Touring top favorite
After the Volkswagen Golf and Polo, the BMW 3-series was the most popular used car in 2023. 2023 was not unique in this regard – the Dreier has been running very well for a long time – but such an observation requires a little more depth. Because what does the average buyer actually want from his 3-series? Do the same wishes apply as with the Volkswagen Golf, or does the buyer of a 3-series demand a little more from his next car? We can already report a difference with the Golf: the panoramic roof is not the most sought-after option.
The BMW 3 Series was born in the mid-1970s and would become one of the most popular mid-size cars to ever see European roads. And with the M3 it also got a sporty version, which would become the standard for every manufacturer with the same ambitions. Every great version of an existing middle class car is based on the M3 and they almost always come off badly. The regular 3 Series is considered a very complete car that serves business drivers and family people equally well. And then there’s rear-wheel drive. Freude am FahrenYes, of course.
Recent, but not too recent
If we look at the figures from Gaspedal.nl, we see that in 2023 the most searched for were the construction years 2019, 2020 and 2018. It is therefore clear that the average buyer is looking for a used lease box from a relatively young company. age. The average budget for these cars is around 20,000 euros. Such cars are usually well over 100,000 kilometers in terms of mileage, which fits exactly within expectations with a view to used lease cars that are a handful of years old. The average buyer is therefore looking for a mileage of approximately 130,000.
Manual gearbox is almost no longer wanted
The old-fashioned manual transmission is starting to fall out of favor with the buyer of a used 3-series. Compared to the automatic, the search results are almost negligible. Not surprising, because the newer the 3-series, the greater the chance that it is equipped with an automatic transmission. And because the G20 is the most sought-after generation, the automatic is more than leading. Furthermore, petrol is by far the most sought-after fuel, miles ahead of diesel or hybrid. To put it in figures: more than a million buyers looked for a petrol variant, less than 200,000 looked for diesel or hybrid.
Station wagons above all
The most sought-after option for a second-hand BMW 3-series is the presence of leather upholstery. The towbar comes in second place and the panoramic roof, unlike the VW Golf, has to make do with third position. At the same time, it is striking that the BMW 3-series Touring, the station wagon, is by far the most popular body variant. Fully explainable, because the already broad usability of the 3 Series reaches its pinnacle with the Touring. The sedan follows at a respectable distance in second place, with the convertible in third place. And, funny, the 4-series convertible does better than the 3-series convertible.
Which BMWs run faster?
Finally, a broader look at the popularity of second-hand BMWs. Behind the 3-series, the BMW 5-series is also very popular and takes the eighth place among the most sought-after used cars in 2023 on Gaspedal.nl. If we look purely at the most sought-after BMWs, we will of course find the 3-series and 5-series in the first two places. The 1-series is in third place, followed by the X1 and the X5. The most popular M variant is, how could it be otherwise, the BMW M3. This is in twentieth place on the list of most searched for BMWs. And with the M3, people also prefer a station wagon. Sportsmanship is fun, as long as it remains a bit practical.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl