A BMW for all

IT'S easy to see where the attraction lies in an oldstyle BMW 3 Series (even though BMW has just upgraded its replacement).

You can own one of the best engineered mass-market cars of the past decade (it was built from 1992 to 1998) for the price of a Ford Mondeo.

There's only one area where this car is found wanting exclusivity. It's second only to the VW Golf on car sales magazine Autotrader's website hit list. Everybody seems to have cottoned on to the merits of running the compact BMW. With an engine line-up spanning 1.6 to 2.8-litres, there is a model to suit all tastes and pockets.

Despite its age, few cars can touch the 3 Series for sophisticated and sporting character. The weakest car in the range is the Compact hatchback, which doesn't feel so fluid on the road due to its rear suspension, dating back to the cruder 1980s-style 3 Series. Many Compacts are rather spartan, too.

The saloon isn't roomy for family types and the Touring cannot be regarded as a loadlugging estate, but they're extremely civilised. For those with deeper pockets, there's a low-slung two-door saloon (BMW called it a coup) and swish convertibles.

The trade insists you should go for the higher specified SE models which, depending

Alan Anderson upon the model, have nice touches such as alloy wheels and air-conditioning.

For the mainstream buyer, the spry 318i is the wisest buy.

This uses a brisk 115bhp, 1.8-litre, four-cylinder engine with containable running costs, although the smooth six-cylinder models (including the excellent diesels) that start with the 320i give the 3 Series the performance it deserves.

The trick to running a 3 Series on a budget is to buy a car with a full BMW service history and then use one of the numerous independent specialists to keep it healthy.

Clocking (faking the true mileage), engine rattles, worn diesels and overheating, jerky automatics and worn brake discs are common, as is slipshod servicing. There are many stolen and crashedrepaired ones, so have your car HPI-checked (01722 422422) to ensure it's genuine.

A good 3 Series will cost from 6,000 upwards.

N-reg 318iSE, 28,000 miles, specialist dealer: 9,600.

M-reg 318iS coup, 90,000 miles, private: 5,500.

P-reg 320 Touring, 56,000 miles, specialist: 9,995.

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