[karanskumar]

Folks - I have never bought a luxury car. A friend is off-loading his BMW 320D for 10L - wanted to know if it's a good buy for a few years? Details below

- BMW 320D
- 2011 model
- 40,000 KM done
- Overall clean, minor scratches on bumpers.

Single owner. Not used much.

thoughts?

[androdev]

This generation looks very dated now. My suggestion world be to look for the next version of 3 series (white LED corona rings, 2013 onwards) for 13-14L.

[adi.mariner]

This 320d would be the E90 version. The interiors are quite cramped and the ride is stiff. Also the boot is small if you factor in the space saver which sits inside the boot. Have an extensive test drive over all kinds of roads before purchasing it. There are a lot of YouTube videos regarding this 3 series on what to look out for before purchasing.

[amvj]

I am not sure about your risk appetite or the size of your wallet.

I am not a worthy person to reply to this, but I get some theoretical knowledge regarding this since I am browsing Team-bhp for quite some time. It too get tempted when looking at the classifieds for second hand German cars. The pricing is very tempting. However, these old cars are out of warranty and we need a big wallet to service. Somewhere GTO mentioned that it requires approximately 1.5L (don't know the exact figure) a year to maintain a not so old 5 series.

This amount is for regular maintenance only. If a part goes wrong, they cost a bomb. It is better to get answers from German car owners than mere mortals like me. I am sorry if that does not answer your question.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by karanskumar

I have never bought a luxury car. A friend is off-loading his BMW 320D for 10L - wanted to know if it's a good buy for a few years? Details below

- BMW 320D
- 2011 model
- 40,000 KM done

Single owner?

I used to own one back in 2008. Forget about the interiors or the looks, if you have never experienced a German car, and this car is indeed 40 K done, which is a big IF. You have to be absolutely sure on this. Best will be to get a thorough inspection from BMW and if it is what it you have mentioned, it will be the best 10 lac you have spent on anything. It’s a rock solid, CBU and should be easier to repair (no personal experience though as I didn’t kept it long)

Can negotiate for the inspection and any maintenance/ repairs BMW dealer will suggest after inspection. Keep some extra change for anything that may go wrong but 40 K is too little.

[agambhandari]

Price is a bit on the higher side for the E90 gen. If it is in good shape, negotiate another 15-20, percent, it should be a fun car. You haven't mentioned the variant but the entry point was the corporate edition at around 23 L ex showroom. So negotiate accordingly

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I used to own one back in 2008. Forget about the interiors or the looks, if you have never experienced a German car, and this car is indeed 40 K done, which is a big IF. You have to be absolutely sure on this. Best will be to get a thorough inspection from BMW and if it is what it you have mentioned, it will be the best 10 lac you have spent on anything. It’s a rock solid, CBU and should be easier to repair (no personal experience though as I didn’t kept it long)

I think the car the OP has mentioned is the LCI and so that is most likely to be a CKD unit. But advantage being that it has a higher tune on the engine.

[AYP]

It depends upon your personal finance to be honest. If you are willing to spend an average of 1L every year, you should go for it. I am not saying that it will cost you 1L each and every year but the parts when they fail(and they will fail), will cost a bomb to replace and over a course of 5 years, a spend of 5L wouldn't be too much of a surprise. At the same time, it is possible that your expenditure might be lesser than 5L, but the point I am trying to make is that you should be in a position to be able to spend 5L in the next 5 years on this car. What work has been done on the car? Has a suspension overhaul been done? If not, that might be the first thing to hit you.

If you are comfortable with this expenditure, go with it. If not, may I advise you to go for an 'affordable luxury' sedan like the Jetta(MK VI) or the Octavia. 2013 onwards Jetta and Octavia would be available for a similar price as the 320D. Both the cars did come with the 2.0 TDI. Even if you pay a slight premium for any of these cars, it will be more than covered within the next 5 years owing to cheaper maintenance and cheaper spare cost. Not to forget, easier and faster part availability, especially for the Octavia.

[IshaanIan]

If you fancy blowing 10 lacs on a diesel saloon then it is a good buy it might be the old E90 gen car but I believe that had the best steering feedback and driver involvement characteristics compared to the F30 and G20, so while the new ones might have more leds and creature comforts you can definitely be rest assured that your car would pip them in terms of sheer driving pleasure

[Asoon]

Mileage wise it looks good but 10 years I would think twice

Plus need more info
- Is this the only car or a back up
- How are your driving needs (are you looking for a daily commuter or a fun car for weekends)
- Do you plan to take it for long drives outside city or just short distances
- How is your risk appetite (do you think this 10L and sunk investment for your fund or you are looking to get some ROI out of it)
- Are you ok spending 50-60K on service/year + occasionally 1L+ if something broke

I think of the above pointers you yourself will arrive on the decision

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

I think the car the OP has mentioned is the LCI and so that is most likely to be a CKD unit. But advantage being that it has a higher tune on the engine.

It's most definitely an LCI/CKD, as I owned a 2009 and it was the LCI model.

OP - as some others have mentioned, try to get the car checked out by a BMW service center, and if all checks out you could have bought yourself one of the most fun BMW's in recent memory. Although do drive it, it had a hydraulic power steering that is either a lot of fun or quite heavy - depending on what you're used to and what you're looking for

[akshay4587]

I have a couple of questions for you; have you driven the car yet, if yes did you like it?

Have you verified the service history yet?

Are you okay with lack of space at the back and a slightly harsh ride on bad roads?

If the answer to the above questions is yes, let me make your life easier for you; Get this car!!!!

I picked up last of the E90's to be registered in the country (January 2013) in Februry 2021.
It's a 320D Msport with heaps of goodies including a M performance pack and yes it had done 37,743Kms, when I got it in February 2021, as of now Odometer stands at 42,220kms.

After having owned it for 8 months, I cannot fathom, where does the yearly bill of 1L for its upkeep is coming from?; God forbid, if anything major goes wrong that's a different story but even then you will not take a 10 year old BMW to a stealership, find a FNG and get it fixed. I have spent is around 14K on my car and that too just for its service; being the last of the E90's these cars are fairly reliable as long as you service them on time. The ride is harsh but I am planning to switch to 225/50/17 tyres at the next change, and that should fix it for me. Rear seats are definitely low on space for tall passengers, if you can live with these short comings, go for it, and have fun on the road

Some photos of my car.

[indrangiri]

Take a note of spare costs for BMW 3 series..a set of brake pads + discs cost around 1.5L.. the AGM battery costs around 35K .. a good set of 4 tyres can set up back by around 60-70K.

If you are prepared for the above costs, then go ahead with the purchase after getting the car thoroughly inspected once at a BMW dealership for around 7K.

You will definitely enjoy the power and handling of the 320D although the ride is bit harsher on the E90. Happy Motoring !!

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by indrangiri

Take a note of spare costs for BMW 3 series..a set of brake pads + discs cost around 1.5L.. the AGM battery costs around 35K .. a good set of 4 tyres can set up back by around 60-70K.

If you are prepared for the above costs, then go ahead with the purchase after getting the car thoroughly inspected once at a BMW dealership for around 7K.

You will definitely enjoy the power and handling of the 320D although the ride is bit harsher on the E90. Happy Motoring !!

Mind sharing the source of this cost?
It must be from BMW, no enthusiast who knows their car won't take it to these stealerships, especially for jobs like brakes and general service etc.

A friend recently got brakes done on his F30 for 25K!!!!
and as for tyres, even the best of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 cost 50K for a set of 4.

Good tyres like Continentals etc, can be had for as low as 38-40K.

[shree_shell]

Like others have suggested, get an inspection. If everything turns out to be OK, buy the car making sure there's INR 5L sitting around for surprise expenses. This way you are always prepared and won't feel as bad if you need repairs. If you don't need it, you just saved up some money! At least that's how I shop my Bimmers

[Dr.AD]

My suggestion is not to rule out this car. Do a detailed check at a BMW service station first, and also verify that 40k km is genuine reading. If you get a confirmation from the BMW service that the car has no major repairs due, and if you also get some confirmation that 40k km is genuine, then I would say proceed with the thought process of buying this car. In that case, consider below pros and cons of this E90 320d:

Pros:

• You get a great driver's car for Rs. 10L (or maybe even lesser if you negotiate hard). Nothing else in the current market at Rs. 10L will match the driving pleasure of this car.
• You will get to experience the BMW ownership and all the joys and pains that come with it. This car is a true blue BMW.

Cons:

• As others pointed out, maintenance costs is a gamble, and it can turn out either way. There are many E90s running smoothly and trouble-free even today. But on the other hand, there are E90s which need a new turbo (although not at 40k km), suspension repairs etc after 10 years and all of this can cost a lot.
• Although the car is a joy to drive, the steering is a bit too hard, and the suspension is way to stiff, at least by today's standards. Today, even the so-called driver's cars have comfortable suspensions and relatively lighter steerings (and I consider this to be a natural evolution of engineering improvements). But E90 will take you back to an era where driver's cars were totally painful on comfort front. Whether you like it or not is your personal call.
• Regarding maintenance, it is not just the cost, but also availability of parts that you have to worry about. Even relatively simple parts can take weeks or months of lead time if you go through the official dealers. And if you go FNG route, you need to have a lot of knowledge of what parts you need and which are genuine aftermarket suppliers etc. It is not an easy game to manage unless you are really going to invest your time and money into this.
• The car has poor rear seat - both for space and comfort (or lack of both, to be precise). If you are looking for a family sedan, this is not the car to consider.

So that is my summary. We can only point out the pros and cons. You will have to take a decision based on what you like and you do not.

Also, a big question is whether this will be a second car (for weekend fun or as a project car) or whether primary/only car? If you are looking for a primary/only car, this is a wrong car. But as a second car which is primarily for the absolute driving pleasure (and nothing else) and weekend drives, and on which you do not mind spending time and money from time to time, this will be a great fun car!

All the best in your decision making!