Would a 10 year old BMW be a good starter car for a 16 year old?

Question

A 97' 328i. Would the parts/maintenance be within reason? (not over $2k a year) Would insurance be cheep because its more of a sedan than a sports car?

And I also want to make sure nothing would fall apart on the thing...thats why I want a BMW, and not some Ford or Honda that will crap out on me in 3 years.

Answer 1

Well, the 97 325i was the last year on that chassis. So what that means is, that it was produced from 1992-1997, therfore, all the major glitches from earlier models were taken care off.
But maintenance wise, its going to be expensive.
A timing chain/belt on a 92-97 325i costs $1,265
A timing chain/belt on a 97 civic costs $185

\The bmw is going to cost twice as much for insurance then a honda, its going to be twice as much for gas, and triple the cost of routine maintenance.
The cost to insure this will be much higher then the cost to insure a honda. The reasons why:
Its considered a luxuary sports sedan.
It has an inline 6 cyl engine
It has moderate safety protection

Just because something costs more, doesnt mean its any better. Theres not even a question when it comes to honda being more reliable then a bmw. Hondas are probably the most reliable car sold in america.

I mean if this car was for me when i was 16, and i wouldnt have to worry about maintenance/fuel/insurance costs, hands down id take that bmw. But if i had to chose between a 325i and a honda civic for my child, without a doubt, id be buying that civic.

Answer 2

My parents bought a then new 1994 325is with an automatic. The first transmission was replaced under warranty at 30,000 miles. The second one was replaced with 50% warranty coverage 30,000 miles later. As 90K miles approached, the BMW was replaced with an Acura TSX and demoted to second car status. The BMW has had an immense amount of work, many of it on the same problem areas again and again. If you're looking at a 4-door, you don't have to worry about the power windows that wear out from popping open half an inch when you open the frameless doors, 35k mile intervals for the driver's door, less often for the passenger door. The dash was apart a couple times for recall changes, so it doesn't fit together like it should anymore. The headliner has fallen, inspite of the car having spent its life under a cover. The car is riddled with sensors that fail at random intervals. The electrical system is incredibly complex and prone to random draws. The new battery is dead in my parent's car for the second time this year. The plastic intake manifolds on E36s are now old enough that they are getting brittle and failing. The bodies aren't protected from the elements like older E30s were, so many are deteriorating precipitously. Aggressively driven E36s are suffering from catastrophic rear subframe failures. Even some E46s are too. The E36 is the best driving of all BMWs, but they weren't built to last.

Answer 3

No, a BMW is never a good first car. Maintenance and insurance will be MUCH higher than something more plebian. Reliability of most BMW models is only average at best, about on a par with most Fords. When you factor in maintenance and insurance costs, Ford wins hands-down. Hondas and Toyotas are far more reliable and most models will be MUCH less expensive to insure and maintain. You'd be very lucky indeed to get liability coverage alone for $2k a year with a 16 year old primary driver on a BMW. Maintenance and operating costs would easily double that.

BMWs, especially older ones, are notorious for handling quirks expecially at the limit and no 16 year old has the driving ability or experience to safely handle one.

Answer 4

short answer, NO. BMW's are agreat driving cars, however maintenance on old a used BMW can be quite costly. On top of that Bimmers are rear wheel drive, aside from a few All Wheel Drives. Rear wheel drive vehicles are much harder to control safely in bad weather( snow, rain, etc.). At 16, I don't think your kid has the technical know hows to crontrol a 6 cyclinder rear wheel drive vehicle, no matter how great you think he may be. Insurance is not cheap either. I would highly recommed a Honda Civic or Accord for your teen. Both cars a great on gas and low to no maintenance, and fairly good looking. By the way, A Ford may fall apart on you, but certainly not a Honda, unless you've had some rare experience with one. My friend has a 1993 Honda Civic that he rarely maintain and the car still runs strong after 235,000 miles, Yes 235k, no typos.

Answer 5

I would say 'no'. Any 10-year old car is going to require a fair amount of maintenance to keep in good running shape and a BMW would be no exception to that rule. Afterall it's just a car too. It might sound cool to be able to say to your buddies that you're driving a BMW but it ain't going to feel very cool when you have to fork over the money for BMW parts for the upkeep of the car.

They aren't necessarily any more reliable then a domestically-made car either - that's just a hoax. I know someone who had so many problems with their late-model BMW (far newer then this 10-year old one) that they got rid of it and just got 2 Mini Coopers instead.

As far as insurance goes, it's not going to matter what car you're driving... you're 16 years old.... expect to pay a lot for the first few years.

Good luck in your decision making.

Answer 6

I am an automotive technician. I have never seen a BMW without a $2000 repair bill. I have a few buddies that work for BMW and they all say they are complete junk. One of these guy drive a toyota MR2, another drives a Dodge Caravan, and I drive a Ford Ranger. In the last year I have spent a little less then $1000 on it in required maintance, that was including tires ($500 of that $1000). I have a cliant with a 1998 BMW 328I (i do believe its the same modle) and every repair bill for him is at least $2000. It is pretty much falling apart. In my opinion BMW is nothing more then overglorified sheet metal with a $60 000 price tag. Every BMW I see is falling apart. Every BMW my buddies see are falling apart if they don't get they're $6000+ a year repair/maintance bills. I would recomend getting a car that is cheap on repairs, ie. Neon, Stratus, Escort, Taurus, Sunfire, Civic (more on repairs because its an import) same with the accord, camry and corolla. And on a BMW the Insurance is more expencive because it is concidered a Sport Sedan.

Answer 7

NO because if some thing breaks on that car than it will cost you allot of money to have it fixed plus their is always the possibility that you will crash it. If I where you I would buy an old beater and drive that for a while until you get better at driving. A BMW will only give you an excuse to speed and race around. Stick with the beater cars for a wile.

Answer 8

Just an opinion but most 16 year olds usually crash their 1st car I would wait till they had a year or so under their belt before getting such a nice vehicle unless money is no object! Not alot of mechanics work on BMW's & the ones that do get top dollar

Answer 9

I drive a 92 520i and haven't had any problems in 5 years of ownership.

However, I don't think that a 16 year old needs a car with 190HP that has that much torque.

Answer 10

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RE :Would a 10 year old BMW be a good starter car for a 16 year old?
A 97' 328i. Would the parts/maintenance be within reason? (not over $2k a year) Would insurance be cheep because its more of a sedan than a sports car?

And I also want to make sure nothing would fall apart on the thing...thats why I want a BMW, and not some Ford or Honda that will crap out on me in 3 years.
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