Writer Recommends - Used BMW 3 Series Prices

The BMW 3 Series is quite possibly the most popular and recognisable executive car in the world. I have owned a BMW 3 Series for six years now and I can say quite categorically that it is by far my favourite vehicle of all those that I have owned.

It has been in production since 1975, and is fast approaching its fortieth anniversary. Today I want to talk a little bit about what has enabled the 3 Series to stay popular over such a long period of time, and about the different prices of current and past models on the market.

Currently in its sixth generation, the 3 Series will cost you a minimum of £24,000 if you want to buy a brand new one (BMW 3 Series leasing deals can sometimes represent a more financially viable option). It is available as either a 2-door coupe, 2-door convertible, a 4-door saloon or a 5-door estate. Of the four different formats the most recognisable is undoubtedly the traditional saloon, which is the model I own at the moment (albeit a fifth generation one). My favourite is actually the Coupe though, which may well be my next vehicle.

What I like best about the current 3 Series is that it’s a great all-rounder. Its general performance is excellent and the handling is smooth and responsive which makes it a lot of fun to drive, particularly the 2-door versions. Additionally it has a superb interior which really sets it apart from some of its rivals. If I end up going for the coupe as my next model, I think I’ll go for a contract hire BMW 3 Series. Monthly payments are more manageable in my opinion.

With regards to second hand BMW 3 Series models, the price of them really depends on which generation you’re looking at and how many miles it has on the clock.

Seeing as I will be looking to sell my own 3 Series saloon in the near future, and possibly look to replace it with the coupe, I will use it as an example. When I performed a few advanced searches online for used BMW 3 Series saloons from 2008 with more than 50,000 miles on the clock, I found that they were generally selling for around £10,000. I saw a model with 66,000 miles on sale for £10,400 and another car with 58,000 miles selling for £10,900.

These numbers were actually slightly larger than I expected, and considering my car has done only 51,000 miles I might get £11k for it which would be a lovely amount to put towards some of the monthly payments on a coupe.

Of course if you are looking to buy a 3 Series, whether it is a saloon or another version, there are plenty of offerings at significantly less than £10,000. I spent quite a while browsing online and saw a model for as little as £500! It was however 15 years old and had done 141,000 miles.

Moreover, there was a 2006 saloon which had done 65,000 miles on sale for £5,500, which I thought was a really good deal. All in all I believe that a used BMW 3 Series represents a good purchase. If you are in the market for an executive car I’d certainly recommend having a look.