Elmo 4th Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 Hi all, Was looking at a few Y2K registered BMW 318IA which is renewing their COE and selling at under $50k in sgcarmart. Hope to get any advice on whether they are worth buying: Are BMWs generally durable enough to last another 10 yrs w/o major problems? Anyone driving the 318IA can share their experience with it? I haven't drove a conti b4 so not sure how much more I have to spend on maintenance as compared to Jap rides. Thks for your advice! ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue850r Clutched February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 At 5K/yr driving a 10 year BMW E46 is not really worth. As the car age, the maintainence cost is going higher just like medical cost for old people. Simple gearbox overhaul sets you back 5K, chassis ball joints, shock absorbers, power steering pump, water pump, radiator. Year by year you have to change all these and no scrap back up. Interest rates are higher and so is the road tax surcharge. You take a look at the E90 320i 2005 or 2006 models. You may be able to get them around 7K/yr. First you get a new model, more comfy, performance and consumption is superior. Much much less un-scheduled maintainence. Easier to sell after say 3 years of use than a COE paid car. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nissan_s152001 Neutral Newbie February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 (edited) Hi! not worth..... I got a friend who bought a coe bmw.... The 1st few month is okie..... But after that his gearbox start to give him problem... And the parts r not cheap.... It is better to save the money to get a newer jap or kor..... Edited February 17, 2009 by Nissan_s152001 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickensoup 1st Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 Agreed. Someone in other thread was saying $108K for new 320i (less than 9K a year). So 3-year old car should be 6K-7K a year. IMHO, if budget is tight we should not even consider luxury brand. As these are for the luxury minds. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arowana1 1st Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 Hi all, Was looking at a few Y2K registered BMW 318IA which is renewing their COE and selling at under $50k in sgcarmart. Hope to get any advice on whether they are worth buying: Are BMWs generally durable enough to last another 10 yrs w/o major problems? Anyone driving the 318IA can share their experience with it? I haven't drove a conti b4 so not sure how much more I have to spend on maintenance as compared to Jap rides. Thks for your advice! 2 year old 320i selling at 86.5k on sgcarmart. tink can bargain lower. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo 4th Gear February 17, 2009 Author Share February 17, 2009 Thanks for all the advise! Looks like not really worth it. I was just thinking with the low PQP, this may be a good (if not the only) time that I can afford to buy a Beemer. Guess the issue is not the purchase but the maintenance. I saw 92/93 reg ones still running around so I thought they would be lasting and low maintenance. Got friends who are driving >15 yrs Merz E200 and maintenance seems cheap - only normal servicing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roh96 6th Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 BMW parts not cheap, my bro-in-law's 4 yrs old 318 repair bill came up to $8k from PML. Even outside workshop owned by ex-PML mechanics also quote him $6k+ for fixing his oil leak issue. I think Merc part are cheaper which is why you see more ppl renewing COE for Merc than BMW. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttle2 Supersonic February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 Forget it unless price is $35k Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arowana1 1st Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 BMW parts not cheap, my bro-in-law's 4 yrs old 318 repair bill came up to $8k from PML. Even outside workshop owned by ex-PML mechanics also quote him $6k+ for fixing his oil leak issue. I think Merc part are cheaper which is why you see more ppl renewing COE for Merc than BMW. sometimes i tink outside workshop mark up to slightly below pml so they still get customers and make huge profit. change 4.5l castrol engine oil at pml cost 240. change at a bmw specialty workshop cost 190. change at chapalang workshop <120. but tats oil, where can do anywhere. for others, have to be pml or bmw specialty workshop. as long as pml charges high, the outside cost will be high too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alechi 2nd Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 very simply put ... if all the extra costs of maintenance and repair seems expensive .. then probably the current income is not suitable for a beemer. when such costs are just spare cash to you, then go buy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roh96 6th Gear February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 Not true lah, some ppl just don't want to spend that kind of $$ to repair their old car. Not bcos they could not afford. Like my bro-in-law case, in the end he chose to trade his problematic 318 for a brand new 520. I got another friend also traded his Saab 9-5 for a new E200 bcos his saab gearbox and some other stuff start to give him problem and cost him $10k on repair bill. I think generally if repair bill come up to >$5k, ppl will start to hesitate abit whether worth repairing the old car. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo 4th Gear February 17, 2009 Author Share February 17, 2009 Yeah...I agree that if the maintenance cost is too high, then might not be worth it. I am on tight budget hence looking at COE car in the first place. Was just trying to see if this is a good chance to get a good deal for a good car I was looking at JDM Accord prior to spotting these Beemers. avg 55K for 2.5 yrs old which I thought was quite good bargain too. It is like only during these tough times do cars out of my reach suddenly become more reachable. But as I am probably going to drive my next car till COE-exp-do-us-part, just want to get the best possible deal out of it. Think a Jap car is still more suitable for my budget then.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Throttle2 Supersonic February 17, 2009 Share February 17, 2009 i tell you what is really worth buying. A hi option 525i with very fair mileage for $90k Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Neutral Newbie February 18, 2009 Share February 18, 2009 Hi all, Was looking at a few Y2K registered BMW 318IA which is renewing their COE and selling at under $50k in sgcarmart. Hope to get any advice on whether they are worth buying: Too high... I almost bought a 6-7 year old 325 about 64k last year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qr25vet Clutched February 18, 2009 Share February 18, 2009 the y2k 318IA is running the SOHC 2 valve per cylinder M43TU engine...not worth driving it...engines rough and gasket tend to blow FOR SURE esp after 100,000Kms... If i were you...I'd get the 320I at least...much more reliable engine. Buying a beemer is like this...if u cant pour in $$ to maintain it..then dont..sorry to be blunt....esp when u're buying a COE car like an old beemer...most ppl buy it to appreciate it...not to really use it as a cheap conti car alternative cos maintainence costs will be thru the roof i assure you...and did i mention that the cooling system for beemers are notoriously known for overheating and leakages? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo 4th Gear February 19, 2009 Author Share February 19, 2009 the y2k 318IA is running the SOHC 2 valve per cylinder M43TU engine...not worth driving it...engines rough and gasket tend to blow FOR SURE esp after 100,000Kms... If i were you...I'd get the 320I at least...much more reliable engine. Buying a beemer is like this...if u cant pour in $$ to maintain it..then dont..sorry to be blunt....esp when u're buying a COE car like an old beemer...most ppl buy it to appreciate it...not to really use it as a cheap conti car alternative cos maintainence costs will be thru the roof i assure you...and did i mention that the cooling system for beemers are notoriously known for overheating and leakages? That's good revelation. Didn't know they had so much problems. Still on the topic - so what Conti car has less problems and/or cheaper to maintain as I will be using it as a daily car? In earlier posts and my friends' experience, they recommended Merz E200 with the W124 engine series. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidklt Supercharged February 19, 2009 Share February 19, 2009 dont...the electrical and electronics replacement after the warranty period is very costly.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyramid_sg Clutched February 19, 2009 Share February 19, 2009 i tell you what is really worth buying. A hi option 525i with very fair mileage for $90k There you go again..... Lelong lelong. ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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