Secondhand 320i E90 2005 with 70k km - to buy or not to buy

[djjkotze]

Hi everyone!

I have the opportunity to privately buy a 2005 E90 320i A/T Sportpack Individual with 70 000km on the clock. The car has GPS and Park Distance Control as optional extras. The car has been owned only by its current owner, and was not in an accident. I attach a list of parts that have been replaced under motor plan.

Asking price is R150 000 for the car, which I think is a bit steep.

I have the following questions for the experts on this forum:

a) What should I offer for the car? I was thinking around R138k...
b) Do you think this is a good buy, given that the motor plan has just run out?
c) What sort of costs (maintenance and otherwise) am I looking at within the next 50 000km of the car's lifetime?
d) Are there any known problems with these cars that I should be aware of?

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!

Regards,
Mordor

 

[zaleonardz]

Only thing is that 320 with an auto transmission is MURDER...

Ask anybody who has owned one...

Other then that, I think its a bit on the pricey side as well, but because its an indivudal, who knows...

 

[Oooompie]

R150 000 is definitely too high even with the low km's. Dealers sell 2005 320i models between R135k - R138k. On Gumtree or Autotrader they sell for R130k.
You should not have any problems. The list of replaced parts is mainly normal wear and tear except the coils etc.
My 2006 320d M has done 142 000 kms and no problems. Very good cars.
I do not know about the performance of the 320i Auto though ?

 

[Swiegie]

Hi

If the car is in MINT condition, I would consider buying it. Just remeber it is a 6 year old car and also an auto.

How long do you want to keep the car? If for a couple of years then you can pay more than book value for a good car, but if you only want to keep it for a year or so, do not buy it as you will take a big knock when selling the car.

just my 2c

 

[msm]

It all depends what you want out of a car and what you were driving previously.

With no disrespect to other brands, but if you were driving a Citigolf or Tazz the 320i will be more than sufficient as a decent runabout.

If you were driving something "performance oriented" and expect more out of the 320i you may be in for a disappointment.

However, at the end of the day, it's still a BMW and in my very biased opinion still better than most other cars on the road, but not the best within the brand unfortunately.

My 2c is that I would look for a E90 2005/6 330i which would be close to that price (slightly more), except you won't get those extras but you would get an awesome motor.

 

[TOOFAST MP]

My last car was a e90 320i manual. The car was 100%. I got it on. 152k. And drove it to 165k. Then I sold it. ,the only reason I sold it was because a drunk smashed it when it was parked it got 80k damage it was fixed by my insurance but it was a eyesore you never forget after its had a major knock . Otherwise I would still be driving it magic car

 

[Spy007]

same engine s theG opher which is also a 2005 but the E46. Mine had 99000km on the clock and got it for 100k So i think 150 is a bit much. Touring A/T

 

[djjkotze]

First off - thanks for all the responses guys! Really appreciate it!

Swiegie, I intend to keep the car for quite a while. My current car is (gasp!) an Opel Astra 1.6 1997 model, so this will be quite a step up for me. Also, I will be stretching my budget quite a bit to buy the car, so nasty expensive surprises down the road will be most unwelcome

I think what I should do is go to a dealership and take a similar model out for a test drive (if they have one). That should settle whether I'm happy with the performance or not.

Also, I agree on the price - I was thinking of offering around R135000 for the car, and see if my offer gets accepted. Current owner is leaving the country at the end of the month, and I think interest in the car has been few and far between. Hopefully that will make the owner seriously consider my offer, which I happen to think is a fair price.

Anyways, hope this helps. Any further tips/comments would be most welcome.

 

[Philip Foglar]

For that sort of money I would look around for a nice late model E46 330i or something along those lines.

Do you have gearbox preference? Manual is most of the time the better/safer choice. Bear in mind that there are apparently many used E90 320i's on the market, so use that to also gauge the price above...

 

[BMW M]

Personally, ill never buy a 320i specially with a Autobox. No matter the extras. If you are looking at spending 150k go test a 320d. You'll be pleasantly surprized. The 320i auto is greatly underpowered IMO. I'm sure your Astra will feel loads faster, thou the BMW will have a better ride quality.

150k is overpriced aswell.

Just my 2c.

 

[XMAX]

I agree with BMW M. R150k is alot. but if you have that amount of money, then you actually have alot more options than that 320i.

the 320i does have a decent amount of kilowatts more than your astra, but it also has alot more kilograms than your astra as well.

If you live in gauteng or anywhere thats got a high altitude then youre gonna suffer even more due to power loss.


I advise you to look into an e90 320D or even a 330D at a stretch. both cars will blow the 320i out of the water, yet still give you excellent reliability and economy. The e90's dont really have the same turbo problems that the early e46 320D's did. The 330D is a super nice car.

Then next option is to look at a 323i or a 325i. both are truly stellar cars. The BMW inline 6 is known for being one of the best engines in the world. So if you must have a petrol, the 6 cylinder is definitely the way to go.

The Auto box debate is an endless one. I personally love the auto box, and will only buy a manual if its an ///M Series, otherwise it will be an auto. the more recent autos dont seem to have the reliability issues that the earlier e46s had either.

The Manuals are bulletproof as well. This decision really depends on your driving style and preferrences as well as what you want out of the car.

I hope this helps.

 

[BMW M]

Here's a link to my, and others, rant about the 320i Auto: 320i Auto Thread

 

[Frans du Toit]

Hi everyone!

I have the opportunity to privately buy a 2005 E90 320i A/T Sportpack Individual with 70 000km on the clock. The car has GPS and Park Distance Control as optional extras. The car has been owned only by its current owner, and was not in an accident. I attach a list of parts that have been replaced under motor plan.

Asking price is R150 000 for the car, which I think is a bit steep.

I have the following questions for the experts on this forum:

a) What should I offer for the car? I was thinking around R138k...
b) Do you think this is a good buy, given that the motor plan has just run out?
c) What sort of costs (maintenance and otherwise) am I looking at within the next 50 000km of the car's lifetime?
d) Are there any known problems with these cars that I should be aware of?

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it!



Hmmmmm Yeap (crackling knuckles). Guys this is my first post any feedback i will be welcomed correct me if I am wrong on a certain topic, I will keep this short.

Uhm First of all when buying privately you don't pay V.A.T which will be about R17 000 so just on that point I would say that it is a bit expensive. That's the problem with private sellers (particularly BMW owners:=) they always want to charge the same price as the dealers would which I think is unfair they should at least reduce the price by 15%. Let's say for example the car was on a showroom I would think otherwise R150K is not a lot of money to pay here's my points

-Automatic gearbox (will come to that later)
-Sports pack
-70 000km (considering the cars age that is quite good, normally this will be about 100 000km)
-G.P.S (and I suppose this is non-factory fitted)
-P.D.C

All of these kicks up the price substantially, according to me R150k is not a bad price to pay, make an offer of R143 000 then that would be a excellent deal.

Does it have a service history does it come with a extended motorplan? That is very important as servicing that model can break your budget. If it has a partly incomplete service history you can still go for it. If it has a motorplan pay the fair price R150k.

Something that I have noticed is that you should look very carefully (maybe even a AA assessment) that it has not being in an accident as BMW's that have being involved in accidents usually don't get accepted in BMW showrooms that could be another reason why he/she is selling privately.

Are you satisfied with the paint work look under the front of the car if they is a black plastic under the hood is that in fairly good condition NB.

Now as the other members pointed out the 320i seriously under-performs (depending from your previous car) from 0-80km, thereafter it has a mind of it's own I think this because of the gear position but believe me once you into 3/4 gear you will know why you bought it. So generally don't be to worried about the performance, by the way they is a big difference between the 320i and 323i in terms of performance the 323i is more powerful engine wise when compared to the 320i. The 320i this a thrilling ride anyway.

Ya the transmission. Auto? I know I am going to ruffle a couple of feathers by saying that the auto transmission is actually good, no wait GreAt! I love it, the shifts are spot on and clean if you going to be driving all day this is definitely the one to have. Previously with my old 328i the gearbox started giving me a problem but I decided to sell it before it got me stranded in the bush but I don't think that you will have the same problem well at least for the next 8-10 years. I drive the manual version and I can't describe it it's, it's :argh: brilliant.

Uhm I am not psychic but I would say that you going to experience the usual problems mainly electronic failure, malfunction. You going to have to fork out extra cash to keep it in tip-top shape exterior (esp.front), interior, re-gassing. I don't recommend racing robot to robot as that is sure enough going to cost you in the long-run. The 320i is not a performance car is basicly to get you from point A to B in BMW stlye beside the sportspack. Prepare to spend about R7000-R18 000 over the next 50 000 km depending on various factors. If your last car was a Honda Accord expect a higher insurance premium.

Again electronic problems, take good care of the dashboard as, as I hate to admit it it does flake a bit if used excessively. Oh yes, I can almost guarantee airbag malfunction (guess it falls under electronics). Otherwise I think that it's a great car go for it R143-R146k. If the owner don't budge give him the extra couple of rands I definitely think it's worth it.

Hope that was of help.

 

[djjkotze]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the advice, especially to Frans who made some excellent points in his post.

I took the car for a test drive earlier this week, and was pleasantly surprised. It felt powerful enough, and was very drivable.

I eventually offered the seller R120000 (which I feel is a more decent price, considering VAT, the trade of R117000 and some other factors). Seems that someone else made the seller a better offer, so I'm not in luck for this one.

Thanks again for all the help!