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Geek Culture / Buying Older/High Mileage BMW's or Mercedes

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Epimetheus
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Joined: 5th Oct 2003
Location: Naples, Florida
Posted: 14th Jan 2015 01:42 Edited at: 14th Jan 2015 01:45
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I've been thinking about getting a BMW or Mercedes with 100k-150k miles on it as a daily driver with decent mileage. My dad has bought a few Mercedes' from the 90s and early 2000s, as well as a BMW 325ci from 2001 and all are functional and working, with minimal repairs.

From my research and personal experience it seems like these cars hold up well. I would be willing to spend a few hundred to few thousand for repairs and cosmetic issues as well. Maybe even some light modding. I plan to use the car for the next few years.

Here's what I'm considering:

1. 2007-2008 BMW 328i or 335i with 100k-150k miles(or possibly 40k-80k)


http://www.kbb.com/bmw/3-series/2007-bmw-3-series/

2. 2001-2006 BMW 3 Series with 100k-150k miles


http://www.kbb.com/bmw/m3/2001-bmw-m3/

3. 2004-2006 Mercedes CLK with 100k-170k miles


http://www.kbb.com/mercedes-benz/clk-class/2004-mercedes-benz-clk-class/

4. 2000-2003 Mercedes CLK with 100k-170k miles


http://www.kbb.com/mercedes-benz/clk-class/2000-mercedes-benz-clk-class/


Strongly leaning towards the BMW 328i/335i with 100k-150k miles due to the cost savings, style, etc. Are these cars good buys? Are there any potential problems I should look out for?
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Phaelax
DBPro Master
21
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Joined: 16th Apr 2003
Location: Metropia
Posted: 15th Jan 2015 04:09
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Quote: " 2007-2008 BMW 328i or 335i with 100k-150k miles"

That sounds high for the year. My Jag is an '03 with 150k, and I drive it a lot.

I can guarantee you one thing though, these cars will break, especially once you hit over 100k. And it will be expensive. Even if you do the repair work yourself, parts are crazy expensive.

Any model you consider, read some reviews on that model's year. There can be a vastly different experience between engines in '01 versus an '02 model. For Jags, I wouldn't go earlier than 2003. For mercedes and BMW I'm not as familiar to give a proper suggestion without researching it first.


"I like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended." - Linus Torvalds
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Epimetheus
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Location: Naples, Florida
Posted: 16th Jan 2015 02:20
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yes I do know that BMW's are usually driven hard, raced, etc. so I'm definitely leaning toward the lowest mileage I can get, mercedes typically are driven like normal cars

In my dad's case I know he gets alot of chinese duplicate parts at very low prices with no problems so far, do you know some of the common issues that have to be fixed on older cars? how much do these typically cost to handle?
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the_winch
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Joined: 1st Feb 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posted: 17th Jan 2015 01:17
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The older 3 series was made in the millions and there are a lot still on the road. So cheap pattern parts are readily available. Genuine parts are of course more expensive but not really any worse than other brands. Plus they are old enough now there are plenty in breakers yards so lots of second hand parts availability.

The cooling system isn't great. Water pumps can fail. Plus BMW loves to use plastic that goes brittle over time so expansion tanks and other connections tend to suddenly fail dumping the coolant. So budget for replacing the cooling system on an older car if it hasn't already been done.

Other than that they are pretty much like any other older car. Stuff will wear out and need to be replaced. The suspension will get tired and so on.

By way of demonstration, he emitted a batlike squeak that was indeed bothersome.
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Clonkex
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Joined: 20th May 2010
Location: Northern Tablelands, NSW, Australia
Posted: 17th Jan 2015 12:19
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Quote: "That sounds high for the year. My Jag is an '03 with 150k, and I drive it a lot."


Indeed, that's what I was thinking.

Quote: "I can guarantee you one thing though, these cars will break, especially once you hit over 100k. And it will be expensive. Even if you do the repair work yourself, parts are crazy expensive."


+1. My recommendation is to include a large amount extra in the budget just for repairs when buying older "posh" cars. If you stretch your budget in the initial purchase, you'll be looking at financial issues when something inevitably breaks and costs a fortune to repair.

HOWEVER, that's not to say you shouldn't buy these cars! As you've said, you can repair them cheaply with aftermarket parts. You just have to bear in mind that unlike your run-of-the-mill Holden Barina, if something breaks that can't be replaced with aftermarket parts, it WILL cost you an arm and a leg.

Just my 5 cents (can't get <5 cent coins in Australia ).


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Indicium
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Posted: 17th Jan 2015 16:54
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Quote: "Just my 5 cents (can't get <5 cent coins in Australia )."


What if something costs $1.99?
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Clonkex
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Location: Northern Tablelands, NSW, Australia
Posted: 20th Jan 2015 02:04
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Quote: "What if something costs $1.99?"


Then it's $2 if you're paying with cash. If you pay with a card, it's digital so the amount is exact


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Phaelax
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Location: Metropia
Posted: 21st Jan 2015 23:05
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So you're taxed for using cash basically?


"I like offending people, because I think people who get offended should be offended." - Linus Torvalds
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Clonkex
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Posted: 21st Jan 2015 23:10
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Quote: "So you're taxed for using cash basically?"


No... well... I guess you could say that, but we don't see it that way. It's at most 2 cents per purchase. It's negligible. We don't read $1.98 as $1.98, we read it as $2.


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Dark Java Dude 64
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Joined: 21st Sep 2010
Location: Neither here nor there nor anywhere
Posted: 21st Jan 2015 23:48
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Quote: "We don't read $1.98 as $1.98, we read it as $2."
Americans read $1.99 as "might as well be $1.00".

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Clonkex
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Posted: 22nd Jan 2015 00:30
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Quote: "Americans read $1.99 as "might as well be $1.00"."


rofl


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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 22nd Jan 2015 01:22 Edited at: 22nd Jan 2015 01:23
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Quote: "rofl"
This caused me to begin laughing about my own post, which cause me to start, well, laughing. While laughing, I had an ADD moment and began thinking about other funny (and totally irrelevant) possibilities. Eventually that led me to doubled over in my chair, laughing about the idea of throwing a realistic looking mannequin on top of a person I know, while they are sleeping... Forum threads derail quickly, but thought threads derail even faster in my head.

Today's off topic post brought to you by: Dark Java Dude 64™ bringing the forum to life with innovative irrelevancies™ <<<--- New slogan! I digress.

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Clonkex
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Posted: 22nd Jan 2015 07:47 Edited at: 22nd Jan 2015 07:49
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Quote: "I digress."


Definitely haha


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