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Of course, a used car is only worth what someone will actually pay you for your specific car on a specific day. Too many people wrongly equate trade-in as being the value. Only way to know the "real" value is to sell the car yourself directly to a buyer (you become the retailer). You will nearly almost always get more if you sell your car yourself.
But you'll likely get more if you have the kind of options that are popular in your area or your car is optioned in a way that appeals to a specific target market. For example, the smaller BMW enthusiast crowd might pay a premium for a manual tranny, non-sunroof, non-leather, with Sport Package and Xenons. And if it has some rare color combination. But that person is trying to optimize the car for a specific purpose.
The general buyer likely wants the "goodies" like automatic, Premium Package, leather, sunroof, stereo upgrade, etc. The average BMW dealer is going for the general buyer, not the enthusiast market. The three BMW dealers nearest me nearly always have Premium Pkg, leather, sunroof, metallic paint, and automatic on all the cars on their lots. Everyone else has to special order or attempt an inter-dealer trade.
Has anybody on the board driven a 330i equipped with the Performance Package & a 330i equipped with SP back to back to give us some sort of insight on it other than BMWs marketing mumbo-jumbo?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
'Ditching the front-wheel-drive is priority number one-there's no point in having even 250 horses if you have to wait until you're in third gear to floor the throttle, lest you lay more rubber than a Trojan factory.'
$1,200-1,500 over invoice would be a great deal. You may be able to get that but it would be very hard, esp. for someone still in college. Go in on the last day of the month - that's when you can sign the best the deal.
If I had made a better decision two years ago, I could be driving a fully loaded 330I or more for the amount of money I just exchanged. I'm lucky that I have a supportive wife who puts up with my emotional needs.
By the way, in my neck of the woods, it is very difficult to find a manual transmission 3 series. They all seem to come with Step.
Any of you guys have a motorcycle?
Do you enjoy it?
Am I going crazy thinking about becoming a Cycle-donor?
My wife thinks I have lost it! perhaps she is right. However, motorcycles are such beautiful machines (I particularly like sport bikes!) I can't help admiring them and wondering what would it be like riding one (Weekend drives, stuff like that, perhaps some track days!)
I don't agree with some of the analysis but it's a good reference point.
Beyond accelerating fast, it's also pleasant to ride on roads and distances appropropriate for the type of bike, weather and your equipment. Some bikes are better for cruising, others for long trips, others for "canyon carving".
Of course nobody should start with a super bike but even a mid-range sport bike feels much faster than a car. Start with a modest bike, not a super bike. If you haven't ridden before be sure to take a safety class: http://www.msf-usa.org/
regards,
kyfdx
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On BMW discussion groups you frequently hear people say "get the manual", "it's not fun without the 5-speed", etc., etc. Yet this negatively affects trade-in. At my dealer they have zero e46s on the lot with manual transmission -- none. Obviously if you trade-in your manual transmission e46, it's an "odd beast" relative to the cars the dealership usually handles.
Despite this many enthusiasts willingly embrace the manual transmission, even with the negative trade-in factor.
The situation seems similar with deleting the moonroof (for those who don't want it). In both cases you save over $1000 at purchase price. In both cases you decline a nice feature that the majority want, but that you for personal reasons don't want. In both cases you take about the same hit at trade-in time.
If +/- $500-1000 at trade-in time is that important, then don't buy the car with the features you want -- ask the dealer what features *he* wants at trade-in and order that. If those options cooincide with what you want, you're fortunate. If not, for the next several years while you drive a car not equipped to your liking, you can console yourself saying "at least I'll get another $500 at trade-in time"
Best Regards,
Shipo
Very odd.
1) 29,795 miles and each one driven w/ a big smile.
2) At about 25K (2nd oil change) BMW of Sterling, VA found the front brakes to be under spec, so they replaced the rotors and pads under warranty.
3) Upgraded the ECU with Autothority in Fairfax, VA. Added 12-16 HP and 14 lb ft. of torque. VERY noticeable and the car pulls like a 328. Sweet. With my Autothority CAI, I'm just over 200 HP.
4) Purchased 18x8 M-Parallel wheels and Kumho Ectsa MX 235/40YR-18s for the summer. Auto-X here I come!
5)The engine note now is absolutely beautiful. Music to my ears. It has a pronounced growl (not Honda/Acura-like in the least) that is just intoxicating.
6) Engine is smooth and power is consistent throughout the torque band.
7) No major complaints about anything, and I have easily gotten over the lack of storage space.
8) I still shut off the radio to hear the inline six.
9) Using Meguiars Paint cleaner and Klasse All-In-One, coupled with Mother's Quick Detailer has been the magic combo. Son of a Gun and Lexol on the interior--perfect.
10) I'm still in love.
Brave1heart, The link you gave me came up as it cannot find server.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Then I remember driving my uncle's brand new 1992 535i in Hawaii. There is no car like it in terms of sportiness and refinement. I went to visit him last year and his car has 8K miles on it (no place to build high miles on a island & he has many other cars); it is still as great as I remember it 11+ yrs ago! I have to admit, since driving my baby for the last few months, I may be a BMW lifer.
I want to add a little to the options/re-sale value discussion. Personally, I would choose Navigation over sun-roof. Currently we have both (TL). I have found that the sunroof has been open on about 5 out of 365 days even in California, whereas the navigation system is used on about 360 out of 365 days. I also use to hate leather back in Jersey (cold in winter burning hot in summer), but not feel too bad now in CA. Still I could care less about leather seat on a used car, price is the most important. Manual transmission does seem to sell less well. Seems old. I once had a conversation with a BMW salesman about manual vs auto. He seemed to blame women, claiming that he had seen "many guys who told me they wanted manual, then as soon as wives showed up, they wimped out. Nowadays, family decisions are made by wives, etc. etc.." :-)
I think I need to get rid one or two of my toyotas first and get a M5 so I can pass the 5er to my other half..... hmmmm.....
Maybe chalk this up to experience, and keep your next set inflated properly, if that is indeed the issue. Go to one of the discount tire shops or even on-line to tirerack.com for example.
Nope, not this month anyway, although I did Paris a couple of weeks ago. ;-) It does look like I will be doing Taiwan again in the June/July timeframe, and again sometime around October. Hmmmm, let's see, 4 trips to Taipei (4 x 16,290 = 65,160), a trip to Paris, another London, add in a handful of domestic trips, and I might have my first (and hopefully only) 100,000 mile year this year. Fortunately, Northwest/KLM flies everywhere I have needed to/will probably need to go this year.
Manual transmissions and wives...
Fortunately my wife LOVES driving a manual transmission, so much so that she is still threatening to break my other leg now that I am driving my 530i 5-Speed again and she is back in her Caravan. I am still trying to get her to opt for a new 525iT 5-Speed instead of a new Caravan, but I suspect that the space/utility of the van will win out in the end. :-(
Best Regards,
Shipo
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
FWIW: I have less than 12k miles on my car and already need to replace all 4 of my tires.
How's your car doing? Are you planning on keeping it long term? Get me up to speed on the latest.
"
No, my parents needed a new car. The TL was the perfect car for them.
leenelsonmd - I check my tire pressure almost everytime I fill the car. I even account for the hot tire/cold tire pressure difference by measuring while the tires are cold, then again at the station.
couples - it's been my experience that most couples drive their car most of the time (i.e. he drives his car, she drive her car). Rather silly to get a step for those rare occasion she wants to drive. It's the same logic people use to get a FWD vs. RWD.
Unfortunately, if you happen to be those rare couples who switch cars regularly, then teach her how to drive a manual (it's not that hard ), or get a step.
Would that be beer, wine, or mixed drinks?
I do check the cold and warm pressure ;-).
I wouldn't mind upgrading, but am not sure if a CPU upgrade is available for a 2002 325xi.
-Paul
Thanks
fo