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tarunjotsingh

Hi, I want to know something about the BMW116i.
So I am planning to buy this car. I am getting it for $8300 which includes mechanical warranty till 25th March 2020 and is only 38500 km driven till now.
I am a student and want a reliable car which can run for at least 5 years from now. As you are an expert, so can you please tell me whether it would be the best buy for me? and what better car instead of it can I get at that budget of $8300? And also what would the service or maintenance cost me for this car? Or what are those things which you think in this hatchback would be very costly and I should be careful about?

Anon

Hi there,
BMW have a fairly good track record with reliability, however as with a lot aging European vehicles- they could start costing a bit in extra maintenance as some of the electrics (switches, motors etc) and plastic parts (cooling system, breather pipes etc) might fail. This is usually most likely to happen after the car is around ten years old. A similar Japanese car may not drive, handle, or have as many safety items, but can often be cheaper to maintain. So it's a bit of a trade-off as to what you prefer. Knowing how a car has been treated and serviced will help determine the likelihood of future maintenance requirements.