Sorry I am so late with this response - I emailed denk an answer to the question, because by the time I saw the question, a zillion posts had occurred and I didn't want to interrupt the flow. I see now that a lot more folks than denk were interested in the answer, so - even though I think I have posted this here before - here it is (after another twelve zillion posts):
The "Go To" (message number) function is very confusing. Here's the deal - the post numbers you see in the discussion are really "relative" numbers. That is, when you see post number 5000, that is the 5000th message that exists in the discussion *at that moment*.
Have you noticed that the post number is actually a link? If you put your cursor over a post number and look at the link that displays in your browser bar (usually at the bottom), you'll see that at the end of the link is a slash and then a number. Let's say you put your cursor on the post that is directly prior to this post I am creating - it is number 5051. You will see at the bottom a link ending with "/5362". That "5362" represents the *absolute* post number in the topic.
The absolute number tells you how many posts have ever been made up until that point. The relative number is "5051" and the absolute post number is 5362 - this would indicate that 311 posts prior to the post that appears as #5051 have been deleted.
What I am leading up to in all of this is that the "Go To" function uses "absolute" numbers, not "relative" numbers.
Why does it do that? I have no idea whatsoever. It is confusing and difficult to work with, no doubt.
However, with this knowledge and a little bit of math, you can look at current post numbers - relative and absolute - and maybe get closer to where you are trying to go with the "Go To" function.
I hope this helps.
Pat Host Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards Edmunds.com Town Hall
I have noticed that there are quite a few new Town Hall members trying to join this discussion whose questions are getting lost in the enthusiastic conversation that is taking place between a number of our 3-Series owners.
I'm wondering how we can continue the wonderful exchanges within this great community AND not miss responding to our new members.
Would we perhaps want to have a separate discussion for folks who want to discuss their daily lives living with their BMW 3-Series and maybe dedicate this one to the folks who have questions either about buying or maintaining this type of vehicle? If we did this, would you folks who have already purchased be willing to hang around and help out with the questions?
What do you think? L8_Apex and I both have observed over the past few weeks a number of new members needing help and not getting it. I'm sure you all agree with us that this is not a good situation - certainly, you would love to welcome new 3-Series owners into the fold, wouldn't you? ;-) - so help us out and give us suggestions on how we can take care of new Town Hall members questions while giving you a place to talk about whatever you want to (within Town Hall reason, of course!!).
Thanks.
Pat Host Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
IOW, what I'm asking, is how do we not interrupt the great camraderie that has been going on here AND not overlook our new members who come here looking for advice.
Let us hear from you on this - I'm sure none of you mean to miss the posts from the folks who need your help the most, but that is what has been happening as the activity in this discussion has recently increased so much.
Let's talk some more about it - let's find a way to continue what has been happening here and to take care of the new members to this discussion.
Pat Host Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
your point is a good one. One way would be to get our FAQ Board happening. I know its up to us, but we've got to find the time, right? OK here's my attempt to help layer5 post number 5014 (or at least that was the number a minute ago!) :>) Q1. A= auto (steptronic)trans Q2. Are you sure its a VIN # and not a production number? Q3. I don't know (Can anybody else help here?) Q4. See posts just before and just after yours about MACO Q5. Woops, just edited my answer...I defer to brave's post 5015 again
He complains about several things about the new 2001 M3 he got:
1)Price. He got his for $60,000: Duh, if he knew anything about supply and demand, he would realize that when a hot car first comes out, it will be way above sticker price. Duh. Remember the Miata when it first came out. Remember the C5 Vette....Duh...
2) Color: Laguna Seca Blue. If you don't like this Smurf color, don't get it idiot...
3) Engine: rough idles, clunking, buzzing...I haven't felt it in mine yet.
4) No spare tire: Didn't you look under the trunk before you bought it....duh
In short, this guy should quit complaining. Perhaps he got a lemon. All manufactuers come out with Lemons once in a while. Should have bought a Porsche 911 idiot!
You can make an M3 discussion anytime you want to - please pardon my BMW ignorance, but I think an M3 is a coupe or a convertible? If so, take a look at the boards in the Select Topic dropdown list at the top left of the page - create it on the correct board - then ask the host of that board to make it part of the Owners Club, and there you have it!
I am told that the folks who chose our new platform seriously evaluated what Ultimate Bulletin Board offered. Quite a number of issues were taken into consideration when Web Crossing was eventually chosen to relocate Town Hall. Issues such as management consideration, similarity to the platform we left and probably many others of which I do not have knowledge led to the selection of Web Crossing. But please feel free to use the Online Support link on the left sidebar of this page to offer any suggestions to improving our environment here.
Thanks.
Pat Host Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
The smaller the car,the more FWD makes sense.For example,the first Mercedes 190 class of 1986-this car had a ludicrously small back seat.Fwd would have made perfect sense for this car.But I am suggesting that because its biggest engine,the 2.6 six cylinder,was used in the E-class and in 3 litre form in the S-class,Mercedes was loath to engineer the many changes needed to go FWD. The 3 series BWW of this era looked great as a two-door,but those first 4-doors...They both looked ungainly and had tiny rear cabins-to this day I don't like them.Whereas their two-door counterparts still look great. As the smaller sedans have gotten larger the rear seat is now quite good.But it could be better.And BMW has many good reasons for having its smallest sedan RWD.But it also has practical reasons of ecomomy for not changing.To their credit,the premium German brands do every thing sometimes thorough to a fault(consider the previous S-class Merc).
So I decided to brave the tropical storm and drive to Lafayette yesterday to get my 330 Coupe. It was 375 miles through the rain back to Austin but well worth the trip. Richard Foard at Moss Motors was his terrific self and the deal went off without a hitch. The guys over at Moss really are a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend them to anyone within 500 miles from S. louisiana......including Austin, Houston and Dallas.
The rain sensor proved invaluable as it was truly set and forget. It performed flawlessly as I drove from rain to shine to rain to shine today. Hard to gauge performance as it obviously must first be broken in and there are nothing but straight lines between Austin and Lafayette. The temp gauge remained right dead between the hot and cold indicators......a huge relief given all the nightmare stories of the infamous auxiliary fans.
I'm taking a break right now from Zaino'ing the car......can't wait to see how it looks after the polish hazes over enough to remove. 100% humidity doesn't help matters.
i'll keep you guys posted as the car breaks in. So far, no regreats whatsoever.
Thanks for the congrats. I haven't been to Iron Works for some reason. Salt Lick is over-rated....I think its mostly the drive and atmosphere that people really like about it. I guess I'm gonna have to go with County Line.....none of the Austin BBQ joints can hold a candle to Goode Company in Houston though.
Humid is right.......gonna have to leave the Zaino on the car overnight and hope the sun shines enough to dry the damn stuff so i can finally remove it.
I have a 91 Honda Accord wagon, has 170,000 miles on it. Looking to buy another wagon but do not really like what I see out there. SO far like the 325 series BMW but expensive and small inside. Checked out the Volvo, Passat, Audi, Saturn, etc. Maybe wait until Honda brings back the Accord wagon again.
My car has been 196 since Tuesday. I was hoping to have my car this weekend but I guess that's a wash. I ordered my car on April 25th, so I guess it hasn't been that long, but since it's here in the States...you know what I mean!
I had some of the same issues, as my wife and I were looking for a wagon. I had to replace my 90 Integra hatchback and I absolutely refused to drive a large car. Since we decided that we need the space, that left basically a small wagon as our choice. I also looked at the Audi, Volvo, ,Passat and Subaru.
If your conserned about space, the Passat is just as big as the Accord wagon (we also have a 95 Accord Wagon) and actually is only a small amount more than the Accord. I highly suggest it.
I settled on the 325iT because I wasn't willing to give up my sports car dreams and I couldn't justify/afford an S4 Avant, and I thought that the 325iT with SP actually handled more crisply.
...is usually 5-7 days. Allow trucking time as well. VPCs are in South Carolina, New Jersey and Oxnard, Calif. How many days are you from one of these? Add that time too.
vs. a 325i.....Depend if he has a 5 speed and if you have a 5 speed......If so, he will probably beat you by a small amount including off the line.
If it is the new 2000 GT, he would definetly beat you given that he has a lot more torque and more horsepower than you...by quite a bit.
A new 330i 5 speed.....it will be a lot closer....
On the handling front, you'll take him hands down. Why don't you challenge him down a curved road. Bet he'll wind up in a ditch. I've driven 5.0 mustangs, 330i's, Hondas, Rx-7....M3's by far are the best handling.
Yesterday on the 5 Freeway in Southern California, I saw what looked to be a Toyota Tercel with the "T" taken off the front and back of the car and replaced with the round "BMW" badge. It was a little girl driving it.....Ha! Thought you would get a kick out of that.
for braving the elements to get to / from Lafayette under these conditions. By now I am sure everyone has seen the incredible flooding happening in the Houston area. It is truly amazing. This week's storm is considered to be 1 of the 10 worst natural disasters in the history of the Southwest US!!!
Needless to say, I will not be driving to Lafayette to pick-up my vehicle...BTW macdude44, did you HAPPEN to notice a blk/blk 325 sedan while you were at Moss Motors? Just curious...I have no idea how big or small the dealership is, but wanted to get your opinion on how it looked, in case it was there when you picked yours up! Congrats again. Please let us know how the Zaino looks when finished. I have about $100 worth of Zaino products waiting to dazzle my 325!
My one year old 323i has been nearly perfect. I took it in for a minor squeak in the cluth pedal and they replaced a bushing. And the headlights were aimed too low and needed to be raised (I would have done it myself if I knew how easy it was). My only other complaint is weak air conditioning.
On the plus side, there isn't enough room here to detail. The car is absolutely fantastic. What a machine!
He actually has an auto. I (will)have a 5 speed. I guess I will challenge him down a curved road then if this ever comes up again. (or say I don't race 1998's - don't think he is going to get a 2001 any time soon
Do you know what size of tires come with 1998 Mustang GT premium 2dr Convertible (originally)? How many horsepower? Or where I can find that information?
As bad as the flooding is in the area, its really a piece of cake getting to/from lafayette....I-10 is not flooded in the least bit. You run into showers every 25 minutes but within 3 minutes you're through them. I say go get the thing! I asked about your black/black 325 and richard said it was in the make-ready area......out of the rain. The dealership is surprisingly large as it sells several brands including Mercedes....pretty classy place. The Zaino looks good. I can't say it looks substantially better than the Carnuba wax I used on previous cars but it should protect much longer. Tuesday I get tinted and I'll finally have it the way I want.........the Roundel valve stem caps are a nice finishing touch.
macdude44 - you went to Lafayette on Friday, right? The greater Houston area had a lot of rain starting about 5 PM Friday. I'm looking at live Houston TV pictures of I10 where it goes through Houston (below ground level sections) and dozens of 18-wheelers are flooded. The car roofs aren't even visible!
...on my vehicle. I have to admit, I did call Richard and ask if he could find a way to get it out of the elements...I am afraid Postoak is correct about I-10. You drove there / back just in time. I-10 is now impassable through the downtown Houston area....anyway, thanks again for remembering to ask about my vehicle...I too bought a set of valve caps. Be prepared, I hear they are a popular item to steal ("valve cap sensor?"...lol)...FYI, found some real good tints called "VKOOL" and "HUPER-OPTIK". Much better than "3M"
I'm going to do this off the top of my head cause I used to be a big mustang fan (I still have my 5.0 V8 91)....but I think they are 17" 245/45/17 on 17x8's....You may want to check Edmunds.com for the stats
I also had an automatic in my 91 5.0 and the same 225 HP. The newer versions of the Mustang GT's have 260 HP's though.
I can tell you this much cause I've driven a lot of cars.....Even with the automatic, he will probably beat you, but not by much or it will be very very very close with your 5 speed 325i.....I can guarantee you that the 330i 5 speed will beat the 98 GT Auto if driven right. On the roads that curve, you will carve him up. The Mustangs have very heavy steering and the car feels very heavy and big even though he has the V8 with torque galore at the low end. He also has a convertible which I know will be a little heavier in weight than the standard Mustangs....I he will beat you on the low end from 0-40/50, but you will catch him later on....Automatics are dogs.....If you race the 1/4 mile, he will probably beat you slightly or you will be side by side. Go a little longer, then I think you'll catch him or go in front. On curved roads, you will slice him up. If he had the GT 5-speed (no convertible), or the Cobra, results would be different.
I've even gone so far as comparing one of the greatest sports car, the 94 RX-7 and it's handling capabilities....(which I still own) with my former 99 and my new 01 M3, and I can say this much about handling: RX-7 seems to hold the road a tad tad better than my 99 and 01 M3, but the steering on the BMW's are complete Magic and react to your every input in hard turns. I would much rather have the handling and steering of the BMW M3's....325's and 330's are slightly softer, but trust me, BMW's have the best steering and "at the limit" handling hands down. Haven't tried an Acura NSX, but I'm sure it will be up there.
Mac - congrats on picking up your new car. Enjoy! Why did you buy from Lafayette? I'm in the DFW area and wouldn't mind the drive if it is worth my while. We were just test driving the 325 and 330, both w/ sports package, this morning and are about ready to buy - just don't know if it will be in the states or ED.
Does "69m" stand for 69 million dollars? just curious. With all the cars you own, it sure sounds like it! Would you believe I accidentally threw out a lottery ticket worth about 100 grand or more? Well I did! It was the first time that I ever played the Powerball lottery in Delaware, and I thought that you had to get all 6 numbers and the powerball to win anything. So a friend of mine who bought the ticket for me called a week later and asked me if I got any of the numbers. I said no I didn't get them all, I ONLY GOT SIX, but no power ball, so I threw it away. I hear his phone drop on the floor, then a 15 second pause, then he gets back on and says: even if you got 3,4,or 5 of the numbers you win something! Then he screams: AAAAAAA! YOU IDIOT! YOU THREW AWAY ABOUT 100 TO 150 GRAND OR MORE! WHERE'S THE TICKET! I started to feel sick in the stomach and said in a nervous voice: I threw it out last week, I guess it's in a landfill by now. DUH! Do I win the dope of the century award or what! DUH! I felt sick for about 2 weeks. )
I heard from this board that Moss Motors in Lafayette gavr great deals on BMWs. If Dallas is anything like Austin then there are too many people with too much money therefore the dealerships don't feel like they need to bargain.....they know 30 people standing in line behind you will gladly pay their price. The austin dealer ultimately would have taken a little over a thousand off invoice....Moss Motors took off 21% and gave me the 6.5% financing. Had I known the car would come in so fast i could have gotten 5.9% Anyway, give Richard Foard a call and tell him that Tom recommened you call
i took my keys to be programmed today and taught the dealer a thing or two,thanks to this web sight. the clown nose can be programmed to blink even without the security system and the signal lights will blink when you lock and unlock(only the first press) the doors.what is the material of the dash and door panels on a 325i without the premium package and what type of cleaner can you use for these surfaces along with the seats. thank you in advance.
I have a tinting appointment Tuesday at Bentleys on S. Congress. This guy has been doing this for 14 years. Their price was also $30 cheaper than Sun Tint (on lamar). Sun Tint does good work but I think this guy does as well. I'm gonna use the Solar Guard Quantum film....saw a dark green coupe with this stuff and it really looked sharp.
Garlyn Sheldon Imports in Temple also will deal with ya. I haven't taken delivery so I can't comment on the whole service, but I've heard of several Austin area BMW owners who drive the 70 miles to Temple just to get their cars serviced there instead of going to John Roberts.
Hello everyone. I'm new to the board but I find your views very helpful and interesting in the purchase of my car. I just got my 325 2 weeks ago in Alpine White and I can't wait to complete the 1200 mile break in period. It just an incredible machine to drive. I had to watch out for the speed limits as I tend to enjoy too much.... There is one unfortunate problem that I overlooked when I purchased the vehicle. There were some touch up work done on the underside of the front bumpers. I found 2 large scratches that were touched up. Found it only when I washed the car... Fortunately that part is made out of plastic... Have to take the car back to the dealer to check the trunk changer. It's been skipping on me when I hit the reflectors and small dips on I-95 though I don't have the P. Otherwise the car is fun to drive....
Talk about bad luck ,the Phillps 66 in Plano sold wining lotto ticket never claimed , someone threw away 18MILL ! Boy i could have gotten all the cars Frank has lol . Oh well DFW dealerships., boy you are right about that its hard to get a bargain .... i have been happy with Moritz in Arlington however . In a few weeks i will get my insp 1 done so ill comment on service then. They are the only DFW dealer that gives BMW loaners supposedly. I hope i get a coupe 5spd to compare to my sedan , im afraid those longer doors will be a pain in my tight garage.
Leather vs ette I wanted grey so i had no choice, my friends ette on his 94 325 looks great and is still tight, it does seem hotter than mine , but it could be my imagination. Thats the only thing i wish BMW would offer more interior colors, the sand has a little too much yelow cast for me and the black in TX 115f is pretty hot!
Hello everyone. I'm new to the board but I find your views very helpful and interesting in the purchase of my car. I just got my 325 2 weeks ago in Alpine White and I can't wait to complete the 1200 mile break in period. It just an incredible machine to drive. I had to watch out for the speed limits as I tend to enjoy too much.... There is one unfortunate problem that I overlooked when I purchased the vehicle. There were some touch up work done on the underside of the front bumpers. I found 2 large scratches that were touched up. Found it only when I washed the car... Fortunately that part is made out of plastic... Have to take the car back to the dealer to check the trunk changer. It's been skipping on me when I hit the reflectors and small dips on I-95 though I don't have the P. Otherwise the car is fun to drive....
I am fixing to buy a 330Ci. I live in Plano and work in Richardson. I am thinking going to Classic BMW to order my 02' 330Ci (in a couple of months I hope). Have you delt with Classic BMW before? How about John Roberts?
Congratulations! I also have the 325i in Alpine white. I know what you mean, it was hard for me to keep cool during the break in period, especially on the highway where the car is doing 60 or 70, it wants to go faster. I have 5700 miles on the car, I bought mine on 2/7/01. My favorite thing is to get on the highway, get it up to 5th gear and cruise at a steady 3000 RPM's. Like they say, It begs to be driven. )
Comments
The "Go To" (message number) function is very confusing. Here's the deal - the post numbers you see in the discussion are really "relative" numbers. That is, when you see post number 5000, that is the 5000th message that exists in the discussion *at that moment*.
Have you noticed that the post number is actually a link? If you put your cursor over a post number and look at the link that displays in your browser bar (usually at the bottom), you'll see that at the end of the link is a slash and then a number. Let's say you put your cursor on the post that is directly prior to this post I am creating - it is number 5051. You will see at the bottom a link ending with "/5362". That "5362" represents the *absolute* post number in the topic.
The absolute number tells you how many posts have ever been made up until that point. The relative number is "5051" and the absolute post number is 5362 - this would indicate that 311 posts prior to the post that appears as #5051 have been deleted.
What I am leading up to in all of this is that the "Go To" function uses "absolute" numbers, not "relative" numbers.
Why does it do that? I have no idea whatsoever. It is confusing and difficult to work with, no doubt.
However, with this knowledge and a little bit of math, you can look at current post numbers - relative and absolute - and maybe get closer to where you are trying to go with the "Go To" function.
I hope this helps.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
Edmunds.com Town Hall
I have noticed that there are quite a few new Town Hall members trying to join this discussion whose questions are getting lost in the enthusiastic conversation that is taking place between a number of our 3-Series owners.
I'm wondering how we can continue the wonderful exchanges within this great community AND not miss responding to our new members.
Would we perhaps want to have a separate discussion for folks who want to discuss their daily lives living with their BMW 3-Series and maybe dedicate this one to the folks who have questions either about buying or maintaining this type of vehicle? If we did this, would you folks who have already purchased be willing to hang around and help out with the questions?
What do you think? L8_Apex and I both have observed over the past few weeks a number of new members needing help and not getting it. I'm sure you all agree with us that this is not a good situation - certainly, you would love to welcome new 3-Series owners into the fold, wouldn't you? ;-) - so help us out and give us suggestions on how we can take care of new Town Hall members questions while giving you a place to talk about whatever you want to (within Town Hall reason, of course!!).
Thanks.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
Anyone else?
IOW, what I'm asking, is how do we not interrupt the great camraderie that has been going on here AND not overlook our new members who come here looking for advice.
Let us hear from you on this - I'm sure none of you mean to miss the posts from the folks who need your help the most, but that is what has been happening as the activity in this discussion has recently increased so much.
Let's talk some more about it - let's find a way to continue what has been happening here and to take care of the new members to this discussion.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
M3 Frank
Oh where oh where is my fellow racer Braveheart....
By the way Pat, is there any reason why you can't make these forums threaded. http://www.infopop.com/ has a very good product.
OK here's my attempt to help layer5 post number 5014 (or at least that was the number a minute ago!) :>)
Q1. A= auto (steptronic)trans
Q2. Are you sure its a VIN # and not a production number?
Q3. I don't know (Can anybody else help here?)
Q4. See posts just before and just after yours about MACO
Q5. Woops, just edited my answer...I defer to brave's post 5015 again
He complains about several things about the new 2001 M3 he got:
1)Price. He got his for $60,000: Duh, if he knew anything about supply and demand, he would realize that when a hot car first comes out, it will be way above sticker price. Duh. Remember the Miata when it first came out. Remember the C5 Vette....Duh...
2) Color: Laguna Seca Blue. If you don't like this Smurf color, don't get it idiot...
3) Engine: rough idles, clunking, buzzing...I haven't felt it in mine yet.
4) No spare tire: Didn't you look under the trunk before you bought it....duh
In short, this guy should quit complaining. Perhaps he got a lemon. All manufactuers come out with Lemons once in a while. Should have bought a Porsche 911 idiot!
I am told that the folks who chose our new platform seriously evaluated what Ultimate Bulletin Board offered. Quite a number of issues were taken into consideration when Web Crossing was eventually chosen to relocate Town Hall. Issues such as management consideration, similarity to the platform we left and probably many others of which I do not have knowledge led to the selection of Web Crossing. But please feel free to use the Online Support link on the left sidebar of this page to offer any suggestions to improving our environment here.
Thanks.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
The 3 series BWW of this era looked great as a two-door,but those first 4-doors...They both looked ungainly and had tiny rear cabins-to this day I don't like them.Whereas their two-door counterparts still look great.
As the smaller sedans have gotten larger the rear seat is now quite good.But it could be better.And BMW has many good reasons for having its smallest sedan RWD.But it also has practical reasons of ecomomy for not changing.To their credit,the premium German brands do every thing sometimes thorough to a fault(consider the previous S-class Merc).
The rain sensor proved invaluable as it was truly set and forget. It performed flawlessly as I drove from rain to shine to rain to shine today.
Hard to gauge performance as it obviously must first be broken in and there are nothing but straight lines between Austin and Lafayette. The temp gauge remained right dead between the hot and cold indicators......a huge relief given all the nightmare stories of the infamous auxiliary fans.
I'm taking a break right now from Zaino'ing the car......can't wait to see how it looks after the polish hazes over enough to remove. 100% humidity doesn't help matters.
i'll keep you guys posted as the car breaks in. So far, no regreats whatsoever.
What's your favorite Austin BBQ place? Mine is Iron Works. Others say Salt Lick, but I disagree. 2nd favorite is Dusty's in Manor. Yum Yum.
Humid is right.......gonna have to leave the Zaino on the car overnight and hope the sun shines enough to dry the damn stuff so i can finally remove it.
Checked out the Volvo, Passat, Audi, Saturn, etc. Maybe wait until Honda brings back the Accord wagon again.
Does it apply to all term length?
My car has been 196 since Tuesday. I was hoping to have my car this weekend but I guess that's a wash. I ordered my car on April 25th, so I guess it hasn't been that long, but since it's here in the States...you know what I mean!
If your conserned about space, the Passat is just as big as the Accord wagon (we also have a 95 Accord Wagon) and actually is only a small amount more than the Accord. I highly suggest it.
I settled on the 325iT because I wasn't willing to give up my sports car dreams and I couldn't justify/afford an S4 Avant, and I thought that the 325iT with SP actually handled more crisply.
If it is the new 2000 GT, he would definetly beat you given that he has a lot more torque and more horsepower than you...by quite a bit.
A new 330i 5 speed.....it will be a lot closer....
On the handling front, you'll take him hands down. Why don't you challenge him down a curved road. Bet he'll wind up in a ditch. I've driven 5.0 mustangs, 330i's, Hondas, Rx-7....M3's by far are the best handling.
2001 M3 Frank
2001 M3 Frank
Needless to say, I will not be driving to Lafayette to pick-up my vehicle...BTW macdude44, did you HAPPEN to notice a blk/blk 325 sedan while you were at Moss Motors? Just curious...I have no idea how big or small the dealership is, but wanted to get your opinion on how it looked, in case it was there when you picked yours up! Congrats again. Please let us know how the Zaino looks when finished. I have about $100 worth of Zaino products waiting to dazzle my 325!
So what's your verdict? Please share YOUR ownership experience (s), both good and bad.
Is the general perception that BMW's are not very reliable cars, just that - a perception?
On the plus side, there isn't enough room here to detail. The car is absolutely fantastic. What a machine!
Do you know what size of tires come with 1998 Mustang GT premium 2dr Convertible (originally)? How many horsepower? Or where I can find that information?
I wish I could afford an M3.
Thank you very much!
I asked about your black/black 325 and richard said it was in the make-ready area......out of the rain. The dealership is surprisingly large as it sells several brands including Mercedes....pretty classy place.
The Zaino looks good. I can't say it looks substantially better than the Carnuba wax I used on previous cars but it should protect much longer.
Tuesday I get tinted and I'll finally have it the way I want.........the Roundel valve stem caps are a nice finishing touch.
My experiences are as follows:
--thermostat replaced. This is a design flaw that affected a lot of other 3-series.
--front rotors and steering-wheel coupler replaced. Also a design flaw.
--stereo replaced twice, because some of the little dots that make up the LCD disappeared.
I consider these three repairs--all covered under warranty--to be minor.
This car, a '00 328i, hasn't been as reliable as my three Accords, but hasn't been a disaster like my Ford Tempo.
However, the BMW has only 24,900 miles on it, far to early to say if it will remain solid for the long run.
I don't think it's as reliable as most Japanese makes, but it's still a very dependable car, not to mention a blast to drive.
Congrats once again. Enjoy!
I also had an automatic in my 91 5.0 and the same 225 HP. The newer versions of the Mustang GT's have 260 HP's though.
I can tell you this much cause I've driven a lot of cars.....Even with the automatic, he will probably beat you, but not by much or it will be very very very close with your 5 speed 325i.....I can guarantee you that the 330i 5 speed will beat the 98 GT Auto if driven right. On the roads that curve, you will carve him up. The Mustangs have very heavy steering and the car feels very heavy and big even though he has the V8 with torque galore at the low end. He also has a convertible which I know will be a little heavier in weight than the standard Mustangs....I he will beat you on the low end from 0-40/50, but you will catch him later on....Automatics are dogs.....If you race the 1/4 mile, he will probably beat you slightly or you will be side by side. Go a little longer, then I think you'll catch him or go in front. On curved roads, you will slice him up. If he had the GT 5-speed (no convertible), or the Cobra, results would be different.
I've even gone so far as comparing one of the greatest sports car, the 94 RX-7 and it's handling capabilities....(which I still own) with my former 99 and my new 01 M3, and I can say this much about handling: RX-7 seems to hold the road a tad tad better than my 99 and 01 M3, but the steering on the BMW's are complete Magic and react to your every input in hard turns. I would much rather have the handling and steering of the BMW M3's....325's and 330's are slightly softer, but trust me, BMW's have the best steering and "at the limit" handling hands down. Haven't tried an Acura NSX, but I'm sure it will be up there.
2001 M3 Frank
-Getz
The austin dealer ultimately would have taken a little over a thousand off invoice....Moss Motors took off 21% and gave me the 6.5% financing. Had I known the car would come in so fast i could have gotten 5.9%
Anyway, give Richard Foard a call and tell him that Tom recommened you call
I'm gonna use the Solar Guard Quantum film....saw a dark green coupe with this stuff and it really looked sharp.
Otherwise the car is fun to drive....
Leather vs ette I wanted grey so i had no choice, my friends ette on his 94 325 looks great and is still tight, it does seem hotter than mine , but it could be my imagination. Thats the only thing i wish BMW would offer more interior colors, the sand has a little too much yelow cast for me and the black in TX 115f is pretty hot!
Regards,
DL
Otherwise the car is fun to drive....
I am fixing to buy a 330Ci. I live in Plano and work in Richardson. I am thinking going to Classic BMW to order my 02' 330Ci (in a couple of months I hope). Have you delt with Classic BMW before? How about John Roberts?
Thanks,
Still Day Dreaming...