Need advice from BMW experts

Mohamed Safran · February 2, 2021

Hi All,

I am planning to buy a BMW within a budget of 3-4 Million.

This is my dream and first vehicle, looking at my budget.

I appreciate your advices on suitable vehicles for my budget and maintenance costs extra....

Thank you so much

AVANTE · February 2, 2021

7 hours ago, Mohamed Safran said:

Hi All,

I am planning to buy a BMW within a budget of 3-4 Million.

This is my dream and first vehicle, looking at my budget.

I appreciate your advices on suitable vehicles for my budget and maintenance costs extra....

Thank you so much

Welcome to the forums.

You have to have a rough idea of what owning a BMW is like. It won't be like the movies, you have to learn about the model you're going for and the specific trim levels, common issues, model years, average market value, average parts prices and so on before indulging in the purchase.

Not every mechanic can touch these cars, best be somewhere near Colombo. The agents will rip you off so taking it to Milroy or Ultimate Motor Works is the way to go.

What kind of model do you have in mind?

For a budget of 3-4mil the most recent Beemer you can find, in today's Corona influenced market, are limited to the E46 3-series and E39 5-series (late 90s - early 2000s)

Both are totally different cars, one is a compact executive saloon while the other is a large luxury saloon.

Take your time and do your research before buying. Search the forum for past discussions about them.

This is a 20 year old car, that too European. You will come across various niggles that will need attention. Luckily, there is way too much information on the internet about every quirk and every solution as these cars were sold in every continent and almost every country in the world.

If you want to learn more about BMWs, join the FB lanka owners clubs, read through bimmerforum, bimmerfest, bimmerpost, bimmershops, E46fanatics, eeuroparts, BMWcca forum, reddit r/BMW, M5 board and some other sites too.

Note: If you feel you don't have a broad knowledge about DIY, mechanical knowledge or don't want to spend relatively too much for maintenance, better to buy something less complex and get some first hand experience as this will be your first car. It's not impossible to own a BMW, just not as easy as owning a jap car. But It's a rewarding experience and worth it.

Mohamed Safran · February 2, 2021

Thank you so much for your time and advice.. much appreciated

I am looking for 320d or 318i but I don’t have much knowledge about this cars as this is my 1st vehicle. I did lot of researchers and got confused a bit since I was looking at good reviews as well as bad reviews...

Is this a best idea to buy a 15 year old BMW or can I consider any Jap vehicles?

my dream is to buy a BMW but spending all my savings in car is making me to think too much..

AVANTE · February 3, 2021

10 hours ago, Mohamed Safran said:

Thank you so much for your time and advice.. much appreciated

I am looking for 320d or 318i but I don’t have much knowledge about this cars as this is my 1st vehicle. I did lot of researchers and got confused a bit since I was looking at good reviews as well as bad reviews...

Is this a best idea to buy a 15 year old BMW or can I consider any Jap vehicles?

my dream is to buy a BMW but spending all my savings in car is making me to think too much..

Here's the truth about those cars.

320 is a 2L turbo-diesel, while 318i in a 1.8L petrol (non-turbo). Both 4 cylinder models.

There are 2 versions of the E46. The pre face-lift (1998-2001) and face lift (2001 - 2004).

Pre-face lift petrol cars had the M-series engines (don't confuse with M3 or Msport). M43 for 318i, while Later cars had the N series engines (N42 and N46 for 318i/320i).

All 320d diesels had the M47 engine, which came in later E90 models also.

They all have their own common issues and are not the cheapest cars to fix. It depends on you whether you want to put down your savings on a car but my personal advice?

My general rule is, to only spend about 20% of your net worth on a car. If you spend on cars your pocket can't cash, you'll be in trouble and you won't enjoy the experience. You can only care about your dream car, or money. Not both, as one has to go for the other to be saved.

I'd say, you could start life with an E36! These days they are a bit overpriced thanks to Corona but if you are lucky and negotiate properly.. You can find an M43 engined car (face-lift after 1994)for under 2.3 mil.

It's easier to fix, parts are plenty and cheaper, less tech to go wrong.. Enough gadgets to compete with modern jap cars, and very nice engine and decent looks. Beautiful handling also.

Your best compromise between performance and economy is to go for a 318i. They are the most common too.

Lots of info available on the internet. Avoid the 316i (1600cc) and it is slower than a toyota aqua and boring and early. M40 engined cars (1991-1993) are tough and well reputated but nowadays due to their unrefined nature and parts shortage, they are not as sought after as M43 motors.

If possible, try to find a brand new agent Imported one as they came with original climate control standard from factory.

Check for rust as some of them have rust issues and most of them are fixed at this point. Under sills and wheel arches mostly, but also check under rear subframe for the sake of it (mostly 6 cylinder models and M3s only had this issues) Check for suspension noises, check chassis for accident damage, check interior roof liner and door cards for sagging.

On M43 cars, check for issues with cooling system (radiator, housing, Coolant reservoir, hoses, thermostat, and see if water pump was changed recently, if not it has to be changed before 100k kms with an aftermarkrt metal impeller water pump as the factory plastic could break and pieces could scatter off everywhere, a dumb flaw by BMW engineers on the M series engines).

Check for oil leaks around filter, tappet, head, oil pan, gearbox plug, flywheel housing (engine and gearbox meeting point).

These cars came with a timing chain, not a timing belt, so they should last a long time, but check to see if there's any rattling sound coming from that area just incase.

See if any weird or unwanted sound is coming from the rear when driving or accelerating (differential bearing sound).

Ask for service records.. Always! Even if you have to spend 100k more than another car just for genuine service records, it's fine!

Take it to a reputable place like car checks to do a through checkup. Book an appointment with them before doing so.

But if all this seems too much for you, just buy a normal Japanese car, do some basic repairs, pump petrol and drive for a while and get some experience and save some cash for a BMW later on in life.

Edited February 3, 2021 by AVANTE