BMW 316 - Advice?

cianclarke

..You're in your own name, on your first provisional, and they're quoting you a price on a 318i?
And they won't quote me on a 318i at 19 with a full licence and 2 years named drivers experience?
With quinn direct? What is your occupation down as? What year is the car?
I can't figure how they are unwilling to quote me on this car, but somebody with a provisional license and less experience has no problem, wierd! Did you have to ring them up?

legs11

I have had 2 bmw E36s, my view is that they are very comfortable and very well put together, but as pointed out here and pointed out on this forum alot they go wrong, and when they go wrong it will cost, so all of a sudden that 5/6/7k bmw doesnt seem so cheap at all

for that reason I would be probably more inclined to get a accord, 1.8litre, a well looked after accord is almost certainly not going to cause problems

for instance i picked up a 98 1.8 for my mate, who is the person who fills up pertrol, and zero else service.

well that was 3 years ago, and the honda is still motoring away. with about 2 oil changes over 3 years and one over heated engine....

try that on a bmw and bye bye......!

if your 17 you dont want all this hassle, so well and good if you get a trouble free bmw, but the badge is not everything.

im going to japan soon and going to bring back a brand new piece of honda for myself.........

cheap....:p

legs11

'On the other hand i think they can look brilliant'

looks can kill

theres no point buyin a bmw if its looks you want and if it costs thousands to repair, it could happen. !

im not anti bmw, i love them, but you need to be careful and IMO over 50% of them on sale around are very dodgey, prob more like 60%!!

Accord sport might not have the badge but it wont let you down.......as lynx might say:rolleyes:

Eoin087

cianclarke wrote: »

..You're in your own name, on your first provisional, and they're quoting you a price on a 318i?
And they won't quote me on a 318i at 19 with a full licence and 2 years named drivers experience?
With quinn direct? What is your occupation down as? What year is the car?
I can't figure how they are unwilling to quote me on this car, but somebody with a provisional license and less experience has no problem, wierd! Did you have to ring them up?

My occupation is down as being a student, my quote was based on a 2000 model, insured with quinn and yeah I rang them up..

Maybe they see you as a higher risk factor than I (joke)

cianclarke

Eoin087 wrote: »

My occupation is down as being a student, my quote was based on a 2000 model, insured with quinn and yeah I rang them up..

Maybe they see you as a higher risk factor than I (joke)

Wow that's really wierd, I seriously can't figure that... Might ring them up and see, it makes no sense.. With a full licence I should have a better chance...!

By the way are you now driving said car or did you just get a price?

Eoin087

cianclarke wrote: »

Wow that's really wierd, I seriously can't figure that... Might ring them up and see, it makes no sense.. With a full licence I should have a better chance...!

By the way are you now driving said car or did you just get a price?

No not driving one yet...will be in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

To be honest I can't see why they won't quote you on one, as mentioned I have a friend who is driving a 525 and is insured in his own name with quinn.

cianclarke

Eoin087 wrote: »

No not driving one yet...will be in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

To be honest I can't see why they won't quote you on one, as mentioned I have a friend who is driving a 525 and is insured in his own name with quinn.

That's really wierd yeah, I'd love a nice 5 series / 318i, 320... and wouldn't mind paying up on the extra tax every year to get something a little closer to the BMW experience.

I might try ringing them up. Any other boardsies care to speculate as to why they aren't quoting me on these cars, but will quote Eoin above?
Maybe its your addy, I'm in D6 - are you outside of the city?

Edit: Theres such good value to be had in the 520i that it's killing me not to be able to drive one!

Eoin087

cianclarke wrote: »

That's really wierd yeah, I'd love a nice 5 series / 318i, 320... and wouldn't mind paying up on the extra tax every year to get something a little closer to the BMW experience.

I might try ringing them up. Any other boardsies care to speculate as to why they aren't quoting me on these cars, but will quote Eoin above?
Maybe its your addy, I'm in D6 - are you outside of the city?

Edit: Theres such good value to be had in the 520i that it's killing me not to be able to drive one!

I live just outside cork city, my address wouldn't be the reason, would it?

You should try ringing them tomorrow (quinn), I can't see why they wouldn't quote you on one of them. Let me know how you get on.

Timmins

I had an e36 1.6 for 5 years from 52k miles to 125k miles. Aside from regular servicing and tyres, it had a new clutch, radiator, and head gasket. It was a great car - very comfortable for motorway driving and long distances. Quite sluggish from 0 to 30 due to the low power to weight ratio, but after that it was a grand cruiser. If you are in heavy traffic you might find it hard work, but for cruising long distances or motorway driving its a great car.

A new head gasket is quite a job.. Not something i'd want to encounter, how much did it cost you?

Maybe it would be a good idea to buy an E36 from someone i know, where i know exactly whats been done to it and whats most likely to go wrong (if anything). They seem a bit dodgy by all reports, so a trusted seller might be the best option!

Thanks for everyones help,

Sean

m_stan

Timmins wrote: »

A new head gasket is quite a job.. Not something i'd want to encounter, how much did it cost you?

Maybe it would be a good idea to buy an E36 from someone i know, where i know exactly whats been done to it and whats most likely to go wrong (if anything). They seem a bit dodgy by all reports, so a trusted seller might be the best option!

Thanks for everyones help,

Sean

You know what - I really cant remember. I have a good local mechanic who I trust, but it wasn't cheap - you are right there - I remember that much !

Andrewf20

It must have been the guts of a thousand euro.

neil.p.b

hey timmins, i had a 95 316compact when i was 18 and then a 98 318coupe when i was 19. The 95 316 had 112000 miles on it but i had absolutely no problems with it whatsoever. Down side on them is they're harder to sell then the coupe and harder to get spare/after market parts for. With my 98coupe it only had 70000 miles on it and i had to replace the water pump, cheap enough and no other problems with it. 1.6 litre is more then enough for your first car so power wont be a problem. I find them vey reliable and great looking so id say go for it, just stay clear of anything over 120000miles