Complete guide to buying, owning and selling your BMW 3 Series

By Martin Pretorius

 

Following a complete redesign, the latest BMW 3 Series is a little bit larger than before, and a whole lot more high-tech. Numerous under-the-skin improvements also make it more comfortable, sharper to drive, and more economical to run. Now fully imported, the 3 Series aims to advance the standards in its class, and draws level with (or ahead of) its opponents with this redesign.

 

5 key facts you should know about the BMW 3 Series. 

As we found during our first drive impression earlier this year, the new 3 Series is a very accomplished return to class leadership for this perennial favourite.

• It’s larger in almost every direction, and that extra size went into making the cabin a more-accommodating place.
• There’s a host of high-tech features available, up to the point of allowing semi-autonomous driving and numerous parking aids.
• Material quality and cabin design takes a decisive step forwards, making the driver’s seat a much nicer place to be.
• Extensive chassis development not only generates improved road holding, but improves ride quality and reduces cabin noise levels as well.
• Detail changes to the drivetrains liberate some extra performance, and works with improved aerodynamics to reduce fuel consumption.

 

Summary

After perhaps chasing the comfort angle a little too far for the previous generation, the latest 3 Series returns its focus to driving enjoyment. This renewed focus on driving pleasure doesn’t come at the expense of luxury or refinement, either, because the new 3 Series has the smoothest ride in years, and quietest cabin in the model’s history. It’s also spacious and well-made, with a modern yet classy cabin design and plenty of convenience features. Modern high-tech add-ons are now available to enable the 3 Series to almost drive itself, and active safety measures helps to keep the driver out of trouble.

 

Pros & cons

Pros

• Smooth-riding and sharp-handling chassis is a keen driver’s delight.
• Potent yet frugal engines cut emissions without compromising performance.
• Spacious and nicely-designed cabin is a tactile and visual pleasure.
• High-tech driver aids allow added active safety and semi-autonomous driving.
• Lots of power in high-spec variants.

 

Cons

• Optional extras are quite expensive – including some of those driver- and safety aids.
• Base 320i engine is adequate for the job, but the 320d has a lot more punch.
• Looks a bit dreary without the M-Sport’s styling add-ons.
• Big, flashy wheels detract from its composure on poor road surfaces.

 

Similar cars to BMW 3 Series

• Audi A4: 

Beautifully made, good value, and a very competent all-rounder, it lacks the final flourish of the latest BMW’s dynamic polish. Also looking a bit old-fashioned in this company, and restricted engine range limits spread of appeal.

• Mercedes C-Class:

Recently facelifted, the latest C-Class gets a lot of high-tech equipment to bring it closer to the S-Class in concept and execution. New engine range is effective and frugal, and storming top-trim C43 is a serious opponent to the upcoming M340i xDrive.

• Jaguar XE:

The smallest Jaguar sedan is dynamically gifted and really nice to look at, but it’s hamstrung by engines which lack some refinement, and a cabin which urgently needs the facelift, due here in mid-2019. It’s rather expensive as well. The XE S has a screaming supercharged V6, and takes the performance fight right to the M340i and C43. 

• Alfa Romeo Giulia:

It’s oh-so-pretty and exquisite to drive, but the lovely Alfa Giulia is hamstrung by a limited model range: you can have a 2.0T in two trim levels, or the blistering and brilliant Quadrifoglio. It’s also quite expensive given the standard specifications, and until buyers accept Alfa Romeo as a premium brand again, it will suffer from steep depreciation. 

 

New vs used BMW 3 Series

The latest 3 Series represents a number of worthwhile improvements on its predecessor. In short, it’s an all-round better car, with stronger performance yet lower fuel consumption, better handling yet improved comfort, more space, and a host of available high-tech options.

Buying a new 3 Series rather than an old one brings one other major advantage: it will come with the full warranty for 2 years, as well as a maintenance plan for 5 years or 100 000 km. However, hunting down a low-mileage used example of the latest model will net you most of these same benefits, albeit with a slightly reduced warranty and maintenance plan. 

Late examples of previous-generation cars (first registration up till February 2019) will obviously have the similar remainders of their warranties and maintenance plans, but because they’ve been superseded now, their used values will have dropped quite a bit. That’s bad news for sellers, but good news for savvy shoppers, who will be able to get a low-mileage older-generation car at a nice discount.

 

Car finance options explained

Because the BMW 3 Series is a rather premium-priced product, many of them are sold on a leasing basis – generally through a BMW-approved financial service provider. This essentially boils down to a pay-to-use deal, where the buyer pays a certain amount every month for the privilege of using the car. Lease agreements generally run for a fixed term, and most of them have an upper yearly mileage limit, so make sure that such an arrangement will fit your usage needs.

At the end of the leasing period, the car is simply returned to the dealership, from where it will find its way onto the pre-owned floor. The upside of leasing is that the burden of getting rid of the used car is removed from the buyer, and that there will be no further outstanding balance to settle, such as the buyer would find in a hire-purchase deal with a residual value. The downside is that the buyer will end up paying for a car for a number of years, yet have no tangible asset to show afterwards.

Some dealerships and finance houses also offer different financing options, with hire-purchase transactions being the most common. In such a transaction, the buyer will put down a deposit on the car, and then proceed to pay monthly instalments until the car, along with interest and finance charges, are fully paid. 

So far, so good. But hire-purchase deals have a nastier sibling, which works in mostly the same way, but with an outstanding value at the end of the payment period. Many financing deals are structured in this way, to make the monthly instalments seem more affordable, but in the longer term, these deals end up costing a lot more than they do at first glance.

This outstanding value is known as a residual value or a balloon payment, and is usually due along with the final “normal” instalment. Most banks and finance houses will allow the buyer to finance this residual value, provided the car’s value is still higher than the outstanding amount. For this reason, many manufacturers provide a guaranteed future value for a car thus financed, making it possible to budget for the balloon payment in advance.

 

Average costs of running a BMW 3 Series

While it’s impossible to accurately predict how much any car will cost to run in the short- or long term, it’s worth noting a few points:

• All new 3 Series cars come standard with a warranty for 2 years (with unlimited mileage) and a maintenance plan for 5 years or 100 000 km. The remainder of both of these can be transferred to the next owner, provided the appropriate paperwork is in order (enquire at the BMW dealership about the procedure). The maintenance plan can also be extended at the end of its original period, for which the owner will have to pay extra.
• BMW 3 Series cars are considered high-risk vehicles by the insurance industry, for various reasons. Some model variants are very high performance cars, which may make them expensive to insure, especially for younger or inexperienced drivers. In addition, hijacking and theft risks are increased on these cars, leading to an insurance risk profile being extremely dependent on the car’s storage security arrangements, areas in which it travels, and even total mileage accumulated in business use.
• While the diesel-engined 3 Series derivatives are extremely frugal, the high-performance variants are often quite thirsty. Fuel consumption depends on the driver’s usage pattern as much as it depends on the engine’s performance, but as a general rule, high-powered derivatives will cost a lot more to fuel than low-power ones.
• With the wide variety of tyre sizes available for the 3 Series, it follows that tyre replacement costs will vary quite widely. More-common tyre sizes will be cheapest to replace, but exotic sizes and high-performance rubber are very expensive.

 

Where to buy a car

Seeing as the current 3 Series is very fresh on the market, the ones in the market will most likely be brand new, which means that you’ll be able to find them at OEM dealerships. However, lightly-used examples are starting to find their way onto pre-owned showroom floors, and you will find many of those listed right here on AutoTrader. 

Cars will be advertised by individual dealerships, which may be part of larger dealership groups, or operate as independent dealers. Either way, each dealer is responsible for their own operations, and it may be a good idea to compare different deals from the various dealerships to find the most beneficial terms for your needs.

How to get the best car deal

You might be surprised to learn that buying a car often has some opportunity for haggling. Don’t imagine that you’ll get 50% off the purchase price, but you might be able to score a few thousand here or there, under certain conditions:

• If the car has been standing at a dealership for a few weeks, chances are that the dealer will be willing to drop his asking price, just to get rid of old stock. This is because old (slow-selling) stock costs them money to keep around, and they might be willing to even accept a smaller profit margin, just to get rid of that specific car.
• If it’s close to a manufacturer’s year-end, there’s added pressure on dealers to sell their allocated quotas of vehicles. This means that the manufacturer might incentivise new vehicle transactions, just to meet yearly sales figures. Keep an eye open for such deals, often advertised as “cash back” or “trade assistance”, and you may just score a great deal.
• Close to the end of the calendar year, or when a model update is imminent, new cars can sometimes be bought with remarkable discounts, to clear dealer inventory of older-specification cars and make room for fresh stock. 
• Be aware that “On The Road” fees have been deemed illegal to finance, so insist that the dealer itemise those items on your invoice. Once you have that information, you will be able to negotiate a reduction in those fees.

Maintaining your BMW 3 Series

For the first 5 years of ownership, the maintenance requirements of your 3 Series will all be taken care of by the standard maintenance plan, which is valid for this entire period, or for 100 000 km, whichever comes first. During this time, the owner will only be responsible for tyre replacements and fuel. 

That’s a pretty sweet deal, but it gets rather less enticing once the maintenance plan has run out. If you want to preserve your car’s dealership service record (which should boost future resale values), you’ll have to pay for servicing and repairs at the agents – and doing that gets very expensive, very quickly. OEM dealer labour rates are generally very high, and OEM parts from the agents are also usually very expensive as well.

One way to get around this by using a non-OEM service centre for repairs, service and maintenance on your car. Their labour rates are often much lower, and they will have access to second-tier (non-OEM branded, but still produced according to OEM specifications) parts supplies as well. Both of these factors will reduce long-term maintenance and servicing costs, but you will lose out on that coveted dealership service record.

Because the current BMW 3 Series is still brand-new on the market, with freshly-revised mechanical parts, there isn’t much information regarding weaknesses and design flaws available as yet. However, going on information as found on various internet forums, the current B47/B48/B57/B58 family of petrol- and diesel engines appear to be durable in other cars, where they’ve been in use for a few years already.

 

Selling your car

Once the time has arrived for you to sell your car, there are some things you could do to get the best price for it. Seeing as you’ll most likely trade in a 3 Series on another car, you could take these steps to get the most for it from the dealership.

• Do your research: Your expectation of your car’s worth may not necessarily align with the dictates of market forces. Knowing beforehand how much a car like yours is worth in the used market will give you a better idea of the real worth of your car, giving you a target for which to aim.
• Presentation is key: If you arrive at a dealership (or want to show your car to a private buyer), but your car looks like it just drove across the Kalahari or through a mud pit, it will appear that your car has had a hard life. This will make for a lower offer from the buyer. The same applies to minor dings and scratches, where a little bit of pre-sale repair work can give the car’s value a useful boost.
• Keep records: This pertains to service records, as well as any maintenance- or repair work that’s been performed on the car. If you can prove that your car was well-maintained and regularly serviced, the buyer will be less concerned about unknown flaws hiding below the surface. This should lead to a better offer when you want to sell it.