2006 320D 6-speed manual...at last I can afford one but my friends are saying no

[VernonD]

Hi everyone. I am still driving an Opel Corsa Classic 140i driver (only until Monday) and went to view a 2006 BMW 320D 6-speed manual sports pack. It has only 96000km on the clock and the extended motor-plan expires in Oct 2012. The car has got a FSH where only the rotary locks front and rear (55019km), both brake pads (64173km), vibration damper crankshaft (64539km) and dual mass flywheel grooved (80800km) were replaced. The car is in a very good condition.
I got finance approval already from ABSA and Wesbank and still waiting for Standard Bank to confirm as I have a bond with them as well. The price the driver wants was R150000 but he reduced the amount to R145000 as the bank only wants to finance the car to trade value up to R141350.
After 5yrs I am finally able to afford a Beemer and even my nephew bought an older BMW 318i (even though he can’t afford the maintenance) as he always wanted to drive one as well. I know I am also going to take a chance not extending the motor plan but it’s too expensive. It looks as if the current driver really looked well after the car.
Can you gentlemen please advise on this deal as my friends all say it’s going to be very expensive for me to maintain but I really want this car. Being 35yr old already and seeing guys as young as 21yrs old driving a BMW makes me jealous.
Also if anyone can indicate if there are places I can go to that will not charge me an arm or a leg to repair something should anything break on the car afterwards? I have read some posts on the site and it seems as if a lot of people are talking about the turbo and injectors needs to be replaced. I also couldn’t see any posts about replacing drive chains and brake disks as this is also something that I am thinking might be expensive to replace.

 

[Rolf]

If you can afford and your heart wants it, then do it! It will be fun :thumbs:

 

[Crash_Nemesis]

Do it... and maintenance will not be expensive. That is what this forum is for. We all help one another to fix the problems with reliable and affordable solutions. The dealer is not the only place to get your car fixed. Just because the car runs out of motorplan does not mean it will explode.

That being said, you won't be sorry when you buy the car. JUST DO IT!

 

[SKYF]

Never buy a car out of jealousy or to impress anyone.Food for thought, they wont be there when the high bills comes, im just saying.
Goodluck with your decision

 

[VernonD]

Thanks guys raise: I hardly slept the past few days as only 1 person told me that it will be worth it. Also feeling that cars' acceleration was simply awesome.

 

[Bayn46]

Several good mechanics in the CT area that don't charge an arm and a leg. The most expensive maintenance item on the car would probably be replacing the runflat tyres, but if it's out of MP, you can save a bundle and swap to non-runflats.

 

[Spy007]

Just do it.

Any second hand car is going to need maintenance. I would rather maintain something that I want than maintain something I got as a second choice.


If your plan is to drive it for a while then do it.

Yes I have had my hassles with my car but now everything is replaced and so basically new and I can look forward to 200 000km of hassel free driving.

I hope.

 

[VernonD]

Thanks very much. Awesome ride of yours. Mine does not come with a sunroof as I was hoping to get one that has got but I think you can't expect to have everything your way.

Yes I think there are about 70% of the run-flat tyres surface still left. The buyer also indicated that he spend a lot of money to just replace 2 of them. The blogsite mentioned that run-flats are not a preferred tyre because it makes the ride feel harder but I am thinking of keeping it on until I need to replace them then I will get the normal standard tyres.

Thanks again

 

[herr bmw]

well i bought my first bm at age 42,not to impress any one,just because i wanted one and a inline six motor(love the sound)

personally wont buy a turbo car,had hassels with a vw golf(long story),but then again bmw are different,so go for it

 

[VernonD]

Maybe I shouldn't have said that I get jealous when seeing younger guys driving a Beemer pass me. :nonono:

My apologies. I always wanted a BMW or a Mercedes but previously I couldn't afford it because of financial reasons and other priorities (paying a bond, getting my 1st born and 2 credit cards repayments) were more important.
Now that I am looking at another car because my Opel Corsa Classic is going way pass the 220000km mark, I was looking for something else. Nothing is wrong with my car, I just need something a bit more classy. The Honda Civic 1.8Lxi , Mazda 3 and Kia Cerato were all options I considered but every time a BMW drove passed me I always thought of getting one.
So here I am making that choice but I am so scared of things that can go wrong with a car after a maintenance plan. Everyone also are saying bad things about BMW, Audi and Mercedes that always made me 2nd guess my choice. But I calculated my finances and where I can save a few rands to save up for a service or parts if required.

 

[abmi0000]

Just about any car on the road which uses agents to maintain will cost you a stack. The model you are after is old enough to find decent replacement parts as alternative options.

This is my 3rd BMW out of plan since I bought it and haven't ever regretted it.

 

[bmw325i]

Do it :thumbs:

 

[herr bmw]

Maybe I shouldn't have said that I get jealous when seeing younger guys driving a Beemer pass me. :nonono:

My apologies. I always wanted a BMW or a Mercedes but previously I couldn't afford it because of financial reasons and other priorities (paying a bond, getting my 1st born and 2 credit cards repayments) were more important.
Now that I am looking at another car because my Opel Corsa Classic is going way pass the 220000km mark, I was looking for something else. Nothing is wrong with my car, I just need something a bit more classy. The Honda Civic 1.8Lxi , Mazda 3 and Kia Cerato were all options I considered but every time a BMW drove passed me I always thought of getting one.
So here I am making that choice but I am so scared of things that can go wrong with a car after a maintenance plan. Everyone also are saying bad things about BMW, Audi and Mercedes that always made me 2nd guess my choice. But I calculated my finances and where I can save a few rands to save up for a service or parts if required.

ok the long story:rollsmile:

bought a golf 5 tdi(1.9),102000km on the clock,the saleperson told me it was a master car and had a warranty.
111000km the turbo went bang,phoned the dealer,and was told that it isnt a master car,well eventually got hold of the vw factory in uitehage(all while standing on the side off the road)lodged a complaint against the salesperson.
well they organised everything from western cape and was taken to the nearest dealer,well was quoted R50000 for new turbo,which i refused to pay,again on the phone to vw,they then contacted the dealer and,told them not to touch the car as they were ripping customers off.
so was brought back to the dealer where i bought it,1 week later and they paid for everything,turbo,intercooler all pipes etc,total R37000.
so kept it serviced at the dealers,but around 145000km the turbo started making a noise again,the dealers said it was fine,but got worse.so at 150000km service,asked them to give a report on the turbo,said it was 100%.

but i didnt feel okay with it,couldnt trust the car and thats when i went to bmw.

point here is,you could get a car that is fine,or a lemon.you just have to check it properly,personally i wont buy another diesel,but,my wifes car is a 2.5 tdi navara,with 164000km on the clock and runnig beautifull,so just becareful when buying any car,but remember there are guys who are cheaper than the dealers,and do a good job.

in fact give gizmo a shout on the forum,he is a bmw whore:rollsmile:

 

[Raybimmer]

Buying the bm to impress someone is a wrong reason .
Buying the bm because you want it is right .
Maintenance is a mix of good luck and usage - some guys ill treat a car and get high kilos and the next guy pampers his car and it gives trouble - some are just lucky .
If you look after the car it will last and give you an economical , reliable and enjoyable experience . Independant bm mechanics can save you money on maintenance costs .

Sports pack and run flats may not give the smoothest ride , look after the run flat tyres and budget to replace them with good normal tyres later .
Good luck .

 

[VernonD]

Thanks I will do just that. A lot of people are saying run-flats are expensive. I want to impress some of my friends but mostly I want to drive a BMW because I can afford to buy one (even though it's a 2nd hand). A new one is just too expensive.
I also read from 'her bmw' that someone called Gizmo can help me out with parts if I get stuck and thats good news for me.

 

[abmi0000]

Well, technically, Gizmo is out in Jhb and according to your profile, you're in CPT. So he may be able to source parts and courier it to you but labour is clearly an issue.

 

[herr bmw]

sorry didnt see you were in cape town,thought you were in joeburg.

but he should be able to give you advice

 

[Ga-3M]

Yeah bud if you in the Jhb area Gizmo is the man to help you out once the M\Plan expires! Just look after the car, and it will give you many happy miles! The E90 320d's have a lot less issues with the turbo and so forth than the E46 320d did, which is what a lot of people think of when you say 320d. So I say go for it bud, once you drive the BMW everyday those other cars you mentioned you were thinking of will be a distant memory!:thumbs: And yeah definately keep the runflats on till it comes for replacing, then you can opt for normal tyres.

---

Yeah apologies as well, only saw now you in CT!

 

[VernonD]

O dear :flyfun:
I am in CT yes, the only other person I know that can get parts is my nephew but he is about 150km from me, staying pass Malmesbury. I will need to go through the forum some more to find people in CT that can help out in case I get stuck.

 

[Ga-3M]

Don't stress bud, lots of people on the forum are from CT and always willing to lend a helping hand with advice, parts or anything else you may need!:thumbs: