Thinking of a 330I?

[b0b0]

Please help me, I've never owned a BMW before, and I'm thinking of getting a 330I. The car is a 2001 has 126000 miles on it, and a stick.
What are some potential problems that I might be looking at? Do you think I should get the car, or would I face too many problems
Also, the car is RWD, would it be good in the snow? Right now I drive an AWD, so I don't want a huge difference?

[b0b0]

No one is replying, I guess the BMW has no problems.
Good to know

[witeshark]

Any issues depends on the specific car. Did you see a carfax on it? Rear wheel drive with an open differential will not be good in snow. The difference between that and AWD will be quite huge. But if it has a limited slip differential (unlikely), than it would better, but still far short of AWD.

[b0b0]

yeah, carfax is clean, thanks for the info

[drz]

If you will be facing a lot of snow, you may want to have a winter car -- either FWD or AWD. The 330i will do fine for a RWD in the snow, but it is far from ideal.

Other than that, be sure to get service history on the car. If unavailable, it wouldn't hurt to have an independent mechanic look it over and replace any rubber parts (hoses, bushings, belts, etc.) that are worn. The cooling system is the weak point, so if you don't have evidence that it has been serviced recently, I would change the water pump, thermostat, fan clutch (if it opposes no resistance to spinning), etc. In general, be ready to spend $1000 to $2000 to get the car back in shape (standard used car purchase disclaimer).

Great car. I say, do it!