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To make a long story short, I have owned a 1993 Geo Prizm for the last 15 years. In early 2015, I was given a company vehicle which was a 2007 Toyota Sienna van. They took it away from me last year, leaving me driving my Geo again. The problem is I am now used to driving the van which had much more power. My Geo feels like a snail now and I hate it. The last straw was last week as I was trying to pass a mid 2000's Toyota Prius and I could not do it. The van would have blown him away. I am a 42 year old woman, so I am not a street racer. The van had more than enough power for me. So now I am looking for an inexpensive used car with decent acceleration. I found this below and I love it, especially the pretty blue color. 0-60 is 5.9 seconds, so it is not slow at all. The reliability scares me. The Geo is super reliable and cheap to run. The reviews I read say this BMW is a reliable car, but I don't know. If this is not good, what should I buy for $3,000 or less that will have at least as much acceleration as the van, which is 0-60 in 7.2 seconds? Thanks guys!
That car has over 200,000 miles. For some cars that isn't a lot but BMW isn't known for longevity.
I can do some diy work myself so I wouldn't mind buying that. If you want something as reliable as your Prizm you need to look at Toyota Corollas, they were basically the same car. The newer ones have better power and technology.
That car has over 200,000 miles. For some cars that isn't a lot but BMW isn't known for longevity.
I can do some diy work myself so I wouldn't mind buying that. If you want something as reliable as your Prizm you need to look at Toyota Corollas, they were basically the same car. The newer ones have better power and technology.
Thank you. The problem I have with Corolla's is that they are slow. Even the brand new ones with the top level engine go 0-60 in 8.3 seconds. I really would like the 2006-2010 Civic SI. 0-60 in 6.6 seconds with good well-known reliability. The problem with those is they are so expensive. I do not understand how they were $20,000 new and now go for $8,000-$10,000 while the BMW was $48,000 new and now is $3,000. The BMW shows all systems are okay, no check engine or anything else, and it runs perfect as seen in the video. Still, I can only do very simple maintenance, so that is what scares me on the BMW if something does break. I hear that they do not have dipsticks on the oil or transmission which really scares me.
If you are local to the dealer maybe you can get them down to 2500. Even as it is the price is attractive because it does look like it is in good shape. If you know of a small shop that works on them cheaper than the dealer then I think you will be okay for a while.
The car is in Los Angeles and I live in Las Vegas. It is in mint condition and does not look like any other $3,000 car I have seen. I can tell that the owner took really good care of it, so that is why I am considering it. Here is the video as it is kind of hidden in the ad.
The drawback with BMWs isn't that they're preternaturally unreliable, but that they're just not, especially in the 21st century models, well-suited to regular use beyond 200K miles, without meticulous maintenance. This doesn't mean that you'll necessarily suffer some horrible blow-up requiring costly and stressful visits to the mechanic. But it does introduce risk.
If your main consideration, performance-wise, is acceleration - especially highway acceleration, to be able to safely pass or to merge or whatnot, then this can be well-addressed by V6 sedans from the 2006-2010 era, which are now dipping into a price-range near that of the BMW that you found. Brands include Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Chevy and Ford. Look for a base model with the largest available engine, such as an Altima or a Camry with the 3.5L V6. A 2007 base-model V6 Camry, for example, will run 0-60 in under 6 seconds, and the quarter mile in well under 15 seconds.
^ +1...
Long time BMW owner and slight fan, but I would take a Pasadena on that 5 series: high mileage, unknown maintenance history, any non DIY repair will be $500+ to a $Thou even at a competent/honest BMW Indie shop, and on and on.
With that mileage, that car is on its 2nd set of coil packs, 2nd water pump, cooling sys components, an auto trans rebuild, (at least some components), et al.
While the IL 6 is a superb, fairly powerful engine and is often a high mileage unit, the attached/ancillary electronics not so much.
For a weekend 5 series to cruise around in, maybe, for that low price...for a daily driver that is used for more than waddling to work/park it/waddle home, no way would I want to drive around doing stuff 'for work' all day in that car.
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
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Unless you work on cars yourself, always avoid any high (or even moderate) mileage BMW. Simple enough, because they are ridiculously expensive to have any work done on them.
Thank you to all that responded. I do not know why, but just switching over insurance to the BMW with the same coverage will double my insurance, so I cannot even afford the car insurance. I tried to look into a V6 Camry, but those too are like the Civic SI, $6,000+ for a 2007 model. I do not trust Nissans as I hear too much bad things about them. It sounds like I would be way over my head once a problem manifested on the BMW, so it is probably for the better that I cannot buy it. I have no choice than to stick with the old trusty Toyota made car I have, as much as I hate driving it. After really thinking about it, I would rather have a slow car then one that will not start. Unless finances improve, I will not be buying another car.
When you buy a car like that, expect to spend a minimum of $2,000 on top of what you paid to get the car in shape. And you need maintenance records to help you determine if you need to spend more.
For example, many BMW suspension components last only 100-150k miles. They are a part of long term maintenance for the privilege of owning a nice German car. Then there are always certain weak points on these cars, which you have to be aware of and you need to know if work has been done for these things.
If you are novice, I would NOT recommend buying a used, high mileage German car unless you've done A LOT of research. And the German cars of the last 30 years are getting more and more complicated.
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