Ideas for a car up to £10,000 ?? UPDATED

[jonat127]

Does it have to be so modern?
If I needed a fun 4 seater I would buy an integrale.
By the sounds of it you don't need the continent crossing abilities of the M5 and the Lancia will give you a much bigger grin!
Jon

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1503189.htm

[964RS]

Does it have to be so modern?
If I needed a fun 4 seater I would buy an integrale.
By the sounds of it you don't need the continent crossing abilities of the M5 and the Lancia will give you a much bigger grin!
Jon

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1503189.htm

Great cars but think it has to be something my wife can drive too and not sure she'd be very happy in a lhd integrale.

The alpha is absolutely gorgeous...can you get 3 kids in the back though and how long until it breaks down?

[richkaz]

The alpha is absolutely gorgeous...can you get 3 kids in the back though and how long until it breaks down?

Had mine for 178,000 miles without problems. I think much of the electrics are Bosch . 3 kids in the back should be OK

After all what other car makers logo proudly depicts a serpent devouring a struggling child ?

[smallspeed]

Forget the ubiquitous German yawn boxes. Excellent and wonderful engineering, exceedingly clever and talented but --------------------
If you haven't ever owned or experienced a V6 quad cam Alfa you really should before they ban them. Just Floor the throttle in third and listen to that lovely Italian maiden sing to you. Even passengers comment on the sound. Only my old Lambo sounded better than my old Alfa 164 - and than was just 3.0 litres. This 3.2 V6 is , with a bit of negotiation just in budget


http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/1517479.htm

is that the "depreciator5000" model?

[964RS]

They dont seem to be doing that bad Ben tbh

and this has to be a hell of a lot of car for the money?

http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/1482449.htm

[smallspeed]

I did look at the GT when I brought my 5er. The interiors are gorgeous and the engine sounded great but I was a little scared by the fact you could buy one for 5k or 15k with only a couple of years between.. Also I could get an m5 for 10 which had similar fuel consumption and probably lower overall running costs..

The one Alfa I really liked was the big one (think 165?) in estate form.. Very handsome, big v6, but rare as hens teeth!..

[smallspeed]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1506951.htm

bargain if its as straight as it looks!

[mrk]

Always an interesting one this, and having worked with BMW since the early nineties I can fully appreciate the depth of knowledge displayed here on E39 / E46. I'll add my twopenneth (if it's worth that much!)

E39 M5 - great car, trully wonderful to drive, epic soundtrack - muscle car feel and remarkably well balanced for a large family saloon. On the list for anyone if you've not yet owned one (along with M3 CSL, Z3 M Coupe, Z4 M Coupe, E30 M3, ALPINA Roadster S et al....)

With £10k to spend - would I buy one? Maybe, but maybe not...maybe just a little too conventional (and for this reason I'd discount entirely the cooking pot models in the E39 range - great cars in their own right, but designed as the mass transport of the middle manager....not to stir your soul or rock your world.) Practical though, but it sounds like you've got that angle covered in the stable already with the people carrier.

Think I'd consider another car from BMW's history with a bit of an 'epic' feel to it.....an 840Ci Sport. 4.4l V8, 2+2, timeless styling (but still very much of it's day), knocking on the door of 300 horses and a 'hewn from granite' feel to it. I've run 8's as company cars in the past (and reacquainted myself with one for a week or so a year ago - great!)....real sense of occasion and relatively nice ones for less than £10k. If you've not had an Eight, then worth adding to the list of possibles....

[Ian Donkin]

as a quick history lesson on 5-series BMWs..

1990 - 1997? e34 - most people who own e34's say they're the best and wouldn't trade for a newer one, and if they do they're disappointed. They're the last of the "handmade" 5-series, and are rock-solid reliability wise, and good fun (if a little old-school) to drive. pay anything from £100 for an early shagger of a 520i to £10,000 for the best 3.8 M5 model

1997 - 2003 e39 - most people who own e39's think they're the best cars ever built (inc me ) and keep coming back to them time and time again.. e39 M5 is a monster; if you drive one you will want to buy one, no question. dont expect much over 22mpg though. the 530i / d sports are 90% of the car with 80% of the performance and 50% of the bills..
there are a few reliability issues with the 530d which people make a big deal out of on the internet however these can easilly be resolved with preventative fixes/maintanence, most notably turbo failure (which can be cured by changing to the newer e60 oil breather) and swirl-flap failure which can be improved by removing the swirl-flaps and fitting blanking plugs. Total for the above AND an EGR bypass for a bit more throttle response around £200. a 530d sport will give 35mpg around town, and 40+ on the motorway, and hassle anything upto an including a boxster on an a or b road (might struggle with a boxster s, but its big brother M5 could do the business). 530i is similar except no swirl flaps, no turbo failure issues, however the trade off is 25-32mpg..
All e39 autos have "weak" gearboxes; a small valve which regulates pressure in the box fails around 125 - 175,000 miles, however this can be changed along with the oil for £250 which sets you right for another 125-175,000 miles. With the right maintenance these things run for ever!
pay anything from £1000 - £10,000 for a non m5 (expect 6k for a post facelift 530d m-sport or 4-5 for a 530i) and anything from 7 - 25k for an m5 (although for 20k+ you're talking sub 10k miles and showroom cond from a main dealer)

2003 - 2010 e60/e61 - marmite styling, run-flat tyres (which = crashy ride, esp on sports) but newer engines and updates to everything. most people who have gone from e34 - e39 - e60 want to swap back into a low mileage e39!! again 7k upwards depending on model/age/mileage, although if you can stretch you should go for a post-facelift (often refered to as a LCI) model which has a few tweaks, plus the newer model engines and more efficient auto gearboxes (aswell as the "efficient dynamics" B.S.)

if you want to take a look at a beemer and want someone to tag along, give me a shout

b

Agree with the E61 back to E39 observation (I did just that); very interested in understanding more about the gearbox valve and oil replacement service - my BMW man (20 years main dealer) doesn't know much about it...

[Ian Donkin]

I agree with Steve on the B10 - they're fabulous cars BUT they're very rare and to find one with sub 100k miles is impossible - I found two, one with 95k for £14k and one with 65k for £16k - an M5 is an easier find although I do sometimes long for the auto on motorways

I'm sure Mr Donkin will be along shortly to discuss his love of the e39 - both he and I went *back* to the e39 after having a flirtation with the e60.

P

e39 was not voted the best Exec car in the world for almost 10 years for no reason.

I believe Peter (Ely) has had his since new and still rates it too.

[964RS]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1506951.htm

bargain if its as straight as it looks!

looks nice and cheap as chips - have emailed him....think how many track days i could do with the savings

[miles5]

I had an e39 M5. After I drove it home I decided it was all the car I needed and sold my 3.2 carrera!!! I did regret that.

However I didnt regret buying the M5. I did 85k in it and took the mileage up to 115k. It was still going strong.

Enjoyed some great drives, hit some amazing speeds, acceleration was incredible and the sound is awesome.

I also had 2 e39 tourings which was excellent cars.

[smallspeed]

think that one will shift really fast J as its a (just) post facelift 530i sport for pre-facelift 528i sport money.. i think for 5k you'd get a really nice sub 100,000 mile old 51 - 03 plate 530i sport with a few add-ons like nav, handsfree, heated memory seats, etc. or for 7 you'd get the same with sub 80k miles (although lower mileage cars are getting harder to track down) and a lot more goodies like sunblinds, tv, etc., etc., prob on a 52/03 plate, and maybe even a champagne II edition which is a great looking car.. ...although a beige nappa interior might not be the best for the kids

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the gearbox thing is a weird one.. lots of people have been saing that the gearboxes die after 150,000 miles and thats that. bmw say they're sealed for life, and a lot of other people have said they had the oil changed at 150,000 miles and then the gearbox died shortly after (these people usually say its because they had the oil changed).
the petrol versions don't seem to have as big of an issue as the diesels (different box) but the failure mode seems the same; there is a small valve in the gearbox which regulates the box oil pressure, and the rubber diaphram in this goes brittle over time and then splits. when that happens it means the gearbox oil pressure is not regulated and the box just grenades (usually because of low pressure rather than high). Don't get me wrong, changing the oil and putting the wrong stuff in there is just as likely to kill it, but if you're doing the oil change (with the right oil) you might as well change this valve too..

I don't have any specific details however I know someone who had this done at the recommendation of the transmission specialist who changed their oil, who talked them through this failure in great detail (even showed them a sectioned box that had gone pop i think! )
Only problem for you is they're based near doncaster and i see you're near the south coast! Not so bad for me; i can drop the mrs off at her mums a couple of towns over while i take my car and get it done
Mines booked in to be done next month and have been quoted 250 quid for the complete job (complete fluid/filter/screen change is over 150 and the valve is over 60, so i think its pretty good value). If you want I will try to get some specific information and report back; i have a feeling its a bosch part number so you should be able to get one and fit it yourself or have your trans specialist do it for you (I expect that it screws into the outside of the gearbox casign but can't confirm)

[smallspeed]

jason, this looks like a cracker; right on the money, and pretty low mileage..
really good (and modern) spec; mk4 nav computer, widescreen, bluetooth, xenon's, etc..
the interior/exterior colour combo is a bit marmite but for me the champagne2 (which always came in metalic black/champagne leather) is the best non-m5 version of the e39 (petrol or diesel)

http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/1528030.htm

[964RS]

Well ive sent the other guy a shed load of questions and he came back pretty promptly saying no problem and he will put answers to them all together tomorrow...so we will see.

I do have a niggling 'M5' screaming in the back of my head though although.

Early days and loads of good things to consider on here. (at worst i know 1000x more about BMWs than I did!)

Showed my wife a few of the cars and she said 'Hmmm BMW, not sure? Everyone has one....' So I said name one person you know with one.....conversation ended. I guess its true all the BMW drivers have Audis now!!!