[leco]

I'm glad I found this thread, as I am looking to purchase a BMW 3 Series Touring car, as I need the space following the arrival of a new baby (and the enormous amount of equipment we apparently need), but I don't know much about the car at all, including what price I should be aiming to pay, so I was immediately attracted yesterday to what seemed a relatively well priced car on Auto Trader compared to others of the same model. The vehicle was being advertised as a featured car by Big Motoring World, and it was literally 1000s cheaper than anything else that matched it on paper, particularly given the low mileage and young age of the car, so I called Big Motoring World and first of all got told their systems were down by someone who didn't exactly sound super professional, so they couldn't check for that car, and could I call them at another time, which surprised me, as I was a hot lead looking to buy, and they were happy to let me go without offering to take my details and call me back. Also was I supposed to guess when their system was back up? However it seemed such a good deal I did call back, against my better judgement, and was told that car wasn't available for sale so it had probably just gone, but a few other similar ones which had many 10s of thousand more miles were. I asked why the original one was so cheap in comparison others I'd seen on Auto Trader, and was told that 'maybe it had a big scratch down it'. Anyway, suspicions aroused, I put the phone down and looked for some reviews about Big Motoring World, and found this very informative and amusing thread. I'll certainly be avoiding this company now!

Given my lack of knowledge regarding this car, can any of you guys offer any advice about the model and the sort of price I should be looking to pay, and whether or not you would absolutely recommend a main dealership over e.g. an independent dealership or private sale?

I was led to the car by doing online research and it seemed to be very much recommended in it's category compared to e.g. the A4 Avant. The model 'What Car' say is best is the 320d SE 5dr. Firstly, would you agree, as I'm not too bothered whether I drive a diesel or not, particularly as I only drive a few thousand miles a year? Is there much difference between the 320d or i and the 318d or i?

I'm ideally looking to spend £10-13.5k for a car that is up to 5 years old, and has below 60k miles. The Big Motoring World car, which is still being advertised today as a featured offer on AutoTrader despite being sold, was a 318d for 11k despite being a 2011 model! The mileage was 40k. It had new tyres, alloys, MP3 interface etc etc. However, when I now look on the BMW main dealers site, I suddenly come across similar models around that price which are 2007 models and with a lot more miles, so I've definitely had my perceptions skewed by Big Motoring World.

Any advice welcome