Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

[musicman]

Hello to all,

Seems like a great big forum here with friendly pple here.

I've been driving Jap cars all my life (currently Honda Stream) - ok don't be hating now, and I'm thinking of changing to this used BMW 523i (Used BMW 523i Car for Sale in Singapore, A M T Automobile - sgCarMart).

Any opinions on the above car will be greatly appreciated. This being COE car with the wasteful road tax surcharges, I wanna know if it's gonna be worth giving our dear govt more money to upkeep this old car.

Also any owners of old beemers here? How's general reliability and how much did you have to fork out for repairs so far?

Hope to see you around! :wavey:

 

[detach8]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

wow nice ride, decent price. old cars will have its fair share of issues and repair varies. ask to send the car to a reputable mechanic for a check before you buy.

side note, why don't you consider a 4-5 year old 3 series? it's about the same price as well.

 

[ac323]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Hello to all,

Seems like a great big forum here with friendly pple here.

I've been driving Jap cars all my life (currently Honda Stream) - ok don't be hating now, and I'm thinking of changing to this used BMW 523i (Used BMW 523i Car for Sale in Singapore, A M T Automobile - sgCarMart).

Any opinions on the above car will be greatly appreciated. This being COE car with the wasteful road tax surcharges, I wanna know if it's gonna be worth giving our dear govt more money to upkeep this old car.

Also any owners of old beemers here? How's general reliability and how much did you have to fork out for repairs so far?

Hope to see you around! :wavey:

Hi musicman,

i agreed with detach........moreover COE car if you are taking a loan the interest rate is much higher so in the end you don't be surprised that you are paying almost up to 100k for buying this ride............



happy searching
cheers

 

[musicman]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Thanks for the advice detach8 and ac323. Yeah I agree too and COE cars will also attract higher insurance premiums... I liked this particular one for its super-clean area under the hood. It's even cleaner than mine! Also 5 series over 3 for its bigger space in the back seats, which I need.

But in all, I know it's doesn't make much economic sense. Back to searching around then...

Cheers!

 

[ac323]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Thanks for the advice detach8 and ac323. Yeah I agree too and COE cars will also attract higher insurance premiums... I liked this particular one for its super-clean area under the hood. It's even cleaner than mine! Also 5 series over 3 for its bigger space in the back seats, which I need.

But in all, I know it's doesn't make much economic sense. Back to searching around then...

Cheers!

Hi musicman,

cool.....anyway E39 is nice too.....


happy searching.....
cheers

 

[davidtch]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

I know E39 is nice car cause i am driving 1 now. However, the price does not make economical sense. i bought my car in 2008 for $66k. My car was registered in Nov 2002.

If you are lucky enough, there might be 2003 Executive model around. BUT it is extremely rare.

 

[detach8]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Thanks for the advice detach8 and ac323. Yeah I agree too and COE cars will also attract higher insurance premiums... I liked this particular one for its super-clean area under the hood. It's even cleaner than mine! Also 5 series over 3 for its bigger space in the back seats, which I need.

But in all, I know it's doesn't make much economic sense. Back to searching around then...

Cheers!

clean under the hood may be a problem in disguise, such as a flood

anyway, if you are looking for a conti ride, maybe try a 2004/05 Volvo S60 or S80 or maybe V50 if you need the boot space. Those are big cars too.

good luck!

 

[musicman]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

I know E39 is nice car cause i am driving 1 now. However, the price does not make economical sense. i bought my car in 2008 for $66k. My car was registered in Nov 2002.

If you are lucky enough, there might be 2003 Executive model around. BUT it is extremely rare.

66k for '02 car? Now I know that the dealer is really out for some chopping, just because current COE prices high....

Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[musicman]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

clean under the hood may be a problem in disguise, such as a flood

anyway, if you are looking for a conti ride, maybe try a 2004/05 Volvo S60 or S80 or maybe V50 if you need the boot space. Those are big cars too.

good luck!

Flood... did not cross my mind. Now got more to worry about.

 

[detach8]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

66k for '02 car? Now I know that the dealer is really out for some chopping, just because current COE prices high....

Thanks for the heads-up!

can't make such a comparison. what was his depreciation? it's probably almost the same as yours (7-8k/yr)

 

[musicman]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

can't make such a comparison. what was his depreciation? it's probably almost the same as yours (7-8k/yr)

Hmmm.... but at least his is a parf car, he'll get back some of his omv. This one's COE is a measly 9k and I don't think the body is more than 20-30k (I'm just guessing here). Probably that's why everyone avoids 10yr+ cars. Maybe if the asking price was 45k then it would start looking like a deal.

 

[detach8]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

He'll get back his parf IF he scraps his car. if the doesn't scrap at the 10th year then his parf is effectively part of the COE car's "body value"

So assuming his PARF rebate is like 20k + body maybe 10k, 66k - 30k = 36k. Divide it by 4 years gives you approx 9k per year.

Basically what the government is telling you is that... For the first 10 years you pre-pay me PARF as tax. If you scrap your car within 10 years, I return you 55% of the tax you paid and you effectively paid 45% of PARF as tax. But if you decided to renew the COE, you shall pay more tax than a new car.

That's why cars in Singapore are generally new.

 

[Leica]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Welcome to the BMW.SG community!

 

[James1500]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Honestly, if I were you, I will choose an Mid '05 to Early '06 E60 (523i) which probably cost about 10-15k more. I know of a unit at West Coast Car Mart Asking for 77k for a Feb'06 523i, the setback is obvious - Mileage is about 130k, but 1 owner. If u intend to ride on then the mileage should not be a factor to you as long as it was maintain throughout at PML.

 

[detach8]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

yeah i'd recommend you go down west coast car mat to take a look as well. i got my ride there from seng hup. IMHO they are reliable and don't have those rubbish agreement fees like some dealers. i'd recommend them highly since they deal specially with conti rides. go take a look.

 

[musicman]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

yeah i'd recommend you go down west coast car mat to take a look as well. i got my ride there from seng hup. IMHO they are reliable and don't have those rubbish agreement fees like some dealers. i'd recommend them highly since they deal specially with conti rides. go take a look.

Honestly, if I were you, I will choose an Mid '05 to Early '06 E60 (523i) which probably cost about 10-15k more. I know of a unit at West Coast Car Mart Asking for 77k for a Feb'06 523i, the setback is obvious - Mileage is about 130k, but 1 owner. If u intend to ride on then the mileage should not be a factor to you as long as it was maintain throughout at PML.

Thanks James and detach for your tips. I'm still taking my time to look around, but boy does test-driving/negotiating a car take a lot of time and effort. I'll certainly try seng hup within the week. But you know if they don't add admin/agreement fees, they'll get their margins from the price premium. Being a conti newbie, how's the general reliability? My friend's 320 radiator just broke down and I think her car's only two years old.

 

[detach8]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

reliability can't really tell. jap rides may be more reliable but i think that's also because conti rides are much more complicated. there might be some problems here and there but they are usually small, like sensor problems, etc.

fyi my nissan latio is 2 yrs old, the aircon broke (had to change the whole cooling coil unit), battery was about to give way (quite standard for jap rides), changed door weather seal, and doesn't have the FC that many clowns said they got from the latio forum. I got 10-11km/l from the same tyre size as my E90 stock (205/55/R16). For that FC, I'd rather drive a 2.0L anytime

I think it's also that BMW drivers are picky... very picky.

i don't know about the margin but I got my E90 2006 model for 70k about 2 months ago. it's quite a fair deal considering they bought my old ride at a 4k premium from other dealers' quote/

i don't understand why the other dealers want to make car buying such a trumatic experience. it's like you buy a meal from mac and they say, oh you have to top up $2 to have your fillet-o-fish cooked. otherwise we serve raw... not that I got loads of cash, but I also don't want a headache. dealers should quote a price and everything should be in. don't give me bloody surprises - oh buy a car, pay this fee that fee...

the other day i went to sim lim to buy a hard disk. then when i said OK, cashier said... cash only. Then i asked, NETS leh? She said add 1%. So $79 becomes $79.8 then I was like?? WTF? Just charge me $80.. and I'd rather they just quote $80. It's dumb, seriously.

 

[musicman]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Hahaha! detach8 you must super rich if buying cars are like buying happy meals for you! Just kidding.... but yeah, I find used car shopping very tedious and frustrating at times. "New car you know how much or not?" That's what dealers always say to justify their premium pricing. "Ya, you know your price increase my depreciation by how much or not?" That's what I always reply.

Some buyers prefer minute breakdown of pricing, since it gives the impression that they're getting their money's worth, so sellers use different tactics to convey 'value'. Hide costs a bit here, jack up premium a bit there. But margins in the tech industry are really that thin and competitive. Many shops in Sim Lim have come and gone already.

I'm surprised by your Latio's aircon breakdown and FC leh, although to be honest and no offense to you, I'm a complete hater of Toyota and Nissan cars. Don't even get me started on the drivers of Wish, Camry, Cefiro etc.

I guess luck has a lot to do with a car's reliability. I have another friend whose new Volkswagen's auto transmission went kaput just after a year.

 

[James1500]

Re: Hi to all! Getting an old beemer...

Owning / Buying a car is like playing Baccarat. Not PLAYER then BANKER, occasionally TIE. Bottom line, its a "Heng/Suay" thing.