Suggestions for a new city driver?

[pb34]

Hey everyone so here's the deal:

I just moved to the city with my girlfriend. She can't drive manual and I'm not crazy about driving manual in the city. So we are contemplating getting another car. Which means my e30 gets to go down for a new suspension and an engine swap :devil:

I'd like to keep it in the BMW family obviously, but I'm open to other suggestions. As for BMWs I'm thinking about an e46 coupe, sedan or touring. I'd kinda like something that has more cargo / passenger space, but the e46 coupes are just damn sexy and would be great for parallel parking and such. One specific question I guess is how good is the back seat of a e46 sedan? I was also considering the X3 or X5, but I have no knowledge about them mechanically or performance wise and they don't seem to have much cargo space.

Thanks for the input!

[nando]

Get a new girlfriend.. :p

[pb34]

She's been pretty supportive of the obsessive BMW habits, so she can stay hahaha.

[nando]

an E46 sedan or wagon would probably be tolerable. if you can swing something newer, the automatics got a lot better.

[TimeMachinE30]

$$? Expectations?

[pb34]

But how DIY friendly is the maintenance and such on those newer models?
Any comments on the e60 e90? There quite a few of those for sale for decent prices, but that kinda raised the maintenance red flag in my mind.

The budget is probably around $10,000 or whatever the bank will loan me hahaha

As for expectations: I want something that I can do the maintenance myself. I'd like something that can comfortably seat 4. Cargo space is a plus, I'm alright with roof racks for oversized cargo.

The reason why I said coupe and sedan was that my sedan e30's back seat is about the same size as my friend's e30 coupe back seat. I feel like I probably should have just gone with a coupe on my e30 because I swear the expectation of having 4 doors makes the rear seat of my e30 feel smaller than it is.

So if someone was to say that the back seat of an e46 isn't very good, It would definitely affect my choices.

[TimeMachinE30]

Dang 10,000 gets you a lot of car.

I just got a pretty good E38 740iL for 1800. Think the previous owners were trying to ditch it due to water intrusion. Known issue, new front windshield gasket and sunroof seal.. tight.

I don't think any more modern cars are easy to work on. I think the older you go the easier for the most part.

Have you considered anything from the Benz family? A W126 or W123? Granted I went to the dealership to track down some appropriately sized fuel line, I could have fixed the leaky return hose with windshield wiper line. I would consider very easy to work on this W126. I look forward to one day redoing the suspension. A glance underneath shows everything rather accessible. The diesels are certainly one of the finest production motors offering nice efficiency and terrific longevity.

From what I read, and will soon find out as I help a family member find one, the E46 is a pretty nice DD. The E39 is always a classy pick and some may regard as the finest. The E38, while big, is quite a wonderful vehicle.

[TobyB]

From owning one, I'd say that the E46 is certainly something you can work on yourself.
There are several scanners that work well, and it's really an improved E36 under the skin.
Stay 2wd.
Expect to need to change things like coils and cooling plastic, but it's all easy to
diy, once you figure out how to get the damned covers off. Then it's a pretty
normal- looking BMW under there.
The electronics are pretty good, with a few well- known weak spots.

And the back seat is good- if you don't have kids, the 2 door is ironically easier to
get big things into and out of. And since the door is so much bigger, the blind spot's
smaller.

The big red flag is the autobox- go to e46fanatics.org and read all you can about it.
You can do it, but you should go in knowing that they have a very finite lifespan.

Around here, 6-8k gets you the choice of a lot of nicer, lower- mileage cars.

hth

t

[Stanley Rockafella]

The budget is probably around $10,000 or whatever the bank will loan me hahaha

breh, IMHO there's no reason why a dd should be purchased with a bank loan (unless you have a line of credit that can be paid off quickly, at a low rate).

There's also no reason why your daily NEEDS to be a BMW, esp. if you plan to keep the e30. There are many other reliable, older Japanese cars that would make you gf happy with an auto (Lexus es300 etc.)

just my .02 cents.

[TobyB]

...until you go to WORK on the goddamned things and realize you have no clue
how they're stapled together AND that you have all the specialist tools for BMW,
but none for what you now own.

Honestly, BMW had a theme that carried through the E46, and that makes
life easier if you work on all your own shit. I have found...

t

[nando]

breh, IMHO there's no reason why a dd should be purchased with a bank loan (unless you have a line of credit that can be paid off quickly, at a low rate).

There's also no reason why your daily NEEDS to be a BMW, esp. if you plan to keep the e30. There are many other reliable, older Japanese cars that would make you gf happy with an auto (Lexus es300 etc.)

just my .02 cents.

why not? My E90 costs me hardly anything per month ($200) and it's pretty much worry free. The interest I pay is almost nothing - I think it works out to like $1500 over the 5 year period. If I had $12k in cash I could do better with it investing in something than worrying about the small amount of interest a loan cost me.

I agree with Toby on working on it too. We had a Subaru & the BMWs. I have zero tools or knowledge (or love) of Subarus. I mostly found it to be a pain in the ass, so I did only minimal work to it. with all BMWs now it's easy, even though they are generations apart working on them is mostly similar.

E46 has been around longer so much is known and there's a ton of info on DIY fixes. the E90 isn't new anymore, and the N52 based models are pretty reliable. While they have their own issues, they don't seem to be plagued with the chassis problems some E46s had. I'd imagine the E60 would be similar. Finding an automatic in either car would be really easy (finding a manual is almost impossible).

[rcsoundn1]

While I get that logic, prev post has logic for me as well. I own 2 bmws, a civic and a gallant. Because they are 2006 or older, car specific tools are few, and cheap. look into other cars. A Camry might be a good option. How much are looks/appeal/appearance of others playing into these choices? I ma looking for a new daily as well. But it cant be an older BMW. I am actually considering a CRX HF right now because of my commute and simpler design.

[pb34]

Thanks everyone for the great comments.

TimeMachinceE30:

Yeah the $10,000 is the top of my budget and was a stretch only if it was going to get me a better car. Ill probably end up spending closer to $7,000 like TobyG said, there's a lot of good stuff out there from 6 to 8K.

I didn't consider the 7 series mostly because all I hear are complaints, especially with electrical stuff.

I agree with that older is easier to work on, but I like the comforts of a new car and preferably working AC haha.

I owned a W202 for a hot second after it was "passed down to me," I really couldn't find info on fixing it and it costs me boatloads at the stealership.




TobyB:

Yeah that is what I was thinking on the e46. Certainly a much better looking e36 too thats for sure. Yeah the BMW community certainly has their shit together when it comes to repairs and maintenance which is what I really like.

Why do you say 2wd? I was really interested in the 4x4 since us virginians can't seem to grasp the concept of snow, it might be moderately more helpful.

Thats interesting about the coupe, but yeah no kids, but possibly friends / family every now and again.


Stanley RockaFella:
I mean your totally right. Its going to cost me extra to get a loan, which sucks, but I dont have the money right now which is why I'd need a loan.

Yeah the japanese cars are pretty good and incredibly inexpensive and the old ones were also really well built, so id probably be just fine with one of those. The lexus es300 is definitely on my radar.

I plan on keeping the BMW, but consider it inaccessible for the near future.


TobyB: Post #2 / #10

hahaha thats exactly my thoughts on those other cars. If I stay with the BMW line, there's going to be a lot of skill and tools crossover, especially with an OBDII engine swapped e30. Plus I know they are built with better quality.

Nando:

Good to know about the E90s, anything in particular that is bad?

rcsoundn1:

Good points as well.

Looks are actually a bit more important. I dont really want something that looks old and beat, and that has those modern amenities and reliability.

[thefrog1394]

E90 autos are wayy better than the e46 autos. Also they seem to be far more reliable (although less high mileage cars so we'll see in a few years). E46 autos have a pretty bad rap as far as reliability is concerned so I'd factor in a tranny rebuild into the price of the car.

I picked up an 07 335i for 10,5. No problems yet (knock on wood) but I'd stick with a 330 or 328 if maintenance costs are a concern.

[TimKninja]

Automatic Volvo 240 Wagon. Ultimate city beater .