Used BMW

H

HelenM

Registered User
Messages
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Hi,

I've been following this forum for a while now.

I've found the information on particular models very interesting.

Last night I went to look at a BMW that I saw on carzone. It's a model that I hadn't seen before. It's a black 02D car with two door with a hatch back. There are a few of them on carzoner but this one was the cheapest in Dublin.

Of all the cars I've looked at over the last few weeks this was the nicest but the miles are high (about 90,000) and it's a bit more than I planned to spend.

The guy who's sellig it seemed nice enough. I went round to his house to see it. He has a service book and receipts for repairs done on it.

I told him I'd had to think about it and said I'd call him.

The question I'm hoping to get some advice on is should I be worried about the miles if the car is good to drive and he has maintained it properly? Also, what is a fair price to offer for it? He's looking for 14,295 but I was hoping to spend just 12,000.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.
 
By the discription you give it looks like it's this one. If so it's 316TI Compact.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=461761

Some purists will tell you that this isn't a real BMW, but I think they've probably been proven wrong over the years. It's got the 116BHP engine which makes it faster than the pre 2003 1.8 saloon and they handle better because they're shorter and have a different rear suspension.

You can tell a good BMW from a bad one the minute you get into it. It will feel reasonably fresh (Doubt it will be perfect at 90K but everything should still work), start first time with that dull, supressed engine note, should be responsive and corner and stop well. Steer clear of anything that clunks or handles badly. The cabin should be quiet, the centre console and dash need to be solidly screwed in place and all the panel gaps should be inch on perfect. Main dealer service history becomes less of an issue with cars out of warranty. If he has the receipts try calling the garage and verifiying the service or repairs. I know some of them have problems with whingy power steering fluid pumps when cold but that affects the whole E46 range and is something most owners are happy to live with.

There is another 2002 black one on carzone for €13995. It says the miles are around 30K so you should probably have a look at that too.

I'd say that if you could get him down by a grand you'd be doing well for yourself. That way if something does crop up you'll have the money in the bank to get it fixed. These things are fairly bulletproof providing they've been looked after.


Got to say, it looks well in the photos.
 
3 owners in 4 years and 90k miles? On a 'D' reg? I wouldn't, unless I thought I was getting a 'bargain'.
 
magunkey said:
I'd say that if you could get him down by a grand you'd be doing well for yourself. That way if something does crop up you'll have the money in the bank to get it fixed. These things are fairly bulletproof providing they've been looked after.


Got to say, it looks well in the photos.
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Hi,

Thanks for that. Thats a lot of information, so you don't think he'll accept an offer for 12,000 then?
 
magunkey said:
Not sure I understand that. A 'D' reg commands a premium over all other county plates.
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That’s correct, especially so if the used car is up for sale in Dublin. WW, MH, or KE registered cars are not so vulnerable to being devalued. Some of the reasoning is pure snobbery. But an "OY-Reg" (AKA Awfully Reg) or a "DL-Reg" (AKA Dun Laoghlaire Reg, which sounds more attractive) will not fetch the same money as the equivalent D-Reg. People assume they have been mistreated on poor roads and driven by smelly farmers. Ha!

I think of it as an opportunity to get a good deal, and bought a W-Reg myself. It doesn't bother me at all. Besides, lots of people from the country register there new cars as Dublin cars, all you need is a Dublin address from which you can retrieve your Vehicle Licence Certificate from the post then change the address.
 
liamwoods said:
That’s correct. Some of the reasoning is pure snobbery.
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The sad thing is that snobbery and second hand values go hand in hand. People buying second hand cars are immediately faced with the fact that their 'New' car is already usurped by something with a newer reg. So the 'D' reg has an importance to them. It's kind of like not being considered a yokle or something (No offence to country reg's).

That other BMW I mentioned in an earlier post is a KY reg so it's immediately less attractive a proposition than the D reg car that helen origianlly asked about.

It's a mad world...but there you go!
 
magunkey said:
Doubt it. It's worth a try if that's the top of your budget. He can only say no.
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Thanks for that. I really like this car. I'll make him an offer in the morning. What was the older hatchback BMW like? It doesn't look as nice but there are a few in my budget.
 
HelenM said:
Thanks for that. I really like this car. I'll make him an offer in the morning. What was the older hatchback BMW like? It doesn't look as nice but there are a few in my budget.
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Steer right clear of the old shape compact. Built on a budget. Cheap and nasty. If you cant get the new shape compact on budget look at a 1999/2000 E46 saloon. They're not as good as anything from 2002 and regularly suffer from torn rear suspension mountings (which will cost a fortune to repair) but if you buy carefully you'll still get a good one. Personally I'd find the extra cash and buy the one your looking at if it stacks up and he'll drop his price by enough.
 
magunkey said:
Not sure I understand that. A 'D' reg commands a premium over all other county plates.
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Yes-but generally because it would be expected to have lower mileage (and possibly less wear on suspension, shocks etc.).

90k miles on a 02 'D' reg looks strange to me.

I saved myself a nice bit of cash the last time I bought used by going for 'KE' over 'D'. The only reg I would seek would be 'DL', otherwise I don't really care.
 
CCOVICH said:
90k miles on a 02 'D' reg looks strange to me.
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Ten year ago I would have agreed with you. But not any more. I'd bet that the bulk of the miles were done with the first owner. Probably a business person. After that all you need is someone doing average mileage to push the overall miles up. It's not unusual for a BMW to do 30K a year at the beginning of it's life. That's why people buy them.

I'd still say that, once the car has been maintained, €13250 - €13,500 would be a bit of a bargain. If you look closely at the carzone ad it's a Jan or Feb 2002 car. That means it's almost five years old. 90K at five years works out at an average of 18K a year. Thats pretty normal miles these days.
 
Hi.

I took your advice and got the details of the garage that has serviced the car. The chap there confirmed that he has worked on the car and in his opinion it is fine.

I rang the seller back and offered €12,500 for it but he said no. When I asked him for his best price he said he'd sell it for €13,500 cash.

Does that seem fair? It's more than I can really afford but it's a nice car.

How do you go about getting cash? Will a bank just give it to you over the counter? Sorry for what might seem a silly question but I don't think I've ever held anything more than a couple of thousand in my hand before.
 
Hi
Best of luck with the new car. Re the bank, you can just walk in and withdraw from your account (bring ID such as driving licence).
One thing worth checking when you go to the bank - to avoid horribly long queues for cash, check whether the cash desk will allow you to withdraw that amount. You may have to go to customer service instead of the regular cash desk (I've no idea why???). This happened to me recently (taking out the cash for my 1.6 VW Golf as it happens - and I love it!) and the bank had no sign up or anything so after 25mins in the cash desk queue I had to go and start again at the Custr service desk.
(The cash desk wouldn't give out more than Eur5k)
Happy driving
S.
 
HelenM said:
Hi.

Does that seem fair? It's more than I can really afford but it's a nice car.
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It seems a fair price alright...but I'd say that if you can't afford it don't buy it.

There are too many nice used cars out there that you will be able to afford. I suggest you offer him whatever it is you actually can afford and if he won't or can't accept it just walk away.
 
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