Advice for newbie

And remember that quotes only last for 30 days.  However, some companies won't quote without a reg number; if they say this, leave it a while and ring back; sometimes if they're busy they use it as a fob off as they have calls stacking up and the operators want to get their call:sales percentage up.

Edited by Fey!

I would advise you not to strech your budget for the purchase, just get the best you can afford and still have some money left in case of trouble.

If you half a working brain, BMW are probably the easiest car to work on. Get a Bentley manual for €30 and save yourself hundres by doing basic (fluid changes, brakes) stuff yourself and only leave the big stuff to the dealer.

thanks for the offer llatsni. You dont mind me giving u a shout next week if you are around so i can take a closer look at the 316?

I wont be buying until august but just wondering if anybody on here would be willing to come with me to see a car for sale to give a second opinion?

With my old minis i did most of the work, so im not really worried about the labour, its the parts that worried me!

I'll happily go look at motors with you but I'm not the most mech minded but I can spot a banger.

bmw club members get a discount from gsf (german swedish french) car parts, and OTTO (german car parts) in ranelagh have always gone out of their way to help me out. Then there's always the main $tealers for hard to get parts - most of them are total knob-ends tho.

Parts are well documented, suprisingly available and relatively cheap (i had a peugeot 306 that ate money on very hard to get parts)

I'll come look at any car youre interested in. I make my own hours so available most of the time.
pm me for my number if you'd like to see the 316.

edit:
if you intend buying in august, do start looking now. i only gave myself 2 months to find one i liked and it was way too short, still felt rushed due to the amount of crap out there.


Edited by llatsni

Howdy Paul, & welcome to the club.

While they are well built in terms of solidity, lack of rattles after big miles etc.., whoever says BMWs are reliable is lying. But its the same stuff that goes wrong with most of them, so once you know what you're looking for, you're away on a hack.

Things like the cooling system going AWOL is common. This is due to either the fan clutch going (around €60 to replace), or the plastic impellers in their water pumps failing and blocking a vital waterway (BMW replacement water pumps have steel impellers, yet to the best of my knowledge they still fit plastic ones to new cars). Usually either of these, if not spotted & corrected, causes the car to overheat, resulting in a failed head gasket which is another common problem. Look out for the telltale smoke from the exhaust (white for water mixing, grey for oil), and have a look in the radiator expansion tank to see if it's milky (oil & water mixing somewhere)

Suspension makes or breaks the drive of a BMW. Bushes wear out quite commonly and the whole drive is lousy as a consequence. While most bushes for the 3 are reasonable, even from BMW direct, there are a few of them in there. Ones like the subframe mounts can be a pain & require you to make up a tool to extract them. So ensure it drives free from slop. Soft is fine, but slop is bad. As was mentioned, drive as many as you can to get an idea of what's good & bad.

1.6 & 1.8s can get a bit tappety - this will require a new cam, followers, and guides. So make sure anything you look at doesn't sound like it has had percussion fitted as an optional extra. Diligent oil changes by its previous owners do alot to prevent this.

Happy hunting!

Welcome to the Club Paul......

Happy hunting!

 

Welcome to the gang PaulB its also a know secret that if you change the head of a 316 with the head of a 318 you get to increase your engine size etc I can find out more but the 316 & 318 are the same engine except for the head and you cannot tell the difference.

I stand corrected but I was told this a while back by a BMW mechanic. BMW are also aware of this but don't go about announcing it

Topazman   

Edited by topazman

I can make enquiries tomorrow if possible and will get back to you llatsni (install)

Topazman

thanks guys, anybody there voluteer to come look at cars with me in the future if needed?

I was thinking very much about shopping in the UK and bringing it over as i did with a mini before. Works out inexpensive for the car. But i would rather by in ireland if it was nct'd.