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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[–] Yollasho ago
Like others are saying, BMW makes good cars. Pretty much any car that's been maintained well will be reliable.
The problem is the part where you said you're in college. So I'm going to guess you may be interested in saving money. Parts for a BMW can get pricey, and since you said you can't do the work yourself you could end up paying quite a bit for some stuff that would be dirt cheap on a more budget minded car.
Honda civic, Ford focus, Mazda3... those types of cars are everywhere the parts are basically free and super easy to get. They'll drive down the highway just fine, and a used one will be so cheap you may be able to get much of your money back a year or two down the road if you decide to upgrade.
As far as driving in the winter, anything can drive in the winter just fine if you buy some half decent winter tires. Although if you've never driven a rwd car you may have to adjust to how a real car drives. ;)