BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

seivwrig

G35 vs 330i lost its way when discussing drive vs riding, sport vs lux and auto vs.manual. This boils down to the old debate of what is a sport car? I consider a sports car to have 4 wheels, 3 pedals, 1 steering wheel, and 2 seats. Sport cars to me have no luxuries like a/c or navigation system. Preferable RWD. Anything else is a sedan with 2 or 4 doors.

dave330i

And the G35 owners will tell you, that's just your opinion.

chazann

Rob Thank you, you make a good point that the airsbags can create more harm than good. I did walk away from the accident and I feel lucky that all I have is bruise on the left temple where my head hit the window and slight stiffness in my neck and mid-spine, so nothing time and hopefully a couple of good therapeutic massages won't cure.

Annette

brave1heart

I am still surprised that the side airbag did not deploy, though. 40 mph is a pretty serious impact and I think that the airbag should have deployed...You should do more research to determine what impact should trigger the side airbags and whether this was due to malfunctioning or it's normal.

riez

Brooklands Books published a wonderful little book titled "Porsche 914, 1969-1975". My copy does NOT have a copyright date. Has pretty much every major new car review of the 914 & 914/6 in US, UK, and Aus car magazines. Reprints each review.

For example, in Jan 1970 Road & Track reported on both. 914 with 85 HP weighed 1,982 pounds. 914/6 with 125 HP weighed 2,070 pounds.

The Jan 1972 issue of Road & Track had a report on the ultra-rare, only one US certified, 916. Had 190 HP, 5-speed manual, and 2,000 pounds.

Other reviews included Oct '69 Motor Trend up to the Nov 1974 Road & Track Owner Survey (which had only 13 914/6 owners respond, but lots of 914 owners).

leenelsonmd

I was just wondering how people in the Houston Metro area were doing with regard to price negotiations. I am relatively new to this discussion and I saw what "postoak" said in #15407 above regarding ED and 1200 over invoice.

I am interested in a 330i:

Black Metallic paint,
Premium package,
Bixenons,
Autotransmission
(I know the purists will groan, but the city driving with an occasional cell phone call is tough with a manual).

The MSRP is 39985 and Edmunds TMV is nearly the same 39916. Does Edmunds TMV actually mean anything? Does it mean that everyone in my area is paying MSRP? Invoice is 36650.

leenelsonmd

Additionally, I know it may be foolish to even ask, but if I were to custom order the above vehicle (assuming none were currently allocated locally) would I then be comitted to MSRP?

rdl40

My car is only 2 weeks old and already have called the dealer
about the lousy reception I get when tuned into am radio.

My sales person almost admitted it was the "achilles heel" for the 3 series.
The only thing to do is take it into service and make sure everything is connected
and is working properly.

seivwrig

I would take postoak's suggestion and use Garlyn Shelton in Temple. i used Momentum but I had to get a quote from Garlyn Shelton Bryan to bring down my price on ED for a 325i. I will give this piece of information Advantage and Momentum are owned by the same group. BMW North will do what Advantage/Momentum do. BMW of Beaumont will do a single thing, maybbe $500 off of MSRP. This can be done at any dealership. Bryan has two BMW dealerships. It seems that Garlyn Shelton Imports in Temple and I believe it is Mike Pile in Tyler. There is only one con against using a dealer out of town. You might not get use of a loaner when you bring your car in for service. If you have to pay only $1200 to $1500 from invoice, who cares. I think Postoak has figure that out. Personally, I would have used Advantage since I live close to downtown, but they lied too much to me. I also get the feeling that some of the dealers at these dealerships are rookies. If they don't have your car on the lot, they may try to stick you anyway. I suggest using Postoak's suggestion. Just my opinion.

seivwrig

I looked at the G35 vs. 330i sight and at some point it seems like 3-series auto tranny vs 3-series manual tranny. I have accepted Dave330i statement that I own a poseur and un-BMW. I have no problem with that. Having a manual versus an auto was a struggle. I could not fall to selfishnness. There are three drivers in my house and one of those does not drive a manual. When my wife is gone, I become a cab driver because nobody can drive my manual tranny truck. Somewhere in the future, I will buy a real sports car. Which only my wife and I will drive. It will be spartan, it will be RWD, it will have two seats and will be manual. Otherwise, my 325i is nothing more than a very enjoyable family car (do I really need SP, my wife's butt would not like those seats.) Hey, leave those G35 folks alone. Most seem like they wanted a BMW anyway. (My car should be at U.S. Customs in Jersey tomorrow. man, this wait is killin' me)

kdshapiro

Enjoy your un-sports sedan.

riez

seivwrig... Don't take dave330i's, mine, or anyone else's comments too hard. But maybe you should do what I did? My wife, God love her, can't drive a manual. So she drives her 323iA. I periodically drive it and do enjoy it, taking into account its limitations (i.e., automatic transmission). But I spend a lot more time driving my 540i6. That way we get the best of both worlds. (Now if I could just get someone to teach my wife how to drive a manual! I and a great many others have all failed miserably so far.)

raavir

I've been to montreal auto show, met a sales guy at G35 booth. That is the 1st. time, I was seeing and hearing about it. The 1st. word I heard from that guy is "it's a japaneese BMW" not a single word about Infinity G35, so .... BMW is the bench mark.

kdshapiro

It's spirited to say the least...

rjg96

I've seen a bunch of posts on this over the past few days so I thought I'd respond. My May build 2001 325i has this (and it was built after the TSB). The TSB is BS-- it doesn't really fix the whole problem, it only fixes a piece of the problem. If you open up your B pillar and play around with the various pieces, you'll quickly discover that there are so many things in there that can make rattling noises- its almost unbelievable. Its just a very stupid design.

Anyway- I gave up on having a dealer fix it-- they replaced the lower B pillar panels (god knows why), tried the TSB, and it still rattled. I decided to open up the B pillar myself and cover pretty much every surface with self-adhesive felt. This worked for about 6 months, but I've heard a slight clicking noise coming back over bumps and a new creaking noise from the white upper B pillar cover (I think its coming from the sliding mechanism) and I think some of my felt may have gotten loose. I'm going to order a new upper B pillar from BMW (I'm hoping that maybe there have been some design improvements), and do an even more thorough job of insulating everything w/ felt. Why, you ask am I willing to pay for my own B pillar cover? Because the dealers I've gone to are just so incompetent, and tend to break things rather than fix them I've decided to just fix small thinsg like rattles myself. I'm condident that with enough felt and possibly foam stuffed in there, the noises will stop forever. As it is, I only really have noise over very rough roads- but I'd like my car to be perfect and this is the only thing left standing in the way.

If you'd like to try this, here's how to remove the cover (its kind of hard to describe in words, so bear with me):
-Pull up on the right hand portion of the door sill cover -- the inner piece that connects w the lower b pillar cover. Its very tight, and kind of difficult, but you'll get it loose eventually. If you break it, its about $20 so don't sweat it too much.
-With that piece out of the way, grab underneath the lower B pillar panel closest to the front of the car and pull out. You'll hear a pop - don't worry you didn't break anything. DO the same on the other side. You'll have to "unhook" the side closest the rear from the rear door sill trim that it connects with--you'll see what I mean when you go to do it.
-Pull out the rubber/felt door seal that lines the whole door frame-- but you only really need to remove it where it actually touches the B pillar. Do this for the front and the rear. This will make it much easier to get the trim out and back in. The trim isn't held in w/ glue--just friction-- and its not too hard to get off. Again,don't worry, you'll get it back on perfectly ( I did this and am basically a klutz).
-Pull out on the bottom of the lower B pillar and then slide it down and out.
-Now you can remove the top of the B pillar (the part w/ the stupid seatblet height adjuster that makes all the noise).
-remove the 2 black plastic expansion rivets by first pulling the center pins out. YOu can then pry out the rivets. they're actually hardy little things, and despite my best attempts to break or otherwise mangle them- they survived.
-slide the cover down (it hooks in at the top near the roof) and out over the seatbelt (it'll stay hooked onto the seatbelt unless you want to unscrew the lower seatblet mounting which I'm sure you don't want to do. That's fine.
-Now you can play with the festival of rattles inside. First, the plastic carrier that the seatbelt passes through that is ultimately bolted to the b pillar has a lot of play it --allowing it to come in contact w/ the sheetmetal of the B pillar. I believe this is what the TSB tries to address by adding another spacer to move the carrier further away. My solution was just to place some felt on top of the metal where it would come in contact w/ the seatblet loop. Then, go nuts w/ the felt and place it on everything that makes sense-- especially anything having to do w/ the actualy adjuster button mechanism. If you take a test drive of the car withou the upper B pillar panel installed, you'll notice that you won't hear any rattles (assuming you've done the aforementioned fix already)-- which leads me to believe that most of the noises come from the interaction between the seatbelet adjuster and the B pillar cover.
When you feel like you've applied enough felt, you can put everything back together. Its easiest if you put the seatblet adjuster in the top most position and then slide the outer adjuster button on the B pillar cover to the top of its travel to allow you to easily mate the parts back together.
Reinstall in the reverse of installation (i've always wanted to write something arcane and annoying like that), and finally, reinstall your door seals by pressing evenly and firmly.

I know this may sound complex, but the removal process only took me about 10 minutes. As I said, I'm fairly inept when it comes to these types of things, but the shear anger and frustration I felt after a fruitless visit to my local dealer drove me to just do it. If you feel as strongly about it- I highly recommend it. You'll feel "empowered" and may form a closer bond w/ your car . I don't know why BMW hasn't gotten this right after nearly 4 years of e46 production. All in all, this is a very minor issue (of course), but the proximity of this rattle to your left ear can drive you insane unless you listen to the stereo ALL the time. I can't help feeling jaded when I read articles about BMW's sound engineering labs--our cars must've skipped that step.

bmw323is

You're right. When I took my car in for the TSB on the seat belt noise, I got it back with the passenger B pillar cover broken. Guess they thought I wouldn't notice it just hanging there! When I brought it back to be fixed - they had to order the part. So back a third time for a 15 minute install. I will say, however that my dealer treats me very well, offers a loaner (if needed), apologizes all over themselves and seem to be generally good people (you don't see that often in the car dealer biz).

Keep this in perspective however. A seat belt rattle isn't a reason not to buy this car. And speaking of little things - what's up with the clock setting knob in the gauge cluster? Every other switch, lever and control in this car is pure heaven to the touch. That little knob feels like something from my '74 Gremlin (okay now you know my deepest, darkest secret)!

ben__

Back in January, I had a customer who insisted that the AM reception on his 01 330Ci was horrendous, and that his 96 3-series coupe was far better in the similar areas. I went for a road test with him, and it sounded okay to my ears, so I tried explaining that AM radio waves propagate differently than FM, and so on... long story short, I got it into the shop at his insistance and had the tech trace the antenna wiring. Turns out there was something wrong with the wiring in the passenger side C-pillar. I don't recall specifically what, but it is something to check out if you're having problems.

Of course, the moment I removed my foot from my mouth, I apologized profusely.

vkwheels

man, it's been a lousy day. work & personal stuff. only 2 mitigating factors to make me smile as i finish up my milk & cookie & type this post...i can continue getting my daily paper for free & i put in an order for A NEW---STEEL BLUE--BMW. Hoooo-aaah! Delivery is slated for mid-June, & price is $1200 over invoice, a fair deal I think, and $200 less than carsDirect. Dealer at ShellyBMW seems like a straight-shooter kind of dude, said he was fleet mgr. He faxed the confirming pages immediately and assured me I could change my mind any time any reason, no worries and he'd credit the $500 deposit back.

luftig1

Waiting is always painful, and do not trust the owners circle website, it seems to lag about a week behind where the vehicle actually is.
Cheers!

hgeyer

If it helps for comparison, I traded in a Volvo S80 for my 330i. When I would drive to work in downtown Chicago, my AM went dead as soon as I got near high-rises (from Lakeshore Dr. South of Oak Street it was useless, for anyone familiar with Chicago geography). I took it in and it checked out fine. I had a S80 loaner and it had the same problem.

My new 330i receives AM flawlessly in the areas were my old S80 could not.

nyccarguy

For those of you who don't have the pleasure of reading CAR magazine (April 2002) (from the UK), there's some info on the next generation 3 series.

The article is about the 1 series (E81 4 door, E82 Hatchback, E87 3 door sports tourer, E84 Coupe, & E86 Z1 roadster).

"The 1 series will share components (such as the platform and bulkhead, electronics, safety package and drivetrains) with the next generation 3 series range, which is codenamed E90-93) and is due in autumn 2005."

car April 2002, page 21 edited by Hilton Holloway

HOST: I hope I did this correct as far as citing the quatation.

dave330i

I'm glad you're not taking my comments personally. Unlike the G35 owners, I try to keep my comments limited to the car.

I just have a thing about performance cars being handicapped with an automatic transmission. I realize everyone's situation is different, and people have to make various sacrifices, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

seivwrig

I understand your point. if my circumstance was different, it would not have been a question. I would have got a manual, but I still don't think I would get the SP. I like how low profile tyres look but the roads in Houston are riddled with potholes. My car will also have to see Chicago/Milwaukee at least once to twice a year. Chicago's roads are as bad as Houston. When I drove my car in Germany, Belgium and England with the step, the response time was not fast enough between gear changes. Even though my truck has a low gear ratio, there is some fun in choosing your gears, i.e. downshift for hills and passing. I don't think I shift well enough to get good 0-60 times, but there is some enjoyment to it. I was stuck on the Autobahn for an hour in traffic, at that moment I thanked God that I had an automatic.

I learned to drive a manual in college. i have been able to drive a manual for about 11 years. i still stall sometimes from not giving enough gas before take off. I do get better fuel economy than an auto (4 cyl).

Generally, I considered driving a chore. The only exceptions have been in my 325i and my uncle's 280Z (heavy steering, loud engine). Driving is fun only when the car is responsive. I have never felt that driving should be comfortable, especially you are literally driving a missile.

Opinions are good and I generally respect yours. At the end of the day, it is all about us enjoying our cars. I don't like regretting the purchase that I have made. Ford Ranger-big regret, Nissan Altima-worth my money, BMW 325i-a car that I will keep for a long time.

dave330i

"At the end of the day, it is all about us enjoying our car."

Quite true. Good to hear you're enjoying your car. Just don't expect me to call it a sport sedan.

carwatch

I have been reading this board for over a year. Just too busy to keep up. But this auto vs manual has been going on over and over every few weeks.
Frankly, it's really a matter of preference and nobody has to get anybody's approval.

seivwrig: get what you want and enjoy it. who cares what anybody else thinks about it and what they may or may not call your car - It's a BMW - that's important!. It's your car - you're the one using it.

I have both auto and manual cars and I use them as I feel like it.

1pierce

You guys are forgetting the luxury component. That is a big reason why some of us want one of these cars - the balance between sport and luxury. If I just wanted a car to drive fast and handle well, I'd get a Corvette, with its two seats and hard plastic dashboard and door panels,...and shake the fillings from my teeth on Pittsburgh roads, while doing contortions to get my briefcase from behind the seat.

On another subject: I'm disappointed to hear that the AM is bad in 325's. When I drive on a weekend, I like to listen to football and racing - which are always on AM. It makes long weekend highway trips go much faster. My truck has terrible AM reception - the only car I've ever had like that, and I hate it every time I drive it on a weekend day in the summer and fall.

nyccarguy

As I've told you all a few weeks ago, I realized that a 3er was out of my price range (even via ED). So I've decided to wait and purchase a sporty coupe. The car I opted for isn't German & has FWD (The Bad News), but I did go for the 5-Speed Manual this time around (my 1st Stick...of many I hope). The dealer near my house found me a brand new 2001 Leftover Honda Prelude Type SH in Red with a Black interior (The Good News). He's selling me the car at invoice (the best price I could get and he's located the color I want), so I'm happy! I'm doing some travelling in the next two weeks, so I can't pick the car up until Wednesday 4/24. I'll still post here on the 3 Series thread (If you all are kind enough to let me stay on board). As many of the driving tips I read about here are helpful!

brave1heart

You will always be welcome here!! fwiw, the Prelude Type SH is great value for the money and it should be a lot of fun to drive.

vkwheels

Congrats on your new red-hot baby! Just a word of caution: use a club or an alarm system to protect it. In the 7 years of ownership, my 85 'lude was stolen twice for the seats & the 3rd time the police found it just a week or 2 after the insurance co. settled with me. It was stolen from a nice residential street, from a suburban parking lot while I was at the movies, and finally from an industrial area where I worked. Talk about feeling violated, and feeling like a dummy for having it happen 3 times.

seivwrig

Enjoy your car. You probably made a wise choice. If I lived in NYC, I would probably drive a Civic or Corolla. But I no longer in the State of New York, therefore I don't have to deal with the high cost of living. Don't grind the gears. It feels as bad as it sounds.

ddblue

I'm psyched for you. I remember the agonizing anticipation, though. I was on this board nearly every waking moment, and everyone was great in helping me through the wait. It keeps you excited, and you WON'T be disappointed. The day I went to pick up my Steel Gray 325Ci, it was in the middle of the showroom. It looked so good, I didn't think it was mine. My friend said, "Dude, I think that's your car!" (not to be confused with, "Dude, Where's My Car?"). I knew it was a 325Ci, but it just didn't register that something that beautiful was mine. My salesperson came up to us and said, "So, what do you think?" I freaked. During the next fifteen minutes, as I ogled the car while I was waiting for final paperwork to get processed, at least 8 people came by and said, "Beautiful." I had to pull one guy out of the driver's seat and said, "Sorry, man. This one has already been spoken for." The long wait will be worth it. And luftig1 is right. The website is slow with updates. You're better off calling BMW NA directly (someone's got the number here). They're really good about giving you the skinny on production/delivery status.

mr323

Hi Gang!

My 325 (silver, 5 sp, leather, pp, xenons, HK, and rear air bags) is supposedly built in Munich and awaiting final touches, shipping, etc. I *will* consider it a sports sedan, as it will be the sportiest sedan we've driven since our '78 Mazda 626. I thought hard about getting the SP but was concern about rapidly wearing tires, damaged wheels, and seats that may not be comfortable for long drives. Discussion on the board has given me second thoughts about passing on the SP, but it's hot out here in the desert and that seems to wear tires rapidly.

As several of us are waiting for our ships to come in, can anyone sketch the timeline for a car leaving Munich for our shores? How long to port, in port, on ship, through customs, in prep, on the trailer, etc.? Yeah, I know it varies, but frankly it would be fun to think about! Any experiences would be welcome, as would be that BMWNA phone number.

Best wishes,

Ed

burrsr

The Prelude SH is one of the best-handling FWD cars on the planet, and has a honey of an I-4 to boot. The SH really does a lot to eliminate understeer, torque steer, and other FWD maladies. I almost bought a 1995 Prelude VTEC (the 190-hp version) back in 1995, but went with an Integra GS-R instead. It was a motorcycle with 4 wheels, with rock-solid reliability for the 43,000 miles or so I had it. I'm still intrigued with the new RSX-S, and even though it appeals more to the boy-racer demographic, it's quite a piece of work for the money. A Prelude SH at invoice is probably an even better value, though...Enjoy!

Oh, and to get back on topic, I have a prediction on the 330i vs G35 debate. If R&T (I think they're the ones who do these kinds of comparos) does a 330i vs. G35, the 330i will win on the price-independent count, but the G35 will come out ahead on the price-dependent count. For those who prefer to lease, however, I'd bet the price gap narrows considerably, given the 3-er's historically strong resale/residuals and Infiniti's historically average resale/residuals.

nyccarguy

Thank you all for letting me stick around;)

Seivwrig: I've kinda got the best of both worlds. I live in NYC and my parents live in New City, NY (A Suburb about 25 miles north of the City and about 10-15 minutes from Mr. Shipo's place in Jersey).

Vkwheels: I'll probably put an alarm with a starter disable, but that's it! If someone really wants my car bad enough, they can have it! LOL! THE CLUB can be neutralized if you cut through the steering wheel (20 seconds) and take it off (please don't ask me how I know this).

burrsr: Thanks man! Like I said, I can't wait! It is the car I wanted all along.

tenet1

Congratulations! The number is 800-831-1117 where you can more accurately track your vehicle. Still remember it clearly.

My experience about shipping was as follows:

Shipped from SA to NJ port: Second week of August 2001

September 11

Boat rerouted to S. Carolina: Arrives 3rd week of September.

2 days at VPC

1 day on the road to the dealership

Boats from Germany usually take under 4 weeks on the water. VPC is quick and then the road to the dealer depends on your location.

seivwrig

Are you saying that I could be reunited with my car by the 18th. The boat with my car is supposed to be Jersey today, even though BMWNA told me the 9th (I just was not buying it). If VPC takes about 2 days, how long is customs? Texas is a long way from Jersey. I once drove from Rochester, NY to Miami, FL with my best friend and a U-Haul. That trip was no joke, but we made it with 24 hours. So, I guess my car could make it from Jersey to Texas in three days. My dealer will probably wash the car and add the tint. Maybe the 18th would be rather ambitious. Considering that I dropped my car off in London on the 18th of March, that would be nice.

hspark

Congratulation for your Lude.
I have 97 Lude SH. I am moving from it to 325i. It is great car for the money. You not gonna regret your choice.

I will put my lude in the market soon but I am feeling sad now a days. Good and bad new is my 325i is coming from SA so I have to wait more.

tenet1

The VPC will probably move your car out by Monday if they receive your car tomorrow, tuesday (there is a weekend in between)at the latest. They are fast. I say another 4 days to the dealer in TX + 2 working days to prep at the dealer. My best guess would be 4/24.

Still not bad. Good Luck!!! The fun begins....

carwatch

That's great that you got a LUDE and a 5 speed at that! Since you're in NY like me, you'll eventually find out about the world of modified cars. You can easily get the needed parts if ever you decide to go that route. It can be costly but you do not have to do it all at once. MODS are popular in Brooklyn and the Bronx. My remaining manual car is a Sentra SE but it can smoke just about any car including the 330 - just don't look under the hood because it's not the stock engine.

Nevertheless, there's something about an unmodified bimmer. I'm getting my 330Ci next week and of course, I'm keeping it off the drag strip. That's for my simple looking Sentra SE.

Hope you stick around!

jjshabadoo

Thanks for your informative post on the seat belt rattle. I've had a 2002 330i for approximately 3 weeks now and just started noticing a creaking noise coming from the passenger side as well. Unfortunately, I can't quite localize the source of the noise. I really need to sit on the passenger side while someone else drives around. The creaking only seems to occur over smaller bumps/imperfections in the road. Please let me know if you source the creaking problem.

I totally agree with your point that after 4 years of producing the E46, you figure they would have eliminated the problem.

bbell4

Trying to decide which car to get. Can you really tell the difference in HP with the 330? Seems like a lot more $ to pay - is it worth it? I'll get a manual transmission......

Anyone gotten a great deal on a 330?

tpell1

Hi, I am 30 and live in Northern NJ and finally able to get fun car to drive after years of hand me down Plymouth Sundances, Chevy Cavaliers and Toyotal Tercels!

I am trying to decide between the high end being the 330ci, the G35, the A4 and loaded VW Passat for the low end for a 3 year lease- shocking car selections for northern NJ, I know Just at the point now where I want to be able to get a new car every 3 years and just have a little fun on the road.

I love the look the G35 and it seems like it'd be a really fun car to drive but just leery of it being the 1st year of a new model but reviews seem mosty postive.

I have driven other people's BMW's and Passat's before and love both cars obviously the BMW more. What are pos/neg of the AWD option for the 330i in terms of weather and what if anyting you sacrafice when you get the AWD? I don't see it talked about much. I am not a gearhead and a lot of the intricate stuff talked about on here while interesting, sometimes goes right over my head.

I know ultimately I have to decide for myself and I will, but coming from never even owning a V6, I am probably not nearly as demanding as a lot of people looking at these cars so I don't know how much stock I should put in some of the differences based on what I'd ever notice. Price is obviously an option, and the 330xi is the high end of what I can afford but I am just looking for any criteria or things maybe that might help me with how to look at each of these cars stacked next to each other.

Any info would help!

thanks

twoof1

Congratulations!!
It's nice to have another fellow so. Cal on the board. I have heard alot of good things about Shelley BMW, sounds like you got a great deal.

dl7265

Go to BMWUSA.com and look up for a Ultimate Drive in your area if there is one and u can see how sophisticated the rwd and ALL SPEED traction control is .. you prob will find u wont need AWD.

In addition you should be able to do a 3er for same or less than a G due to the mass market Japanese cars horrible residual.

I just had an offer last week on my 1999 323i Sport that worked out to exactally 76% residual after 3 years !! I was even suprised..

happy hunting
DL

vishnu11

See my posts 3084 and 3105 on the 5-series board for the delivery schedule of my 525.

As an addendum to those posts, my car arrived Stateside yesterday to Port Bayonne, NJ. *woohoo*

You can call BMWNA 800-831-1117, choose option 3, and have your production number or VIN ready. They can usually tell you more accurately what the shipping status is, as well as provide a good estimated delivery date. (thanks to snagiel on the 5-er board for bmwna info).

I dropped off my car in Munich 3/20. Estimated arrival at dealer is 4/19. So that's almost exactly an excruciating month...:-)

Congrats and good luck!

nyccarguy

Carwatch...I've never had any interest in modifting any car of mine (with the exception of maybe snow tires;). I just love the way the car is stock.

Hspark...Just to stay on topic, what options are you getting on your 325i? How many miles are on your Prelude and have you had any problems (You can email me the Prelude stuff if you don't want to post it!

Thanks again! I know I'll always be welcome here on the 3 Series Thread!

merckx

I'm really against leasing-"renting" a new car for three years,then renting another-who wouldn't like that? In other words,it's an expensive way to drive. I'd much rather save for a while,spend to my limit,and keep the car eight or so years.
Manual transmission issue-for twenty years,although I could drive one,I always made practical car purchases.I always thought I would actually find owning a stick tedious. I finally got a manual Passat last year-I've loved every shifting mile!
So I would definitely think hard about a manual.
The G35 is a very handsome design-probably the best so far from the East. I wouldn't have first model year jitters,though. That doesn't seem to be a problem with the Japanese brands.
I almost bought a BMW 525i instead of the Passat,but the back seat is a little small,and I was a little concerned about spending so much on my first stick.
Although I am only '6,I do like to sit very upright-I found the 323i a little claustrophobic.
Also,I thought the Passat had a very pleasing softness to go along with the sport the manual transmission offered.

-Good luck with your car shopping.

vkwheels

Carwatch...I have an SE-R manual & think it might good for someone who wants to do mods. I have it listed on www.se-r.net. Had 3 calls so far, but none panned out. I will lower the price as time comes sooner to my 325i delivery date. Since you'r into mods on your SE, any tips on where to advertise?

dave330i

Yes, you can tell the difference in Hp. Is it worth it? For everyday use, I think 330i has too much power for US. I think all that extra power isn't really being used.

derprofi

Thanks for the URL. I've also got an SE-R (replaced by a 330i) I need to unload so I'll check out the site you mentioned. Considering that it only cost me $12K in '91, it was really a hoot to drive and gave me years and years of great service and fun.