Thinking of getting 1997 328i... few questions

Hi guys,
I am looking at 1997 328i with about 74,000 miles on it.
Carfax looks clean, but I still have a few questions:

1. Is it a good/average millage for car thats almost 10 years old?
2. Because its a 1997 should I expect lower cost of reparing misc
things (wear items, etc) vs ...ehh say a 2001 BMW...?
3. I am new to BMW world, and this would be my first BMW. Is this
year/model a good place to start? If not, point me to the right
direction, please.

Thanks for all the help!

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi guys,
> I am looking at 1997 328i with about 74,000 miles on it.
> Carfax looks clean, but I still have a few questions:
>
> 1. Is it a good/average millage for car thats almost 10 years old?

7400 miles a year is good. Well, the driver could be a complete putz, and 10
miles a year could be horrible, but for most of us, you are looking at a
good car to buy.



> 2. Because its a 1997 should I expect lower cost of reparing misc
> things (wear items, etc) vs ...ehh say a 2001 BMW...?

I'm not sure what the repair cost comparison would be. I'm on my 2nd '94
325, and my annual cost of ownership was(is) among the lowest of any car
I've ever owned.


> 3. I am new to BMW world, and this would be my first BMW. Is this
> year/model a good place to start? If not, point me to the right
> direction, please.
>

It's as good a place as any.

Get it, and drive happy. Wait, that's not the slogan ...

Thanks for a quick reply Jeff!
Looking at carfax, car was obviously shipped here from Germany, and
had...5 owners
Should I be alarmed? :-\


Jeff Strickland wrote:
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Hi guys,
> > I am looking at 1997 328i with about 74,000 miles on it.
> > Carfax looks clean, but I still have a few questions:
> >
> > 1. Is it a good/average millage for car thats almost 10 years old?
>
> 7400 miles a year is good. Well, the driver could be a complete putz, and 10
> miles a year could be horrible, but for most of us, you are looking at a
> good car to buy.
>
>
>
> > 2. Because its a 1997 should I expect lower cost of reparing misc
> > things (wear items, etc) vs ...ehh say a 2001 BMW...?
>
> I'm not sure what the repair cost comparison would be. I'm on my 2nd '94
> 325, and my annual cost of ownership was(is) among the lowest of any car
> I've ever owned.
>
>
> > 3. I am new to BMW world, and this would be my first BMW. Is this
> > year/model a good place to start? If not, point me to the right
> > direction, please.
> >
>
> It's as good a place as any.
>
> Get it, and drive happy. Wait, that's not the slogan ...

wrote:
> Thanks for a quick reply Jeff!
> Looking at carfax, car was obviously shipped here from Germany, and
> had...5 owners
> Should I be alarmed? :-\
>
>
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>>> Hi guys,
>>> I am looking at 1997 328i with about 74,000 miles on it.
>>> Carfax looks clean, but I still have a few questions:
>>>
>>> 1. Is it a good/average millage for car thats almost 10 years old?
>> 7400 miles a year is good. Well, the driver could be a complete putz, and 10
>> miles a year could be horrible, but for most of us, you are looking at a
>> good car to buy.
>>
>>
>>
>>> 2. Because its a 1997 should I expect lower cost of reparing misc
>>> things (wear items, etc) vs ...ehh say a 2001 BMW...?
>> I'm not sure what the repair cost comparison would be. I'm on my 2nd '94
>> 325, and my annual cost of ownership was(is) among the lowest of any car
>> I've ever owned.
>>
>>
>>> 3. I am new to BMW world, and this would be my first BMW. Is this
>>> year/model a good place to start? If not, point me to the right
>>> direction, please.
>>>
>> It's as good a place as any.
>>
>> Get it, and drive happy. Wait, that's not the slogan ...
>
Leave it alone. unusually high ownership and history will be almost
impossible to trace unless it was imported new and is on HPI index.
Personally, I think the 5 series are a better drive, and they are
cheaper than the 3 series once 2nd hand (albeit far more new).
You'll find a better 5 series for the money and the model that went from
1996 to 2003/4 is visibly the same so pop some personalised plates on
and it looks ageless

Five owners would alarm me. I prefer to be the 2nd or 3rd owner.




> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Thanks for a quick reply Jeff!
> Looking at carfax, car was obviously shipped here from Germany, and
> had...5 owners
> Should I be alarmed? :-\
>
>
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>> > Hi guys,
>> > I am looking at 1997 328i with about 74,000 miles on it.
>> > Carfax looks clean, but I still have a few questions:
>> >
>> > 1. Is it a good/average millage for car thats almost 10 years old?
>>
>> 7400 miles a year is good. Well, the driver could be a complete putz, and
>> 10
>> miles a year could be horrible, but for most of us, you are looking at a
>> good car to buy.
>>
>>
>>
>> > 2. Because its a 1997 should I expect lower cost of reparing misc
>> > things (wear items, etc) vs ...ehh say a 2001 BMW...?
>>
>> I'm not sure what the repair cost comparison would be. I'm on my 2nd '94
>> 325, and my annual cost of ownership was(is) among the lowest of any car
>> I've ever owned.
>>
>>
>> > 3. I am new to BMW world, and this would be my first BMW. Is this
>> > year/model a good place to start? If not, point me to the right
>> > direction, please.
>> >
>>
>> It's as good a place as any.
>>
>> Get it, and drive happy. Wait, that's not the slogan ...
>

Yeah, only 9 years old, 2 owner at max for that kind of car, something wrong
there...........

Jeff Strickland wrote:
: Five owners would alarm me. I prefer to be the 2nd or 3rd owner.
:
:
:
:
: > wrote in message
: oups.com...
:: Thanks for a quick reply Jeff!
:: Looking at carfax, car was obviously shipped here from Germany, and
:: had...5 owners
:: Should I be alarmed? :-\
::
::
:: Jeff Strickland wrote:
::: > wrote in message
::: oups.com...
:::: Hi guys,
:::: I am looking at 1997 328i with about 74,000 miles on it.
:::: Carfax looks clean, but I still have a few questions:
::::
:::: 1. Is it a good/average millage for car thats almost 10 years old?
:::
::: 7400 miles a year is good. Well, the driver could be a complete putz,
::: and 10
::: miles a year could be horrible, but for most of us, you are looking at a
::: good car to buy.
:::
:::
:::
:::: 2. Because its a 1997 should I expect lower cost of reparing misc
:::: things (wear items, etc) vs ...ehh say a 2001 BMW...?
:::
::: I'm not sure what the repair cost comparison would be. I'm on my 2nd '94
::: 325, and my annual cost of ownership was(is) among the lowest of any car
::: I've ever owned.
:::
:::
:::: 3. I am new to BMW world, and this would be my first BMW. Is this
:::: year/model a good place to start? If not, point me to the right
:::: direction, please.
::::
:::
::: It's as good a place as any.
:::
::: Get it, and drive happy. Wait, that's not the slogan ...

wrote:
> yeah 5 owners is a not gonna work, so I keep searching
>
> if I was to look at late 1990's BMW, what would be a good millage for
> them?
>
> Should I use the regular 10,000-12,000 mile a year rule?
>
go for a 330 or 530 diesel. Great performance and amazing economy on a
run. History vital

Yes, 10k to 12k per year is good. One thing to keep in mind is that these
cars can easily produce well in excess of 200,000 miles before the motor
wears out. My first '94 3 Series (325 with M50 motor) had over 220k miles
when it met its doom in an intersection. I had no thought that the motor
needed any kind of servicing.

Miles is only one measure of whether or not a car has lived well. My car
delivered right at 20,000 per year and was running strong, but it's possible
that a car delivering half that could be worn out. the diffference is in the
driving habits of the main driver. It might be a good strategy to allow the
seller to take you for the first couple of miles of the test drive.

The rule I use for transmission selection is that if you are attracted to
the 4 cyl. motors, the manual transmission is a must, but if your engine
choice is the 6, then your transmission options become a matter of your
preference. Personally, I really enjoy the manual trans most of the time. My
wife and kids, on the other hand, can't seem to master the clutch well
enough to make the stick a comfortable piece of equipment.




> wrote in message
ups.com...
> yeah 5 owners is a not gonna work, so I keep searching
>
> if I was to look at late 1990's BMW, what would be a good millage for
> them?
>
> Should I use the regular 10,000-12,000 mile a year rule?
>

wrote:
> yeah 5 owners is a not gonna work, so I keep searching
>
> if I was to look at late 1990's BMW, what would be a good millage for
> them?
>
> Should I use the regular 10,000-12,000 mile a year rule?

10K -12K miles per year is below average these days so cars with that
kind of milage or below will be desirable. Of course, as others have
pointed out, the kind of driving the previous owners gave the car will
be equallly or even more important than the actual mileage. My '96 328i
had two owners before me - the first one obviously pampered the car and
the one before me was starting to let it slip a bit but only put
highway miles on it. When I got it, it had just about 10K per year on
it. Now it has 103K miles and is driving great. I do my best to take
care of it and drive it in a gentlemanly fashion most of the time. Of
course, why have a BMW if you don't wind it up here and there?

I'm on the lookout for a 2001 530i as I'm really fond of that series
and the last 6 they made seemed to be the best one from everywhere I've
read about it. 3 or 5 series depends mostly on how much car you want to
drive and whether or not you need a bigger car. The 328 is a great
commuter car for me, but I think I could use the extra room. From what
I've read, the two cars get the same gas mileage which is amazing
considering the difference in size and weight. What BMW has done with
that inline six is amazing and I'm a big fan. 30MPG on the highway,
plenty of power, and smoooth driving. My cup of tea.

Karl Winkler
http://www.giovanniquartet.com
http://www.karlwinkler.com