i got a 99 328i e46 chassis and it has 146K on it and its a wonderful car no problems at all. as long as all the maintence has been kept up with your good to go. i always do my inspection 1 and inspection 2 on time and i havnt had problems. now if your one that tends to neglect then bmw isnt the car for you. parts arn't expensive i spent the same amount on my honda when it came to maintence. If your looking for one look for a 3 series from 99-up always been good cars even a e36 m3 wich is from 95-99. 5 series 525i, 530 01-up same motors as the 3 series. do not look at a 528i, 740 are horrible cars and so are the 850, as well as Z3. everything else your in good shape just make sure they have records. maintence, radiator, waterpump, thermostat, valve cover gasket, and sub frame damage wich is very common in e46 3 series just make sure the job was done right. stay away from automatic if you can 5-speed is more fun anyways. other then that, very fun car, very reliable now i know most people will disagree, but im a student with little to no income i bought my car from the original owner w/100k on it and ive been fine since.