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Comments
While there, I noticed that many BMWs had snow tires mounted on steel rims with BMW wheel covers. Are these wheel covers available in the US, or should I have picked up a set while in Munich. If available, about how much do they cost?
Thanks
BTW, congrats brave1heart!
-nobee
Thanks!
I was at Irvine BMW last night test driving the 325/330ci, as I am also looking to lease one of these models. My salesperson could not quote me the MF, however, when I mentioned the .00205 number, he said that it was higher - translation, they markup the MF. I talked with him about discount off of MSRP, and he stated that I would be lucky to get $500 off on either of these two models, since they are in heavy demand and they have to pay him and for their new $60+ million dollar showroom. This goes against what some others have posted here as well.
BTW, based on that experience, I think I will be looking for a different dealer to give my business to. I will be happy to share experiences, however I am now considering other non-BMW models.
I've checked out BMWUSA, but I only got the order status "Built, not shipped".
Thanks
-Murray
It misses EV3 for 2002 325i and EV5 for 2002 330i.
Call BMW Customer Relations 1-800-831-1117 for detailed status code i.e. 155...
I dont know where you live, try Century West BMW in Universal City. You can ask for Alex Cheng. I bought 3 Bimmers from them in the past 5 years. I paid $1200 over invoice exactly a year ago on my 2001 325i seden.
Good luck and e-mail me if you want.
Dan
Another question I had is whether or not to get the SP. So far from what I've seen of it I like the way the car looks, but I've also heard that the 3 series with the sport suspension can ride hard. I plan on test driving both versions to see if I find the ride too hard for me (as I do like road feel I don't want to feel like I'm on the road). And how is the car in the rain with the sport tires? I don't have to worry about snow but you know it rains here all the time
Any other comments or recommendations are appreciated. BTW the car will be a 5 speed without question! Thanks.
I mention this as an example of an excellent purchasing experience that we all should have. And why not? There is competition out there between dealers. They all are selling the same product. There is no reason why you should not be treated with respect and given a fair price. Even for a BMW.
I'm certain BMW maintains the same level of quality at all of their plants. Just to reassure me, can anyone give me some experiences with South African BMW's.
Thanks
-Murray
I learned how to drive stick in this car and I'm getting better. I'm not totally smooth yet, but I don't stall out every day like I used to, and I'm loving the feeling of control during acceleration using stick. For anyone undecided about step vs. manual, I strongly suggest going w/the stick for pure driving pleasure, even if you have to learn like the way I did. Although, I am tempted to get the SMG in my M5 in a few years.
Also, I finally got to test the XI when I went for a ski trip to Killington this weekend. The AWD performed flawlessly in snow and inclimate weather. It got up all the hills w/o a problem and it felt rather good. I have the all weather conti tires on my car (OEM).
One thing I didn't like too much was the built in ski bag that was difficulty to open for the first time and also difficult to restore into proper place once I finished using it. The bag also does not cover the back of the ski in the trunk area and can lead to messiness in the trunk. I think using the fold down seats and a separate ski bag is the better choice.
I have a friend that just bought a 325. She says to me - it rides kind of rough and I hear this engine noise, is it supposed to be like that? Aargh! The moral of the story is - if you want a Lexus, don't buy a BMW. Enjoy your buying experience and the wonderful anticipation, and of course, the car when you get it.
magnolia@adnc.com
Thanks
Most importantly, the entire car is engineered in Germany. The car is just assembled in South Africa. Using your logic, does it mean the the Z3 and X5's are not German because they are made in South Carolina? Is a Honda not Japanese because it is manufactured in Canada? Rest assured this subject has been discussed here many times and the build quality coming out of South Africa is superb. I now have 18,000 miles (yeah I know I have only had it 8 month's!) on my SA built 325
and so far it has been rock solid with the exception of a couple of very minor things (seat belt anchor rattle fixed)
Don't worry.....Be Happy!!!!
I also agree with riez and twoof. It is the exact same car just "assembled" in SA. You will forget about it after you see it.
Best Regards,
Shipo
can someone please point me to the investment that returns 15% guaranteed per year?
-Chris
To the best of my knowlege, there is no such thing as a guaranteed 15% per year investment. Having said that, well thought out investment plans have AVERAGED just over 15% per year for roughly the last 60 years. My personal opinion is that with just a little extra weighting in high tech, a well diversified portfolio should yield over 20% on AVERAGE going forward. That said, there are going to be times when the "Law of Averages" says that we will see greater returns (1997-1999) and times when we will see negative returns (2001).
True Story:
I once new a guy in San Diego who had worked for 20 years as a grocery store (Safeway) clerk (I was the janitor in the store), who had a dream of opening up his own restaurant. After 20 years of saving, he had just over half of the money he figured he needed for his dream venture. This guy (I will call him Bill), summoned up all of the cajones he could muster, took his entire wad to Las Vegas, and placed it in one lump sum on "Red".
He retired the next day. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
2. Immediately sell covered call options for the first available expiration date.
The price of the call options varies between 5 and 10% PER MONTH depending on market volatility. The more volatile and uncertain the market, the higher the price you can fetch for your call options.
Example:
1. Buy 1,000 shares of QQQ at $40/share
2. Sell 10 February contracts (1,000 options on QQQ), strike $40 at the market rate (currently ~$2 or 5% of the underlying security PER MONTH).
If the QQQ is at $40 or higher on expiration day in February, you have made 5% for that month. If it is down 5%, you are flat for the month because you have a 5% loss in QQQ but made 5% on the options. If the QQQ is down 10%, you are down 5% (10 - 5, right?). Using this strategy and assuming the market is flat for the year (up 6 months, down 6 months, flat overall), you'd be expected to make about 30% for the year. If the market does NOT go down every month, you'd be up 60% for the year. If it tanks significantly in one month, you'll lose 5% less than the index for that month and still beat your benchmark. I have 90% of my play money invested in this strategy and it is working fine. If you'd like to make sure for yourself, pull up the QQQ monthly closing prices for a select period and do some calculations for yourself - you will be beating any index handily over a period > 12 months. Best of all, you don't care what the market does and you don't need to do research. At the end of the month, just roll over the options. It's a lot like owning a house and charging your tenants rent every month.
Anyways, I purchased a 330i w/ sport/premium/cold pkgs and xenon lights. How do you track the building process? Thanks for your help.
shipo - re your Las Vegas story. I remember reading in the paper about a guy who did that but the wrong color came up and he pulled out a .45 and blew his brains out on the spot! Must have been quite a shock for the dealer and other patrons!
We've been in a mostly inflationary environment for the last 60 years. I wonder what a realistic rate of return OVER the inflation rate would be. I think I remember reading once that banks used to pay 1.6% interest when inflation was zero.
In my view the failure of the dealership to fully disclose this origin of assembly is tantamount to civil fraud and should give you the right to have the purchase rescinded.
A very fundamental aspect of a BMW’s value to a consumer is the perception that it is entirely a German car which is engineered, crafted and assembled in Germany. The reputation and cachet BMW cars have for quality and craftsmanship, in not only engineering but also assembly, is very firmly connected to a general consumer understanding and expectation that the car is entirely made in Germany.
Of course you are disappointed. And you’ll be disappointed when you try to sell the car, too, because you’ll see that other people think the same as you do about a BMW put together in Africa.
You may recall some years ago General Motors sold some Cadillacs that had Chevrolet 350 V-8s in them. Even though the 350 V-8 was renowned as a superb engine, GM ended up conceding that a buyer of a Cadillac was entitled to have a Cadillac engine, not a Chevrolet engine. I forget what the terms of settlement were on that issue, but there was some large measure of compensation given to the unsuspecting purchasers. Thereafter, Cadillac promotional material clearly stated in full disclosure that some of their cars had engines supplied by other GM divisions.
I would suggest that the country of assembly is as important to a BMW owner as is the origin within GM of the engine to Cadillac owners.
Regardless of what state you reside in, contract law is heavily based on concepts of reasonable expectations. A court would find it a reasonable expectation that a purchaser of a new and expensive BMW would assume without further inquiry that it was assembled in Germany, that this was a critical factor in his choice of the car and moreover, that BMW knew all of this to be the case.
There are other brands that play the same game. Flip through the Jetta and Mercedes C-class boards on this site and you’ll find anger from new buyers who have found out their cars are assembled in Mexico or Africa.
The significance of the place of assembly in the BMW buyer’s mind is for all practical purposes conceded by the manufacturers and their dealers, who never state in any advertising or showroom banter that the cars are assembled by illiterates making 50 cents an hour in S.A. Obviously, were they to reveal that, they’d lose a lot of sales.
At the same time I’m rather surprised BMW, M-B and VW are getting away with this failure to disclose. It has all the stuff of a class action lawsuit.
shipo - yes, taking advantage of 20/20 hindsight, it's easy to find investment strategies that WOULD have made 15% over the last 60 years... what i want is one that's going to make over 15% for the NEXT 60 years...
-Chris
You can find these and more in any personal or corporate finance textbook.
I totally disagree. I knew going in that some BMW's were assembled in SA and I would have stipulated a German build if it were that important to me.
I only have a mild disappointment. Do you or anyone have stats to show that SA built BMW's aren't better? Workers in a recently built, modern plant in SA may very well be more motivated than those in an established manufacturing oriented city in Germany.
Having seen first hand the lack of motivation that the UAW instills, I'm glad it wasn't built in the US!
-Murray
ok, go find one money manager who'll recommend hedging as their entire strategy... i'll be here waiting... you also might want to pick up a book about derivatives...
feh... suggesting people buy index funds IS the camry of investing.... sheesh...
oh well... i guess that the same people who know everything about bmw's (and are SHOCKED, SHOCKED i tell you when they are corrected) also know everything about investing...
-Chris
p.s. Camries are very reliable and great value for the money.
Have you nothing better to do than pick on every little comment. OBVIOUSLY IT IS NOT THEIR ENTIRE STRATEGY!!!!
-Chris
no, i'm not always right. but i do point out what i consider to be incorrect when it comes to someone potentially reading a post and could do:
1) physical harm to themselves
2) financial harm to themselves.
so shoot me.
-Chris
automatic
premium package
Xenon
leather
MSRP total = 33870.00
Best price at Fields BMW, Orlando - 600.00 below MSRP
Best price at Lynch Imports, Daytona - 500.00 below MSRP
Is this the best price I can expect for a 325i, or has anyone been able to get something better than that? Not much choice of dealers in Central Florida area, but I just think I can do better, but don't know where else to go?
New concrete was great.
2 weeks ago I notice rust spots from gardener carelessly throwing fertilizer pellets. Ask him to clean it. He just sprays water, which doesn't work. This week I ask him again. He used some substance. Now the rust is gone but in its place are yellow swaths that look like you cleaned a window with a dirty cloth. It is terrible!
Any suggestions on how to remove stain without further discoloration? Thanks.
I have a bit of skepticism, but I'm more interested in learning about a strategy that's averaged 15% over the last 60 years. Maybe, with a little luck, my next car could be an M5!
-Murray