Evening all,
I’m looking for a good family car which has been very well looked after (mechanically) and looking to keep this car for 5+ years with as few nasty surprises as possible.
Generally speaking, I think this forum attracts a high calibre of car enthusiasts. I would also like to think any transaction carries an unwritten comradery / transparency / level of trust and honesty which you wouldn’t get from a cold sale at ‘Megga Car Sales.com’.
For what it’s worth, there maybe some additional perks of selling to me given my background with hifi / audio / furniture. Check out https://www.gullandaudio.com/?utm_source=Forum&utm_medium=Organic Post&utm_campaign=Family Car for context.
With the above in mind, I’m fairly open to thoughts / cars which people maybe looking to sell in the hope that I find a great car, whatever shape or form it comes in.
As a bit of a background, I loved the 3L e46 touring and big fan of the various e91’s out there. The f31 has been a bit of a disappointment so far, but I’ve only tried 335d variants, so would love to be shown otherwise as the interiors / practicalities of them are fantastic. I guess I like the e46 the best, but the e90’s might be less prone to rust and general age degradation, so this maybe where the happy medium sits. I’m also open to M3’s if the condition / price is good.
__ Key Importance __
- Great mechanical condition.
- Manual.
- Petrol.
- 4 door or at least something which is easy for kids to get in and out of / baby chair thing.
- Forum member or trusted friend of forum member.
__ Medium Importance __
- 3L or more.
- Light interior e.g. cream / white. You get the picture.
- Hydraulic steering – however I believe some late e90’s has electronic!?
- Estate ideally, however perhaps a saloon would be sufficient… estate would be best, but I know they are near to impossible to get hold of.
- M3 / M sport, or equivalent ‘sport package’.
- Less than 100k, but if in good condition then this overrides the mileage.
__ Usage __
- Wife has a colt for general usage.
- This will be for weekend outings / light commuting. Estimating 8k miles a year.
- 2 euro trips a year, so ideally enough space for 2 adults and a baby or two. This is why I like the idea of estate, or at least the option for a roof box (suction based ideally).
__ General Thoughts On BMW Variants __
- E46 3L touring – very lovely car, but hard to find with the above. Bit worried about rust and subframe.
- E46 M3 – yummy, but worried about age now. Also hard top prices are a bit sickeningly high still. Perhaps best to spend a bit more for e90 m3 reducing age related issues!?
- E91 3L n52 – would love this, but hard to find.
- E91 335i (n54) – hard to find and also worried about turbo issues and the likes of.
- E91 335i (n55) – even harder to find but interested as this would be a great option.
- E90 335i (engines as above) – would prefer estate, but I guess a suction-based roof box would be ok for euro trips to allow extra space.
- E90 M3 – interested if great example.
- 5 series is of interest, but instinct tell me 3 series is sufficient / more my style.
Thoughts welcome.
Best,
Theog
I’m looking for a good family car which has been very well looked after (mechanically) and looking to keep this car for 5+ years with as few nasty surprises as possible.
Generally speaking, I think this forum attracts a high calibre of car enthusiasts. I would also like to think any transaction carries an unwritten comradery / transparency / level of trust and honesty which you wouldn’t get from a cold sale at ‘Megga Car Sales.com’.
For what it’s worth, there maybe some additional perks of selling to me given my background with hifi / audio / furniture. Check out https://www.gullandaudio.com/?utm_source=Forum&utm_medium=Organic Post&utm_campaign=Family Car for context.
With the above in mind, I’m fairly open to thoughts / cars which people maybe looking to sell in the hope that I find a great car, whatever shape or form it comes in.
As a bit of a background, I loved the 3L e46 touring and big fan of the various e91’s out there. The f31 has been a bit of a disappointment so far, but I’ve only tried 335d variants, so would love to be shown otherwise as the interiors / practicalities of them are fantastic. I guess I like the e46 the best, but the e90’s might be less prone to rust and general age degradation, so this maybe where the happy medium sits. I’m also open to M3’s if the condition / price is good.
__ Key Importance __
- Great mechanical condition.
- Manual.
- Petrol.
- 4 door or at least something which is easy for kids to get in and out of / baby chair thing.
- Forum member or trusted friend of forum member.
__ Medium Importance __
- 3L or more.
- Light interior e.g. cream / white. You get the picture.
- Hydraulic steering – however I believe some late e90’s has electronic!?
- Estate ideally, however perhaps a saloon would be sufficient… estate would be best, but I know they are near to impossible to get hold of.
- M3 / M sport, or equivalent ‘sport package’.
- Less than 100k, but if in good condition then this overrides the mileage.
__ Usage __
- Wife has a colt for general usage.
- This will be for weekend outings / light commuting. Estimating 8k miles a year.
- 2 euro trips a year, so ideally enough space for 2 adults and a baby or two. This is why I like the idea of estate, or at least the option for a roof box (suction based ideally).
__ General Thoughts On BMW Variants __
- E46 3L touring – very lovely car, but hard to find with the above. Bit worried about rust and subframe.
- E46 M3 – yummy, but worried about age now. Also hard top prices are a bit sickeningly high still. Perhaps best to spend a bit more for e90 m3 reducing age related issues!?
- E91 3L n52 – would love this, but hard to find.
- E91 335i (n54) – hard to find and also worried about turbo issues and the likes of.
- E91 335i (n55) – even harder to find but interested as this would be a great option.
- E90 335i (engines as above) – would prefer estate, but I guess a suction-based roof box would be ok for euro trips to allow extra space.
- E90 M3 – interested if great example.
- 5 series is of interest, but instinct tell me 3 series is sufficient / more my style.
Thoughts welcome.
Best,
Theog
North West Surrey
