Most BMWs make good used purchases but some stand out as great used buys. These vehicles have sensible parts costs, aren't hard to work on and are pretty reliable. These are the cars to get if you want a fun to drive yet reliable car on a budget.

One thing about buying any BMW is to ensure it has been well maintained and to keep looking after it. Preventative maintenance on a BMW is cheaper than repairs later! Check out my buyers guide for a few pre-purchase tips.

In the UK check out Autotrader online for excellent classified ads or ebay.

If you buy any used BMW, especially older models, get one with heaps of extras. An older BMW with leather, A/C and electronic gizmos isn't going to be much dearer than a more basic model. Check all the bits work though! Remember that manual cars are more fun and worth searching hard for.

E36 325i / 328i

The E36 Coupe is truly a great drivers car. 50/50 weight distribution and a lusty 24 valve engine combine to make a truly fun experience. But it's also a quiet and refined car for long distance work. It's much quieter than the old E30 due to it's more streamlined body. The folding rear seat allows you to carry surprisingly big loads so it's practical too. Even the fuel consumption is surprisingly good. A damn fine car. just be sure to get one that's been looked after. Cars made after '94 are a lot better put together inside.

E36 318ti

The 318ti is an excellent car largely due to the rear axle. The Z axle from the rest of the E36 range would take up too much space in the hatchback so the older E30 semi-trailing arm design was used. This brings back much of the fun lost with the arrival of the Z axle. The Z-axle is "better" in most ways but for the enthusiastic driver the older design proves the rule that less can be more!

The ti uses the M42 1.8 or M44 1.9 engine. The older ones are easier to tune and have almost as much torque as their newer OBC-II equipped brothers. The Club Sport is the model to find. 318ti options included limited slip diffs, ASC+T (later standard), sports seats and many other goodies. Don't think for a minute this is some kind of poor mans bimmer. The owner of my local dealership owns two cars, a 740i and a 318ti.

E34 525i/535i The Nerd's Best Buy!

The E34 535i is a very serious beastie indeed! Tons of power from the classic M30 six cylinder engine, excellent chassis and suspension, marvelous interior and supreme build quality.

Manual cars can be found and have a much higher grin factor than the auto model, which isn't to say the auto is a bad car by the way. You hear fewer complaints about the E34 than almost any other BMW, that speaks volumes about how well put together this machine is, 400,000+ miles is not uncommon on a well maintained car.

These cars are stupidly cheap in the UK, folk are frightened by the big engine. I'll tell you a secret, you'll get 30 mpg (Imperial) on the motorway and 25 in country driving. Parts are cheap too. You just must buy one, it's silly not to!

But for most owners the 525i 24 valve from 91 on is the one to get. Almost a quick (especially in the US where the 535i was lower powered) and with class leading fuel economy.

E32 730i / 735i

Most of what I've said about the E34 535i above applies here too. The E32 is a fine BMW with classic looks. The extra size and weight mean it's not as nimble as the 535i but it's no slouch either and handles far better than any Mercedes or Jaguar equivalents.

In europe most buyers prefer the 735i so 730i prices are lower than they should be. For most people the 730i (the M30 six cylinder model not the V8) has quite enough grunt and when you consider the lower price it's a steal! As with the E34 fuel consumption is surprisingly good and parts are plentiful. Keep it clean and nobody would ever guess how little you paid.

The later E38 isn't as well made as the E32. It's a good car and the 728i is the pick of the bunch. But the E32 is nicer to own.

E30 318iS

I made one huge mistake in my BMW ownership "career". I traded in my E30 318iS after only 18 months to get an E36 318iS. What makes it worse is that when I bought it the car had only 5000 miles on the clock despite being three years old! The E36 is quieter and more relaxed but the E30 was much more fun. Alas in the UK they didn't have ABS and I do a lot of driving in bad weather. I really miss this little car.

So why is the 318iS so special? Well it has the wonderful M42 16 valve engine which thrives on revs. In the later E36 models the extra weight of the car stifles the poor thing. It also had standard //M-Tech suspension, Recarro sports interior and a subtle set of spoilers. The car was wonderful to drive, one of the best I've ever driven. It truly was a case of the car being more than the sum of its parts. All the upgrades just worked really well together.

In fact I missed my old car so much I bought another! A real bargain, see the My BMWs page. Some people say the 318iS is the spiritual successor of the 2002tii. I am happy to say that they are correct.

E30 325i Convertible

The 325iC was a very special car in its day. Before this model all BMW convertibles had been converted by Baur, this was the factory's first attempt and they made a good job of it. The whole thing feels very well designed, definitely not a last minute job.

The first thing you notice when you sit in an E30 convertible are the strengthening girders on the inside of the sills. They intrude a little but do a great job of making up for the lack of a roof and help stiffen the car. The electric roof (not standard) is a great toy, but be sure it works well as it's not cheap to fix.

The convertibles are a little heavier than normal E30s so you really do need the 2.5 litre version. Great car for less than a quarter the price of a new Z3.

E30 320i / 325i Touring

Although never imported into the USA the tourings proved very popular in europe and are worth more on the used market than regular E30s. They still handle great and there was even an Alpina C2.7 variant!

Load space isn't huge as the the E30 was never a big car, one of it's strengths over newer BMWs in my opinion. Having said that it's still a useful car and actually looks really good. The tailgate doesn't feel like an add-on and integrates well with the car. A 325i touring is a very fine car indeed but the 320i maybe represents better value.

E28 525e / 528e

Designed as motorway cruisers these cars used the eta economy engine. The 525e and 528e are the same car with the same engine - a 2.7 litre M20. But the engine was designed to produce lots of low down torque at the expense of high end horsepower. Combined with fairly high gearing the car will cruise at speed on surprisingly little fuel making it an excellent commuter.

The eta boasts all the normal features of an E28 and is very rugged if looked after, in particular you must ensure the automatic gearbox fluid and filter have been changed regularly. Most eta model had ABS and were well equipped. Many users have fitted a 325i cylinder head and a 524td crankshaft to produce a very powerful 2.7 M20. In some markets, like the UK, these cars were only available in automatic form.

The ideal car for the commuter who likes good handling and durability. Damn cheap too. I ran an '87 525e for a few months and loved it, especially as it only cost 650 GBP despite being in great condition. Excellent fuel economy. In fact I liked it so much I bought it back three years later! (then sold it a year later and bought an E28 M535i).

E36 328i touring

I like these so much that I bought one myself to run as a winter car. Don't buy one without cruise control. With the cruise control option this is the ultime long distance car. Tons of power and enough room for most things. Mine has AC Schnitzer suspension and handles suberbly. With the cruise on you'll see 35+ mpg on long trips.

I paid 1200 quid for mine when it was 11 years old. It's been a real stalwart, 100% reliable and fun to drive when the weather's too bad for the e30 to leave the garage. One tip, stick to the manual gearbox.

E34 525iX Touring

E34 525i's have always been superb cars. But E34s tourings are now at silly prices, I've seen good ones for under 1000! Even better, the 525iX four wheel drive touring isn't hard to find. A mate had one of these and it was superb in the snow.

E34 tourings are much easier to find than E36s and a bit roomier. Of course they don't handle as well as the lighter E36 but they're still no slouch.

The 525tds touring is pretty rare. But one that's been looked after and hasn't done starship miles would be a great car. Especially with a manual gearbox.

E46 320d / 330d Touring

Maybe I'm getting old, four tourings on this list! But once you've owned a vehicle than handles as well as a sports car and has enough space for a small wardrode there's no going back. I think they look better than some of the saloons too. I like the idea of having an fun car (Z1, E30, etc) for the summer and a touring for winter use.

The E46 brought in some superb new diesel engines and the touring is the perfect car to mount them in. The 2.0 gets almost 50mpg and the 330d has enough torque to pull a train, combined with M3 size brakes.

Get one with the six speed manual gearbox and sports suspension.

Once my e36 328i touring eventually rusts in peace I'm sure it'll be replaced by one of these.

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