I am considering purchasing a 2007 BMW 328xi.
It is a CPO with just under 35K miles on it and the asking price is about $26K.
I drive about 120 miles per day in New England.
I have 2 questions.
1) Is this a reasonable price for a 3 series with that mileage?
2) provided its not a lemon, and I take care of it, about how many miles can I expect to get out of one of these?
you never ever know how many miles you can expect to get out of any car, let alone a used one. I mean you can expect all you want, but what you get is what you get.
As far as a reasonable price, check with autotrader.com for a comparison, or go to blue book if you can find one. If you like it, and there is a good service record, and it passes muster with a knowledgeable mechanic’s once over, then bid low and haggle.
Edmunds says that a CPO 2007 328xi would go for around $28,000. But that’s near me, and I don’t know what options are on the one you are looking at. OTOH, dealer retail for a non-CPO is about $26,000 with the usual options, so it does sound good.
http://www.edmunds.com/used/2007/bmw/3series/100814244/prices.html
These cars have a long life like any car. However when it comes time for maintenance and repairs they are much more expensive than majority of Asian and Domestic branded vehicles.
The key to these cars is finding a decent and reasonable BMW versed indepedent mechanic when warranty/CPO passes. I know a few owners in the 200k-300k range who drive long commutes in New England with BMW 3s and 5s.
Edmunds, NADA, and Kelly Blue book sites will give you appropriate prices if you click the appropriate options for your car, but this prices sounds quite reasonable.
The all wheel drive option will cost you about 3 mpg and slightly higher maintenance costs, but lots of folks say that AWD is worth the cost.
With a BMW factory CPO car, you will have no significant repair costs until you hit 100k miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. After that, things can get expensive, and if you take it to the dealer for maintenance and repairs, VERY expensive. As noted by others, a good BMW specialist shop can make all the difference. Take your BMW mechanic fresh baked brownies occasionally.
In my family, we drive nothing but 3-series BMWs. We have four of them ranging from 80k miles to 250k miles. They are not as cheap to own as Toyotas or Hondas, but they are great cars. We don’t want anything else. I do most of the maintenance myself, and I have a great mechanic who does everything that I cannot handle.
e-46,the closest thing to a perfect automobile ever made. e-39 M5 best looking/performing muscle car for my money, must cost a lot to keep it up though. Many cars are faster than the e-39 M5 but it has that look that grabs me.