I have had very good luck with the
E36 3 series 2 door coupe. The first one,
a 99, was flawless for 1.5 years until maniac
totalled it.
I replaced that with the 93 same model, because I had to
buy my wife a car and a house. Mostly what
I'm down in on it is because the guy didn't
take care of it not because its a BMW.
In general, I have found parts to cost the about same (sometimes a little
more sometimes a little less, on average the same) than my spare car, an 87 CRX Si.
I don't think they are any harder to work on (read: expensive)
than any other modern car.
Also - they have a timing chain, not a timing belt.
I can tell you for sure my wife's passat is like working on a watch.
That is audi designed engine. So I definately agree with the others
that the VW/Audi are more expensive to maintain, but I disagree
with the BMW.
Also, in my opinion, you get a lot of value. Let's say you buy in the
12-14k range 3 series, that is maybe 6 years old. Most likely the
person before you just spent 5 years to pay for it, and they didn't
want it ruined. So they took care of it. Really good care of it.
Whereas most that buy civics, etc., unless its really cool like the CRX,
they tend to think of them as disposable cars. Also they have
timing belts.
But I don't forsee in the near future driving anything other than
a 3 series as my primary driver. They really are the ultimate driving machine,
not just a thingy on the hood.
