Let me start out introducing myself. I am 17 years and will be turning 18 very shortly. The first car that I owned was an '04 Base TL, but I happen to have started my own small business when I was 13 and happened to have a little money saved up and decided to buy me an '06 5 series BMW and found out I was in way over my head and could not afford maintenance and still be able to do this and that stuff I wanted. So after two months of owning a BMW I decided to sell it and go back to a TL.
In my search for my new TL, I have found two that I am interested in. Now here is where I need the advice and opinions. One of the two TL I am interested was found by my grandfather and the car would not have necessarily been my first pick, but is still a great car and he has become very sick lately and want to make him as happy as possible before our time comes to an end. The car is a 2008 TL with roughly 92,000 and asking price is $13,750. The only two problems I have with the car is when I looked onto the passenger side dash I saw a very very small, maybe not even a half of a centimeter crack, but I assume it would get longer over time and possibly multiply into many other cracks. The other problem is it's only only 10,000-15,000 miles away from when I would need to change the timing belt and water pump( I may only be 17 but I drive roughly 30,000-40,000 miles a year) and that time would come up quick. I only have $6500 cash right now and I have a friend who is willing to loan be another $4000 cash until I am 18 and can get a loan to pay him back. So basically, I only have $10,500 to spend for a car and taxes. I know I would not have nearly enough to buy the TL, but I think my parents and grandparents may pay what ever amount is over the $10,500.
Now to the other car, it is a 2007 TL Type S with 147,000 miles. Yes, I know this sounds like a lot of miles, but I do know this car has been babied and the guy has all the service documents from the car. The car, to me, is far more appealing because of the Type S and I also love the color of it. I know I can buy the car for $9,500 cash, but I would also have to fly about 650 miles to the car which would not be a problem because my dad is part owner of a small plane and can fly me there but I will still have to pay the fuel. The only thing that worries me is this too many miles for this car, and I do know that he has not changed the transmission fluid although he has done everything else. Has not changing the fluid possibly caused some problems that are not evident yet? I do just like this car better because like I said it is a Type S and the color, but I can also pretty much afford it with the loan which I do not believe will be a problem for me to pay back as it will only be about $200 a month.
So this is what it boils down to, should I go with the more expensive car that has less miles, but know I will have to spend roughly $500-$1000 in the near future on maintenance or the car the has more miles but I find more appealing and know has been taken great care of for the most part and I can afford. And also, what are some things I should specifically look for when I go to look at the '08 tomorrow that may point to some problems? ( I do plan on getting a pre purchase inspection done before buying the car. Any insight would be greatly appreciated and I do apologize for the length of this!
In my search for my new TL, I have found two that I am interested in. Now here is where I need the advice and opinions. One of the two TL I am interested was found by my grandfather and the car would not have necessarily been my first pick, but is still a great car and he has become very sick lately and want to make him as happy as possible before our time comes to an end. The car is a 2008 TL with roughly 92,000 and asking price is $13,750. The only two problems I have with the car is when I looked onto the passenger side dash I saw a very very small, maybe not even a half of a centimeter crack, but I assume it would get longer over time and possibly multiply into many other cracks. The other problem is it's only only 10,000-15,000 miles away from when I would need to change the timing belt and water pump( I may only be 17 but I drive roughly 30,000-40,000 miles a year) and that time would come up quick. I only have $6500 cash right now and I have a friend who is willing to loan be another $4000 cash until I am 18 and can get a loan to pay him back. So basically, I only have $10,500 to spend for a car and taxes. I know I would not have nearly enough to buy the TL, but I think my parents and grandparents may pay what ever amount is over the $10,500.
Now to the other car, it is a 2007 TL Type S with 147,000 miles. Yes, I know this sounds like a lot of miles, but I do know this car has been babied and the guy has all the service documents from the car. The car, to me, is far more appealing because of the Type S and I also love the color of it. I know I can buy the car for $9,500 cash, but I would also have to fly about 650 miles to the car which would not be a problem because my dad is part owner of a small plane and can fly me there but I will still have to pay the fuel. The only thing that worries me is this too many miles for this car, and I do know that he has not changed the transmission fluid although he has done everything else. Has not changing the fluid possibly caused some problems that are not evident yet? I do just like this car better because like I said it is a Type S and the color, but I can also pretty much afford it with the loan which I do not believe will be a problem for me to pay back as it will only be about $200 a month.
So this is what it boils down to, should I go with the more expensive car that has less miles, but know I will have to spend roughly $500-$1000 in the near future on maintenance or the car the has more miles but I find more appealing and know has been taken great care of for the most part and I can afford. And also, what are some things I should specifically look for when I go to look at the '08 tomorrow that may point to some problems? ( I do plan on getting a pre purchase inspection done before buying the car. Any insight would be greatly appreciated and I do apologize for the length of this!