Person on budget: older BMW or newer Toyota, Nissan, Mazda...?

Hi,
I'm an average Joe interested in buying a newer car. I have an '89 Volvo and
I was thinking of buying something a little more modern. For someone like
myself (looking for something of about $15K-$20K) would you recommend an
older BMW (eg. a '97 5-series with less than 40K miles) or a newer Honda
Accord or Toyota Camry? I've always wanted to own a BMW and, here in PR,
I've seen a few '97 5-series with low mileage at $15k-$18k, but in the long
run, is this the best choice? And by "best choice" I mean reliability, price
for maintenance, total ownership cost of a used vehicle, etc... assuming
that the vehicle is in good condition when purchased.

Thanks,

In a previous posting, "Big A" > had the
audacity to say:

:Hi,
:I'm an average Joe interested in buying a newer car. I have an '89 Volvo and
:I was thinking of buying something a little more modern. For someone like
:myself (looking for something of about $15K-$20K) would you recommend an
lder BMW (eg. a '97 5-series with less than 40K miles) or a newer Honda
:Accord or Toyota Camry?

And you think you'll get an unbiased, objective answer in a BMW
group? :}

:I've always wanted to own a BMW

I think you've already made up your mind!

--
E.R. aka SJG aka Ricardo
present location: vancouver bc canada
refugee from the european union's evil bureaucracy

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 17:56:27 -0500, Big A wrote:

> Hi,
> I'm an average Joe interested in buying a newer car. I have an '89 Volvo
> and I was thinking of buying something a little more modern. For someone
> like myself (looking for something of about $15K-$20K) would you recommend
> an older BMW (eg. a '97 5-series with less than 40K miles) or a newer
> Honda Accord or Toyota Camry? I've always wanted to own a BMW and, here in
> PR, I've seen a few '97 5-series with low mileage at $15k-$18k, but in the
> long run, is this the best choice? And by "best choice" I mean
> reliability, price for maintenance, total ownership cost of a used
> vehicle, etc... assuming that the vehicle is in good condition when
> purchased.
>
I've found BMW's to be very reliable and one in the 40-60K range should
have had any niggly defects already dealt with under warranty service.
Then it is just a matter of the usual mileage/age related repairs (brake
pads/rotors, control arm bushings, shocks, etc) over the next hundred K or
so miles. When buying any used vehicle it is usually good to have an
independant inspection performed to assess the current state of the car.
Done properly that will give you a good idea of what might be in store in
the way of repairs in the near future and you can factor that into what
you are willing to offer.

Depending on how it was driven at 40-60K it is likely to be due for at
least brake pads and possibly rotors and possibly a new battery. Shocks &
control arm bushings won't likely be due until over 80-100k, depending or
how/where it's been driven.

--
The instructions said to use Windows 98 or better, so I installed RedHat.

Unless you can afford BIG repair/parts bills, go with the newer Japanese,
IMHO. Buying the car is not the problem (budget)...it is the fixed and
unexpected costs that get you !



Hi,
> I'm an average Joe interested in buying a newer car. I have an '89 Volvo
and
> I was thinking of buying something a little more modern. For someone like
> myself (looking for something of about $15K-$20K) would you recommend an
> older BMW (eg. a '97 5-series with less than 40K miles) or a newer Honda
> Accord or Toyota Camry? I've always wanted to own a BMW and, here in PR,
> I've seen a few '97 5-series with low mileage at $15k-$18k, but in the
long
> run, is this the best choice? And by "best choice" I mean reliability,
price
> for maintenance, total ownership cost of a used vehicle, etc... assuming
> that the vehicle is in good condition when purchased.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>

"mjc" > wrote in message
...
> Unless you can afford BIG repair/parts bills, go with the newer Japanese,
> IMHO. Buying the car is not the problem (budget)...it is the fixed and
> unexpected costs that get you !
>
>

Sure, but depreciation will be *much* heavier on a newer Jap car, than on a
5. This will more than offset the slight extra costs for service/occasional
repair. My bro's 1998 540 goes like a dream, no probs at all...
Taking this into account together with the superior driving experience and
cabin comfort/ambience I say get the Beemer..

Regards

Snoop

If you do most work on the car yourself, and buy your parts from known
online vendors, BMWs are as cheap to maintain as any other car.

My 98 323is has never quit on the road, but it has suffered numerous
minor problems. Had I taken it to the local dealer, those two repairs
(cam position sensor, auto-climate-control, both easy fixes) would
have cost me $700 total. A couple years ago I let the dealer replace
the front brake rotors and pads and it cost me over $400. Stupid me -
won't do that again! A couple months ago, I did the same job myself on
the rear brakes for $160. Oil changes at the dealer are $45. I do my
own for $15. Car has 79k miles and runs like new.

Were I buying a used one, I'd look for 1996 or newer, with less than
100k miles. Have the engine and transmission looked at carefully and
perhaps do a compression check. Everything else on the car is easy to
work on and not expensive.

If you enjoy driving and do regular maintenance yourself, you'll enjoy
the BMW.

If cost (to acquire) and reliability are higher priorities, buy the
Honda. I've had two Hondas (put a total of 250,000 miles on them) and
they were/are faultlessly reliable, comfortable, if a bit boring to
drive. I do my own maintenance on them too.

I suspect that you will find that depreciation on the best of the Japanese
sedans (Honda Accord and Toyota Camry) is very low precisely because they
are bullet-proof in terms of reliability. BMW's have good resale value as
well, but as to whether it is up to Accord/Camry standards that is an
interesting question. My guess is that as a result of the BMW "panache" the
depreciation is comparable, but you will, in the long run , pay more to keep
the BMW running because it will break more often and be more expensive to
fix when it does break. On the other hand, you will, unquestionably, have
more fun driving the Beemer.

A good compromise might be one of the small very sporty Acuras. Fun to drive
and Japanese reliability.

By the way, why do you use the "Jap" pejorative? Or do you use the terms
"Hun" or "Kraut" or "Himey" to refer to German cars, as well? What's the
reason for the ethnic insult? Uncalled for.

- GRL


"Snoop" > wrote in message
...
>
> "mjc" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Unless you can afford BIG repair/parts bills, go with the newer
Japanese,
> > IMHO. Buying the car is not the problem (budget)...it is the fixed and
> > unexpected costs that get you !
> >
> >
>
> Sure, but depreciation will be *much* heavier on a newer Jap car, than on
a
> 5. This will more than offset the slight extra costs for
service/occasional
> repair. My bro's 1998 540 goes like a dream, no probs at all...
> Taking this into account together with the superior driving experience and
> cabin comfort/ambience I say get the Beemer..
>
> Regards
>
> Snoop
>
>

"Big A" > wrote
> I'm an average Joe interested in buying a newer car. I have an '89 Volvo
> and
> I was thinking of buying something a little more modern. For someone like
> myself (looking for something of about $15K-$20K) would you recommend an
> older BMW (eg. a '97 5-series with less than 40K miles) or a newer Honda
> Accord or Toyota Camry? I've always wanted to own a BMW and, here in PR,
> I've seen a few '97 5-series with low mileage at $15k-$18k, but in the
> long
> run, is this the best choice? And by "best choice" I mean reliability,
> price
> for maintenance, total ownership cost of a used vehicle, etc... assuming
> that the vehicle is in good condition when purchased.

Well, I bought my mom a '99 Camry LE V6 and it's been cheap for her.
However, it's a very blah car. My '01 330xi has been equally trouble-free,
and is way more car and a lot more fun to drive.

IMO, maintenance costs for BMWs is about the same as for Toyotas
*except* for brakes and suspension bits. The parts are inexpensive,
but BMW dealers seem to charge 2-3 times as much as independent
repair shops.

Floyd

I say if you want reliability and some fun with a good handling front drive
car (not boring like a Camry), go for a Mazda. The Miata is, of course,
real wheel drive as is the RX-8. But for a practical and fun sedan, the
Mazda 3, Mazda 6 or a used Protege ES or Mazdaspeed Protege are good
choices.

They will depreciate more than the others (Honda, Toyota and BMW), but I
have always found them to be as reliable as Hondas and Toyotas. BUT, they
are more fun to drive.


"mjc" > wrote in message
...
> Unless you can afford BIG repair/parts bills, go with the newer Japanese,
> IMHO. Buying the car is not the problem (budget)...it is the fixed and
> unexpected costs that get you !
>
>
>
> Hi,
>> I'm an average Joe interested in buying a newer car. I have an '89 Volvo
> and
>> I was thinking of buying something a little more modern. For someone
>> like
>> myself (looking for something of about $15K-$20K) would you recommend an
>> older BMW (eg. a '97 5-series with less than 40K miles) or a newer Honda
>> Accord or Toyota Camry? I've always wanted to own a BMW and, here in PR,
>> I've seen a few '97 5-series with low mileage at $15k-$18k, but in the
> long
>> run, is this the best choice? And by "best choice" I mean reliability,
> price
>> for maintenance, total ownership cost of a used vehicle, etc... assuming
>> that the vehicle is in good condition when purchased.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

>
> "Snoop" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "mjc" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Unless you can afford BIG repair/parts bills, go with the newer
> Japanese,
> > > IMHO. Buying the car is not the problem (budget)...it is the fixed and
> > > unexpected costs that get you !
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Sure, but depreciation will be *much* heavier on a newer Jap car, than
on
> a
> > 5. This will more than offset the slight extra costs for
> service/occasional
> > repair. My bro's 1998 540 goes like a dream, no probs at all...
> > Taking this into account together with the superior driving experience
and
> > cabin comfort/ambience I say get the Beemer..
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Snoop
> >
"GRL" > wrote in message
...
>
> By the way, why do you use the "Jap" pejorative? Or do you use the terms
> "Hun" or "Kraut" or "Himey" to refer to German cars, as well? What's the
> reason for the ethnic insult? Uncalled for.
>
> - GRL
>

I used it because I have acute tendonitis in both elbows and it is shorter
to type and conveys the same information.

Snoop