Hi! Newbie here needing advice !

BM Fan wrote: Personally I would recommend auto, especially in the city however it will cost more in petrol but much more relaxing which is the main point of these cars.  More attractive at resale also and will cause the price to be higher. One note on auto's thats worth mentioning - its hard to find an auto that has been abused as the ECU prevents over reving and shift changes if the car is not in the approriate rev range hence they can be more reliable than manuals, no popping clutch, grinding gears, replacing clutch etc. The tiptronic on the auto box in fine for a bit of manual indulgence when required

Good point Martin, but I'd question whether auto is the preferred choice after the second owner as BMW's are usually bought then as drivers cars.  The point about abuse is very valid, auto's tend to be specified by cruiser type drivers and therefore often lead a slightly easier life.  That was the case when I bought my e30 325i last year in the UK.  Many manuals were dropped, max powered and knackered.  The car descriptions I tended to be drawn to semed to be mostly auto's (the one I bought was completely standard and unabused, at 13 years old).

Just watch the odometer also - if there is a dot (decimal point) on the RHS be very wary.  I beleie that that means that the mileage on the car does not match the mileage stored in teh key.  Not sure when that came into effect  - maybe someone else can clarify.

Personally I would recommend auto, especially in the city however it will cost more in petrol but much more relaxing which is the main point of these cars.  More attractive at resale also and will cause the price to be higher.

One note on auto's thats worth mentioning - its hard to find an auto that has been abused as the ECU prevents over reving and shift changes if the car is not in the approriate rev range hence they can be more reliable than manuals, no popping clutch, grinding gears, replacing clutch etc. The tiptronic on the auto box in fine for a bit of manual indulgence when required

any lunchtime and tues/thurs eves
087 7992735

Rosso, sorry, catalytic converter, part of the exhaust system.

Rosso wrote: I am based in Dublin, City center.

Im beside the Jervis if you want to come and see mine and I can show you what to look for, etc.

Mileage is less important than condition and history.  I bought mine in early '03 with 44k and full BMW history.  I've added over 50k since then.  Mechanically they car shows no noticable signs of wear and tear (bar stone chips).  The car drives just about as well as the day I bought it.

If you look at higher mileage cars, then you need to check the more obvious, mileage related, stuff like clutch, shock absorbers, ball joint wear, etc.  One thing to watch for on a car with over 80k is the cat.  They seem to start making a bit of noise around about this stage.  Myself and one or two others on here have replaced them around about that mileage.  If the exhaust is noisy or rattling, think cat, not back box.  Watch also that all the pixels on the dash display work.  Disappearing pixels is a fairly common issue and expensive to put right.

If you do a search of the 5 series section you'll find a lot more specific information about what to look for (I've contributed to a few of those, if you search for my handle as a start), but I can heartily recommend an e39 5.  I've never kept a car as long as the 523i and I still can't think of a reason to change it (other than appreciating a little more power from time to time!).  There really isn't a better car for mile munching, in my opinion.

The key thing to check is the build date (on a plaque on the offside inner wing under the bonnet).  For the sort of money you are budgeting, you should be able pick up a post nikasil car and remove that worry. 

Generally, you get what you pay for too.  In my experience, if a car is cheap, there is usually a good reason.  Buy based on what you can see (i.e. with head, not heart).  Warranties are a bit hit and miss, depends too much on the mood of the dealer or small print, so put the time in to finding the genuine example out there rather than expecting the warranty to deal with anything you missed in the test drive.  If there is the faintest whiff of something not right, vote with your feet.  There are plenty of cars available here (or in the UK, all but one of my BMW's have come from there) so there'll be another along in a few minutes. 

I'd also suggest looking at a few before you go searching for "the one".  Mark them one against the other so that when you do go looking for real, you'll have an idea of what's right and not.

Edited by Dergside

728i is gone Dave...have to get another one now!!

Give Richie a PM - I know he had a fabulas '99 728 for sale for very right money, and one of the lads who came to the Antrim meet deals in BMW's.

I paid about 14 for a 97 model, full leather, manual, etc.
I bought it from a small garage in Stillorgan and got 3 months. It had however recently gotten an inspection II from a local dealer (who did all its servicing). During that 3 month warranty period, I made sure to get a compression test done on it so that I had some comeback on the seller.
If you buy privately then you have no comeback at all - caveat emptor. However, a private sale will work out less.

I would put in the effort and look around. There are many good examples with high and low mileage. There are more poor examples though.

Mileage shouldn't be much of an issue though if it has been well serviced. However, the general feeling I have seen here is that by about 8 years old the cat can begin to go which is costly.

I am the same as Fey my E39 520 gets me about 400 miles for €80 also. I just wish I had of waited and got a 523i instead, mine is way underpowered.

 

Just a tip which I did and it worked out well. I rang Jd's and asked them where they send the cars that they won't sell themselves i/e trade ins from 01 or older. They happened to have one that they would sell me as they thought it was perfect and were prepared to stand over it. It was a 1997 520i and this was in 2004.

They did the full BM check,  fixed anything that was wrong i.e new clutch and hand brake and gave me 12 month full BMW warranty.

 

It might be worth ringing a BM dealer, it work well for me.