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I am currently looking to start saving up for a car. Here's the scenario:

Just go with the fact that I make $10 an hour (~$200/week during school, ~$400+ summer) and I will most likely be pooling insurance with my mom.

I love BMWs, and it's not the image they portray or anything, its because they are fun to drive, they are very comfortable, not too sporty, (looking towards the <200BHP, don't want to wreck it) for the most part, reliable, and very safety-loaded.

My mom has a '92 Mazda Protege that she would readily pass down to me for free, with less than 85000 miles on it, and it has a new radiator, and has never broken down in any way, it always starts easily on the turn of a key, it's just not ME.

If I were to get a car, and I had my way, I would get a 2001-05 3xxci (3-series coupe) BMW, and it has to have less than 100,000 miles. I'm just wondering what one of these would cost to own, and how hard it would be for me to own one. I live at least 300 miles from a BMW dealership, but there are plenty local shops around. Are 3-series' of this age very reliable? There have been a few students in my high school with one, and they really weren't necessarily rolling in cash.

If I were to buy another car, (from the millennium) what, besides a Beamer should I be looking at? or should I just stick with the Mazda for now?  

I fix cars all day and I keep getting asked that question whenever I work on a clunker  -"what should I buy next?"  -and my answer is always the same; "Whatever looks good on you."

There are so many cars that look like one another these days, it's really a matter of personal choice.

Good time to buy -prices are low -offer cash and finance it yourself if you can, to get the best deal.


-take your time, take your mom's car until you are sure.  

For a first car, you probably don't want a BMW.  THe cost to repair for those vehicles are very expensive.  You should probably wait till you graduate college, but before, any import car like honda, toyota, hyundai, etc, should be good.  Since you're looknig at something with less than 200 hp, imports have great horsepower and great gas mileage.  

I'm in the same boat, I have been asking so many friends and online. Still can't decide..I hope I get some answer from here =). I'm willing to spend 15k for used car though.  

I'm 16 and I drive a 2002 325i and I love it, but unless you have money spend on repairs do not buy a BMW. Personally I love my BMW and I have the money for the repairs but some repair bills can be quite shocking. My BMW has not had to have very many repairs but the ones that it has required were expensive. Get the car checked out at a dealer before you buy it, that was my mistake. I had mine checked out by a local mechanic, who I found a few months later had never worked on a BMW before, so I got screwed. For repairs I would recommend going to a mechanic shop that specializes in European imports as it will be much cheaper than the dealership. A 3-series is a very fun first car, but can be expensive when it comes to repairs. If you do not have money for repairs do not buy a BMW.  

I think the most important thing is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK! I am not talking about your school homework (you should do that so someday you can afford to buy a brand new Beemer!) but the homework on 2001-2005 3xxci. Find out what one will cost to buy (you didnt mention if you have a nestegg to put toward the purchase). What your monthly  payments will be (will you have enough $ left to enjoy the car after insurance, car payments, gas, repairs, etc.). Is there a shop in your area that has a good reputation AND can work on BMW's (it's sucks to have to pay a lot for repairs, it REALLY sucks to pay a lot for repairs that are done wrong!) 300 miles is too far to go for an oil change!!! E-bay will give you an idea as to what to expect to pay, Consumer Reports will give you an idea of what to expect to go wrong with your car in their annual car issue (go to library for this as you cant go to CR online unless you subscribe). Decide if you want to buy private sale (it will cost less but you are on your own for any repairs that happen) or from a car dealer (more expensive but you may get a warranty to protect you from repair costs). If you do all this then you can make your own decision on what is best to buy be it a Beemer or another car that you learn about in your homework process!
Good luck!  

Thanks for all the replies! I make 10.40/hr, but I don't get many hours, so a BMW isn't exactly in my imminent future. My mom also has run into some problems with the Mazda (Which I've become a lot more grateful for) so that's not going to happen. Instead, I'm looking at the ultimate college car, a Civic! haha. Probably one that's a 1996-2000 coupe with a stick. A Bimmer is still my goal, but not for now. I've posted around on a lot of forums in the past (Around the time I posted this) and I can't believe how stuck-up and rude I sound! I've matured a lot, even in the last 10 months. I'm 15 now, turning 16 in November. I hadn't actually started working when I first posted this, so I didn't know how that was going to go, but I got the job I'd planned on getting, and I love it, but the amount of hours I get are very small. For example, I only work 5 hours this week (during school), and don't think I topped 15 during this past summer. Now, for a first job, this is an amazing opportunity, but I'm already the workaholic type, so next summer, I want to get a second job to bring my hours closer to 40, without dumping the other job. So, now I've been working since the beginning of last summer ('10), and won't stop working there until I graduate college, mainly working there on the breaks of college, so that's why I love my job, plus it's a lot of fun. But down to the point: I'm only going to be banking $200/month during school, and with the $800ish I got from this past summer, I bought myself a laptop. So, now, I'm going to start saving up until my birthday in November. Hopefully, by then, I'll have $500-700 saved up to put down on a car. I have 2 choices, theoretically: Ask my grandparents to loan me the money, and give the down payment to them. The plus side of that is not needing full coverage. On the other hand, I could go through my bank, who gives auto loans to 16/17 year olds after we jump through a lot of hoops. The plus side of this would be building my credit. Mainly, that depends on what my grandparents want to do. I guess what I wanted to do with this reply is to give a quick update. Thanks for the advice everyone's given me. Sorry, I kinda lost track of this thread, but I'll try to keep track of it for a little while now.

Alex  

The cost for repairs are definitely expensive. Luxary is for when you are all finished with school!


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