I know this is a VW forum but BMW buying help required

DUB64 Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Sep 2007 · 15 Aug 2009, 10:14 pm

#729584

No not selling my bug.

Looking at a second car for me as the wife has the VZ wagon.

Serioulsy looking at a BMW 318is for 7K.

Anyone have any experience with these or knowledge.

Went looking for a BMW forum in Aus but their scene is very limited compared to us

Thanks in advance

h fractals - an ever changing lifestyle

7,671 posts · joined Feb 2005 · 15 Aug 2009, 10:53 pm

#729594

oh n I thought this was about the 2 wheeled variety..
good luck cheers

fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse

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DUB64 Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Sep 2007 · 16 Aug 2009, 10:01 am

#729627

More I read on the net the more I am worried.

This concerns me a little/lot

"Please note this car is listed on REVS as a repairable vehicle."

Does that mean it has been a write off? Not sure of NSW rules being here in SA

LIFE IN THE LOW LANE All people have the right to stupidity but some abuse the pr

2,534 posts · joined Mar 2007 · 16 Aug 2009, 7:44 pm

#729724

that means it has been in a faiirly major accident and has been repaired.

ACCEPT THAT SOME DAYS YOU ARE THE PIDGEON AND SOME DAYS YOU ARE THE STATUE

Alder Outlaws VW Racing - check it out on fb!!

grumble Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,672 posts · joined Jun 2008 · 16 Aug 2009, 7:53 pm

#729727

LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:that means it has been in a faiirly major accident and has been repaired.

But by who and what quality of repairs,I would be very wary as a lot of these vehicles are repaired by people with no trade experience or qualifications to a low repair cost with a big profit margin. Let the buyer beware,I would walk away and look for a clean low km vehicle! Good luck Les

Jay-Jay Casual Dubber

44 posts · joined Jun 2006 · 16 Aug 2009, 10:19 pm

#729783

hi
I had a 1985 318i four door, had odometre stop working at 440,000kms and drove from Perth to Karratha several times after that (3000km round trips) and was a great car. traded in on my Jeep cherokee and got $2500.My sister has a 1995 318i signeture series, she bought for 12k 4 years ago and has not had to spend a cracker on it yet other than normal services tyres etc ,hers has leather,alloys all the mod conds and again a great car, would stay away from any repairable write off unless you know the full history of the vehicle or done repairs yourself. Look also at the 320,323 or 325 Same size cars but have 6 cyl motors and a lot more fun to drive.😎

Nikos Slammed & Awesome Dubber

95 posts · joined Apr 2008 · 17 Aug 2009, 6:36 am

#729814

I had a manual two door 96, 318is and clocked 220,000km before upgrading to an audi A4.

Nothing but praise from this end too. Lovely driving car, with all the mod cons. Obviously only being a 1.9L 4cyl it lacked some get up and go when putting the foot down. Especially if you wanted to overtake going up hill.

Only had two issues in 7 years, the air con shit itself, and the fuel gauge sensor stopped working just before I sold it.

Great car I thought.

Nikos.

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 17 Aug 2009, 7:41 am

#729816

There are plenty of nice Mk3 VW Golfs for that sort of money - the '94-'98 Mk3 Golf GL has a 2.0-litre 85 kW engine, the same one used in the previous Euro GTI. Golfs make ideal second cars for the classic VW enthusiast (I drive one to work every day, as well as keeping the Kombi) and you can stay in the VW family. The four-speed auto is brilliant for the morning and afternoon peak hour (or you might prefer the five-speed), and Golfs are quiet, comfortable, reliable and remarkably roomy. You could also get a Karmann-built Mk3 Cabrio for around that money.

Once you get to around 9K you start to get into Mk4 Golf territory, but there's nothing wrong with the Mk3 - I'd take one over a 318 BMW any day (so did 5.5 million Europeans).

Have a look at http://www.carsguide.com.au/ and select Volkswagen and Golf, and your price range, and away you go.

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LIFE IN THE LOW LANE All people have the right to stupidity but some abuse the pr

2,534 posts · joined Mar 2007 · 17 Aug 2009, 8:01 am

#729819

Prices on parts on the Golf should anything happen are a lot cheaper than the Bimmer too!!

ACCEPT THAT SOME DAYS YOU ARE THE PIDGEON AND SOME DAYS YOU ARE THE STATUE

Alder Outlaws VW Racing - check it out on fb!!

DUB64 Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Sep 2007 · 17 Aug 2009, 8:40 am

#729827

Good advice everyone, I have decided to do some further searching as the BMW just has too many red flags for me.

For anyone that is interested here is the car

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270439477449

As for Golf I have always been a bit partial and yes VW daily would be nice.

Found one that looks to good to be true. What do you think?

http://www.carsguide.com.au/site/search/vehicle-details/D_12617892/vehicle-search/@&N=4294962119++517+4294963976&Nf=pYear%7CBTWN%201993%201999&origin=advanced&searchType=1&vehicleType=1

Phil74Camper Head in the Clouds

2,703 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 17 Aug 2009, 10:21 am

#729850

Nice little Golf! Very low kms. I looked at five or six Golfs before i bought my '95 and many of them were well over 200,000.

The only thing to note is that the CL is only a 1.8, not a 2.0 like the GL, so it won't go quite as fast. I think the 1.8 was around 68 kW from memory. I don't think the CL had power windows like the GL, although that might not bother you. Otherwise it seems to have everything the GL does - air con, cassette player (the VW one has an input socket you can use for CD player/iPod etc) airbags and central locking.

Also that particular one is a three-door - maybe no big deal, but it would be your decision if that is OK or whether you would find a five-door more useful. The dash looks great, but it would need floor mats to protect the carpet.

One limitation of the Aussie Mk3s is that there is no glove box - TKM chose to order them with passenger airbags instead. There is a small shelf underneath though, a storage bin in front of the gearstick, and big door pockets instead.

BTW, the central locking is key-operated - you put the key in the lock, turn and hold and the doors/windows lock and unlock. It's not remote locking - you have to go Mk4 for that. It works well but people abuse it and it can break. Take it easy - insert, turn, pause - it works fine. The air con heating is fantastic but the cooling is a little weak (Germany is not as hot as Australia) but it's fine for Sydney summers. If you take it for a drive, make sure everything works - all the door locks, windows, switches/lights, etc.

Being a VW, we can easily find good servicing/parts for it too. I have my Golf serviced at C&S Auto at Padstow; Ron Croft is the most experienced watercooled VW guy I know.

rose doin it for d girls

2,036 posts · joined Dec 2004 · 17 Aug 2009, 6:08 pm

#729905

I've had pleanty of bmw's new and old no problems with any if you get the right one. Servicing is cheap & a very safe car for the family.
Stay away from a repairable write off.

donn Wolfsburg Elder

3,515 posts · joined Nov 2005 · 17 Aug 2009, 7:32 pm

#729939

repairable write off is a bit of a vague description, we have a Hi Lux at work that we bought and then found out it was a r/r, after a bit of investigation and calling in a few favours we found out that it had been stolen, paid out and listed as a writeoff, found (with hardly any damage) and then sold on. 300,000 later and still going like a train.

I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!

DUB64 Officially Full-On Dubber

266 posts · joined Sep 2007 · 18 Aug 2009, 7:44 am

#729995

Well BMW sold for just over 7K.

Who knows if someone got a great deal or not.