don't mind! I'd be interested to know.

albionrovers

I've had 3 x 5-Series costing 15K in total over 15 years with no unplanned nasty repair bills, only servicing and normal wear+tear. Not too bad?

andygb

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Find me a real world car that's cheaper to run! New, used, I don't mind! I'd be interested to know.

Well, back in 2004, I bought an Audi A2 (1.4 pterol) at auction for £6500. It had 19500 miles FSH and would do around 47MPG.
I sold it two years later with 33K on the clock for £7100.
However, I would not recommend the Audi A2 to anyone - bad ride quality, felt very unstable in high winds.
I am not knocking BMWs because I like them, but for an economic car for someone on a limited budget (taking into account fuel costs) they don't really make sense.

almillar

A real world car that's cheaper to run than a BMW? Easy peasy, BMW Mini!
I've got a e46 325Ci and have previously had an e36 323i coupe - both great cars. You can certainly get decent BMWs at £1000, but there will be loads of tatty, worn out ones too. There are plenty around £4k too!
You can of course buy cars than do better mpg, and have cheaper insurance, and newer and lower mileage cars that depreciate faster and may have a better spec too, but maintenance costs for the BMW will be the same or lower. The 6cyl engines are rock solid, all you're paying for is service items, and maybe the odd suspension part. In my experience the parts are no more expensive.
Please, no-one come on and tell us that a Daewoo Matiz brake disk is cheaper than an M3 one!

TrickyWicky

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Ok, Try owning one. When you find that they're refined, comfortable, handle well, are well specified and powerful, and to cap it all are actually the cheapest car to run you've ever owned despite being 2.8 litres and ~200bhp, get back to us.

There's a reason BMW drivers drive like gits. It's because they ARE better than you and they know it.....

I don't want to try a BMW really. As said before, I've been in a few and as far as I'm concerned they're nothing special. Sure the engines are pretty bullet proof I'll give it that and women tend to like blokes with beemers (who really wants a woman that wants a man for his wallet?) but thats about it. I like cars for their power, reliability, gizmos and practicality. Thats something that BMW can't always meet in my view. My current car has a pretty bomb proof engine and autobox, its big enough to carry tons of stuff, has plenty of impressive gizmos and despite looking like an old dog, never fails to impress anyone who gets a ride in it.

BMW drivers better than the rest of us? - Thats highly debateable however what ever the truth is there it doesn't give them the right to be arrogant ****s on the road and put other people at risk.

I used to work with an ex met cop Nev and he had the same opinion as you - he knows best etc. Bloke used to live on his brakes and was a menace to others on the road. He used to over take me on the way home frequently in a 50 zone doing 85. Plain selfish, arrogant and eago headed like many cops who think the law doesn't apply to them. Even though we keep seeing cases of cops killing people in their cars, corruption (Stephen Lawrence) and all sorts of other things, many ego headed cops still refuse to learn. Your statement about BMW drivers being better than other people doesn't show you in a good light Nev.

andygb wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Meanwhile in reality World, the rest of us are keeping our feet on the ground. As someone who has owned five BMWs in the past (1972 2002, 1980 323i, 1979 518i, 1982 528i, 1998 520i), and thoroughly enjoyed the driving experience, I can safely say that they are not the cheapest car to run:D

You're not the only person I know to have said things like that. Even Mercs are becoming costly these days and their reliability has gone down the pan too.

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Only speaking from experience.
I buy my cars and keep them 2 years in general, because I get bored.

Ah, you're one of those who finds them cheap to run because you sell them off to someone else who will have to repair them eh? - Try keeping a car for a few years until it needs repairs, regular maintenance etc and then lets see what you have to say about BMW. You shot yourself in the foot arguing they're cheap to run and admitting to changing cars every 2 years.

Weird_Nev wrote: »

My BMW 328i has been the cheapest car to run I've ever owned ... Bought for £700, Insured for under £300; £215 tax, 30mpg average and cheap to fix/service. It's for sale now and It looks like it's sold for the £700 I paid for it 2 years and 16,000 miles ago.
That's bangernomcs only with a really nice car in my book.
I've kept records and it's cost me 29p per mile, but that's assuming total depreciation so it will drop a bit.
Find me a real world car that's cheaper to run! New, used, I don't mind! I'd be interested to know.

Now for £700 that has to be said isn't bad actually Nev and has done well to get the money back that you've paid for it but again once cars reach that price bracket its often the case that they hover around the same price for a few years anyway if they're running. Obviously if it's out of tax/mot then it affects it drastically but if its all working and on the road there are quite a lot of cars that will hold their value. Besides not many folks actually really know how to value a car anyway so as long as you can convince them its a bargain at that price then people will often pay it.

mattyprice4004

Buying a BMW when trying to save money is pretty silly. Buying new - it'll lose lots in depreciation like any new car, so not a good idea.

Buying 2nd hand and it'll be able to chuck some epic bills your way.