My first car as a teen?

Question

hi guys

i am turning 16 very soon and i was doing a little car shopping at cars.com

now for a car i was looking at a 1992-1995 bmw 3 series.

im really not looking for the convertable.

maybe a sedan or the coupe.

so i was wondering, does bmw have a good name with cars back then?

how do they run?

hows the fuel economy?

hows the matinence?(pricing and reliability)

they have a good resale value?

and also the same thing with an Audi A4(1996)

thanks guys.

Answer 1

they are both very expensive to repair.

but the Audi is much more unreliable, don't buy an Audi.

as a first car neither is a good choice.

the costs are just much higher than if you bought something else.

BMW's are great cars and last a long time but unless your good with tools and can shop online for parts, a trip to the dealership or a mechanic can cost a fortune.

so don't buy a Audi ever, and don't buy a BMW for your first car.

Answer 2

I'd try to get a better car. BMW is a great brand, don't get me wrong! But try getting a newer model/year. I'm 17 and I recently bought an '08 dodge charger. I had a 2006 car but it had problems already! I would definatly get a newer car and save your money from spending it on mantinence. If you're looking for something affordable, try have your parents lease you a car. Good luck and congrats! =)

Please, keep in mind the cost of the parts for when it breaks down. I'm sure BMW's and Audi's run high. Anyways, the main thing is that you enjoy your ride! Don't forget to buckle up and drive safe.

P.S. Don't speed. It's not cool!

Answer 3

First off I'd like to say that I was the same you are when I got my first car. I looked for older BMW's and Audi's because they were cool cars. To answer your question, they are not bad cars. The BMW 3-series are mostly (if not all) 4 cylinder cars, and my buddy's '08 328xi does well on gas and is very reliable. But when you are talking about any car over 10 years old there will be reliability issues. Some cool cars around the same price range are:

Honda Civic - the Si has 196whp, plenty for a 16 year old, very very reliable, barely uses gasoline.

Toyota Celica GT - I believe they were discontinued in 2004 or '05 but very reliable.

Honda Del Sol - The precursor to the s2000, they are cool, sporty and never have mechanical problems. Ever. About the same age as the A4 I believe though.

Instead of getting a car that was cool 10 years ago, try for something newer and more reliable. But if you are stuck on decision with a BMW, they are still reliable cars and should not be a problem. A lot could go wrong with it after 10 years, or it could be fine.

Answer 4

Both of those cars are european trash. My cousin's first car was a Porsche and we worked on my car today and he ended up coming with me for the test drive - the first time he's ever driven with me and he told me its alot faster than his Porsche ever was. He spent more money on it than I have on mine, a Nissan Maxima.

edit: What is she talking about? As long as you don't pay labor you save a fortune on repairs by buying used (not to mention warranties are sooo easy to ruin if you like to have fun) 08 Chargers cost what? $25,000? You can get a 1990-1995 sports car (best years IMO) for less than $10,000 in great condition. Spark plugs cost maybe $50 for platinum/iridium, wires are similarly priced, if the stock air filter is bad a drop in replacement or cone shouldn't cost but $25 or less, if the radio is broke you can buy a decent Sony for $100 and GOOD speakers for $50 a pair, belts & hoses are cheap, you can get any engine you want on ebay imported from Japan with 40K or so miles on it for a couple thousand. I fail to see where repairs cost $15,000....besides, for that much you can buy 2 cars (might even get the second one cheap if its not roadworthy) and use the worse of the two for parts.

Answer 5

I own 2000 Audi A4.  They are great cars (to ride), but they are also a maintenance nightmare.  My brother has a BMW and the maintenance cost are also very high.  

The BMW name recognition goes back much farther than the Audi.  So the older BMW are over priced.  The BMW ride is much harsher than the Audi.

My Audi does about 33 MPG on the hwy (same basic chasis as 1996 - 2000).  Don't know off hand about the BMW.

===

Again, I hate the fact that every time I go to the dealer, it cost me around $1000 (or more).  My timing belt was $1350 on the Audi.  On my Civic it only cost about $400.  The Audi cat converter is $850 (pars only).  My civic converter is about $200 (parts only).

I can fix almost everything on my Civic.  On my Audi, I'm luck to figure out how to change the air filter.  Oh by the way I'm normally good enough to do my own Clutch plates on FWD.  What I mean is that average Joe cannot do their own maintenance (except for oil & filter).

The BMW are no better.

So choose wisely.  It can break your bank account.

Good Luck...

Answer 6

I guess you should also check insurance quotes for the car before buying one, for example here: http://autoinsurance.maclenet.com

Such an expensive sporty car costs a lot to insure, especially for a first time driver.