Hi everyone, Im new here and i was wondering if someone could possibly help me out. I was in a car accident on sat night involving my old 1992 bmw 325i i hit someone who cut in front of me, i was doing about 60km at the time of impact i had no where to go not even enough time to brake. I was very lucky to have not broken anything physically and only suffer from whip lash which is what im feeling today :S.

Long story short theirs a chance my car will be a right off due to the damage i dont find out till tomorrow though. But if it is i will have to look at getting a new car. Ive always been looking at the 380's as a car id love to get.

I was wondering if say maybe maybe someone can help me find something decent in my budget. The max amount of money i want to spend is $12500, im sure i can get something half decent for that, I live in brisbane so anywhere within 250 kms of my house would be perfect. Im looking for an auto and something with low kms and warranty if possible but im not to fussed on the warranty, if that helps. Ive had a quick look for myself on carsales and seen a few but i dont know whats the best value for the series etc. Thought id ask the experts or owners of them about there experience because im in real need of a reliable and safe car :)

Hope someone out there can help me

Cheers Jason

Just a couple of things when you are looking for a car. Make sure all the windows wind up and down by testing them individually. Make sure you have more than one key included as spare keys are very expensive. Check for runout (warpage) on the rotors on your drive. Go for an up spec version if you can, either a VRX or GT.
Here are some results
http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/results.aspx?Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal%7C0%7C%7CpC ar_RankSort_Int32%7C1%7C%7CpCar_Make_String%7C0%7C %7CpCar_Model_String%7C0&N=834%201216%201247%201252%201282%204294964376%204 294964597%20900%20410&tabID=2208746&keywords=
remember these prices are a starting point, so haggle haggle haggle or if you are uncomfortable with that take someone with you who is good at it!

Just a couple of things when you are looking for a car. Make sure all the windows wind up and down by testing them individually. Make sure you have more than one key included as spare keys are very expensive. Check for runout (warpage) on the rotors on your drive. Go for an up spec version if you can, either a VRX or GT.
Here are some results
http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/results.aspx?Ns=pCar_PriceSort_Decimal%7C0%7C%7CpC ar_RankSort_Int32%7C1%7C%7CpCar_Make_String%7C0%7C %7CpCar_Model_String%7C0&N=834%201216%201247%201252%201282%204294964376%204 294964597%20900%20410&tabID=2208746&keywords=
remember these prices are a starting point, so haggle haggle haggle or if you are uncomfortable with that take someone with you who is good at it!

Thanks for your help ill definately check that out when im there looking. Also what about say an sx model or a platinum edition are they worth it they just seem alittle cheaper is there much difference in them to say a vrx

All the 380s use the same engine/gearbox regardless of series or model.

I believe the SX uses the same suspension setup as the VR-X, so it's worth looking at.

SX/VRX/GT/LX if you want the Sports Suspension. ES/LS if you don't. Personally I have an LX and I think the ride/handling trade off is perfect.

SX offers really good value for money IMO, but in my recent experience, it's hard to find one in good condition.

If I can give you some advice, be patient when looking as there's a lot of really poorly looked after 380's out there.

SX/VRX/GT/LX if you want the Sports Suspension. ES/LS if you don't. Personally I have an LX and I think the ride/handling trade off is perfect.

SX offers really good value for money IMO, but in my recent experience, it's hard to find one in good condition.

If I can give you some advice, be patient when looking as there's a lot of really poorly looked after 380's out there.

Thanks fellas i may have found a good one out of the bunch what do you guys think

http://www.carsales.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?__Qpb=1&SearchAction=N&MileageTo=751&Cr=6&R=11436938&__Nf=p_GeoLocation_String|GCLT%20-27.42095,153.1644%20253.7&seot=1&distance=250&silo=1011&__Ns=pCar_Odometer_Single|0||pCar_RankSort_Int32|1 ||pCar_PriceSort_Decimal|0&keywords=&__No=360&__sid=1337B1CF41E5&__Nne=15&YearFromShort=1648&PriceTo=410&YearToShort=1796&__N=1216%201247%201252%201282%201648%201796%201621 %20410%20751&postcode=4178&trecs=1280

All I can say is I strongly recommend you look at the car in person with a totally open mind. I looked at 3 different 380's with that paint colour; a GT, an SX and a VRX. All of them looked good in photos, but all of them were terrible in person.

All I can say is I strongly recommend you look at the car in person with a totally open mind. I looked at 3 different 380's with that paint colour; a GT, an SX and a VRX. All of them looked good in photos, but all of them were terrible in person.

oh ok was that because of the paint colour or the cars themselves werent looked after. Also if you dont mind me asking how many kms were on your 380 when you bought it and since then have you have any problems. Just trying to get an idea as i had terrible luck with my old car.

Don't buy it unless it has a full service history and has all the services completed.
If it's over 100,000km then make sure the timing belt has been done.
If you want more peace of mind, get an independent mechanic to go over it before you buy.

oh ok was that because of the paint colour or the cars themselves werent looked after. Also if you dont mind me asking how many kms were on your 380 when you bought it and since then have you have any problems. Just trying to get an idea as i had terrible luck with my old car.

More to do with the colour. Looked good in pics, but small scratches and marks really made it look bad in person.

Mine is a 2005 LX, 63,000kms when I bought it - $14,500 I paid. Not one problem so far in almost 5,000kms.

More to do with the colour. Looked good in pics, but small scratches and marks really made it look bad in person.

Mine is a 2005 LX, 63,000kms when I bought it - $14,500 I paid. Not one problem so far in almost 5,000kms.

Yeh ill definately be checking for those things, might even get a vin check done to just to be safe.

Oh i see ill keep an eye out for that aswell, but defs sounds like you got a good deal and that makes me feel abit better when searching for one for myself.

Hi everyone, Im new here and i was wondering if someone could possibly help me out. I was in a car accident on sat night involving my old 1992 bmw 325i i hit someone who cut in front of me, i was doing about 60km at the time of impact i had no where to go not even enough time to brake. I was very lucky to have not broken anything physically and only suffer from whip lash which is what im feeling today :S.

Long story short theirs a chance my car will be a right off due to the damage i dont find out till tomorrow though. But if it is i will have to look at getting a new car. Ive always been looking at the 380's as a car id love to get.

I was wondering if say maybe maybe someone can help me find something decent in my budget. The max amount of money i want to spend is $12500, im sure i can get something half decent for that, I live in brisbane so anywhere within 250 kms of my house would be perfect. Im looking for an auto and something with low kms and warranty if possible but im not to fussed on the warranty, if that helps. Ive had a quick look for myself on carsales and seen a few but i dont know whats the best value for the series etc. Thought id ask the experts or owners of them about there experience because im in real need of a reliable and safe car :)

Hope someone out there can help me

Cheers Jason

just a question - who was considered at fault in your case... car cutting in front of you.. I had similar experience (no collisions) at 80 km/h... whats more the moron who cut me off even yelled at me after ;-) - Id assume that he was on fault... what did the insurance or cops say? thanks m

by the way - 380 is an excellent car... I got mine with 66,000 last year November 2010, SX 3 2007 for $12,500... the air filters was not ever changed, as much as engine oil ;-) and it was ex-rental... I cant complain the car drives mad... sometimes I feel it goes different from day to day... but over its great value for metal

Look at each of the panels and make sure they all match colour exactly, otherwise it's been to the panel shop. Check for moisture anywhere in the car too, you don't want any pesky leaks

Another thing that may be worth considering is you could get a base model and use the money you save on it to upgrade the suspension to coilovers and larger rims/tyres. I am still on the 17" rims on the VRX but IMHO would only go up to the 18" if I was getting bigger due to tyre cost and ride. Lots of people have 19 and 20" and some even 22" but I would seriously do the maths on tyres before I went and bought the rims. Just another thought for you.

I dont think cost can be used as a negative of going up to 19/20. these rim sizes are common enough the premium over smaller rims is now quite small. not like you are paying $1000 a tyre. can get mid range 245/35/20 for between 200 and 300 a corner. thats not expensive.

just a question - who was considered at fault in your case... car cutting in front of you.. I had similar experience (no collisions) at 80 km/h... whats more the moron who cut me off even yelled at me after ;-) - Id assume that he was on fault... what did the insurance or cops say? thanks m

by the way - 380 is an excellent car... I got mine with 66,000 last year November 2010, SX 3 2007 for $12,500... the air filters was not ever changed, as much as engine oil ;-) and it was ex-rental... I cant complain the car drives mad... sometimes I feel it goes different from day to day... but over its great value for metal

Thats crazy lucky you didnt hit them, Yeh it was the other drivers fault he failed to giveway and just cut across me,the cops were on my side straight away especially when there was about 5 witnesses who told them what happened all of which said it was his fault. Lucky he was insured though so sorting out everything with insurance has been a breeze.

The car was officially announced a write off today so now just got to wait for the finalization of the claim and funds to be received :) so let the 380 shopping begin :D