Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

[chickenbackside]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

yo chickenbackside, i'm driving the e90 320i for a month now and it certainly doesn't sound like a sewing machine. in fact, i thought the driving experience was very good and the engine is not noisy at all, a bit too quiet i thought. no doubt the 6potter is better, being smoother and has more oomph, but i think the 4potter is more than good enough for me. and to pay an additional 20 - 30k for the 325i, for me the choice is clear. i love the 6pot engine but not enough to pay that much more for it.

Hi Muddie.

I was talking about the E46. The price difference between the E46 318 and 320 aren't a lot. But for the E90, I would agree that it is hard to swallow the price difference between the 320 and 325.

I can't afford the E90 325 for sure, and hence bought the E46 320 instead. 30 000km old 6-cylinder engined BMW depreciating at $8.3k is rather attractive to me.

Maybe sewing machine is overstating it somewhat, but there is a huge difference in sound between the engines though. Maybe it's an occupational hazard (music producer), the sound is very important to me, haha...

Anyway, as long as you are happy. That's the most important thing...

 

[jur]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi All,

I happen to find my way into this forum and I sure hope that all you good beemer lovers out there could enlighten me.

I have always love the bmws and because of financial status, I can only eye a after COE car.

I am currently looking at getting a May 1992 318IA. I have seen the car's exterior but have not taken it for a test drive yet. I find that it's something that I can see myself in.

Any comments to getting a car that age and the model?

I thank you all in advance and hope to hear from you guys and gals.

 

[Peterpan]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi Muddie.

I was talking about the E46. The price difference between the E46 318 and 320 aren't a lot. But for the E90, I would agree that it is hard to swallow the price difference between the 320 and 325.

I can't afford the E90 325 for sure, and hence bought the E46 320 instead. 30 000km old 6-cylinder engined BMW depreciating at $8.3k is rather attractive to me.

Maybe sewing machine is overstating it somewhat, but there is a huge difference in sound between the engines though. Maybe it's an occupational hazard (music producer), the sound is very important to me, haha...

Anyway, as long as you are happy. That's the most important thing...

Bro Chickenbackside, $8.3K dep for a 320 is a good deal. How old is your ride?

 

[chickenbackside]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

The registration date of my car is 20th Dec 2002.

It was really a one off. In have not come across another one at the same price since. Well, it will definitely happen this year as the FL cars gain another year in age...

 

[grahame]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

I bought a June 2002 318i valvetronic about 18mo ago, have since had front and back discs and pads replaced, new tyres and rims, replaced rocker gasket, and it's now back in the shop for another $1,200 repairs (radiator leaking, front brake arm, loose engine mounting, and something else I couldn't quite hear over the phone!)

I keep wavering between sticking with it and buying a new Lexus IS250. After today's bills, I guess I'd better hang on to it for a while.

Although I loved the 330i I drove at the driver training school, the valvetronic 318i is entirely adequate for Singapore (and Malaysian) roads. I don't take too much notice of fuel consumption, but generally can get 400 -450k from a tank mainly city driving. I once drove to KL and back on a single tank, but had some nervous moments looking for a gas station when I got back over the causeway!

Why is it that cigarette lighter cover gets so scratched up? Are there any aftermarket solutions? I have replaced the inserts with piano black ones which look great, but the workshop told me you cannot replace that cover easily. I've seen a few on friends cars that are equally scratched up.

I was at PML Sime Darby last weekend and they had a 12mo old E90 320i for sale. I asked why the owner would change over in such a short time, unless they weren't happy with the car (first of batch problems?). The salesman just told me that Singaporeans do this. Is this true?

cheers,

 

[rodders]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Chances are it's a big fat lemon. There are many problems with the first batch of E90s...some bigs ones and some small ones.

 

[chickenbackside]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

As predicted, the prices have dropped even more now.

This example looks good in the photos. Just 2 things that appear slightly suspicious are:

1) no mention of mileage
2) 2 owners for a car so young

http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/info-2fjtwP8M-1129.html

 

[ninja07]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

As predicted, the prices have dropped even more now.

This example looks good in the photos. Just 2 things that appear slightly suspicious are:

1) no mention of mileage
2) 2 owners for a car so young

http://www.sgcarmart.com/main/info-2fjtwP8M-1129.html

I enquired about this car today and was told the mileage is approx. 90k.

Assuming the car has been regularly serviced with normal maintenance, would you guys think this is high mileage for a car this age?

Just thinking aloud, it seems that it would not necessarily be a bad thing afterall. One school of thought is that since most major parts wear and tear around the 75 to 100k mark ; and if indeed, the car has been regularly serviced and maintained, these parts would have been replaced and the car runs on its 2nd cycle of 'new' parts. Previous owner would have borne these replacement costs, so one would have saved quite a bit.

Plus you get to buy the car at a relatively lower price than low mileage cars which always incurs a premium in the used car market (except for chickenbackside's case, one lucky dude)....

But of course on the flip side it is a good feeling to buy a low mileage car, but it is still a used car afterall at the end of the day.....one would have been prepared to accept some imperfections, mileage being one of them.

Does this make sense? Would like to hear some views...cheers

 

[chickenbackside]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

First thing to do is to go and see the car for yourself and look for obvious things and test drive it to see if everything's normal. Don't be shy, push the car hard, brake hard, turn hard...

Ask the dealer when it was last serviced. Ask for service records, bills...etc. If the ex-owner was a car-lover, like most of us here, all that will certainly be kept properly. That'll give you a good indication already. Mine wasn't even due for it's 2nd service when I bought it (30000km) and hence had one single PML service chop and bill. I still had to spend about $1500 to bring it up to tip top shape.

If he hasn't done major work on it recently, you have to prepare a some money for wear and tear items. From my friends' experiences, at that mileage, you should be looking at $3 - 5k.

Suspension, brakes, fluids, mounts, filters...etc. Normal expenditure.

Your best bet is to bring it to one of the BMW specialists (BVO or J4C) for it to be checked out. Then you will know exactly how much $$ you need to dump to bring it up to shape. Don't bring it to STA or any of those, you need BMW specialists.

After determining that the car is accident free and mechanically sound, then go and negotiate.

If the dealer refuses to let you bring it for an inspection to a workshop of YOUR choice at your own expense (about $80 or so of well-spent money), you can pretty much guess it's an accident car.

 

[ninja07]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Your best bet is to bring it to one of the BMW specialists (BVO or J4C) for it to be checked out. Then you will know exactly how much $$ you need to dump to bring it up to shape. Don't bring it to STA or any of those, you need BMW specialists.

After determining that the car is accident free and mechanically sound, then go and negotiate.

If the dealer refuses to let you bring it for an inspection to a workshop of YOUR choice at your own expense (about $80 or so of well-spent money), you can pretty much guess it's an accident car.

Thanks for your advice. Called both up and their charges for same services for inspection quite different, $80 vs 45, almost half. Not that I care about the amount but just wondering if there's any experiences to share on who to go to, or is it just a preference thing.

cheers

 

[mustaffalj]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi Ninja,
Very good message brought across, I agreed with you 100%, You take good care and service regularly Your baby will serve your needs, Mind is 318 valvetronic with 85+K on the clock,bought new in 2003, til now never ever have any major problem(touch wood) instead it give me a very satifaction ride,
Below is what I have done on my second wife
8K Change oil,(syntentic)
20K change oil, filter and replace front brake pads (PML)
35K change oil,
40K change Sachs shock , idrium plug and CSC2 tire,
45K change oil, filter and rear break pad
55K istalled rear rocker arm bushing' s spacer plate and alignments
65K flushing ,change oil, installed KNN filter and CCL angel light
75K Change to 17 rim and CSC2 tires
83K Change oil, filter, Transmission oil, filter, udirium plug , front arms bushing and alignment ,kapot thewater coolant plastic tank and replace (warranty FOC)
85K replace Sachs performance suspension set and front break pads
Presently,like an old man with young power, ha ha ha vroooooooommm,
90K change oil, belting(worry snapping)

Regards
Mus

 

[snowman]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi Ninja,
Very good message brought across, I agreed with you 100%, You take good care and service regularly Your baby will serve your needs, Mind is 318 valvetronic with 85+K on the clock,bought new in 2003, til now never ever have any major problem(touch wood) instead it give me a very satifaction ride,
Below is what I have done on my second wife
8K Change oil,(syntentic)
20K change oil, filter and replace front brake pads (PML)
35K change oil,
40K change Sachs shock , idrium plug and CSC2 tire,
45K change oil, filter and rear break pad
55K istalled rear rocker arm bushing' s spacer plate and alignments
65K flushing ,change oil, installed KNN filter and CCL angel light
75K Change to 17 rim and CSC2 tires
83K Change oil, filter, Transmission oil, filter, udirium plug , front arms bushing and alignment ,kapot thewater coolant plastic tank and replace (warranty FOC)
85K replace Sachs performance suspension set and front break pads
Presently,like an old man with young power, ha ha ha vroooooooommm,
90K change oil, belting(worry snapping)

Regards
Mus

belt?????? i thot belt no need to change???

 

[chickenbackside]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Thanks for your advice. Called both up and their charges for same services for inspection quite different, $80 vs 45, almost half. Not that I care about the amount but just wondering if there's any experiences to share on who to go to, or is it just a preference thing.

cheers

As most people here have personal relationships with both workshops, you will get different opinions. Just go with whoever you're comfortable with. You can also negotiate with both the workshops that in the event that you buy the car, you will go back to them for whatever needs to be done and the inspection fee would be waived.

I believe the people at both places are nice enough to offer you that. For my case. as I have brought my previous car (non BMW) to J4C for quite a lot of work done, they didn't even ask me for an inspection fee trusting that I would go back to them if I buy the car. And even if I didn't, I would still patronise them for car servicing needs.

The people at BVO are very nice too. I bought a few things being consigned at BVO before and once I brought my own strut bar, bought from somewhere else, to BVO to install. It was a simple 10-min job and after it was done, Ah Wee refused to take any money from me saying that it's a small thing, despite that fact that I insisted I wanted to pay.

So, start your own relationship with the workshops and as with any relationship, there's always give and take.

 

[mustaffalj]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

You're right Chicken,
Both workshop are nice and professional people,

Mus

 

[sdr]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi,
Would like to find out PML's price of E46 318ia in 2004 before the launch of E90.

What is the 318's OMV at that time? Trying to work out the depreciation of E46 vs E90.

 

[BMWSILVER]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi,
Would like to find out PML's price of E46 318ia in 2004 before the launch of E90.

What is the 318's OMV at that time? Trying to work out the depreciation of E46 vs E90.

Hi !

I will share what I remember. The last bunch for the E46 318i Sport Edition was selling highest S$145K and lowest S$128K (Limited colour and last few units).

OMW was damn high about S$45K.

Frankly, these are the best E46 318i because it has many M-Tech accessories

 

[sdr]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi !

I will share what I remember. The last bunch for the E46 318i Sport Edition was selling highest S$145K and lowest S$128K (Limited colour and last few units).

OMW was damn high about S$45K.

Frankly, these are the best E46 318i because it has many M-Tech accessories

BMSilver, Thanks for the info. Working out the depreciation for an E46 318i,
in 2004, it varies between...

$145K - ($45K x 0.55)K = $120.25K/10 = $12.025K
$128K - ($45K x 0.55)K = $103.25K/10 = $10.325K

Correct me if I'm wrong. Calculating the depreciation for E90 320i:

$155K - ($42K x 0.55)K = $131.9K/10 = $13.19K

Wow, it looks like a the new E90 depreciates more than the E46. PML's mark up is very considerable here. An 3yr old 318i depreciates around $9K per year. It makes more economical sense to get a 2nd hand ride. At least for me.

 

[Ahbengdriver]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi sdr, no the $155k is the list price by PML. cars currently sold are often a tad lower. I got my e90 for around $130k only.....lowest COE of $9.5k

ps: I ve framed up my COE so I can show to my grandchildren next time

 

[sdr]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi sdr, no the $155k is the list price by PML. cars currently sold are often a tad lower. I got my e90 for around $130k only.....lowest COE of $9.5k

ps: I ve framed up my COE so I can show to my grandchildren next time

Hi Beng thanks for the info. PML never list the prices on their offifial website. So my reference is the PDF file downloaded from The Motors' Traders Association, which they do provide the complete new car prices every month. Thought I saw the 320i listed as $155K?

 

[BMWSILVER]

Re: Buying a 2nd Hand 3 Series

Hi Beng thanks for the info. PML never list the prices on their offifial website. So my reference is the PDF file downloaded from The Motors' Traders Association, which they do provide the complete new car prices every month. Thought I saw the 320i listed as $155K?

Hi ! sdr.

Ahbengdriver is correct.

In fact, when E90 320i was first lauched, it was about S$150K.

Lowest I heard was S$125K. Not sure because due to COE price drop alot recently. Plus there are Aerospace and non-Aerospace version. Even have discount if you take-up higher loan.

If you are looking for 2nd hand E46, go and look out for E46 320i Sport Edition. This car is the best

Good luck