A few days back some one posted that they bought their last 2 BMW's with around 150k on them, to have them last until they were at about 300k with minor repairs to be done.
So, since I don't remember who wrote that, can anyone or that person, tell me what year range, price range, and models, if you feel like it, that is what you meant? I had thought that would be a good idea as well, but never followed up on it. I need a car to have an automatic transmission and preferably be a combi, or a sedan. I appreciate any positives or negatives to add to this, as I am very interested in pursuing this, but if there are somethings I hadn't known or thought of...
Thanks.

It was your own post here quoting FatmanFilms - communicate to him via PM:

Very bad experience with EF member but a good lesson too :)

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I got my e39 525d which has 250k on it. has been in my fam since new. no major repairs. just put in 2500 euro to have everything fixed (new suspension front and rear and many other things) It is a manual however so I cannot speak of the auto. and need another 300 or so to have her tip top and ready for MANY more kms

Im on this forum which has guides as to what to look for etc http://forums.bimmerforums.com

E36 BNW 3 Series seem fairly bullet proof, 1991 -1999 model years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series_%28E36%29

The first one was a 1995 318TI Auto with 133,000KM, I sold this at 304,000 when the Alternator was getting dodgy as this would have been the first non scheduled repair. I never even bothered changing the fuel filter, I used sythetic oil that I changed every 30K,Oil Filters, Air Filters, Spark Plugs, 1 set of front disks & brake pads. Cheapest motoring ever.

The current a high spec 1995 328 Kombi auto, bought with 165,000 now 298,000. I guess I will keep it another couple of years. It has needed a water pump & 2 rear wheeel bearings + Disks all round.

Even a 2001 model with 200K sold for roughly 3 k here a couple of months ago.

You need to speak to dodgyken

He's running the Luzern marathon today (without the BMW I'm led to believe).

I drive a 1999 328i cabrio, having bought her with 59k on the clock and she now has 134k. She is currently in Malta and takes a bit of hammering on some of the roads here, resulting in her needing new front suspension earlier in the year. However, apart from that, I have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. She is a dream to drive and still goes like a rocket. I intend to drive her until she gives up the ghost ... which I don't see happening any time soon.

When you imported it to Malta, was it a pain? & are the annuel taxes high for such a big engined car. Thanks

Getting her here was easy, as my stepson drove her down from Zurich with a friend, and it cost about euros 5k to have her registered here.

If you mean road tax, I pay the same as everyone else, although insurance is obviously higher.

I thought annuel charges were based on Engine size & emmisions with older cars taxed more, I will investigate further. Thanks.

No I wasn't - I was in the mountains detached from the interweb!!

Basically all BMWs from the 80/90s are capable of stellar miles - the thing is to stay on top of maintenance - and rust prevention. The E34 5-series is a case in point - I had a 260k km one which felt as tight as a drum - and was sold to a forum member.

My race M3 was converted from a road car - which had done 100k miles - and the engine is still strong - and delivering exactly what is was said to deliver when new.

So Cornfloozed, did you do trade? The peanuts for the BMW? Sounds like a fair exchange afterall

Still looking actually.
I have to ask is all that has been said about older BMW's the same to be said about the same years of Mercedes? Also, I keep hearing BMWs from the 90's were the best for long mileage. What is the problem, if there is, anything past 2000?
I have seen some decent priced cars for sale for 2002's, but, I don't know if there is a quality issue. Also, how expensive is bump job work for BMW's on the german side of the border? Or can anyone tell me where to buy a good rubber mallet and a BMW Carlton book?

Regarding Mercedes; I would not buy one from 1998 on.
The quality of Mercedes went down on the acquisition/merger with Chrysler.
The quality of the brakes and turbo chargers were major problems but the whole car was pretty poor quality.

On top of that the SLK and ML ranges were built in the USA and were a complete pile of rubbish.
The ML even has parts such as the sump stating "Chrysler" on it and the SLK is the same car as that USA Crossfire or whatever they call it.

Chrysler was probably the worst USA manufacturer and I could not believe when Mercedes announced the acquisition/merger.

Fiat and Chrysler make a perfect match in my opinion.
Both a pile of rubbish.

If you are buying second hand, stick to German and BMW or VAG (Audi and VW).

__________________
I do not have friends..........I have contingent liabilities

Go with BMW as the have cam chains & not rubber belts that need to be changed approx every 6 years or 100k

also a lot of the cars were produced in south africa which would go some way to explain the quality issues.

Actually; VW Golfs were also built in South Africa.
I believe all VW Golfs for Europe are built in Europe.

You can tell the country of manufacture by the chassis/id code on VW.

Good point !

Changing the cam belt on the VW Golf; VW Beetle; Audi A3 etc. is quite an expensive job.
Water pump is driven on the cam belt. The plastic impeller on the water pump had a reputation for disintegrating, though not damaging engine.
Changing the cam belt and tensioner, as a DIY job, is about chf 200 on parts and will take you 3 hours to do because you have to support the engine to remove the engine mounting bracket as the engine mounting bracket runs through the centre of the cam belt.