Looking to buy a new workhorse. Spotted this in the Autotrader.
Looks good but should I be worried about the starship mileage? About the same as my current Toyota which is about to die, admittedly of neglect. Can BMW diesels hold this sort of mileage? Think the price is a little high also.
'1996 N Reg BMW 3 Series 2.5TD 325 tds SE WSS Diesel, Silver Metallic, Saloon, 139,000 miles' £5,000.
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My mates old E300 diesel has done nearly 400,000 miles now and has been in his family since new. In that time it has only had a few repairs and as far as I know nothing too substantial so I would think a BMW should be well capable of plenty more miles.
I suppose it depends on how it has been treated though.
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On the other hand, you say your Toyota is about to die of neglect. If you've managed to kill a Toyota with neglect then the chances are, whatever you buy is going to cause you some problems.
As long as the car is in good nick generally and the price reflects it, I'd have no problem with buying a BMW at this age and mileage. Realistically, it's done 20k a year - why bother with a diesel BMW if you're going to do less than this. Below 100k there's a good chance it's been clocked and IMO starship mileage doesn't kick in until past 180k or more.
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Thommo
People will tell you that it'll be fine. However, just a cautionary tale: A couple of years ago I bought a 7-series with 99k miles and FBMWSH. I am reasonably knowledgable about cars and checked it over myself, then I paid a BMW specialist garage to inspect it as well. Everything came out OK, just a few minor faults and a piece of missing trim.
I bought the car and almost immediately various components began to fail - including most of the cooling system and many electrical components. For example, the complete climate control ECU packed up, the check control system ECU etc., the air-con compressor. Fortunately I had access to all technical data and also have my own workshop with inspection pit etc. so did all of repairs myself.
I can say without a doubt that this car was the most unreliable and expensive to run that I've ever owned (and I've owned a lot of cars, including ultra-reliable Japanese and Mercedes). The dealers were hopeless.
One day the car overheated very briefly (cooling fan failed in heavy traffic!) and the head gasket went. I gave up with it and sold it for a song.
I'm sure there are many good BMW's out there, but if you get a bad one it will break you both financially and spiritually so check it VERY carefully and, if possible, speak to the previous owner.
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I'm sure there are many good BMW's out there, but if you get a bad one it will break you both financially and spiritually so check it VERY carefully and, if possible, speak to the previous owner.
That para would probably apply to most other prestige marques such as Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, Lexus.....
Chad.R
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Looks good but should I be worried about the starship mileage? Can BMW diesels hold this sort of mileage? Think the price is a little high also.
I would say: Ignore the mileage. Based on my E39 525 (petrol) which has done over 100,000 miles, my impression is that the engine is rock solid. The car looks and feels as new, truly immaculate, not any squeaks, leaks or breaks - apart from one that is, the fraying of the soft rubber driver door seal (which is a known 5 series problem).
Go and take a look & test drive the car. If you like its condition overall, and can negotiate a price you feel is right for its condition, buy it.
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£5k should get you the same but with less than 100k on the clock.
Dealers usually knock off £100 per 10k miles over average, so you need to be paying something between £4000-4500.
The diesels usually last longer than the petrol equivalents, but as long as you have a full history (not necessarily BMW dealer as they can be a bit hit & miss), maybe some extended warranty, and get it HPI'd and inspected before you buy, you should be okay.
Ensure that the inspection company has some sort of guarantee to help pay towards the cost of repairs in case something does pop up that was not spotted during the inspection.
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I wouldn't call that starship mileage, Thommo, but the price is over the odds.
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Or buy a Vectra, with the same mileage, for less than half the price....!(said he mischievously. What I'm saying its a lottery.
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