[Buug959]

Great post, very informative and I'm sure very helpful to those buying one of their first cars or those that are looking more for a list of things to look for when shopping for their first 3 series.
I am old enough and experienced enough and stupid enough to do it all COMPLETELY WRONG. LOL I really took a huge gamble when I bought my '08 335xi. I saw three whole photos of it. One from square on the rear, one from square on the passengers side and one of the interior through the open passenger's door. I didn't see the driver's side or the front although I could just make out the tow hook in the front bumper on the passenger's side. I never heard it run and in fact I wasn't entirely sure it did run. All I did know was that " there is oil running down the block" and " a rear shock is wet". Oh did I mention that it was at a BMW dealer 2000km away and was being sold "AS IS".
I gave the dealer my Visa number and said put it on a truck. Nine days later it is at my door on a rollback tow truck and the driver is asking me if it runs because he couldn't get it started. I had to tell him that I had no idea if it ran at all. It turns out it started and ran just fine once you actually put the key IN THE SLOT before you try to start it. LOL The driver thought it was just a proximity key and only had to be near the car.
A new valve cover and the "oil running down the block" is all dried up and the new suspension is on order.
I was INCREDIBLY LUCKY!!! It's a wonderful little car. Everything works as it should and the interior is in fantastic shape for a car with 160k kms on it.
So if you're still reading this I have one piece of advice for you and that is DO NOT DO WHAT I DID!!! Read through the original post and follow it. You'll have a great chance to find a great car of your own that you can enjoy for years to come.