BMW 325XI pre-buying inspection

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donnyj08

donnyj08

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Im going with my father tomorrow to look at a 2003 BMW 325XI that he is considering for my brother as a college car.

The car is the Sedan. it is a 5-speed manual. 99k miles. has the premium package and all the goodies, it's all wheel drive. It has a new clutch, new brakes, and new tires on it. It is a 2 owner car. The first owner was supposedly a BMW technician.

Are there any specific areas of this car that i should pay close attention to other than the obvious things to check over on a used car?

I'm not real familiar with the 3-series or BMW's in general. It seems the inline six and 5-speed is generally a pretty tough combo.

A little advice from some of you BMW guys would be greatly appreciated. Also what would you guys pay for a car with similar miles and in good condition? Below is the car in question.

I've spoken with the owner and he has been great at asking questions and sending additional pictures.


http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/5179000228.html
 
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Yeah he's possibly gonna need a lot of money to keep it going. I'm trying to sell a 2004 325i for a family member. Looks like a clean car with 84k miles but has had air bag lights going off, oil pressure lights, engine stumbling issues.

What a nightmare.

Same reason I'm getting rid of my VW and bought a Toyota. Tired of having a car that lives the life of drama.

Terrible college car.
 
Is your dad also going to be helping out with the repair costs? My sister has an '03 330i, and while she loves it, and it has generally been very reliable, service has been, for what it has needed, expensive.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Is your dad also going to be helping out with the repair costs? My sister has an '03 330i, and while she loves it, and it has generally been very reliable, service has been, for what it has needed, expensive.



Im sure he would help him out, but im doubting he would pay for the entirety of the repairs. There is quite an age gap between me and my younger siblings, but my parents have always made us pay for our own cars. they gave each of us a thousand or two along the way to upgrade, etc.

My dad is purchasing a car and taking my brothers 97 f150 and selling it. The F150 has been broken down 5 out of the 8 months my brother has owned it. He is off to college without a vehicle at the moment, so my parents are giving him and advancement if you will. Basically accepting the truck and giving him a couple thousand toward another car.

The were looking at RSX's as he loves those, but they are all $5-7k for a 175-200k mile car. My mom likes the BMW's so that is the driving force there. Iv'e read a little on the 3-series online and most of it was mixed reviews. They either run 200+k with normal maintenance or they are completely unreliable. I was hoping to get some feedback from 3-series owners on this site.

The draw to the car is that is it relatively affordable and has good miles. The owner will sell it in the mid 6k range.
 
My son has taken our 2004 X3 2.5i college(@7 hours away) for the past two years with no significant issues. It has 178k miles on it. On the E46 the cooling system is a weak point. Turner and others sell a kit to replace all the failure prone parts. An easy one day DIY at most. Check the suspension for worn bushings and tie rod ends, Better yet, have a good tech who KNOWS BMWs inspect the car. Like my son's truck, it should do fine, assuming it checks out and is maintained properly.
 
Here's my thought on this, especially any premium European car, but it still applies to any used vehicle in general.
If I know the owner and I'm 100% sure that the car was properly maintained and not abused, I would buy that car, however if that information is UNknown and not certain I would NOT buy that car, especially a premium European car that costs plenty to service and even more when you end up having to repair the neglect that the POs caused. Good luck, but I would pass on that BMW.
 
BMW CCA member here and I'll tell you what I tell everyone that asks me this similar question...

Unless it is under factory warranty pass. BMW are grossly over engineered and when things break (and trust me, they will) it gets pretty expensive pretty quick.

Bottom line is I do not recommend owning a luxury sports car that is out of warranty, period. Of course if you are a good mechanic and are familiar with these cars (from your original post, your not) then that's a different story. I happily work on and maintain my wife's E46 2001 325 convertible and my E24 1988 M6,but if I didn't have the know how both cars would have put me in the poor house by now.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents, good luck whatever you chose to do...
 
Originally Posted By: BTW
BMW CCA member here and I'll tell you what I tell everyone that asks me this similar question...

Unless it is under factory warranty pass. BMW are grossly over engineered and when things break (and trust me, they will) it gets pretty expensive pretty quick.

Bottom line is I do not recommend owning a luxury sports car that is out of warranty, period. Of course if you are a good mechanic and are familiar with these cars (from your original post, your not) then that's a different story. I happily work on and maintain my wife's E46 2001 325 convertible and my E24 1988 M6,but if I didn't have the know how both cars would have put me in the poor house by now.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents, good luck whatever you chose to do...


+1
 
The E46 is actually a reasonably reliable car as long as you address the failure points. Overhaul the cooling system, put in new lower control arms and tie rod ends...and you should have a car that is fairly trouble-free.
 
I have never owned a BMW but there are some cars which are suitable for an average college kid and some which are NOT. This car is from the later category.

HOWEVER, do NOT listen to me because I do not have any personal experience with that model. Listen ONLY to people who do own them and then make your decision.
 
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