Advice please

[tintin]

Advice please - buying a BMW E36

Hi there.

I am planning to buy a 1997 E36 328i(A). However, the mileage is about 17X,XXXkm. Is that a considered a high mileage car for that year?

A few things have been repaired or replaced with proof of receipts from the owner. e.g. radiator and cooling system serviced, new shocks, new rear wheel bearings, new belts and hoses, etc.

The interior and exterior looks pretty good for a 8 year old car. from what I can see, it looks pretty acceptable for me. I'm just concerned about future maintainance like major services, tranny, etc. At this age I'm just afraid things will be falling apart soon. Maybe that's why the owner is pushing it off before it gets to that stage!!

Any thing in particular I should be checking or be asking the owner?

Any advice before buying the car is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[xtracooljustin]

Hi there.

I am planning to buy a 1997 E36 328i(A). However, the mileage is about 17X,XXXkm. Is that a considered a high mileage car for that year?

A few things have been repaired or replaced with proof of receipts from the owner. e.g. radiator and cooling system serviced, new shocks, new rear wheel bearings, new belts and hoses, etc.

The interior and exterior looks pretty good for a 8 year old car. from what I can see, it looks pretty acceptable for me. I'm just concerned about future maintainance like major services, tranny, etc. At this age I'm just afraid things will be falling apart soon. Maybe that's why the owner is pushing it off before it gets to that stage!!

Any thing in particular I should be checking or be asking the owner?

Any advice before buying the car is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

IMHO, 170K kms is a lot for a 8 year old car. Any indicative price of that car?

i would suggest u head to BMW club forum at www.bmwclubmalaysia.com and post ur enquiry there. Lots of E36 owners there would b able to help u better there.

 

[tintin]

IMHO, 170K kms is a lot for a 8 year old car. Any indicative price of that car?

i would suggest u head to BMW club forum at www.bmwclubmalaysia.com and post ur enquiry there. Lots of E36 owners there would b able to help u better there.

Actually that car belongs to a member of BMW club called khalidm3. I didn't want to post the question there because I'm afraid I may get biased opinions since many are friends of his.

You know him and his car? Any comments is much appreciated.

 

[Kookaburra]

170,000km for 8 year old car is not high mileage, just over 20,000km a year which is normal. For a well cared engine, there would still be a long way to go before overhaul is needed.

Rather than seeking advice from forummers, my best suggestion is to send the car to a BMW specialist for a checkup. The thing to look for out is the auto tranny. The 4-speed GM is not the best in the world.

 

[tintin]

170,000km for 8 year old car is not high mileage, just over 20,000km a year which is normal. For a well cared engine, there would still be a long way to go before overhaul is needed.

Rather than seeking advice from forummers, my best suggestion is to send the car to a BMW specialist for a checkup. The thing to look for out is the auto tranny. The 4-speed GM is not the best in the world.

Actually that's what I'll be doing. I'm gonna take it this weekend for a checkup. Hopefully it'll turn out ok. Anything else I should be looking out for?

Thanks for your advice bro!

 

[H2Zero]

well car engines can be easily changed, to me the chasis is of more importance. Check that its a legitimate car...

You are buying a 2.8l BMW engine.... all that power difficult to resist not to drive fast. If yu are buying a fast car be prepared to cough up for its up keep.

Things you might want to consider asking the previous own are like why is he selling, what is he getting in replacement... you may not get much out but hey thats my 2 cents...

 

[tintin]

well car engines can be easily changed, to me the chasis is of more importance. Check that its a legitimate car...

You are buying a 2.8l BMW engine.... all that power difficult to resist not to drive fast. If yu are buying a fast car be prepared to cough up for its up keep.

Things you might want to consider asking the previous own are like why is he selling, what is he getting in replacement... you may not get much out but hey thats my 2 cents...

I believe it's a legit car. So no worries on that.

The power on the 328 is something I can resist driving fast... although I may occasionally put the pedal to the metal. I'm currently driving a car that can eat the 328 anytime (probably not on top speed la, but may give the 328 a run for its money!) so I think I can control myself from flooring too much! Maintenance wise - I guess it's something I gotta live with for owning a bimmer.

He's selling it because he's upgrading to another bimmer.

But anyway, thanks for your comments and advise. Much appreciated.