In the Market, need major assistance.
 

So heres the deal. I don't know if my current car will die any time soon, but I want to be prepared and so I've been really looking at cars and what kind of car I would like. I'm steering clear of the domestic and was looking a lot at VW, Acura, and BMW. I love the styling of BMW's but I don't know very much about them. So I have a series of questions that some of you might be able to help with, or at least point me in the right direction.

I've looked on ebay, carmax, and cars for sale on this forum and I think I have a budget of basically around $17,000.

What series should I be looking for there? I would want something with low mileage 35k and under. Four doors are nice, but so are two doors. I haven't been on the forum too long but I love these two:
http://files.unitedbimmer.com/ub.c/B...540i%20sig.JPG
http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/940/330sigdb9.jpg

Anyways, I guess the common questions would be how are BMW's in terms of reliability. You know how Toyotas seem to be rather realiable. That's what I mean.

What about repairs? Are german parts expensive to get here in the states?

I feel like I have a ton more questions but I'll leave you guys with this. Please help a new guy out. :wall

Well, what are you looking for exactly, in terms of BMW, are you looking for a nice car with a tad bit more luxery than sport, but still sporty, or a tad bit sport than luxery, but still nice? 5 series is a little more luxorious, and the 3 series is a little more sporty, and the 7 series is just pimp :)

In your two photos, the top is an E39, and the bottom is an E46. The "E" codes designate the different development years by chassis style. For more info go to http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/e_code.shtml

For $17k, you won't find an E39 with 35k mi. You'll have a better chance at finding an E46 for that price and mileage. If I were you, I wouldn't be too overly concerned with finding a very low mileage BMW. Many of them can run reliably upwards of 150-200k mi. What's more important is finding one with the service records intact. This will tell you how well the vehicle was maintained.

As far as reliability, they're no different than other import makes, and you'll typically get more amenities than the others.

So the bottom one is a BMW 3-series 330i right? That is a very nice looking car. I think the 3-series is what I am looking for.

The 3 Series and te powertrains in them are very reliable. My car has over 203,000 miles on the odometer -- no rebuild, etc. I wouldn't worry about finding soemthing under 35k miles. You will only end up paying several thousand more $. I like the 50k mark myself, because most cars have just come off warranty or sometimes still have smoe left, which is good for most of any repairs that may become necessary while still recovering from the down payment (or haveing dished out cash for the whole thing).

When looking at cars' records, pay attention to see if the dealership (or whoever worked on the car) suggested any work that needed to be done. See if the owner actually had teh work done later.You don't want a car that has been neglected.

VW's aren't what they used to be, by the way. They are harder to work on than are BMWs, which will make your life harder if you work on your car yourself, or will make a bigger dent in your wallet if you have to pay for all that labor time. VW's also don't handle anywhere nearly as well as BMWs, which may or may not matter to you as much.

Acura's are excellent cars. If I were restricted to the three makes you mentioned in your original post, Acura would be my choice behind BMW. They handle a lot better than the VW, have nice amenities and will be very reliable.

It;s your money and it will be your car. I suggest that you test drive the cars you like and take your driving experience into consideration.

Welcome to UB.c and we hope the car that is right for you (which hopefully will be a bmw :D).