Hi, all, I am a student in college, and have found a pretty good deal on a BMW 3 series, e46 generation. However, I have only driven new cars before, and I have 0 experience in fixing anything car related. I would like to know what maintaining costs would go into owning an old BMW, as well as its durability, the chances of it actually breaking down, if it is durable enough to be driven in the winter. All in all I am just concerned about how durable it is, not really trying to have it die on me on the freeway :/. Thank you all!
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[–] pinson101 ago
If you don't enjoy working on cars (and/or don't have large sums of money to spend on parts/labor) do not get a BMW over ~100,000 miles. They are awesome cars and drive like nothing else but when something goes wrong (usually when the 1st owner is ready to sell it) they are expensive to maintain.
Honestly, with the information you posted I'd say stick to a Honda/Toyota. They're not as cool but they are perfect if you're in college and can't take large financial hits. Wait for the BMW when you can buy one that won't be a headache.
1st car was a 1997 BMW 318is