BMW Enthusiast's opinions needed for used BMW purchase

[wootang]

HELP! I am in the market for a used Bimmer and here are my options. I need to know which one seems to be the best deal (bang for the buck). I will need to buy an extended warranty with option 2 and 3 because I don't want to be paying for repairs while paying off the car. I am looking for reliability as well as performance. Please advise me on which option you think is the best.

Option1:
1999 M3C
32000mi, Premium Sound, CD changer, Certified
$29,000

Option2:
2001 330Ci
60,000mi, Moonroof, winter package
$22,000

Option3:
2003 325i
23,000mi, Standard Option, factory warranty
$26,000

 

[Tom]

From the looks of your first two choices, it seems that you want something with good performance.

The M3 with that low miles sounds like an ok deal, you can probably knock it down another $2-3k without any problems.

The 330ci does have a lot of miles and will require Inspection II performed at 60k miles. So if you do choose that one, make sure they complete that inspection before you buy it. With some bolt-ons you can bring the performance level up to par with the E36 M3.

The 325i is a great car, but in terms of performance its pretty slow compared to the other two. If the car is a Certified Preowned then they should give you a 6yr/100k warranty and not just the standard 3yr/40k.

I'd say get the 330ci if you can haggle it down some more.

 

[wootang]

Thanks Tom

Tom,
Thanks for your input. How much do you think that stage II check costs? Maybe I can use that to my leverage. Also, you mentioned that I can get 2–3k off of the M3. Did you see that that was a convertible? Do you think i can still get 2-3k off? Thanks again.

Jeff

 

[Tom]

It depends on where you go, I believe its somewhere around $300-400 for Inspection II.

Sorry I didnt know you meant an M3 Cabrio, regardless try to get whatever you can off their price.

I remember seeing a '99 M3(not Cabrio) two years ago with about 20k miles selling for about the same price from a dealer.