Right, im in the mind of looking for one of these with a budget of around £2500 -£3k.
Can anybody tell me if they're a good buy as i'd like to swap it for my Ford Ka (yes i know it's a bit different!!)
Yes i am aware it'll be older then my Y-reg Ka, but how reliable are they at this price as i will consider an inspection prior to purchase anyway?
Or am i insane to even think about it?
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
Aprilia is the guy to ask, he gave me some sound advice when I was buying my BMW recently, I'm sure he'll be along soon....
For waht it's worth, I bought an E46 323i coupe and I LOVE it, so nice to drive and the 6 cylinder engine in mine is silky. The only downsides are that it attracts the wrong sort of attention from Police and from jealous people who like to vandalise it, but, and I don't mean this to sound bad, this will be less of a problem:-
a) with an older compact
b) if you're older than I am (I'm 22) as the Police will take less of an interest in you driving a car like that away from the nightclub at 2am....
Blue
|
Their is an oxymoron here 316 & Sport, seems the standard illusion most Bimmer owners suffer from!
|
To be honest I'm not a great fan of the Compact - they are 'OK' but there are other cars that offer better value and a better drive. The Compacts are not greatly loved on the used market and many private buyers over-value them just because they are a BMW - especially 'fisrt time' BMW buyers who are keen to get the badge.
I would suggest going for a slightly older 3-series saloon.
|
|
|
|
|
I bought the same model a few years ago from a car supermarket and by all accounts thoroughly enjoyed owning it and driving it. However, looking back I was probably rather seduced into the brand and I would agree with a previous reply that if you're adamant about getting a BMW you might be advised to consider a 320 or 318 salloon instead for the extra space and looks. Mine was also an Auto and really had no punch although the box and engine were v smooth and lovely to drive round town - once on a fast road though I'd get pretty frustrated with lack of oomph. Oh yes, and I had to get the head gasket changed after a month (which the retailer made a generous contribution towards) - I think this is a pretty rare failure though, even for 1.6 engine. apart from that I covered about 30k miles in two years and had no other mechanical failure.
|
To be honest i don't need the extra space really which is why im looking at the compact rather than the saloon, i take it the 'sports m' version has sports suspension right which is quite firm?
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
I had a 318Ti (T reg) many many years ago. I'd read all the negative reviews saying it wasn't a proper BMW and cost-saving corners had been cut, but I liked it, it felt much more "special" than other hatchbacks I was comparing it with. I imagine performance of the 316 would be pretty glacial though.>> To be honest i don't need the extra space really which
|
Both my parents had one not so long ago, dads a 318ti which was quite rapid, mums a 316 which was dog slow- not much different from my pug 106 1.1 i had at the time. Both had to have work on the seat wiring because the airbag came on twice on my dads and twice aswell on mums. By the time it was at 60000 miles hers also had got through an aircon compressor pulley and the last time we had it serviced they noted that the diff was whining. and these were 2000/1 models, the last of the E36s so you would have thought they'd have sorted the niggles by then.
On the plus side, although not fast they both drove very solidly and felt like a quality item from behind the drivers wheel. But just make sure you can get comfy as the pedals are badly offset to the right, and the steering wheel doesn't adjust at all.
Hope this helps.
Ben
|
|
|
|
