Same with me, so it makes it really hard to justify. It will be a "business" car though as far as the IRS is concerned, so I might as well drive something decent ya know.
Any BMW owners here?
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Same with me, so it makes it really hard to justify. It will be a "business" car though as far as the IRS is concerned, so I might as well drive something decent ya know.
That really is a great approach. Kind of funny too because when I signed up at bimmerforums.com it had a big warning right at the top that if your a girl, not to use your first name as the username as it might draw unwanted attention from guys lol
I drive a 2003 330ci and love it. I bought it 2.5 years ago and haven't had anything major go wrong with the car at all since. Before this car, I owned an Audi, VW, and a Nissan, and the BMW by far is the easiest of all 3 to work on if you do any mechanical work yourself. The parts are also much cheaper than what I use to pay for parts for my VW and Audi.
Crappy phone pic:
Crappy phone pic:
Let's see, Audi started making cars in 1910, VW in 1937. Sure, VW bought Audi, just like they did Lamborghini. But you have always been able to buy Audis in Germany.
The cars they used to sell as Lexuses (Lexai??) here were sold as Toyotas in Japan.
Since I work from home and am 6'4" and have 2 hockey playing sons, buying the sports car is out the window. What is great is everyone is ditching their big SUVs. Just got into a sweet deal on a Tahoe that has all the upgrades, and a couple of years old so the price was less than half of the original sticker price.
Repairs are reasonable, V8 is expensive on gas, but did I mention that I work from home? The days for the sedan were in the past and in the future, but now I will take the big ol' SUV from Detroit.
Repairs are reasonable, V8 is expensive on gas, but did I mention that I work from home? The days for the sedan were in the past and in the future, but now I will take the big ol' SUV from Detroit.
buy used - let someone else eat the depreciation - get a good warranty
2007 Audi S8 with 10k Miles for 60k on CL . .
2007 Audi S8 Quattro
Yum
2007 Audi S8 with 10k Miles for 60k on CL . .
2007 Audi S8 Quattro
Yum
Crappy phone pic:
Nice car. If I don't find an M3 I like when I'm ready to buy, and found a nice 330CI I think I'd go for it. I know your probably bias, but have you ever had any regrets not getting an M3? I wish I could find a comparison chart to see all the differences between the two other than the engine.
I also just decided to buy a 4-wheeler on Sunday so now I have to figure out how the hell I'm going to cart that thing around! Maybe the M3 with a hitch would work.
325i Owner here.
To the OP, get a BMW if you can afford it. It is the best toy I have ever had. EVER. I've had quite a few toys.
Yes, parts are expensive, yes I cringe/cry when I hit a big hole. But it is worth it. If you love driving, you don't know what driving is until you get a rear traction car. If you can't get a full out sports car, then get a BMW.
One thing to be careful about, get a well maintained car. Hopefully one with a single owner, even better if the owner is elderly. I would even say mileage is less important than maintenance.
With BMWs maintenance is everything. Good maintenance, and you won't have to worry. But if you slop up on maintenance, oh dear you are going to pay. So make sure you get a used one, but well maintained.
Finding a good mechanic (that isn't an agency) is an important key. For me I don't have time to fix it, although it is a very friendly car for do it yourselfer's.
Also, from what I have heard, an important factor to take into consideration is the generation. There are four generations of BMW. Generation one was the best built, I’ve heard of Gen1 Bimmers that have over 400,000 miles on them and keep going. I own a gen 2, which has more plastic parts and is less reliable.
My mechanic is fanatic about Gen1s. According to him, every generation they have made the models less relieable to sell more parts.
Regarding M3 vs 330CI, go to a dealer and sit in both, give ‘em a test drive, even if you wont buy it from the dealer.
@Unarmed Gunman, man, not only are you ignorant regarding cars, but you insist in proving it. No, it doesn't help, the thing is you are talking OUT of YOUR ASS, since it is obvious you have never driven and enjoyed the power/handling of a great car. I'm sure you also feel a row boat is better than a Yatch.
I'll take it you are one of those people that love to volunteer your opinions on topics you barely understand. Did you notice the title of the thread? Or did you mis-read and thought it spelled out, real nice and slow: "Any crap-american car owners here?"
Some people have to money to shell out, even if your broke ass doesn’t. You probably also feel children aren’t worth having either since they are also expensive to have?
To the OP, get a BMW if you can afford it. It is the best toy I have ever had. EVER. I've had quite a few toys.
Yes, parts are expensive, yes I cringe/cry when I hit a big hole. But it is worth it. If you love driving, you don't know what driving is until you get a rear traction car. If you can't get a full out sports car, then get a BMW.
One thing to be careful about, get a well maintained car. Hopefully one with a single owner, even better if the owner is elderly. I would even say mileage is less important than maintenance.
With BMWs maintenance is everything. Good maintenance, and you won't have to worry. But if you slop up on maintenance, oh dear you are going to pay. So make sure you get a used one, but well maintained.
Finding a good mechanic (that isn't an agency) is an important key. For me I don't have time to fix it, although it is a very friendly car for do it yourselfer's.
Also, from what I have heard, an important factor to take into consideration is the generation. There are four generations of BMW. Generation one was the best built, I’ve heard of Gen1 Bimmers that have over 400,000 miles on them and keep going. I own a gen 2, which has more plastic parts and is less reliable.
My mechanic is fanatic about Gen1s. According to him, every generation they have made the models less relieable to sell more parts.
Regarding M3 vs 330CI, go to a dealer and sit in both, give ‘em a test drive, even if you wont buy it from the dealer.
@Unarmed Gunman, man, not only are you ignorant regarding cars, but you insist in proving it. No, it doesn't help, the thing is you are talking OUT of YOUR ASS, since it is obvious you have never driven and enjoyed the power/handling of a great car. I'm sure you also feel a row boat is better than a Yatch.
I'll take it you are one of those people that love to volunteer your opinions on topics you barely understand. Did you notice the title of the thread? Or did you mis-read and thought it spelled out, real nice and slow: "Any crap-american car owners here?"
BMWs have a huge number of benefits other than the logo. Yes I love the logo also, and I love that girls love the logo also. But accelaration, handling, luxury briming on every inch of a perfectly crafted machine is probably the real seller.
Some people have to money to shell out, even if your broke ass doesn’t. You probably also feel children aren’t worth having either since they are also expensive to have?
Wow, do you want a prize? You think 120 miles is a lot, good for you. Even if your crappy car has a better life expectancy than my luxury vehicle, do you think that makes your crappy car a luxury car?
Says you. Ever driven any of the cars you are talking out your ass about?
Thanks for the compliment.
Honestly I was looking for an m3 when I bought my car. I was browsing e46fanatics.com for a couple weeks looking for an m3...came across my car, and the owner was desperate to sell it. I made a really lowball offer, and he accepted it, which is why I ended up with the 330 instead of the m3.
It is hard to say whether or not I'd rather have an m3...Yes, there are definitely times where I wish I had gotten one. At the same time, I am glad I went with the 330 for less money because I like to switch up cars a lot and the depreciation hit probably would be worse with an m3. I guess it could go either way...but I definitely wouldn't say I regret buying the 330.
And as far as differences between 3 series/m3 other than the engine...just some off the top of my head-
-m3 has a small lip spoiler on the trunklid (can be bought on ebay prepainted for like $60, and I've actually read decent reviews of them on forums.)
-m3 has an upgraded steering wheel
-m3 has upgraded seats
-m3 has silver rings around the gauges in the cluster
-m3 has wider fender arches and wider tires
-m3 has different bumpers, fender gills, and dual exhaust (obvious ones)
-m3 has a small lip spoiler on the trunklid (can be bought on ebay prepainted for like $60, and I've actually read decent reviews of them on forums.)
-m3 has an upgraded steering wheel
-m3 has upgraded seats
-m3 has silver rings around the gauges in the cluster
-m3 has wider fender arches and wider tires
-m3 has different bumpers, fender gills, and dual exhaust (obvious ones)
And I wasn't comparing it to an M3, just pointing out you can get a used high dollar car and let someone else eat 50k in depreciation.
And . . .get top of the line saloon for similar money as new M3 and probably keep performance the same, while hauling 5 of your friends around.
One of the things I like most about my 330ci is that the backseat is so small, nobody ever wants me to be the designated driver.
Wow - you spent a lot of time multi-quoting me, to help make my point - thanks +rep!
I often drive my sisters 2008 328i and have also driven my uncle's e46. The 328i is nothing crazy.Her car actually had some electrical problems with the power locks and none of the doors opened except the drivers. It's highly reccomended to have a warranty available. I'm not sure if all of them are the same but the brakes are very very sensitive for some reason. On the other hand, the e46 is an amazing car with excellent handling if you like to go fast on turns. I haven't had a chance to drive a manual e46 but I love the SMG transmission. It's nice to just cruise around without having to step on the clutch and shifting since I drive a manual daily.
BMW's are nice and prestigious.....but they WILL break and it WILL be expensive to fix. Why not spend half the money and shit on BMW's with an Evo? The Evo will out-handle anything in it's class, and BMW's. it eats cars that cost 2-3 times as much as it does, and spend a few grand and you'll be dusting vette's, m3's, audi's, anything that comes it's way in a straight line and especially on the track 
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here's mine:
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