BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

dave330i

"Try driving with 2-inch+ platforms. "

That's ok. I'll take your word for it. Plus, I know you'll like much better in them than I.

genie1

Well...my weekend begins...a blind date (sorta)...Christmas shopping...lying on my lilypad...

dave330i

Lilypad?! Have fun.

I get to go buy diner for 2 ladies who like each other in a few hours. I love my life sometimes.

mcnal01

Is there a site available to download the owners manual?
Thanks

dave330i

go to the owner's circle. www.bmwusa.com

kominsky

A coworker made venison chili the other day. He added just 3 tablespoons of Dave's to a whole crock-pot of chili and 90% of the people who tried it didn't have more than one or two spoonfuls. I ate two bowls, but spent the afternoon cowering in a corner crying like a baby. :-)

dave330i

Dave's Insanity sounds like my kind of sauce. Where can I find it?

genie1

nobee: Is this the same Dave who makes hard lemonade?

dave:
>>I get to go buy diner for 2 ladies who like each other in a few hours. I love my life sometimes.

Huh?

kominsky

dave/nobee; www.americanspice.com - I heard Dave's also makes a sauce that comes in a wood box and has a warning on it about being able to burn skin... I have no immediate plans to try that one.

genie; I don't THINK those two Dave's are the same.

dave330i

I lost a bet, so I'm buying them diner. I'm all for dining out with two women, but it loses it luster when they're lesbians.

hippo168

try driving with soccer cleats! and get stuck on the brake paddle with all the spikes. : )

fpereira

Hi petrarch, sorry I didn't see your message earlier; but in any case I'm afraid I don't know whether you can do better than $750 off MSRP. You're in the SF bay area, right? If so, probably $2000 over invoice (roughly equiv. to $1000 off MSRP on base model) is close to the limit. But I'm kind of guessing, based on what other people are saying.

The more options you want on your car, the more of a discount you can get, in general. In other words, there's some fixed amount over invoice the dealer is looking for. If you'd be happy with $2000 over invoice, I would calculate what that price is, and make the offer; it's possible the dealer will take you seriously and go for it. The key is to get a yes in writing autographed by the sales manager, and to walk out if anything else happens (like "gee sir, may I ask, how did you arrive at that price?").

(Actually if I knew what car I wanted I'd just fax the offer, to avoid the trip.)

mcnal01

I thought my 1st experience with Thai food was rough because of the spices, turns out what I really sufferd that evening was my 1st gull bladder attack. One of many until I finally got examined years later. Good to know it wasn't the food but I still have a Thai paranoia. Still enjoy most everthing else HOT though.

Maybe we need to change the board name to
SEDANS & SAUCES

kominsky, thanks for the link, I'll take a look.

riez

I used to brag about loving spicy foods. Lived in Philippines for a while. My mom wanted to ensure I knew who was boss. So she bought me a bottle of Insanity Sauce. Made some chili in a 5 quart crock pot. Put in just a couple drops. Not more than 3. You could hardly eat it! I still have the bottle in the fridge. That was about 3 years ago. Have only used it once since. This time more sparing.

mcnal01

Thanks for the link, I took a look but I am not an owner... yet.
Anyway other way to download the owners manual before registering as a for real owner.

nobee

I received my bottle from a small little shop in Phoenix. The sauce is too hot for everyday consumption. I primarily use it in soups and to marinate chicken-wings. One teaspoon or less marinates a COSTCO/Price Club size bag of wings.
UPDATE: Dealer just informed me that my 325i is right on schedule for a jan delivery date! YES! Looking forward to adding worthy information about BMWs vice being the poster child for some hot sauce...HAH!

-nobee

riez

I'm looking at the bottle of Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce I have in my fridge. Claims, and possibly rightly so, to be "The Hottest Sauce in the Universe". Love the warning: "Use this product one drop at a time. Keep away from eyes, pets, and children. Not for people with hear or respiratory problems." Under uses, lists "Also, strips waxed floors and removes driveway grease stains."

blinkblink

What you guys think of the below pricing? (not purchased yet). Any comment is appreciated.

2002 330Ci
Metallic Paint
Automatic Trans.
Premium Pkg.
Sport Pkg.
Bi-Xenon
6 Disc Changer
Alarm
Floor Mats
Car Cover
Drive Out (TTL, lux tax etc..): 45K

mschukar

The price alone doesn't tell me much. What's the MSRP & invoice?

-Murray

blinkblink

MSRP is 41585. Invoice is 38258.

brave1heart

... make all the difference, especially in the 3-series because the gas and brake pedal are so close. I was used to driving with my favorite Johnston & Murphy Visage shoes which have thicker, wider soles but had to adjust my foot position a little so I don't accidentally hit both pedals at the same time. On a longer trip (> 1 hr), I'd typically wear my worn out tennis shoes, which are extremely comfortable and provide great pedal feel for some reason. I have Piloti racing shoes on my Christmas wish list - let's see if Santa will find them.

brave1heart

lol, that's pretty creative... I had a colleague of mine who had been married to a Mexican woman for 10 years or so. He brought some spices one day that had to be applied with a toothpick, I kid you not. I barely dipped the toothpick and applied a miniscule amount of sauce on my meal and my eyes still got watery from it. I don't remember the name of the sauce, though, some things I try to forget )

brave1heart

Well, the consensus is that Shipo's '99 328 and my '01 325i SP with retrofitted steering feel about the same with the 328's steering possibly a little heavier. Keep in mind that a more meaningful test would be between two SP or two non-SP cars. It is likely that the bigger rims and tires of my 325 SP are making the steering a little heavier and if you compared two cars with the same tires and rims, the original old steering will likely be noticeably heavier. My first impressions were wrong and I apologize about that - at least I was sincere about what I felt. I think I expected the original steering to be much heavier so it felt lighter relative to my expectations.

P.S. For anyone who has not met Shipo, I sincerely hope you'd have a chance to do that. He is one of the most likable, knowledgeable, and entertaining persons I've met in my life.

riez

braveheart1... Based on your description of Shipo, I finally figured it out. He is one of the forgotten Marx Brothers. Everyone remembers Groucho but not Harpo, Zeppo, or, now, Shipo.

brave1heart

I drove 220 miles non-stop to get home last night and could not find a parking spot on the street. I double-parked in front of my apartment building for 5 minutes and as I was about the head down and look for a spot, I heard my car alarm go off. I looked through the window as I saw my car being towed away. I ran downstairs, caught up with the tow truck and yelled at the driver to stop. He said "50 bucks cash" I asked to see his permit and what right gives him to tow me. He sped away and it's probably a good thing I couldn't catch up, as I would have probably picked up a fight, that's how tired and upset I was. We had to go with my 8-month pregnant wife to get the Shtroumpf back and $100 (yep, that's cash only!!) and an hour later, the story was over. We live very close to a popular shopping area and parking crunch gets dramatic around Christmas time. However, 3 weeks ago her Audi A4's back window and one of the side windows were smashed together with two cars next to hers and there was blood all over them. The neighbors said there was a huge fight next to the cars and although a lot of people had called Boston police, no one had showed up till 4 hours later. There was also a shooting (some 12-year old kids) a block away from us a couple of weeks ago. We've been living in this Back Bay neighborhood for 2 1/2 years and it felt like one of the safest in Boston, at least till a month ago or so. I think the poor economy is beginning to work its way through and it's time to move to the suburbs. I didn't need more convincing with our baby coming up in a month but now I'm SO ready...We should be able to get a beautiful house with the amount of money we are paying for rent. The City of Boston seems to be going down in the Big Dig it dug out for itself...I doubt the illegal parking ticket they gave me this morning on top of the drama last night will help their budget much.

mschukar

So you're paying $3500 for TTL, etc.? I guess this still isn't telling me much since I don't know how much the taxes are or your local licensing, etc.

What is the cost of the car compared to MSRP & invoice. For comparison, I ordered a 325i last week for $1300 under MSRP with an arm rest and floor mats thrown in.

-Murray

seivwrig

I've only read these posts for a short time but it appears that everyone is able to get better pricing on there vehicle. The dealer here in Houston gave me a spiel over pricing in large markets and the whole supply and demand. Is this true about vehicles going at MSRP versus the pricing in small markets. Also, if anyone that reads this list is from the Houston Metro area and has purchased a BMW for ED. What kind of price were you able to get. I have been quote $34450 on black 325i with Zenon,Leather,PP,Auto Tran(traffic here is ridiculous),Harmon-Kardon and Nav. Basically, two deals have quoted the three dealers have quoted me the same price, which is the MSRP for ED.

I went to the Ultimate Driving Experience and drove the 530i and 525i. This definitely changed the way, I look at cars. I will probably never buy domestic again. I was amazed at the ATC and DSC especially considering that I was driving in wet weather. I am hoping to place my order for an ED 325i this week.

mcnal01

This may have already been discussed back in October when the original article appeared at www.autonews.com

http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=36765&a=a&bt=bmw

Automotive News / October 08, 2001

MW of North America Inc. likely will cut sticker prices and trim dealer discounts on new cars and light trucks, starting Jan. 1.

BMW plans to compensate dealers by boosting reimburse-ment for warranty work by 25 percent and by making it easier to earn bonus money for meeting facility and personnel requirements, said Frank Ursomarso.He owns Union Park BMW in Wilmington, Del., and is the NADA line representative for BMW.

BMW spokesman Tom McGurn said BMW will pay more for warranty work so dealers can pay service technicians and service writers better. He declined to discuss details.

BMW's dealer discount is now 10 percent to 12 percent, depending on options, Ursomarso said. The dealer discount is the difference between invoice and suggested retail price, as a percentage of suggested retail. That percentage will be 9 percent, starting Jan. 1, the dealer said.

If I understand the article correctly, invoice prices will not change but MSRP will be cut to 9% over invoice.

Can anyone confirm?

arc444

$1500 below dealer invoice. Good deal or opt for a 2002 at sticker?

kominsky

Country living has it's share of problems too... do they have skunks in the city? Have you ever hit one? The smell lasts for months. One of my neighbors has hit two WhiteTails in the last month (1999 Passat and 2000 A4). A big fat Praying Mantis can make your 'tough' German Shephard look and act like a little yippy dog. Finding an Eastern Diamondback in your wood pile can make a grown man look and act like a little yippy dog.

That said, I grew up in a center-city and have been moving further away all my life. I wouldn't go back for anything, especially now that I have kids. Driving eight miles for a pizza is the only real drawback I can think of off the top of my head.

kominsky

$1500 BELOW DEALER INVOICE?!?!? Buy two! :-)

I'll assume for the moment you meant off MSRP. I'm not sure what the market is like in your area but it seems to me you could do better on either. I think many posters are getting their cars for $1,500 - $2,000 below MSRP on non-left-overs. It would seem that even in a tough market, $500 - $1,000 under MSRP on the 2002 is doable (word?) if you shop around a little. I got mine (2001 330Ci) this time last year and got it for $2K off MSRP.

Good luck!

arc444

1500 below dealer invoice????

Automatic
Metallic paint
Premium package
CD Player

$34,500.00

Good deal????

kominsky

If it's a new car, that sounds like a GREAT price. I just used AutoWorlds calculator and came up with an MSRP of $40,435 and an invoice of $36,455.

riez

Something seems odd talking about such heavy discounting below invoice. Are you talking about new cars or used cars? Low mile "demonstrators"? Lease returns? Low mile return from dissatisfied buyer?

There is a huge difference between $1,500-2,000 below MSRP and invoice!

raavir

Any of you guys have canadian invoice pricing. What kind of percentage off from MSRP that I can expect. I got a quote 2% off msrp, no discount for europian delivery. I appiriciate your suggessions. I am going to be a first time BMW buyer.

amr3

Okay. Tomorrow is the day I get to see my baby!!

My 325xi is at the dealer at Foreign Motors West in Natick, MA. I don't think I'm going to sleep too well tonight. Wahoooooo!

whichone1

Hi raavir, regarding Canadian pricing, I was quoted 2.8% off of MSRP about 2 months ago. Delivery and dealer prep was $1,600. I remember someone from the Toronto area mention 4% off but I can't confirm that. Hope this helps.

whichone1

bmw323is

One thing you guys didn't mention in your comparison was the leather vs. 'ette. Most of us can compare by sitting in one at the dealer but few have the chance to try the other kind out for a few days. I did see that Shipo said he would buy leather again. I have leather now but am considering 'ette on my next 3.

By the way, thanks guys for doing this comparison. I'm sure you had fun too, but your information passed on to all of us is very helpful. I'm not too sure that I would give my car to someone for several days if I had the chance. But I'm glad you did.

raavir

I will shop arround see how best I can get. Do u know by any chance can we order 3spoke multi function steering wheel without taking sport pack. BMW catalog inerior trims titanium and silver, wondering which one to select, no pricing info for titanium in options list.

brave1heart

I could not tell the difference at all. Did not smell like leather much after nearly 3 years. Not sure how Shipo maintains it but 'ette looks and feels very much the same.

As far as swapping the cars, it is crazy, I know. We met on Thursday morning for 5 min and it was like "Hi, Shipo", "Hi, Brave, here's the keys", "Great, see you tomorrow night". I would not do it with anyone but I was entirely comfortable doing this with Shipo.

raavir

any comments on sport seats vs reguler seats. I tried both of them, felt with sport seats loosing some leg room, may be not, i will try once again. I appriciate your suggessions...with sport pack i felt more noisy. any cooments on sport pack

thanx

shipo

I wanted to post yesterday about the wrap-up of the comparison that Brave and I made Thursday and Friday this week last, however, family stuff intruded (y’all who are expecting will understand soon enough ;-)).

Driving shoes,

One of the luxuries of having power memory seats is that you can set one button for your basic dress shoe that has a sole thickness of 8mm or so and another for your hiking boots that has a sole thickness of 20mm or so. That way when I get in my car I just hit the appropriate button and presto, my clutch pedal feels the same every time.

Brave1heart,

Like you said, I expected your cars’ steering to be MUCH lighter than mine, it was not, and any differences would be REAL hard to quantify. The “Retro” steering that BMW has on your car is just fine by me. ;-)

Thanks for the kind words, after bantering with you since last March, I sorta knew that we would get along (by the way gang, Brave is an immensely likeable character, with an interesting perspective of the world that most of us “Yankees” could never appreciate). Maybe sometime all of us East Coasters could get together for some kind of a shindig, given the diversity on this board; I suspect that we would have a blast.

Riez,

You are closer to the mark than you think. Back in High School, I had a Professor who was a fan of the Marx Brothers, in one class, he had me (Dale Shipman) and a guy by the name of Ken Sharp. He immediately dubbed us Shipo and Sharpo. Since that happened back in 1973, I guess that the moniker sort of stuck. ;-)

Brave Take II (and Kominsky)

Funny thing about living in the “City” (pick one). It seems that after a point, it just takes one event (or a related series of them) and ALL OF THE SUDDEN, you want OUT! Been there, done that. I now live in the “Burbs”, and to me, 8 miles for a Pizza still means that I live just about as close to heaven as one can get and still be able to commute to NYC. ;-)

Leather Seats...

The only time I was conscious of the ‘ette in Stroumpf was Thursday night when it was over 70 degrees and real humid. Needless to say, I was wearing my basic (non-work) uniform consisting of a Polo shirt and Shorts. After a while, I noticed that the portion of my legs that were resting directly on the ‘ette were getting sweaty, other than that, I had no awareness at all that I was sitting my posterior end on anything other than genuine leather.

As for how I condition them, well, I don’t. I have been driving cars with leather seats since I got my 1970 Dodge Challenger in 1976. I have never cleaned or conditioned any of my seats, and never had a crack or tear in any of them. Over time (70K miles or so) I do notice some minor creasing as the seat adjusts itself to fit your body. To me, I think that adds character to the look of the leather. Let the flames begin. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

Andy98

I recently bought a "run of the mill" cobra radar detector for my 330xi and was surprised to find out that the adaptor did not fit into my lighter socket. I thought that these were standard. Apparently not? Anyway, can someone recommend a radar detector that is compatible with the car? I don't intend on paying more than $150 so forget about upscale models. Thank you! Andre.

denright

I lived in DC itself (as opposed to a suburb) for a couple years. I grew to hate it fairly quickly. The crime, the lack of reliable basic services (such as road plowing and garbage collection), the urban blight -- it got to me.

Furthermore, I have thought, ever since you told us, that you were insane to be paying rent and buying $30K+ cars. The most sure-fire way to gain wealth for your family is to own the home in which you live. You save on taxes, build equity and have an appreciating asset.

Welcome to the suburbs, friend. Having lived in Manhattan, DC and Brussels, I can tell you I enjoyed city living when I was younger, but with a wife and (I assume) kids soon, the burbs are the place to be.

denright

Just wanted to reiterate for those who are looking at buying that I am completely in love with my 330xi (PP, CWP, Steel Gray, Gray leather). The AWD is imperceptible and for the most part the car feels RWD. It has great traction on wet roads, and I expect it to be a joy in snow.

The 3.0 liter in-line 6 cylinder motor hums sonorously, and when revved growls like a big cat. The acceleration is excellent -- truly exceptional.

The interior is comfortable and the dash and other controls remarkably intuitive and ergonomically efficient.

For those considering the AWD SP, after much deliberation I found it to be an entirely cosmetic and unnecessary $1000 expenditure. While the sport seats are cool, the regular seats are extremely comfortable, and offer excellent lateral support in turns.

I look forward to driving this car every day. I love it.

raavir

would like to know wether the difference in price is only on base msrp or on options too.

thanx

gurumike

Andy - Cigarette lighter sockets are an industry standard size so (at least in theory) your adapter should work just fine in the BMW.

Leather or leatherette--?? Easy! Make the really smart decision and try to get yours built with BMWs wonderful cloth material !!! Warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, no burnt legs when you wear shorts, lets your back & legs breathe and you don't slide around on it. I think that the principal 'problem' with cloth is that, here in The USA, we tend to associate cloth with 'down market' cars. That cloth some how is out of place in a luxury car and so heaven forbid you have a 'cheap' interior in a BMW! I love leather, having a big leather couch and love seat, in the living room. But for a car, I'll take cloth every day of the week. At least until I get my 2003 Range Rover. Or 745i. Then I'll do leather. -- Just my opinion remember.

tcn2k

Just installed my alarm today. Thank heaven that bmw prewired this car. The hardest part was trying to get the rear panel out for the alarm siren to be installed. Took me about 10 min. of play to get it out. Another 10 min trying to put it in. All and all, it was very simple, yet time consuming because i check nearly everything 5 times. It took me 2 hours all together. I probably could have done it quicker, but i kept looking at the car once everything was taken apart. It was neat!
The metal piece was like cchen said, there was a square that the piece go into. Something the instruction never mention about. Now i have to wait for the programming of the alarm on
Friday. Thanks for everyones help!

Next, i will attempt to install the universal transmitter. Maybe.....

shipo

After the Alarm, the Universal Transmitter should be a snap, 15 minutes and you are done.

Best Regards,
Shipo

brave1heart