Used car dealer shares feature-packed luxury performance saloon for £1,500

A used car dealer has taken to YouTube to share how he got behind the wheel of a stylish performance saloon with plenty of luxury features for just £1,500. Matt Goodwin runs the YouTube channel High Peak Autos and regularly posts videos in which he buys models to sell at his used car dealership, often giving advice to help drivers find the right pre-owned car for them.

In a recent video, Matt buys a 2009 BMW 318D for £1,500, and was surprised to find that it was in particularly good condition for a 16-year-old model with 101,000 miles on the clock. He explained: "Well, here it is then: my 2009 BMW 3-Series diesel that cost £1,500. On the face of it, it looks alright. So, what do we know about it? The bodywork looks alright, the headlights aren't too cloudy, it's on its original number plates, so we know it came from Sytner BMW in Sheffield. It's got some decent alloys that aren't too kerbed and we're running on some Bridgestone tyres with 4mm of tread. The panel gaps are good and there's no signs of filler, the sporty sills aren't all whacked in - it's quite a tidy car, this."

Whilst the 3-Series has been a part of the BMW range since 1975, the E90 variant, which was made from 2004 to 2013, was arguably one of the most stylish. Compared to previous generations, the E90 3-Series featured much sharper creases along the doors and bonnets.

This generation of the BMW 3-Series was offered with a wide range of body styles, including a coupe and convertible, but the saloon and estate were the best selling. Drivers could also choose from a wide range of engines, spanning from an economical 1.6 diesel to a 4.0-litre V6 in the high-performance M3.

Used car buyers can get behind the wheel of a BMW 3-Series E90 from around £1,500, with the majority of examples at this price being saloons with either a 2.0-litre diesel or 1.8 petrol.

Getting inside, Matt noted that his BMW 3-Series was fairly low in the range, but still offered leather seats, climate control, and plenty of service history from the previous owners.

He added: "Well, we've got a black leather interior with manual seats, no automatic headlights or folding mirrors as it's quite a low specification example, but we do have electric windows. It's got a manual six-speed gearbox, climate control, a CD player, some cup holders, and an aux point.

"And we've also got a box of paperwork with the spare key, which is a result - that's always a good sign. There's a logbook, paperwork, loads of receipts. Let's see if the air conditioning works. We've even got a couple of pound coins, so it now owes me £1,498."

Taking the car for a spin, the used car dealer highlighted that the BMW needed very little doing to it before he could sell it on.

He continued: "Let's get this on the road. The clutch feels OK, the steering is quite heavy, but that's typical of a 3-Series. It drives alright, though, and pulls fine. The brakes feel fine, it doesn't knock when you go over a pothole, so the suspension should be fine.

"It drives very well, this. It's quite a lot of car for £1,500, an awful lot. What I'm going to do with it is take it down to the garage for a service and a fresh MOT, I'll fix a broken rear door lock, and that's about it. It just needs a good clean."