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Comments
BMW should start offering complete lifestyles - I'd be interested
At least he got to enjoy a fleet of expensive cars toward the end of his life. Wondering if he had any Bimmers.
Just my .02
Eddie.
Net Power 190 hp @ 5,500 rpm
Net torque 200 lb-ft @ 2,500-4,800 rpm
6-sp manual
Weight: 2909 lbs
So in comparison: 330 lbs lighter than my 325i; 6 more HP; 25 lb-ft more peak torque across a very wide peak band; 6 spd manual;
All I can say is wow, I can't even believe I was keeping up at higher speed. This car should be a lot faster, at least on paper and I know it had a good driver, he was driving the manual, and he was pushing it very hard. Wow! three-hundred-thirty lb difference is a lot. Edmunds has it rated at 7.2 sec 0-60, which is probably extremely conservative b/c I saw this car take off from about 20 mph and I'm pretty sure it would be faster off the start than the 325i manual if properly driven.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that base MSRP is almost 40 grand and nicely equipped it would be 45.
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/images/dustshields.jpg
Contrats on getting your 330i, again.
BmwWagonMaster,
Thanks for the link, I printed the page for posterity (and my "Cool Stuff" files). For some reason, it printed like beep on the LaserJet, fortunately however, the page looks great when printed on the DeskJet in "HiRes" mode.
Brave1heart,
Good stuff that. Puts grins on both of your faces. Funny story about the SLK; I had to come back to the US in October of 1996 (pregnant wife, house hunting and a little work for MB-USA). I came in to work on a Saturday and saw at least 40 old SL Roadsters (all in mint condition) from the late 1950s and the early 1960s in the parking lot. My office was in a loft over the main shop and I was able to watch the proceedings from a great vantage point.
It seems that MB-USA wanted a special roll out of the new SLK230 roadster, so they invited all known owners of early SLs to come to Montvale, NJ with their cars for the US announcement of the SLK. The only negative thing (and from my point of view, the funniest) that happened was that all of the owners were complaining about the fact that the SLK230 was available with an Automatic Transmission ONLY. It seems that virtually all of the older cars were equipped with Manual gearboxes and THAT is what these folks wanted to see in the new car. The MB executives spent several uncomfortable hours back pedaling on that one issue and never seemed to recover. Obviously, they figured out that to compete with the likes of the Boxter and the Z3, a new gearbox was in order. If I am not mistaken, the first manual for the SLK was a 5-Speed, and now (based upon your research) a 6-Speed can be had, cool.
Jonnie Lee Hooker, total bummer. He WILL be missed.
Roc50mg,
I know that we here breath all things BMW, but save your money and buy a bike from a company that produces a "Best of Breed" piece of machinery. Depending upon how much you want to spend, try Trek, Cannondale, Kona, Klein or Dean. These guys are as serious about Mountain Bikes as BMW is about Cars.
Best Regards,
Shipo
BMW Q6.S (Foldable) Bike -- $ 3,995.00
BMW Q3.S Bike -- $ 995.00
Okay, maybe the Q6.S is a bit too pricey, but the Q3.S is in reasonable range. I wonder if BMW lets you "test ride" their mountain bikes. Also, do they have a 3 year/36,000 mile full warranty for the bikes? (just kidding about this last part)
Thanks for your input guys.
BMW grossly underestimated the demand for the AWD option. Therefore, xi model production is way behind schedule. Heard from my dealer earlier this week that BMW has decided to temporarily halt production of 325xi's next month so that it can restock AWD transmissions in time for 2002 production start-up in September/October. Don't know if this will affect 2001 xi's already on order, but you might want to ask your dealer about it.
Good luck.
On the production number, my case was a little different than yours since I wanted to take delivery as soon as possible from my order date. I verbally committed to placing my order with Joern on March 9. He didn't ask for a deposit. (He had told me earlier that week that I could get a delivery date on April 25 if I acted quickly.) Eight days later on March 17, I inquired about a change in color from Steel Grey to Titanium Silver. He told me it was VERY unlikely since my car was scheduled to begin production on 4/2. (There's a window before production where the configuration cannot be changed. Not sure what it is.) I asked him to do it if he could, and four days later (March 21), he confirmed to my surprise (and his) that my new color was Titanium Silver. I sent full payment via Fed-Ex on March 23 (30 days in advance of delivery). It was some time after March 26 that Joern provided me with the production number (which was less than 30 days before delivery).
Hope this helps. Do you know when you're picking up yet?
1) Stick w/ a name that has a racing and/or established reputation. This, of course, depends on what you will be using the mtn. bike for. If you just plan on doing casual riding, I would spend less than $500 and go with a lower end Trek, GT, or Specialized.
2) Cannondale, Gary Fisher, Klein, Specialized all make great bikes. These guys have been doing it for years and have great reputations. Take a look at the Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra. It runs for about $1500 and has disc brakes. It comes with slick, high PSI tires that are great for road/paved trail riding. You can swap them out for knobbies and hit the trail. The suspension on Cannondales is excellent, as well.
3) If I saw a guy on a BMW bicycle, I would think he purchased it just to be cool. Though I think the cars are excellent, for some reason I would see a guy on a BMW bike and think, "What a dork."
4) Would you buy a car made by Trek?
I would have kept mine if I weren't heading back to grad school this fall. My wife and I have had three cars for two years now, and yeah, I felt a little bourgeois at first, but you soon get over it. Having the Z3 as a fun/weekend car was wonderful. I know that I will own another roadster in a few years time.
My recommendation if you're buying new is to go with either the 2.5 or 3.0. The M has more power than necessary (which may also be the case for the 3.0.) You'll just have to look at the cost difference factor. If you're going used, go with a 2.3 or 2.8. The 1.9, although a great car, left me wanting in the get-up-and-go category.
Be aware that the car is a lot less refined than the E46.
There are some really great deals going on the Z3 now, since the '02 models will have a complete makeover (more modern, less retro). Cars can be had for under invoice due to current dealer incentives ($2000 on the 2.5 and $3000 on the 3.0). After July 3, these incentives are reduced to $1500 and $2500, respectively. This should give you some leverage when negotiating.
Let us know when you decide!
Funny commute this morning - for about 5 min there, there were only BMW's in the fast lane and ALL other cars were in the middle lane. There was a 330ci in front of me and an M roadster behind me. Isn't it time yet for a special BMW lane - kind of like the way they have bike alleys? Or at least more relaxed speed limits for BMW owners
And thanks GURU for your support!
In your situation, though, the A6 2.7T may make a lot of sense. It's still a great car and that engine rocks.
These autos are new to me but I finally surrendered to Socal traffic and a bad disc. I also notice that in 5th between 60 and 70 the car emits a deep rumble, like it doesn't want to keep the low rpms at this speed. If I drop it down to 4th the sound disappears. I used to swear that bmw and auto didn't go together( and even ridicule those who drove auto bmws)but now I have my comuppance. For an auto the step is pretty good, but it will take some getting used to.
Do you need a car that big? Unless you really do, and I know the lower lease payment on the more expensive car seems very appealing - I considered it too - but the BMW really is just the better car. Much less likely to have niggling little problems, wonderful to drive in a way no other car is, just a much nicer place to spend time. I sell Audis too. I love them. The 2.7T IS one helluva car. If you have a big (tall) family, the A6 could be worth looking at, otherwise, it's all about the 3 series!
Look forward to adding my 2c now that I've got one.
We are picking up on the 3rd of September. Cannot wait.
Wondering if they are having problems using the CVT with AWD?
I will probably be selling the car at the end, or I will have the amount put aside anyway. (even CDs are offering 5% and up here right now). Is this a good idea? I was going to put down 25-30% down anyway, but putting less down now, having a smaller monthly payment and the balloon payment in 2004 makes sense to me as I can invest the extra cash.
What do you think?
Also, ask them if they will do a mortgage tie-in. If you want, MBCC slaps a second mortgage on your place and then you can write-off the interest payments just like a home equity loan.
Eddie
I think here in Canada, you can't write off mortgage interest, but you can claim personal loan expenses. So I will be keeping that in mind for my next car purchase. The second mortgage will probably work too.
"Please be advised that, for August production, 203 (AWD) and ZAP will not be available for the 325i and 330i sedans. This was due to overwhelming demand for AWD in June July production.
We will delete these options, 203 and ZAP from all July and August orders that are not priority 1 with a customer name........."
In other words, if you have ordered, or wish to order an AWD sedan, your car WILL get built on schedule. Only cars ordered for stock will be affected.
I hope this brings some relief to interested parties.
My car just arrived this morning !!!! I'm going to get it PDI'd today for this week end!!! It's specs are:
330i sedan
Sport Package
Xenon headlights.
Electric rear sunshade (!)
Alpine White with Anthracite Cloth (!)
I am "Mr. Special-Order", I'll try to post some pics after it's been to detail.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the cloth seats. Post a picture of the seats. I have read the seats could be special ordered, but I had ordered my car already. Personally, I prefer them to leather or 'ette.
BTW, where you can get a 5% CD? Certainly not from one of the big banks..
You guys have probably noticed this, but I just noticed it last night driving home. I had my windshiled wipers on at the regular, constant wiping mode. However, when I would stop at a traffic light the windshield wipers would slow down and go switch to an interval wiping mode (about every other second). After I would start driving again they would switch back to the constant wiping mode. I don't have the Premium package so I don't have a rain sensor. Have you guys noticed this before? Pretty cool.
Just came back from the dealer..
Replaced the solitary faulty chrome trim on the window. Nobody had ever seen that before!
Next, took the "shaft" foreman on a drive to check out the "thud" from the rear which is apparent when I suddenly increase the torque (from coasting to accelerating). The verdict: Normal movement of the differential over the rubber mounts when sharply accelerating or decelerating. Nothing unusual as per them!
So, I guess I'll have to live with that!
Thanks for all u guys help!
Second tank of gas: 17.7mpg (first tank was 15.2mpg): same driving conditions!
veekay1
You guys have probably noticed this, but I just noticed it last night driving home. I had my windshiled wipers on at the regular, constant wiping mode. However, when I would stop at a traffic light the windshield wipers would slow down and go switch to an interval wiping mode (about every other second). After I would start driving again they would switch back to the constant wiping mode. I don't have the Premium package so I don't have a rain sensor. Have you guys noticed this before? Pretty cool.
I wonder why our 325i comes with all that (fogs, xenon, headlight washers, cd, auto climate control, speed sensitive wipers......) as standard equipment???
No comments on the 325i without sp????
I wonder why our 325i comes with all that (fogs, xenon, headlight washers, cd, auto climate control, speed sensitive wipers......) as standard equipment???
No comments on the 325i without sp????
Brave1 I think it may hav been you who mentioned the more powerful engine...? In the states the Cooper and Cooper S will be launched at the same time.
You guys have probably noticed this, but I just noticed it last night driving home. I had my windshiled wipers on at the regular, constant wiping mode. However, when I would stop at a traffic light the windshield wipers would slow down and go switch to an interval wiping mode (about every other second). After I would start driving again they would switch back to the constant wiping mode. I don't have the Premium package so I don't have a rain sensor. Have you guys noticed this before? Pretty cool.
Presidents Choice has a much better rate than the banks. I was also going to get my loan from there as their borrowing rates are much lower than the banks.
I will be worrying about mortgaging a 100 sq ft box (I mean condo) in a couple of years.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/firstlook/articles/43018/article.html