daughters first car

[gunner12]

looking to buy my 16 yr old daughter her first bmw . would like to keep the price 4-6k what series would you guys suggest as having the least issues and what years. needs to be awd or at least fwd. we live in ky and can get some bad winter weather. thanks

[thedza]

Originally Posted by gunner12

looking to buy my 16 yr old daughter her first bmw . would like to keep the price 4-6k what series would you guys suggest as having the least issues and what years. needs to be awd or at least fwd. we live in ky and can get some bad winter weather. thanks

maybe you can get an 06 e90 for that price? Not sure

[Angry Ketchup]

Originally Posted by thedza

maybe you can get an 06 e90 for that price? Not sure

Or maybe a previously crashed one...?

Would a new one on a cheap low-mile lease work? My girls are a good few years away, but I'll be putting them in new cars with warranties and all the modern safety features.

[F06msportmia]

Originally Posted by gunner12

looking to buy my 16 yr old daughter her first bmw . would like to keep the price 4-6k what series would you guys suggest as having the least issues and what years. needs to be awd or at least fwd. we live in ky and can get some bad winter weather. thanks

I'm a big fan of the e90 2006 -2012. The typical oil issues, thermostat and water pump.

If it was for my daughter I would be looking at an X3, it's higher up, safer, and might be better for your area. The model changed 2011, I used to have 2005 MSport black and it was a great car never an issue.

Good luck!

[gunner12]

my ex brother in law is a car dealer. he has a 2011 328i xdrive loaded with 124k miles on it. he will sell it to me for 8k. does that seem like a good price. i know more than i want to spend but as long as its a good car im fine with it. what issues should i look for on this yr and model. timing chain water pump etc need some help here please thanks

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by F06msportmia

I'm a big fan of the e90 2006 -2012. The typical oil issues, thermostat and water pump.

If it was for my daughter I would be looking at an X3, it's higher up, safer, and might be better for your area. The model changed 2011, I used to have 2005 MSport black and it was a great car never an issue.

Good luck!

I agree with getting a X3 over a 3 series. But to note, the 28i cars will generally have the same issues whether it's an X3 or 3 series in the same model year (again generally, you need to look up when powertrains were changed and when the bodies were changed). The 2011 28i cars have the N52B30s. The 2012 X3 28i got the turbo 4. The E90 328i retained the N52B30 throughout production.

[ezmaass]

There's typically no such thing as an inexpensive $4k - $6k BMW. If it's a 10+ years old car with 100k+ miles on it, it'll end up with problems. Some of those problems can easily cost you a thousand or two in a shot.

I've previously owned an e46 325i and e90 335i, both of which I drove for around 6 years a piece, owned from new, and put on substantial mileage. The e46 I did 125k miles in, and the e90 was about 89k when I sold it. The e46 had a new issue every few months by the point I sold it. None were huge (I took great care of it), but they were certainly not inexpensive. The e90, while it was very reliable (unusual for an N54-powered 335i), was on the cusp of developing some expensive problems.

In short, if you buy a sub-$10k BMW, especially one with high mileage, expect that it's going to have its fair share of surprise bills.

If it were my daughter, I wouldn't put her in a car like this. A young, inexperienced driver should really have something reliable. They have enough to focus on, no less dealing with a breakdown that can leave them stranded on the side of the road - especially a 16 year old girl.

I'm sure she'd love a BMW, but I'd probably go for an older Japanese car. It'll likely be more reliable, and when it breaks, it'll be half the price to fix.

If you're dead-set on a BMW, then a 2006-era 3-series or X3 is probably your best bet. Get a thorough inspection and just expect some expensive issues to crop up. There's no such thing as a FWD BMW, so it's either RWD (i) or AWD (xi). In your case, you'd need to get an x-drive (xi) vehicle. Keep in mind, BMW only made a very few number of AWD models prior to around 1999, when they actually got serious about making AWD cars and starting pushing the x-drive system. So, you may also find older x-drive systems more problematic.

[BMPOWERED]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

There's typically no such thing as an inexpensive $4k - $6k BMW. If it's a 10+ years old car with 100k+ miles on it, it'll end up with problems. Some of those problems can easily cost you a thousand or two in a shot.

I've previously owned an e46 325i and e90 335i, both of which I drove for around 6 years a piece, owned from new, and put on substantial mileage. The e46 I did 125k miles in, and the e90 was about 89k when I sold it. The e46 had a new issue every few months by the point I sold it. None were huge (I took great care of it), but they were certainly not inexpensive. The e90, while it was very reliable (unusual for an N54-powered 335i), was on the cusp of developing some expensive problems.

In short, if you buy a sub-$10k BMW, especially one with high mileage, expect that it's going to have its fair share of surprise bills.

If it were my daughter, I wouldn't put her in a car like this. A young, inexperienced driver should really have something reliable. They have enough to focus on, no less dealing with a breakdown that can leave them stranded on the side of the road - especially a 16 year old girl.

I'm sure she'd love a BMW, but I'd probably go for an older Japanese car. It'll likely be more reliable, and when it breaks, it'll be half the price to fix.

If you're dead-set on a BMW, then a 2006-era 3-series or X3 is probably your best bet. Get a thorough inspection and just expect some expensive issues to crop up. There's no such thing as a FWD BMW, so it's either RWD (i) or AWD (xi). In your case, you'd need to get an x-drive (xi) vehicle. Keep in mind, BMW only made a very few number of AWD models prior to around 1999, when they actually got serious about making AWD cars and starting pushing the x-drive system. So, you may also find older x-drive systems more problematic.

Everything he just said ^^^