[rambu]

Hi all, I'm new to Australia and I'm planning to buy my first car in Melbourne. It could be a 320i E90 2005 or 2006.

I've been checking carsales.com.au. Found some really good dealers.

Should I buy from a dealer that already had the car inspected and providing 12-months warranty?

Or should I buy privately? There won't be any warranty though.

Thanks.

[suff]

Hi Rambu

Welcome to the forums .. If your buying a 4-5 year old car, especially a european car, I would be looking for a car with a warranty, preferrably a warranty from a BMW dealership. Whilst you may pay an extra 10% for the car, if there is a fault, that 10% (of $30-40k) will pale into comparisson to the cost of BMW spare parts!

Good luck, and make sure you post up pictures

[zenderm3]

Here here! Welcome to Australia Rambu

[cruvon]

I would say if you have to go through the used car private seller route where you usually would get the best deals look for a car with low mileage though that too won't be a gurantee that things couldn't go wrong but chances of big expenses are lower. When things do go wrong they usually start at about $800 to fix/replace to the 1000's if things like the ABS module et al gives way so make sure you get the car inspected before you buy, also check the service menu in the console to see how many kms before things need replacement.

[NBTBRV8]

Personally I'd go private, but it depends upon how car savvy you are.

[bcoz]

Originally Posted by cruvon

...so make sure you get the car inspected before you buy

I would 2nd that. You may also want to join the RACV (VIC Car Club and Roadside Assistance). They provide a Pre-purchase Inspection for $170 for members ($227 non-members). I have used the equivalent NRMA (NSW) service in the past.

http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/conne...le+inspections

In fact, I would recommend that you get a Pre-purchase Inspection whether you buy Private or from a Dealer. That way you can say to the Dealer, here's the RACV report, please have the identified items repaired before I take delivery. On the other hand, a Pre-purchase Inspection may identify structural problems due to sub-standard repairs after an accident (allowing you to walk away from the deal).

[rambu]

That's a lot of good & important information here. Thanks for the replies.

BMW Dealership eh? How about a common car dealer that has a used BMW and also giving away 12-month warranty? My guess is it would be different. I guess used cars from BMW Dealership is more like reconditioned cars?

RACV Pre-purchase, interesting. I had a quick look. It should work fine for me. I'll ask more around.

Thanks.

[mark325]

Used car dealers are scum just like dodgy private sellers, Research research research! Have it inspected independently.

[johnnydad]

Originally Posted by rambu

That's a lot of good & important information here. Thanks for the replies.

BMW Dealership eh? How about a common car dealer that has a used BMW and also giving away 12-month warranty? My guess is it would be different. I guess used cars from BMW Dealership is more like reconditioned cars?

RACV Pre-purchase, interesting. I had a quick look. It should work fine for me. I'll ask more around.

Thanks.

Warranties vary - you really need to check the paperwork - ask to see a written contract perhaps?

There is always the statuatory 3 month warranty for any car under 10years/160,000km bought from a dealer, but whether any necessary repairs would be done in a proper and timely fashion is not clear to me.

At least if you buy an official BMW used car a BMW dealer will be doing the repairs and not some dodgy workshop out the back with no idea.

Personally I'd either look for a well-loved private car and set aside the $2-3K saving just in case, or get a BMW approved used one.

Alternatively, have you considered looking at a new/demo car and bargaining hard?

[mark325]

Im sorry johnnydad but ima have to pull you up here,

BMW's workshops are not what they are cracked up to be, and I wont take my lawn mower there let alone my car. The only reason those clowns touched my vehicle was because they had to replace the engine and surprise surprise they managed to stuff it up and it had to go back twice to rectify it.

Independent BMW workshops are run by guys who actually have a passion for the vehicles rather than some teenager thats managed to get an apprenticeship at BMW. I do all my own vehicle maintenance and I am very very thorough when it comes to working on my own vehicle, Alot of my friends will vouch for the mechanical condition that I keep my cars in. I keep all my receipts and I fill in the log book myself.

Just find a car thats looked like its been well looked after the service book is up to date. And if you wanna be safe get a 3rd party inspection. Be warned though those guys really do go over everything and are quiet anal at times.

[johnnydad]

Point taken Mark. I and a fair number of people I know have been pretty happy with the service from my particular BMW dealer so in my particular case I'm fairly confident they will do a good job.

I was more thinking of the second-hand car-yard selling late-model euro prestige cars with hastily stamped log books and that a BMW approved car might be a better bet for any warranty repairs. As you say, private purchase and independent service may well be just as good or better.

[mark325]

I think on a whole you expect dealerships to provide quality used cars because of the premium spent on them during repairs etc. But just with my experience, Ive been very disappointed but I'm probably not being very fair.