Advice for newbie

Welcome to the forum paul,

Enjoy looking for your 1st BMW

The only advice i would give you is always buy the best car you can afford ie e36 over an e30 as the e30 will be older and more likely too need work doing,as finding a good example is getting hard,not that i dont recommend one as i had a e30 316 as my 1st bmw and it was a fantastic car just the e36 is plentiful and you should be able to find a nice one within your budget.

Keep us all informed with the outcome. 

[QUOTE=PaulB]But i would rather by in ireland if it was nct'd./QUOTE]

If its not NCT'd, walk away!  Ideally anything you buy should have at least a year of NCT left.  If its got less than that you should be looking for detailed information about the servicing work since the last NCT, by whom, what, how much, etc. and you should see the invoices.

If its a UK car, an MOT isn't quite as stringent in some respects as an NCT, but it its pretty close.  A recent or new MOT should protect you from most nasty surprises at the NCT. 

A UK seller will often agree to get a new MOT on a car as part of a deal.  Its not like an NCT where they won't do it unless its within 3 months of expiring.

Out of 10 cars in the last dozen years or so, only 1 of mine has been an original Irish car (as it happens, my first BMW), most I have sourced myself from the UK.  Its easier to trace the history of a UK car with HPI checks, more complete and fastidious service histories, generally less wear and tear, all other things being equal, etc.

Not sure Martin.  Personally I've tended to steer clear of buying in the north.  No real reason, just don't feel as comfortable about it, too many middlemen for there to be value and things like service histories have a tendency to get lost as cars come through the north from the UK. 

Before anyone takes offence, I realize that this is huge and vague generalization and there are loads of people that have bought successfully and well there.  For me, its as easy to get to the UK as the north.

I'm open to correction on the question of HPI and NI, but suggest the following.  HPI have access to the DVLA database at Swansea, but registration administration for NI is handled by DVLNI and they may not have access to that database.

btw, HPI will pick up on personalized reg changes on cars.  My 325i carried a personalized plate for a number of years and its recorded on the report.  Up to about 10 years ago this wasn't the case and personalized plates were a commonly used way of making a car "disappear" as far as HPI records were concerned.

Fey! wrote: Does he need commercial?  If not, give me a shout; I know where there's a good freelander.

.........a good Freelander, did'nt know you could use those words in the same sentence

Robbie Bradford wrote: .........a good Freelander, did'nt know you could use those words in the same sentence

Biggest problem with them is that you have to check coolant levels every 2 weeks and keep topping it up with water.  Otherwise, not too bad; a bit noisy after driving a Beemer though (not that I'd know at the moment!!!)

When I got my 1989 E30 320i I was told that it was going to be more to insure than a 1993 318is despite the fact that the E36 has more bhp and was worth slightly more!

insurance varies and its not the price you pay but how they deal with you when you try to claim, cheapest is not always best as I have found out to my detriment in the past.  Find a good insurer and stick with them, if they are good they will at least match better quotes when it comes to renewals!

I got prices on a 318 coupe last year and it was only 40€ more than my 1.4 polo but the 323 was 600€ more (they also quoted me one price on the friday and dropped it by over 600€ when I rang up to pay on the monday).  All depends what you are willing to pay I guess