Tips on Buying Cars: BMW, pzero nero, bmw m3

Question
Hello

      I have come across a 323Ci that i'm interested in buying.  I'm not sure on it though because i've never owned a BMW.  The car is a 2000 I believe.  It is in excellent cosmetic shape and the car has a few upgrades.  I was wondering what kind of maintance to expect with a car like this.  Is a higher mileage car like this more likely to have a major failure such as engine or transmission?  The work that was done includs, Brembo break package, new flywheel, BMW M3 clutch and pzero nero tires.  As far as I know, nothing was modified in the engine.  

The are asking 12,000 dollars for the car or best offer.  Do you think this would be a good buy or is this a car looking for trouble?  Thanks for any info on this.  The reason i'm being so cautious is because this is a first car for a 17-year-old.  

Thanks for any info you can provide.
Nick

Answer
Hi Nick
You got good taste, the BMW is one fine engineered vehicle and I have come across many with over 200K.
Unless the vehicle got really high mileage ? or been in an accident the price asking seems to be a bit on the low side.

If your on a budget then consider the maintance will be much higer being a luxury vehicle, parts and repairs can be quite expensive, for this reason alone a BMW is not for every one.

Buying a vehicle is a process of steps and if you find the time to do a little homework go to my website      http://www.usedcartips.org/   and study the 10 steps, many buyers today dont find the time to study and will end up having paid to much or worse still have a lemon parked in the driveway.

Here are the first 3 steps to consider if your really interested in any vehicle.
# 1... Obtain the 17 diget vin # and enter it into CARFAX to see if there are any issues, its free unless there are issues, you will find CARFAX banners on my website.

# 2... Study the web page THE TEST DRIVE on my website.

# 3... Being 17 years old the insurance becomes a major factor, dont buy any vehicle unless you know the rate beforehand, i have seen to many consumers being burned this way.

Should you have further questions feel free to ask
Have a great day
   Ray