320/318 advice greatly received

[grum]

Hi,

 

I’m looking to buy either a 318 or 320 Estate.

I would appreciate any advice or do’s/donts or general problems to look out for with regard to buying. 

My budget is around £5k max but ideally a bit less. 

We have a baby on the way and a Karmann Ghia doesn’t really cut it as a family friendly vehicle. 

 

Thanks 

[Bimmer Owners Club]

Hi Graham.....welcome to the Forums

You have a Karmann Ghia?  what a superb car!

There's plenty of choice out there and for the money I would certainly consider a later car with higher miles as Bimmers tend to go on forever once they achieve the higher miles...generally all the issues have been resolved over the years, as long as it has been maintained correctly.

Depends also whether you want Petrol or Diesel and that depends on your regular journeys as I'm sure you want a bigger car (e.g. tourer/estate) and this usually comes with a bigger engine so I would bear this in mind when looking for your new family car.

Let us know how you get on with choosing a Bimmer.

Cheers,   Trevor

[grum]

Cheers Trevor.

 

ideally it will be petrol. 

When you say higher miles,,, how high are we talking??? I’ve seen a few at around 120k. Is that is that considered too high??? 

 

Heres the Ghia at a show last week. 

Fully restored under that crusty shell. Pretty much a nut & bolt resto. 

[Bimmer Owners Club]

Wow!!!!  That's amazing!  what an awesome look....must have been a joy to build.

High mileage on the bigger Bimmer engines (petrol or diesel) is not really an issue if it is the right sort of miles (which if it is high for the age then suggests its motorway miles which is the right sort). I think mileage tends to put most people off what is essentially a decent car that has been looked after and driven correctly as it affects resale values, but then are you buying it as a keeper or to sell within a few years and not lose too much money.

Good luck with your search

[rikcougar]

Working on the principle detailed above I have just purchased a 2011  E91 that has done 175k miles!

Have I made a mistake?

What is the worst that can happen, new DMF is quite inexpensive and pretty much everything else is bulletproof

Looking forward to many miles with a smile on my face

[Bimmer Owners Club]

great car with good build quality...it didn't get to the miles by not being reliable