New car advice needed

[mattm]

I am thinking of replacing the 318is with something a little newer. After a moment of madness this weekend where I considered an Alfa Romeo I have decided it will probably be something from the BMW stable again.

On the way back from an Alfa "specialist" I spotted an E39 525d Avus Sport edition complete with 18" Parallel Alloys which looked fantastic. I was really tempted but at £6300 it was a tad tired looking for the price. My head ruled my heart (but it was VERY close) and I've decided to give it a miss. Damn it looked good though!

So I thought about the following:

E36 328i or M3
E46 328ci or 330ci (even an M3 at a push!)
E39 5 Series (I did like the 525dAvus Sport one I saw!)
Z3 M Coupe (I've always had a soft spot for them! )

Any ownership experiences on the above or other suggestions would be appreciated. I don't mind if it is petrol or diesel. Don't get me wrong I think the E30 is a great car but I am looking for a bit of a change. While my knowledge of what to look for in an E30 is pretty good now, my knowledge of other BMW models is next to none!

I'm off to get some insurance quotes...

Thanks in advance!

Matt

[toby]

Quite a range of cars you're looking at there - with a spread of prices.

What you looking to spend?

E36 328i - best value and easier to DIY than my next choice, the E39

Go test drive some!

[oakey]

E39 540i. Yes please

[Alex]

Keep the IS matt you would struggle to get a better one if you wanted another

if you do sell an e39 or e46 would be my choice, ive never been a lover of the e36, saying that you do get a lot for your money with them and it has tempted me a few times

[djk]

Not speaking from experience as such, just personal preference and what I've learnt on here and elsewhere!

I reckon an e36 is a serious bargain at the moment, if you can find an unabused one. I don't particularly like them myself, but I've seen some exceptionally well equipped 328i tourings in good nick for under 2 bags - it's a hell of a lot of car for the money, and tourings are a bit less chav than saloons/coupes.

I've hankered after an e39 for a while, but I've heard horror stories about electrical reliability and cost of repairs, which has put me off. Nice refined things though imo. Don't know if you want manual or auto, but it would appear auto is best for ease of resale, and there are probably more about. I also imagine a post-facelift 520i is has pretty adequate go - 2.2 litre M54 with 170 horsepower won't be a rocket, but I imagine significantly better than the pre-facelift.

I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to talk about nikasil/alusil bores on M52s. My understanding is if it goes alright and doesn't smoke or use a lot of oil, nikasil is probably fine - I'm sure more enlightened opinions will be forthcoming in due course.

Had a go in an e46 330d once, frankly wasn't impressed - boring to drive and not especially pokey, although I think I might have been expecting too much. I think it was one of the earlier, lower powered models too, iirc they went up to over 200 bhp at some point in their model life, could have been at the facelift. Didn't think much of the interior quality either.

I've also heard diesels are not especially reliable in later life, injection and turbo problems are common from what I hear. Suggestion I've heard is that owners don't idle the engine after a trip and so starve the hot turbo of lubrication causing accelerated wear. Probably true of all turbo cars though!

I know nothing about M-coupes other than they are butt ugly, but each to their own!

Bear in mind the post X-reg changes in road tax also - an X-reg 540i will be £185 this year, a Y-reg considerably more, 250+ iirc. Parkers website has a search thing where you can find out the RFL charges for all 2001-on cars - worth a look.

I'd suggest a late e34 - apparently they are very resistant to rust compared to other BMWs, and are definitely a better bet than an early e39 as far as robustness goes. You also don't have the nikasil 'issue' to worry about.

[320ise]

e34's have there rust issues too! ive had a few that needed welding on the back of the sills and also round the rear subframe but prob just unlucky as usual!

[mattm]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. I'm also thinking of something outside of the BMW range but I won't (daren't!) say what it is until after the weekend...

[djk]

Merc?

[Morat]

E39 540i is a blast but I would be scared to take on anything less than the very best examples. Debadged, they make an awesome weapon for the traffic light GP

[harry_p]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. I'm also thinking of something outside of the BMW range but I won't (daren't!) say what it is until after the weekend...

i still have a serious soft spot for alfa 156 GTAs. i know theyre no sports car, but as something that would be more of a family weekend car rather than a fun car i think theyre great. amazing engine, lovely looks, quite rare, reasonably quick. can get nice ones for around £7k.

[E30BeemerLad]

What is your budget?

If I had 10 bags to blow on a new steed I think I would find it hard to ignore a nice Merc 500E, ooh yes please!!!!! Don't know if 10 bags would perhaps be entry level territory for them though

[Morat]

If you like a bit of Italian you could get a very nice Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo for less than 10G (probably 5!) 220bhp out of the box and only about 1300Kg. Very comfy too.

[Jon_Bmw]

How old are you Matt? An M coupe is not going to be cheap to insure I fear!

[mattm]

I'm 26. Well after a lot of thinking I'd set my heart on a 2003 Focus RS. I think they are fantastic and the insurance isn't too bad.

I went to this place today just to have a look at some "in the flesh" so to speak:

www.jct28.co.uk

I have a slight dilemma now. After I got back home I just did a check to make sure one would fit in the garage. As a comparison I used my dad's Mk5 Golf as it has the same mirror - mirror width (2 metres). It was VERY tight with only around 3mm either side!

Once the car was in the garage it was fine but getting it out of the garage every morning for work would be a real ballache.

I'm really torn now as I would love one but if it isn't possible to get in the garage relatively easily then I'm buggered!

[E3OSAM]

Plus there front wheel drive which is just wrong, i know they are very quick etc but there is no way they can be as much fun as RWD, Oh and its a FORD (fix or repair daily) just my thoughts tho