Do I want this? Used BMW content

2008 BMW 328xi with 190k miles. Pretty sure this car was listed earlier in the year with a much higher price... $7000 then dropped to 6800. Then it disappeared for a while.

Looking for a fun-ish daily. The mileage has me worried on this one.

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/5896565911.html

That's a fair price as far as market value for those is concerned, and that engine is still reasonably reliable compared to the newer turbo stuff. Not a sport package car, but at least it has the cold weather pack. AWD seems to hold up well as long as fluids are changed, otherwise I seem to hear about a decent amount of bearing and gear noise. These cars also had very long oil change intervals and a lot of lifetime fluids, so I'd want to know how the engine was maintained/how often it got oil changes. As with any new car, I'd want to be absolutely sure that everything electrical works as it should, because it can be very hard to fix. Definitely a few steps above the E46 in complexity. That it has been for sale for so long makes me curious what is wrong with it, or if it's just the mileage that's scaring everyone.

Oil leaks can be expensive to fix. I recently got burned on the VANOS eccentric shaft sensor failure. At that mileage you need to make sure the water pump has been changed.

Expect electrical issues, like Comfort Access issues. (been there)

The oil should be done every 8k miles and the tranny, diff and transfer case oil should be done at 100k minimum. If no to the above then walk.

You need to be able to DIY and have a little good luck to make a high mileage E90 a satisfying experience. It can easily go the other way.

Nice colour combo, but it has leatherette and standard seats.

interesting on how E90 and E46 prices are fairly close, is there a reason for this?

In reply to trigun7469:

And really E30 and E36 prices aren't far off either. Once they get to a certain age/mileage where the hardcore nickel and diming starts for the typical owners that can't DIY, the value just drops out and they all fall to a similar spot in the depreciation curve. Same with most Euro stuff.

I think what benefits the E46 relative to the E9x is that they're regarded as being much more DIY friendly, while still being much newer and nicer feeling relative to the E36. They're kind of the sweet spot for cheap DD Bimmers right now and are just hitting to bottom of the depreciation curve. The E36 has been bottomed out for a while now and the good ones are getting harder to find, though I'm not sure I see them going on the kind of upswing the E30s are on (M3 aside.)

In reply to trigun7469:

e46 is more reliable, cheaper to maintain, and more of a drivers car. The e90's don't age as gracefully.

Looks like a nice example at a fair price (given the mileage). The person listing the car seems to be pretty intelligent and knows his/her way around these cars. If I was looking, that car is one I'd check out and drive.

Wow, good feedback. So the message is "proceed with caution"... if the maintenance checks out, it might be ok. Noone has said "BUY IT RIGHT NOW" so that says something too.

In reply to mikeatrpi:

I'm certainly not as knowledgeable about the peculiarities of the E9x cars as I am the older chassis 3 series, but that's a pretty good price from what I've seen and there are a lot of positive indications in the ad - well written and the guy buys quality parts. What gives me pause is what you mention about the same car being listed earlier in the year for some period of time at a significantly higher price. That and whether or not the cooling system has been done at that mileage, as that will quickly tack a few bills on.

But overall, I'd be pretty optimistic about that one.

Would you still want that car if it was $6000? If the answer is yes, then jump on it. For BMWs, just plan on $1500 in deferred maintenance right off the bat and you'll have a much better ownership experience.

Tyler H wrote: Would you still want that car if it was $6000?

Hmm.

Anyways - thanks everybody! I'll daydream s'more on this

...Or maybe keep looking for a sweet 330i E46 that GRM recommended in the "cars for $5k" article

I'd rather have a nice, older 330i E46 for the same or less than a nice, (older) E90 328xi. AWD hurts....if you need it, you don't need a BMW. A 2004-6 WRX is a better choice if you want a manual, AWD sedan, <$8k. RWD, the E46 330i is more car for the money.

First, if this hasn't had the water pump done, budget for that. They're electric and they die. Otherwise, these motors are smooth, efficient, and powerful.

Tyler H wrote: I'd rather have a nice, older 330i E46 for the same or less than a nice, (older) E90 328xi. AWD hurts....if you need it, you don't need a BMW. A 2004-6 WRX is a better choice if you want a manual, AWD sedan, <$8k. RWD, the E46 330i is more car for the money.

E46 330i - half the torsional rigidity, prone to rust, less powerful, less efficient . . . . so . . . how is it better again?

And why the hate on a bmw awd? I'd look at an audi before Subaru. A lot less rust and no head gasket issues.

We have the 2009 version of the same car with half the mileage. Love the car. Drives great. Last of the N52 motors, which are silky smooth and I love them. The auto trans is fine, not busy at all and not lazy either.

The starter went, and the shocks, and the belt tensioner. An 02 sensor puked recently. Survived failure of the water pump on the highway, when my daughter saw the temp idiot light go off, pulled over immediately, and had it towed to the shop.

The only other hassle was a leaky oil pan gasket. It was barely leaking, but my spouse was the principal driver at the time and she can't hang psychologically with any known car issue, so she paid to have it fixed. An unbelievably PITA expensive job that involves suspending the motor and pulling the subframe out from under it.

My experience since year 5 has been she seems to spend about $1500/year on average for competent mechanical repairs on the car. It would be less than that if she let me do the brake jobs and suspension work myself, but she just sends it to the shop.

More often than not, fixing a simple thing in the engine bay like replacing a starter or a fuel injector involves hours of disassembly work that I'm not that interested in taking on. Depends on how much time you have, and whether you have the garage space to do it in.

We're not in any hurry to sell it, and I think it's only worth about $10k anyway due to it being MY 2009. It's the designated vehicle for the household teenagers.

You don't need no stinkin all wheel drive. A RWD Bimmer on Blizzaks in the snow is about as much fun as one can have on four wheels.

Buy BMWs because they are RWD!