Buying a Used BMW 335i and NOT getting a First Loan

JustASmoothSkin on 13/07/2019 - 03:07
Last edited 16/07/2019 - 16:32 by 1 other user

My current car (Honda Civic EK 2000) has served me diligently these past few years but it is our time to part ways, and what better time with tax time being here.

EDIT: Cleaned this up so people don't need to read all the posts to work out whats going on, Check revisions for the older version if you want.

Hi, So currently interested in buying a car. I have around $15000. My current goal is something that is similar to a BMW 335i. (I am NOT interested in buying this car because of the badge I just genuinely like the look and feel of this car.) I am mechanically minded and plan on doing performance mods at some point so reliability is not really important to me.

So make some recommendations for:
*Sedans or Coupes
*Comfortable for 6'5" guy
*Fast
*Interior need to look nice
*Easily modifiable
*Also not econoboxes or commodores

Some cars to give you an idea of what I am looking for:
* BMW 335i (E90 or E92)
* Ford G6E
* Toyota Crown
* Toyota Mark X
* Nissan Maxima

UPDATE:
Started the process to get a Nissan Fuga from Japan, Also Bought a Kawasaki Ninja and got a motorcycle license.

Automotive BMW

Comments

- - SydEng on 15/07/2019 - 09:08
    
    Haha yes I am, BMW is a cursed word on this website. Will pay it a visit next time I'm in Germany.
mousie on 14/07/2019 - 18:42

+1 Ford g6e.

Nice sleeper
Affordable luxury

About 13kish with low ks but can do lots of ks.

Plenty of spares in the pool.
upsidedownlemon on 14/07/2019 - 23:01

I am mechanically minded and plan on doing performance mods at some point so reliability is not really important to me.

Why not a Honda Civic EK 2000?
- JustASmoothSkin on 16/07/2019 - 19:06
  
  Why do people replace their phones and cars? Its gotten stale and I am due for a update. Driving it not fun, It's not very comfortable and since I used it for work the interior leaves ALOT to be desired. Maintenance costs more then the car is worth (Not that maintenance is expensive just the car is worth like $1400)
  
  And to top is all of its engine is a d16y4, Which generally means that is not entirely rewarding to mod. HP is pretty expensive compared to B series engines and the aftermarket doesn't even support it as much in Australia which means most of the cheap eBay crap I would buy to have fun with costs a lot because it has to be freighted from the US.
dcep on 15/07/2019 - 00:34

k24 EK
- JustASmoothSkin on 16/07/2019 - 19:09
  
  I have seen some mental K24 Ek's on youtube, It's ridiculous what that engine can put out.
seedyrom on 15/07/2019 - 09:27

+3

Last year we bought a BMW X3 new, and took out a loan, even though we could afford to pay cash.

BMW finance had a “we contribute $5,000 towards the purchase price of the car” offer.
Normally this is to run out stock of the previous years’ inventory, but we got a next gen version (G01) , still on the boat but about to land vehicle, and they still gave the $5,000.

We then put down a big deposit, and had such good credit, that over the three years, our total interest payments are $2,300.

The finance guy was scratching his head. “I don’t understand it. Its coming up as a negative interest rate”.
That’s right matey. You are paying us to take out a loan.

Not relevant for your situation, but if anyone is buying new, BMW finance have this deal every year in April. Obviously you need to be cashed up … but hey, this is ozbargain. We all have money but choose to spend it wisely.
RobotWizard on 15/07/2019 - 09:40

I personally like BMW but it's a huge money pit, N54 Engine itself is great but everything around it not so much.

Search for…
Injector issues
HPFP Issues
Wastegate rattle
You have to sandblast intake every 60K km's

These are just some from top of my head, my friend made a mistake of buying one and has been draining money on that car, car spends more time in broken down sitting in garage then it gets driven.

If you wanna go Beema N/A 3.0 engines aren't bad at all or even 2.5i's but they will lack power as compare to turbo.

I drive a FG MK2 XR6 Turbo and would highly recommend if you're looking for power and not looking to spend much, It has it's own issues too.

Diff Bushings
Suspension overall is not that great
Turbo dies if oil feed line not changed before 100,000Km's

I personally haven't had any of these issues in past 3 years of owning mine and have only changed oil and brakes so far, also note that I drive mine daily and is mostly stock apart from wheels/brakes and suspension
Sierra22 on 15/07/2019 - 10:10

Yeah buy it those are nice. My experience with bmw is e36 328i 380000klm still strong. Has has its smaller probs but nothing uncommon in a jap car. If you prepared to do work yourself and not bend over to the mechanic youll be right.
- greatlamp on 15/07/2019 - 20:00
  
  You can't take the experience of an E36 and apply it to the newer models.
  
  They are incredibly easy to work on, and 'designed' to be user repairable. They are also very reliable.
lung on 15/07/2019 - 11:36

Hey OP - check out the VW r36 (passat). 0-100km 5.8 or 5.9sec, nice interior, spacious cabin and boot. Not as many mod options as the golf but a DSG tune (rather than ECU) and some sway bars would be perfect for it i think. The ride is firm but not over the top so it'll be more than ok as a daily. Should be around the 15k mark. I love the alcantara bucket seats. Super comfy and you get "leather" but with the almost the same practicality of cloth seats.

The radio can easily be pulled out and upgraded with an aftermarket 8inch touch screen and still functions with the reverse camera/sensors and steering controls. So you can easily add apple/android carplay.
ilikeverycheapstuff on 15/07/2019 - 12:23

jesus OP…i feel for you. You wanted advice and your post became a debate Euro vs Jap and stereotypes buying the BMW 335i.

From your list of cars, I get the feeling the typical "pleb" fast car isn't going to do….how about a Subaru Liberty 2.5 turbo? Not the most reliable but still in the "japanese reliability" zone and the mods are endless….and FAST.
nicholasfrawley on 15/07/2019 - 12:49

Hey buddy, as a huge german car enthusiast, and owner of a 2010 Audi A4 3.0TDI, i have just found the perfect car for you.

Raw 3.2 NA power, no turbo lag, 195kW. S-Line

This is the best example but heaps more in your budget.

Newer model than the N54 and beautifully styled.

This example has under 50000kms for under $16k, its only missing quattro, but there are similar cars that do have quattro

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Audi-A5-2008/SSE-AD…
- maybeamacy on 15/07/2019 - 13:27
  
  I've got an A5 3.0 TDI - any preventive work you suggest be done with this engine? I know swirl flaps were an issue with earlier models but anything else to look out for? Cheers :)
  - nicholasfrawley on 15/07/2019 - 14:27
    
    Omg I remember you messaging me awhile back for advice about purchasing that car haha. How is it? As far as I know of, the 3.0TDI is one of the better engines as far as reliability. I’m not super mechanically inclined myself, but from what I’ve heard, if you make sure you are staying on top of maintenance, you’ll be fine :)
    - maybeamacy on 15/07/2019 - 18:20
      
      Ohh, that's right. Haha. Yeah, I'm on 75,000km. Servicing isn't bad as I thought it'd be - I supply my own oil to Audi and it wipes off a significant charge from the service fee and you still get that dealership stamp.
      
      I love the torque haha.
  - nicholasfrawley on 15/07/2019 - 14:29
    
    Just went back and had a look, turns out you messaged me just after you’d bought and and before the first service. Dads was so good that I ended up getting the A4 for myself late last year, it’s been a fantastic car. Just passed 80000kms. How is yours?
RIBBS on 15/07/2019 - 12:54

+1
@OP, I owned a 2008 135i (N54) for 6 years. I bought it at 60k kms in 2014 and only recently upgraded to a new model. It was an amazing drivers card and very reliable once I fixed a couple of known N54 issues - luckily I got this done under a 3rd party warranty. If you haven't considered a 135i then I can definitely recommend it. Still plenty of room if you're a big bloke and arguably a better performance car.

If you are going to look at any N54 based cars then make sure they have done the following work and have receipts. Take your known OBD coder reader can check for faults - there is plenty of info on the BMW forums for these items:

VANOS solenoids cleaned/replaced - rough cold or hot start, oil based variable valve timing, sensitive to oil cleanliness and grade, easy DIY replacement.

VANOS cam seal ring replacement - not always an issue, metal ring can wear inner camshaft and effect VANOS operation.

High pressure fuel pump - rough cold start, long cranking. Very common issue, especially considering our crap fuel.

Spark plugs & coils - easy DIY and not expensive if you buy parts from the US.

100k+ kms you would want to watch the alternator, water pump and oil cooler gasket. Some older models had injector issues too so ideally go for a 2008+ car.
useruser on 15/07/2019 - 13:57

Lot of neg's, too much common sense around. If car's are your thing then just have fun with it. Yes it's a money pit but it is what it is and if you know and accept that upfront so be it, enjoy it!
HighAndDry on 15/07/2019 - 14:30

Lexus IS250 or IS350. $15k will get you one in decent shape, get the Gen2 one, IS250s from that gen still came in stick. All newer models (which are out of your budget mostly anyway) are auto only.
imurgod on 15/07/2019 - 15:36

+1

Hey OP, $15K isn't going to get you into a decent BMW (or Euro in general).
I can tell you from experience, everything on Euro cars is astronomically expensive and wears quickly.
Modifications will likely see you destroy other things.

I went from Jap cars to Euro and now have an AMG.

It's awesome, fast, handles like a kart, etc. but it is a money pit and it's only a few years old and very low kms.

BMW in particular have a bad rep for being out of warranty money pits as well but they are fast and fun as hell.

You also can't skimp on things like tyres, brakes, etc. (which don't last anywhere near as long as they do on your jap car) either as aftermarket ones kill a lot of what the car feel so awesome.

Anyway, in short, I'd advise to stay away from Euro cars for now until you can afford it. They are next level in comparison to Jap/Korean cars in every way but you pay through the nose for the privilege of driving one.
Godric on 15/07/2019 - 15:36

And here's me burning through my P's and several years of full licence on a 99 Mazda that cost me $3k
foolsgold on 15/07/2019 - 16:02

+5
I think you've come to the wrong place to get advice about Luxury Cars.

I think your probably wondering why there is so much hate here for you looking at purchasing this car.
Basically from a financial position, you have to consider at the very least:
- purchase cost
- ordinary running costs (fuel etc)
- ordinary maintenance costs (servicing)
- depreciation / resell
- insurance

Other than Purchase Cost being cheap the car has everything else above going against it.

TLDR - It cost you 15k in the first three years easily;

It's running costs are high, a N54/N55 chews through petrol, real world experience not just what I read online (from some one who owns a 135i, and have two people close to me with a E93 335i LCI and a E92 335i LCI) If you are driving a stock car, in 80% highway you will average about 10 L/100km, anything else expect 12.5-13.5L on wards, I know guys who get 15-18L.
So expect to spend 2-3k a year on petrol (3k petrol = 20% of purchase price in fuel a year)

When something isn't broken, ordinary maintenance is more expensive.
Some examples of part costs that you could do at home:

Brakes from a specialist using OEM not OE parts, $1200, or more if you have Performance Brake Option selected (which I dont think was an option on Pre-LCI models) Dealership expect to pay $2000+

Oil should be changed every 12 months, or 8-10km which ever comes sooner, with full synthetic oil which is BMW LL01 approved (this is double BMW's recommended frequency, and the oil will cost you twice as much as your regular semi-synthetic.
Corolla Oil Filter about $9, BMW oil filter 30-40, BMW air filter about $60-$120

Wiper Blades, genuine BMW imported is about $60, $190 from BMW

Coolant $15-$20 for Gen BMW Coolant bottle 1.5L concentrate, need 2-3 bottles for a full flush

Brakes should be flushed annually or bi-annually

Tyres, 350-400 bucks a corner if you shop around for 18" RFT, ContiSports, Potenzas, Pzeros, etc.

So now were seeing that on average general maintenance is at least 2x what a 'regular car would pay'

Say you have no part failures, no gasket failures, do the servicing your self because your mechanically minded.

And I could say quite accurately that at 140k, your next two years of ownership will look like this:

$15,000 purchase price + duties (negligible you would have to pay this no matter what car you buy)

2x Car Rego same as all other cars

Insurance - I would say high for your age and being a male, also as an enthusiast you want an authorised repairer to repair your car correctly, so you can't just go Youi, AAMI, you would need GIO, RAC, Allianz with Choice of repairer selected)
Shopping around with maybe your parents nominated on the policy would get you a price of 1400-1750 a year

$3200 (optimistic, and assume no claims because you wont hit a kangaroo)

4x New Tyres, = $1400 (350ea) Wheel alignment $70, = $1470 (which I what I paid after shopping around)

Brakes Discs + Pads $1200

Oil Changes: $700 (30,000km of driving = 3 oil changes minimum, (Ozbargain Castrol Edge + Pelican Parts to make this as cheap as possible) and presuming you can do this your self.
If you can't expect $400 an oil change, $1200

So your looking at
$15,000 purchase price
$3,200 insurance
$1,000 brakes
$700 oil

3900 / 2 = 2k a year minimum running costs
Add fuel (6k over two years) = 5k a year minimum running costs (30% purchase cost)

Then spinning the roulette wheel of common problems, common being because its a 10 year old car

oil filter housing leak

carbon build up

waste gate rattle

injectors ($150+ labour an injector ie, 6x 150 = $900 just parts + 2-3 hours labour = $1300)

high pressure or low pressure fuel pump (part $450-500 + labour)

water pump (call up a specialist they will tell you around 1500 for parts and labour)

then just typical gasket leaks, rocker cover gaskets might be 3x more than a toyota ($50 bucks) but its the labour that costs to install it,
at that age things are just getting warn like chain tensioners
and just generally a lot of the plastic/rubber hoses, top/bottom hose etc to cooling system.

These are just the issues if its typically maintained.

An example of a hidden problem caused by poor maintenance is. Say your buying a 3rd owner 335i, previous owner didn't want to spend 25-30% of the purchase price a year to maintain it, oil filter housing leak, ignored it for a bit, oil will directly leak into the alternator and over the cooling hoses, it will deteriorate the hose and its connections and remove a lot of coating on the alternator bushes reducing its life.

So then you have a non-typical problem of an alternator failing, costing you about $900-1000 for a genuine part, plus labour, plus the preventative maintenance of changing any part of the cooling system.
I have been quite optimistic I haven't even added things like air cabin (HVAC) filters ($120), spark plugs, ignition coils, new battery (deep cycle high CCA battery, + programming) all classified as typical routine maintenance.

So once you logically add up:
2k minimum spending a year, and another 1.5k for in case one thing happens a year,
Over 2 years your spending around 3.5k in just maintenance, 6k petrol, 3.2k in insurance = $12.7k in two years. 84% of purchase price.
Now from this add a JB4 tune, additional insurance and petrol costs and higher probability of component failure.

Now some people who can afford a 90+k car, are usually good with their money, and have gone through this equation themselves and worked out its better to sell the car, and buy something newer because they would be probably spending less in repayments (most likely tax deductible) in something newer, safer and more fuel efficient) than keeping their older BMW.
- smpantsonfire on 15/07/2019 - 19:25
  
  +2
  
  Nice write up, however sad to say you've been getting ripped off your entire life.
  - foolsgold on 15/07/2019 - 21:45
    
    how am I getting ripped off?
    - smpantsonfire on 16/07/2019 - 00:01
      
      +3
      
      Your post is actually fantastic for first car buyers, I do not want to detract from that. It gives a good indication of what to expect.
      
      I've driven BMW my whole life, and firstly, you would not take a 10yo BMW to a dealer unless you add lube to your guide!
      
      7l BMW oil and filter ($15) is $120 +1 hour labour maybe $250 so $900 for three is pretty accurate. Cheaper if you want to use Castrol
      
      $600 in good brakes, I know your quote Oem, but again, on a 10 yo car, you just wouldn't, when there are better brakes out there, from the same factory as Oem. Zimmerman discs and pads, $600 and maybe 1 - 1.5 hours labour.
      
      Cabin filter $45
      Valve gasket $40
      6 spark plugs $90
      Belts $15-25
      
      These are price for quality German parts shipped from Australia, not your average repco/super cheap auto parts.
      
      Tyres, you would be paying for tyres on any car, but just because you've got a BMW,doesn't mean you'll be putting in top of the line performance tyres.
      
      A set of michelin pilot sports 4 on the 225/45/17 that the 335 has stock, will only set you back $800 fitted.
      
      Granted your prices were top end, but if your are a bit savvy with cars like op, owning a bmw is definitely no more expensive than a commodore or falcon, I can guarantee it. It's not as cheap as a corolla, cerato swift etc, but why should it be? You have bigger everything. Better quality everything also.
      
      It isn't more/much more expensive than a commodore or falcon though. When you go to the dealer it's where the price escalates, but that's like with every car.
      
      Petrol is petrol, you might be paying a third note than another car. So really you should only include a third of the petrol price on top.
      
      Source : Owned BMWs my whole driving life.
      - foolsgold on 16/07/2019 - 10:39
        
        @smpantsonfire: Most people would not do more than a simple oil change at home. Even so, that is not a fair comparison of ownership costs, because realistically if you owned a non-euro your maintenance is nowhere near as much if you were do it yourself.
        I’ve owned my 135i since new, and have only replaced oil brakes, engine coils, sparks, oil and air filters. The only failures I’ve had are coil packs, and oil filter housing gaskets all cheap fixes.
        Preventative maintenance that I’ve paid someone to do is transmission flush (which if I went by BMW shouldn’t be done and I could have saved my self the cash), and my tensioner pulley.
        
        Now I could write that my BMW that I on average do 500 kms a week / (25-30k a year), averaging 9l/100km is economical, and hasn’t had any big problems. But it wouldn’t represent anything to the public.
        The fact is, it does cost more to run. If I owned a Corolla, I would expect doing maintenance my self, my costs would be 1/3, and with the amount of preventative maintenance I do on my cars it would last 5x longer than a BMW.
        It is easy to simplify a water pump failure and say its not that costly. But theres also all the other stuff people forget about:
        
        Presuming one relies on that one car, if it fails on a week day you have to get it home, a lot of the non x35i BMWs don’t have even a temp gauge on the e9x series,
        Order a water pump urgently from a shop Clickable/IMPARTS,HSY etc, (non genuine, oem Continental is around $450 half price of a genuine part, presuming OP is not a mechanic and has no access to trade pricing) then order preventative related parts hoses, coolant, thermostat.
        You then have to factor, time to pick up the part, the time you have no car, then a Saturday morning to jack the car up, presume you have the necessary tools and a jack that can even fit under the car (problematic hidden cost as mine wouldn’t fit under my M3 or my 135i)
        Pull out the water pump, replace it, flush coolant, check hoses fittings etc. Now if you don’t calculate your time, forget about all those other costs of getting the car home, tools parts etc. It was a cheap experience.
        And if you needed the car for the next day, or don’t have the tools, live in an apartment, don’t have the confidence to do it your self, do you rent a car, or Take it do a dealership, or a specialist it’ll cost you $1500.
        
        Don’t get me wrong I love BMWs, I’ve own/ed 7, but I wouldn’t expect my an average person to do the above. Or have a copy of INPA on a spare laptop lying around.
        
        JustASmoothSkin on 17/07/2019 - 13:56
        
        @foolsgold: I am going to do maintenance myself anyway, I would only ever take a 5 year old or newer car to a shop or unless it cost a exorbitant amount of money and I wanted maximum return. Losing $2000 of value on a car that cost $10000 because I service it over a 2 year time frame doesn’t concern me when I would be spending a lot more taking it to a “authorised service centre”
        
        Also honestly I just do a service when I feel like it, which generally is more frequent then waiting till the car tells me to do it. Which is what most people do, and a lot of those people completely disregard regular casual maintenance like checking tyres, brakes and fluids themselves and just leave it up to the mechanic tell them what to pay. Cars are pretty cheap to maintain (as long as no major faults happen) I have had 2 Commies, a Pajero and a Civic and apart from rego and tires the prices are pretty much the same.
neon crossing on 15/07/2019 - 16:40

Have you looked at a volkswagen CC V6? You can get something for around that money and they are 0-100 in 5.5sec
lostn on 15/07/2019 - 19:11

Haven't bothered reading the comments yet. I know someone else will have mentioned this already, but there's a reason why used BMWs are cheap. The original owner is getting rid of it because they know expensive repairs are on the way soon. They're not built to last, and when parts break they cost more to replace than other makes.

The seller has decided it's cheaper to get rid of it than it is to keep it. The next owner will be paying these costs.

It's going to be expensive to maintain a BMW that's out of warranty. Just keep aside some money for that if you're going this route.
SJDR on 15/07/2019 - 20:28

So much hate in here.
Although its ozbargain so asking about a hyundai would probably get a better response.

I have a 2006 325i.
I spent a couple of months finding the right one - full BMW service history, no expense spared (still on runflats etc). All the options I wanted (comfort access, msport, adaptive headlights etc).

Bought at 80k, now at 130k km. The only repair required was when the ecu housing got water in it - cost me $1500 for a reco ecu to be flashed with the data from the old one, same I'd expect for any vehicle.

Servicing costs no more than any other car.
I use Castrol Edge at $35/5l regular sale price. There's no need to use genuine service parts, places like Imparts etc sell reasonably priced oem parts.
Full brake replacement just cost me $600 fitted (new front rotors, machined rears, Bendix pads)

Yes, you do run the risk of a big repair bill but the same can happen on any vehicle. Take your time to find a well looked after example and theres no reason to be scared.

INPA diagnostic software can be found free and a suitable cable from ebay and you can do your own diagnostics.

I chose the 325 as I wanted something a little cheaper on running costs and the 325 motor is extremely reliable. Still uses 11l/100 but it's only used round town.

Very little space in the rear but I'm 6'2 and its extremely comfortable and a beautiful car to drive.
shangoz on 15/07/2019 - 22:50

Honda Accord Euro or Toyota Camry $15k can get you under 80k km distance, not a bad choice. Don't forget still need $1k for comprehensive insurance.
2jzzzz on 16/07/2019 - 07:30

I just got my Mercedes Benz C63 and I am in love. Ticks all your boxes bar the prices. Cheap ones are hovering around $30k
- Irontofu on 16/07/2019 - 08:37
  
  30k c63, you brave brave man
  - 2jzzzz on 16/07/2019 - 12:15
    
    No, I didn't end up with a $30k one, I spent a bit more for one with headbolts and cams already done.
bl33su on 16/07/2019 - 11:08

get a evo!

4 doors with plenty of space
turbo 2L with very easy upgrades to big power! and cheap aswell
great handling, a true performance car with the manual box.
massafiri on 17/07/2019 - 22:37

Coming to Ozbargain and asking about buying ANY car on a loan is a receipt for a a bad time.
If you're not riding a gum-tree sourced, second hand bicycle, you're a sucker for the man.

Pro tip: Accumulation of money and wealth should never be the goal: Enjoy your life.
HerpinDerp on 17/07/2019 - 22:54

Buy my 08 Crown Hybrid lol

Buying a Used BMW 335i and NOT getting a First Loan

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