Check back a few hundred posts. Someone put me on to www.cuttermotors.com/bmw/bimmerfest but there is a directory further down that you need to get to the ED invoice prices. They seem accurate as other BMW dealers had no argument with them. They also contain the 2002 increase. It's probably 300-400 back. Good luck!
BTW, several posters who've done the ED said that you automatically get the floor mats included. I wonder if that is true?
Yes, ED cars not only get a full set of floor mats, they also get a great first aid kid mounted under the passenger seat and a nice folding emergency triangle in the trunk.
Not sure everyone knows this so I thought I'd mention it. The day we picked up our car in Munich, I pulled out a couple of audio CDs I'd burned before we left the States. One of them had accidentally been burned to a blank CD-RW (rewritable) rather than a CD-R (write-once). I put it in and it played fine.
Many aftermarket head units, even those that play CD-Rs, won't play CD-RWs due to the much lower reflectivity of the discs so I was quite surprised that this factory CD player would. Anyway, good news for those who like to roll their own music. Maybe someone else (perhaps with a MY2001 car) could give it a try and let me know if it works for you?
for the first time today. We just walked a lot looking at colors. It was a bright, cloudless afternoon and I was surprised how different the colors looked (and changed their appeal) compared to lower light levels and showroom lighting.
My preference now in most-to-least favored order is: Steel Blue, Silver, Gray Green, Steel Gray, Oxford Green, Alpine White, Black, Red, Topaz Blue.
I still haven't seen a Sapphire Black and I'm not sure if I've seen an Orient Blue -- there was a cic on the lot that was almost a metallic black, but looked blue from certain angles. I'm guessing that was Orient Blue. Everything looked so much darker in bright light.
I'll like to know your ED buying experience (pricing, dealershiop etc)here in canada. All 3 dealerships I contacted via email in Toronto and Vancouver will not give me any deals off the ED MSRP. They all mentioned I'll have to pay for car insurance in Europe, shipping cost to canada e.t.c on top of the advertised ED MSRP.
Does any body know the ED invoice prices in canada?
I emailed Enterprise twice requesting a quote, and never heard back from them. I also called to inquire about the 530 that I was looking for, and the guy told me they were discounting them like $700 off MSRP. Screw that. Even Knauz in Lake Bluff(classy but pretty snobby) offered $800 off after the test drive. Maybe they're good, but my experience was quite a turn-off.
Yesterday it was in the low 40's so I decided to clean my wheels (with a small bucket of soapy water) and dress the tires. The car body wasn't very dirty, but it was dusty. I decided to wipe it down with Griot's Speed Shine (car spray detailer). My car is Jet Black. I know that this is the way you are supposed to use this stuff, but I can't get past cleaning a car without water. It didn't seem to scratch anything, but I am seeing a bunch of swirl marks again (last summer I used 3M Hand Glaze and it took most of the swirls out).
Do others use this spray detailing? Do you use it instead of washing sometimes? Otherwise, what is it good for? What is your experience with scratching or swirl marks, especially if a dark color? I have two vehicles, so the Bimmer ususally only goes out on nice days with no rain or snow, therefore it only gets dusty with some road grime on the lower panels. I wash the wheels about twice as often as I have to wash the body and I use a car duster a couple of times a week on the roof, hood and trunk lid.
I've reached dead ends not only with the PC but also the MAC. So at the end of a long and frustrating weekend, I'd like to share and see if anyone out there has any gems of wisdom to impart.
Here are my problems, if anyone's willing to hear me out:
1. PC...Dell Pentium, tons of RAM, lots of free disk space, Win98 Problem: takes ages to start up, crashes frequently. Heres what I did: I began running Scan Disk in Dos. It took very long to run (over 8 hours, and still going through the first couple of lines). It also found a couple of hundred bad clusters that it fixed. We did stop it at the end of the day and rebooted to see how things were. It still takes forever to boot, but shuts down easy. Questions: Should I run Scan Disk again to see if it will clean up the rest of the drive, (even if it takes forever) or should I just run for help? Was it doing what it was supposed to do? Or did I exacerbate the problem?
2. MAC...G3, tons of RAM, 1GB free space, OS 8.6 Problem: Crashes if you look at it funny...I mean even trying to close a very small Illustrator 9 file sets it off. Heres what I did: Ran Disk Doctor, found 5 minor errors. Disabled misc Extensions Changed scratch disks for Illustrator and Photoshop from startup disk to hard drive Ran Speed Disk from Norton CD to optimize. Final view looked beautiful...all colors together...not fragmented Rebooted... Here is what I remember of what came up on the screen: Default catch = 900 .... It also asked me to type "mac-boot" to continue booting or "shut-down"
On typing "mac-boot" I got a screen with the Mac OS logo and some script...it just stopped right there.
My data is all there, restarting with the Norton CD works fine...I just can't boot up my system...
HELP!!!
and as this is a car forum... Not even driving the Bimmer could improve my mood just yet...
Do you have any virus scan software running at/prior to loading win98? Or, possibly, a virus? If you do have virus scan software, check its settings... Just a thought.
And, to stay on topic: BMW's are good.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Hi genie1 from a fellow Canuck. I have been enjoying your posts. I can't comment on your Mac issues but I may be able to help with the Win98 problem. In the same way that you disabled a bunch of extensions on the Mac, you may have to do the same with the Wintel machine. Click on Start - Run and then type MSCONFIG. When you execute this program, click on the STARTUP tab and you will get a list of all programs, utilities etc. that are being executed during start up. Simply click on the check box to turn off the ones you don't need. Be careful not to check the ones that the operating systen needs. If you make a mistake you can go back in and turn the offending one back on. I hope this makes sense. The less programs etc that are run at start up, the quicker the start up should be. Windows gurus please correct me if I'm wrong.
Oh and as to BMW, I am placing my order tomorrow, 325I, Ti silver, 5sp, DSC, heated seats, wood trim, rain sensing wipers.
laurasdada: I have run the latest Mac and PC virus scans. They are both clean. But maybe I missed something...should I be looking for something specific in the settings?
whichone1: I will try disabling the extensions tomorrow morning. Never knew where to set that up on a PC, but I do now.
I don't have a technical background (went to art/business school) but tend to tread deep waters sometimes.
I am still concerned about the Scan Disk showing so many bad clusters. My instinct would be to run it again until it scanned through the whole thing, but don't want to unintentionally make things worse.
And I think theres a guy on the Zaino board that knows something about Macs.
Congrats on the new 325. If this is your first Bimmer, all I can say is you won't want to drive anything else after this.
I saw your post about cost difference between 325 and 330 xi's. I just want to alert you to Wagner BMW in West Springfield and Dan Santana (salesperson). Very fair, and straightforward and really keeps you up to date of building of car and delivery date.
dont know if you are in area at all, but thought i'd give out some dealer info.
Also - went skiing up in stratton, vt this weekend. saw a few xi's with ski racks, very nice.
Running scandisk won't make things any worse than they are. I would recommending doing the "thorough" check, and letting it finish (could do it overnight). It should find all the bad sectors, and perhaps recover them (doubtful if they are really bad).
If it keeps finding new bad sectors when you run it repeatedly (i.e. a few days later), then your hard disk is dying and it's time to replace it.. ASAP or you will start losing important data. If it doesn't find any new ones, then it's probably not a hardware problem, but something wrong with your software.
As far as BMWs go.. I am very disappointed, since the 2002 330i SP in Canada doesn't come with the front spoiler, nor does it seem that it comes with the M double spoke rims either this year.
The last time Scandisk took so long to run (about the 8 hours your noted) and found bad clusters was on my daughter's hard drive just before it crashed permanently. The long boot times are caused by the hard drive constantly re-reading sectors (up to 10 re-reads each time) until successful. And from what you have said, once it boots, not all system files will be there which is the reason why your machine has crashed so many times lately. At this time, my best advice to not re-boot this computer until you are ready to save your personal files to floppies, zip disks or a tape backup unit (if you can find a friend who has one). One other option is to buy a new hard drive at this time and load the OS from scratch on to this new drive. When you get a basic system going, add your defective drive as a secondary drive and try to copy as many files as possible to the new drive. I lost most of my digital camera pictures and person files to this kind of failure. Again, please don't try to re-boot this computer until you are ready to backup everything because its days are severely numbered. Best of luck.
More on subject: Do you feel more comfortable (driving in snow) after the driving course you took?
Well, at least I have a plan of action for tomorrow...
1. back up all data 2. check the startup extensions 3. run scan disk to see if it was just a software issue (I'd like it to be that easy, but I doubt it) 3. look for a new hard drive.
What should I be looking for (in terms of specs?), and how much should it set me back? Can I do the install myself?
Back on topic: I found the driving course very helpful in my getting comfortable with the limits of the car. I also got winter tires so I wouldn't be stranded in poor weather.
But we've had just ONE evening this winter where I was glad to have the tires. The rest of this season has been fairly dry and pleasant so far.
Of course, being a pessimist, I fully expect to return from my 3 week vacation to several inches of the white stuff.
I feel pretty comfortable driving in poor conditions, I'm just trying not to push the car for a couple of months.
As you have not mentioned how old is your computer, I guess that a hard drive failure may be in question. But if your HD is less than 3 years old, than I would say that it is not likely to be. I've seen some computers taking forever to do a scandisk if one have not done a scandisk for quite some time (I have friends who had not done it for a year!). And the "garbage" on drive caused re-runs, so they became impatient... There is a solution, though, download a Power Defrag and run it. It will reboot your computer and start it "clean" and then it will perform a scandisk and defrag. I recommend that you go in that order, i.e., scandisk and defrag after scandisk... Power Defrag Lite is free at http://www.powerdefrag.com/. Oh, if your hard drive is old, than go with a replacement, as outlined by allano. I guess as you mentioned that you have a lot of space, you could go with a smaller one. They start at less than $100 (couple of GB) and go higher if you go crazy with the storage... Good luck.
I came here intending to research Honda CR-V but stumbled onto the BMW 3 series forum and after test drive a 330i last week, I won't be happy until I have one in my driveway. Here is what I'm interested in: 330i PP SP Cold Weather Bi-xenon Auto I was quoted $40,650 from two dealerships in my area which is in Northern Virginia/Wash DC area. I would really appreciated if anyone could tell me if this is a good price or if I need to expend my searching zone. It's just weird that both dealerships quoted the same exact price. My other option is to opt for manual shift and do away with the cold weather package to keep the costs down...although driving stick in DC traffic will not be much fun at all. Thanks in advance for everyone's inputs and suggestions!
I was wondering if the 40 or so horsepower difference between these two cars is really noticeable on the steptronic models. And if so, is it really worth the extra $6-7K? Also, what would you guys say the sharpest colors are on the 3-series?
Did you want metallic paint or not? Also, I assume that price included destination charges and all dealer fees? If so, it might not be too horrible a deal--I'm guessing because I don't have the new invoice pricing handy. If you want a third opinion I'd suggest calling Joern Esser (pronounced "yearn") at Passport BMW in Maryland.
Personally, I'd ditch the auto and PP. I've been driving stick in DC traffic off and on for 10 years now and it's no problem at all. Re: the PP, many find the BMW leatherette as good as the leather, so dropping the PP entirely or getting only the indiviaul pieces you want (e.g., I only wanted the sunroof) is a good way to save more $. Doing European Delivery is also an excellent way to reduce your costs by $2500 or so, minus the cost of your trip.
Finally, opting for the 325i would be another way to lower your cost by quite a bit while still getting most of what the 330i gives you. I mention that because I haven't seen too many people cross-shipping the Honda CR-V and a 330i, so I'm assuming that in the middle of your window shopping you said "Screw this pseudo-SUV, I want the best sport sedan in the world!" :-)
Thats not a good deal (assuming no mettalic paint). I purchased my 325i in N. VA and think you should be able to swing a better deal with the 2 local dealers in the area.
Email me if you want to speak to my dealer in VA. I got the best price from there compared to any N.VA and MD dealership and the best delivery service.
I plan to purchase a 325xi wagon within the next 30 days. Anybody have tips/recommendations on dealerships in the San Francisco Bay Area? I have heard mixed reviews about buying experiences from Claridge's, Peter Pan and Stevens Creek. Any first hand experience would be a help. Thanks.
I am planning to start my shopping exercise for a new BMW in about a month, and I've come up with a strategy I'd like to float for reaction. I've bought many new cars, but never a luxury import (snob brand), with all the attitude that those dealerships have. Since this will be my dream car, I'm trying to minimize the stress of the buying experience as much as possible - to make the whole thing a good memory. As such, I'm willing to pay slightly more for the car than the absolute lowest, to avoid the confrontation and haggling. Here is what I plan to do:
The car: 2002 325Ci, Electric Red, Black 'ette. Steptronic, Power Seats, HK Stereo. MSRP=$32,640. I've read many posts on this site where people have bought for $1,000-1,500 below MSRP. I've also heard many people say that they've been told by dealers that "the price is on the sticker - take it or leave it - you should feel honored that we would even sell you this car!".
There are 4 BMW dealerships in the Pittsburgh area, and one about 1-1/2 hours away, where my brother has bought 2 Bimmers. There may be more, within a two hour drive - I'll have to check. My strategy is to call a dealership and connect with a salesman, then make an appointment to test drive a car. I'll create a spread sheet with the details and MSRP costs of my car on it, and my offer. After the test drive, I'll explain to the salesman, and presumably the sales manager, that I am very knowledgeable about the car, and that I want this specific car (which means an order - since this is not typically how the dealers order them), and that I am prepared to make them a fair offer.
I'll then offer them $31,400, which is approx. $1,200 under MSRP. I want them to wash-out the last two months of my 42-month 1999 Maxima lease, and make my trade go away at the time my order arrives. I'll explain that I feel this is a pretty good deal for them. If they are willing to agree to this in writing, I'll order the car that day. If they balk, I'll be polite and ask for their best offer. Then, I'll explain that I am going to take my offer to the other 4 dealerships in succession, and see if anyone is willing to make my deal. If I can't get my deal, then I'll either start internet shopping, or decide to pay more for the car - since that's what the local market will bear.
According to the BMW payment calculator, if they make my deal, I should be able to get a payment of $435.00/mo ($396/mo + 10% tax of $39.00), 36 months, 12,000 mi/yr, lease, with $2000 cash down. I know this isn't the lowest possible price for this car, but I think it is fair - and tempting enough to the dealer to maybe get him to go for it without a hassle. I thought I'd start with the dealer closest to my house, and work out to my brother's dealership - since I have a connection of sorts there.
When you start talking about washing out the last 2 months of your lease, the only thing they're going to do is roll the last 2 months of your maxima lease into the lease of your BMW.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Hey guys. I dropped my car off at Hams in Munich on January 11th. Is there any way to track it through the process of getting back to the states?
Does the Owner's Circle provide tracking for ED cars during the shipment phase?
On a side note, how in the hell did you guys manage to wait for the car after dropping it off. This is driving me crazy. But not crazy enough to have paid the extra and not done ED.
Colors are such a subjective thing. My favorite 4 in descending order are: Steel blue, Silver, Gray Green, Steel Gray. That's today. Around here, the most popular color seems to be black, with white and silver fighting it out for second place.
Pat--Edmunds hasn't updated their dealer invoice data to reflect the Jan. 1 price increase for the 3 series as yet. Is there anything you can do to get them on the ball? Thanks.
I think that once you take delivery in Munich, the car is considered delivered and you won't get any other updates via the web site. You will, however, get something from BMW USA in a couple of weeks via snail mail indicating that your car has arrived in New Jersey, and that it can take 2-4 weeks to reach your local dealer, etc. etc. Incidentally, mine took only 30 days from drop-off in Frankfurt to pick-up in Maryland. If you're on the east coast, it's possible you'll get yours quickly as well.
The wait? It's bearable. And it makes picking up your car the 2nd time that much more joyous.
Yes, you can. All BMW's are shipped via a shipping company called Wallenius's. Once your car's placed on a ship, your dealer should be able to tell you the name of the vessel. You can then see when that vessel will arrive by going to Wallenius's vessel schedule web page http://www.wlna.com/vescols.htm.
I just wanted to update all who gave me input about my computer problems. (The Zaino board helped with the MAC).
The Mac had an Open Firmware problem. After trying all suggestions, we called in a tech, finallly installing OS 9. Works well now.
The PC is still slow to start, because it is used as a server to the other machines. But I will run Scan Disk to clean the bad clusters and keep an eye on it.
Dantess - I'm in DC and have gotten the same response in my search for a 530 - three dealers (VOB, Arlington and Sterling) have all given me almost the exact same price - give or take $500. I am waiting to hear from Passport and Fairfax BMW. Good luck.
I just saw someone mention that the First Aid Kit which comes with ED cars is under the passenger seat. I wish I would of known that 2 weeks ago. When I dropped my car off in Munich I couldn't find that thing to save my life. I found the Hazard Triangle without too many problems, but I never thought to look under a seat for the First Aid Kit.
Has anyone done ED and left it in? Was it there when you got the car? I'm just wondering what my chances are of it being there when I go to pick the car up.
Second. I think I saw someone mention that you can have the alarm installed in Europe? Is this true? Cause I ended up asking for it after the order was placed and my dealer is installing it. If I would of known I would of been more careful when placing the order in order to save the cost.
Third. Wheel locks? What exactly are they, and are they worth it?
Thanks,
Brian
2002 325xi Orient Blue w/ Tan Leatherette PP, CWP, HK, Xe
P.S. BTW Orient Blue is a very dark blue, in the right light it almost looks black. It's actually darker than I thought it would be, but I still like it quite a bit.
I'm leaving for my vacation on Thursday...I promise to take pictures of any "exotic" cars I see...I believe there are quite a few unusual cars that are being sold there at this time...at least more models than the Fiat and Ambassador duo that was available a couple of decades ago.
had a flight out of newark about two weeks ago, alarm clock failed to go off, got to the airport @ 6:20 for a 7:10 flight! Didn't think I was getting on the plane, but since I had no checked baggage, I somehow got through security and was on the plane @ 6:55. Whew! Now, whaddya mean three hours!?
I have read on other posts that if you do you take the license plate, first aid kit, triangle and floor mats out of the car, you probably will not see them at your dealership.
I have wondered about adding the alarm and other accessories in Germany. But I have read on Bimmer.org that BMW NA does not advise it. I have already figure that when I pick up my 325i in March, that I will go on a shopping spree.
I'm no genius on BMWs, so I rather read everyone elses opinion.
Brave: Congrats on the baby. I hope to be there within a year.
Install the disc changer at my brother's house. Enjoy it for 10 days. Before I drop the car off in London, uninstall the changer at my father's house and pack it in my luggage. Pending that I don't buy too much clothes.
Wheel locks??? I guess it is a matter of where you live. I guess if I lived in East St. Louis, it would not make a difference. The whole car might be gone.
My car will be optioned as follows: 325i Auto PP Xenon Nav Split rear seats HK Jet Black/Black Leather
My intention is to get an aftermarket suspension and Racing Dynamics or Hamann exterior effects. Therefore, I went against the SP. I'm still fighting myself over the tranny issue. I'm probably gonna regret this. Like someone said before, teach the household to drive a manual. My wife might buy a 5 series, so that will probably be a manual.
I've always had to get to the airport 3 hours ahead (it's the norm in most parts of the world), so I'm used to it. I found it amusing that people would get to airports for domestic flights in the US like 5 mins. before the plane left.
What I hate is when they ask you to get there early, the lines are out the door, and when you're finished with immigration, there's no time for Duty Free. It's a great place for Chocolate, perfume and other cool stuff. I'm not sure if they still do it, but the Dubai Duty Free used to have draws for Porsches, Rolls Royces and MBs.
Well, as far as items making it through delivery, I left a chocolate bar (missing 1 bite) in the center armrest and an empty Karstadt shopping bag in the trunk. Both were still there when I took delivery at Passport. Good thing too... I was a little hungry having gone without breakfast the day I picked up the car, so that leftover Ritter Sport did the trick :-)
The 330i you were looking at has $$42185 on the window sticker after all the options and destination, right? If that's the case, the dealer invoice should be $38650. $40650 is basically $2000 over invoice cost. I think that explains why both dealers quoted the exact same price.
I went to my local dealership in Southern CA with the Costco AutoProgram, and they also gave me $2000 over invoice on 330i. $2500 over inovice for 530i.
In addition, I was told the floor mat is not a standard equipment on the 330i. It just sounds odd for a "luxuary" car not to have floor mats as a standard equipment. Who doesn't want a factory floormat when buying a Bimmer?? I was quoted $125-$159 for the 300i floormat from various BMW dealers. Remember to add in the cost of the floormat when dealing with the sales person.
If anyone had recently bought a 330i, can you please share your buying experience and the price you paid with the current potential buyers? I would greatly appreciate your input and help.
I am currently debating if I should buy the 330i with moonroof or not. Will it be difficult to sell the car if there's no moonroof 3-5 years down the road? Frankly, I don't use the moonroof on my 2000 3.2TL at all. Any inputs are welcome. Thanks!
It took me a while to decide what car to buy, but I've just ordered a 2002 325i from BMW of San Francisco. Here's a quick summary of my buying experience:
I originally went to Sonnen BMW in San Rafael on a Saturday to look at the car. Being a twentysomething, I was initially ignored (which pisses me off to no end, but I digress...) They didn't have what I wanted in stock (325ia sedan w/SP and PP), so I test drove a 325ia coupe w/sp and pp which was close enough for me. I left my phone number and asked the salesman to contact me and tell me when one with my specs would be in. Meanwhile, I sent a couple of email out to different dealers asking for quotes on the car I wanted. Days went by and I didn't hear anything, so I called Sonnen and left a message. Still nothing. So I called back and got the salesman--no word on the availability, he was busy with other customers and hadn't had time to look up my car. To make an already long story short, this pattern repeated itself a couple of times. (I still haven't heard when it would be available)
I ended up getting what I thought to be a good price ($1500 off MSRP, including floor mats) in an email from BMW of San Francisco. I called them and the guy I talked to sounded busy, but he took the time to talk to me and answer all my questions--it took about 10 minutes. I was sick of trying for days with Sonnen and I felt like they didn't really care about earning my business. I ended up putting down a deposit with BMW of San Francisco and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new car. I haven't yet gone in to deal with them face to face, but dealing with them over the internet and on the phone was quick and easy.
I guess that wasn't exactly a quick summary, but I hope this helps!
Since you go thru the Costco program, you probably are dealing with Tina at Sterling if you live in OC. She is a nice lady but with typical NB attitude - Dealing with too many riches. so you will have to take the initiative to find something for her to beat, and she will! so you definitely can do better than $2000 over.
Do not bother with buying the floor mats. Ask for it when you sign the deal and they will give to you.
Without moonroof would be harder to sell. Normally dealers will request you to pay more deposit if you order.
The whole buying experience seems shrouded in some cloak of secrecy: right from the www.bmw.ca site to the dealers...it's just too much difficult fishing for deals in canada than in the US.
This is the second time I'm postin this ED canada "graduates" please share your experience. I'll like to know your ED buying experience (pricing, dealership, province etc). All 5 dealerships I contacted via email in Toronto and Vancouver will not give me any deals off the ED MSRP. They even mentioned I'll have to pay for car insurance in Europe, shipping cost to canada e.t.c on top of the advertised ED MSRP.
Thanks for reminding me. The floor mats stayed in the car when I dropped it off at Harms in Frankfurt, and were still there when I picked it up. At Harms I asked about them and was told to just leave them in the car.
I am at San Gabriel Valley, so I was directed to New Century BMW in Alhambra. The sales person attitude was okay. Not extremely nice, but acceptable considering I wasn't ready to buy the car yet.
I will take your advice and ask them to include the floormat with my final deal. Tks!!
Comments
Yes, ED cars not only get a full set of floor mats, they also get a great first aid kid mounted under the passenger seat and a nice folding emergency triangle in the trunk.
Many aftermarket head units, even those that play CD-Rs, won't play CD-RWs due to the much lower reflectivity of the discs so I was quite surprised that this factory CD player would. Anyway, good news for those who like to roll their own music. Maybe someone else (perhaps with a MY2001 car) could give it a try and let me know if it works for you?
My preference now in most-to-least favored order is: Steel Blue, Silver, Gray Green, Steel Gray, Oxford Green, Alpine White, Black, Red, Topaz Blue.
I still haven't seen a Sapphire Black and I'm not sure if I've seen an Orient Blue -- there was a cic on the lot that was almost a metallic black, but looked blue from certain angles. I'm guessing that was Orient Blue. Everything looked so much darker in bright light.
derprofi - thanks for the tip on the mats.
All 3 dealerships I contacted via email in Toronto and Vancouver will not give me any deals off the ED MSRP. They all mentioned I'll have to pay for car insurance in Europe, shipping cost to canada e.t.c on top of the advertised ED MSRP.
Does any body know the ED invoice prices in canada?
Do others use this spray detailing? Do you use it instead of washing sometimes? Otherwise, what is it good for? What is your experience with scratching or swirl marks, especially if a dark color? I have two vehicles, so the Bimmer ususally only goes out on nice days with no rain or snow, therefore it only gets dusty with some road grime on the lower panels. I wash the wheels about twice as often as I have to wash the body and I use a car duster a couple of times a week on the roof, hood and trunk lid.
Thanks,
Dave
Here are my problems, if anyone's willing to hear me out:
1. PC...Dell Pentium, tons of RAM, lots of free disk space, Win98
Problem: takes ages to start up, crashes frequently.
Heres what I did: I began running Scan Disk in Dos. It took very long to run (over 8 hours, and still going through the first couple of lines). It also found a couple of hundred bad clusters that it fixed. We did stop it at the end of the day and rebooted to see how things were.
It still takes forever to boot, but shuts down easy.
Questions: Should I run Scan Disk again to see if it will clean up the rest of the drive, (even if it takes forever) or should I just run for help? Was it doing what it was supposed to do? Or did I exacerbate the problem?
2. MAC...G3, tons of RAM, 1GB free space, OS 8.6
Problem: Crashes if you look at it funny...I mean even trying to close a very small Illustrator 9 file sets it off.
Heres what I did:
Ran Disk Doctor, found 5 minor errors.
Disabled misc Extensions
Changed scratch disks for Illustrator and Photoshop from startup disk to hard drive
Ran Speed Disk from Norton CD to optimize. Final view looked beautiful...all colors together...not fragmented
Rebooted...
Here is what I remember of what came up on the screen:
Default catch = 900 ....
It also asked me to type "mac-boot" to continue booting or "shut-down"
On typing "mac-boot" I got a screen with the Mac OS logo and some script...it just stopped right there.
My data is all there, restarting with the Norton CD works fine...I just can't boot up my system...
HELP!!!
and as this is a car forum...
Not even driving the Bimmer could improve my mood just yet...
If you do have virus scan software, check its settings...
Just a thought.
And, to stay on topic: BMW's are good.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Oh and as to BMW, I am placing my order tomorrow, 325I, Ti silver, 5sp, DSC, heated seats, wood trim, rain sensing wipers.
Hope this helps!
I have run the latest Mac and PC virus scans. They are both clean. But maybe I missed something...should I be looking for something specific in the settings?
whichone1:
I will try disabling the extensions tomorrow morning. Never knew where to set that up on a PC, but I do now.
I don't have a technical background (went to art/business school) but tend to tread deep waters sometimes.
I am still concerned about the Scan Disk showing so many bad clusters. My instinct would be to run it again until it scanned through the whole thing, but don't want to unintentionally make things worse.
And I think theres a guy on the Zaino board that knows something about Macs.
Congrats on the new 325. If this is your first Bimmer, all I can say is you won't want to drive anything else after this.
dont know if you are in area at all, but thought i'd give out some dealer info.
Also - went skiing up in stratton, vt this weekend. saw a few xi's with ski racks, very nice.
stg (330xi-steel blue,pp,sp,cwp 5 speed)
If it keeps finding new bad sectors when you run it repeatedly (i.e. a few days later), then your hard disk is dying and it's time to replace it.. ASAP or you will start losing important data. If it doesn't find any new ones, then it's probably not a hardware problem, but something wrong with your software.
As far as BMWs go.. I am very disappointed, since the 2002 330i SP in Canada doesn't come with the front spoiler, nor does it seem that it comes with the M double spoke rims either this year.
At this time, my best advice to not re-boot this computer until you are ready to save your personal files to floppies, zip disks or a tape backup unit (if you can find a friend who has one).
One other option is to buy a new hard drive at this time and load the OS from scratch on to this new drive. When you get a basic system going, add your defective drive as a secondary drive and try to copy as many files as possible to the new drive.
I lost most of my digital camera pictures and person files to this kind of failure. Again, please don't try to re-boot this computer until you are ready to backup everything because its days are severely numbered. Best of luck.
More on subject: Do you feel more comfortable (driving in snow) after the driving course you took?
1. back up all data
2. check the startup extensions
3. run scan disk to see if it was just a software issue (I'd like it to be that easy, but I doubt it)
3. look for a new hard drive.
What should I be looking for (in terms of specs?), and how much should it set me back? Can I do the install myself?
Back on topic:
I found the driving course very helpful in my getting comfortable with the limits of the car. I also got winter tires so I wouldn't be stranded in poor weather.
But we've had just ONE evening this winter where I was glad to have the tires. The rest of this season has been fairly dry and pleasant so far.
Of course, being a pessimist, I fully expect to return from my 3 week vacation to several inches of the white stuff.
I feel pretty comfortable driving in poor conditions, I'm just trying not to push the car for a couple of months.
330i
PP
SP
Cold Weather
Bi-xenon
Auto
I was quoted $40,650 from two dealerships in my area which is in Northern Virginia/Wash DC area. I would really appreciated if anyone could tell me if this is a good price or if I need to expend my searching zone. It's just weird that both dealerships quoted the same exact price. My other option is to opt for manual shift and do away with the cold weather package to keep the costs down...although driving stick in DC traffic will not be much fun at all. Thanks in advance for everyone's inputs and suggestions!
Personally, I'd ditch the auto and PP. I've been driving stick in DC traffic off and on for 10 years now and it's no problem at all. Re: the PP, many find the BMW leatherette as good as the leather, so dropping the PP entirely or getting only the indiviaul pieces you want (e.g., I only wanted the sunroof) is a good way to save more $. Doing European Delivery is also an excellent way to reduce your costs by $2500 or so, minus the cost of your trip.
Finally, opting for the 325i would be another way to lower your cost by quite a bit while still getting most of what the 330i gives you. I mention that because I haven't seen too many people cross-shipping the Honda CR-V and a 330i, so I'm assuming that in the middle of your window shopping you said "Screw this pseudo-SUV, I want the best sport sedan in the world!" :-)
Email me if you want to speak to my dealer in VA. I got the best price from there compared to any N.VA and MD dealership and the best delivery service.
The car: 2002 325Ci, Electric Red, Black 'ette. Steptronic, Power Seats, HK Stereo. MSRP=$32,640. I've read many posts on this site where people have bought for $1,000-1,500 below MSRP. I've also heard many people say that they've been told by dealers that "the price is on the sticker - take it or leave it - you should feel honored that we would even sell you this car!".
There are 4 BMW dealerships in the Pittsburgh area, and one about 1-1/2 hours away, where my brother has bought 2 Bimmers. There may be more, within a two hour drive - I'll have to check. My strategy is to call a dealership and connect with a salesman, then make an appointment to test drive a car. I'll create a spread sheet with the details and MSRP costs of my car on it, and my offer. After the test drive, I'll explain to the salesman, and presumably the sales manager, that I am very knowledgeable about the car, and that I want this specific car (which means an order - since this is not typically how the dealers order them), and that I am prepared to make them a fair offer.
I'll then offer them $31,400, which is approx. $1,200 under MSRP. I want them to wash-out the last two months of my 42-month 1999 Maxima lease, and make my trade go away at the time my order arrives. I'll explain that I feel this is a pretty good deal for them. If they are willing to agree to this in writing, I'll order the car that day. If they balk, I'll be polite and ask for their best offer. Then, I'll explain that I am going to take my offer to the other 4 dealerships in succession, and see if anyone is willing to make my deal. If I can't get my deal, then I'll either start internet shopping, or decide to pay more for the car - since that's what the local market will bear.
According to the BMW payment calculator, if they make my deal, I should be able to get a payment of $435.00/mo ($396/mo + 10% tax of $39.00), 36 months, 12,000 mi/yr, lease, with $2000 cash down. I know this isn't the lowest possible price for this car, but I think it is fair - and tempting enough to the dealer to maybe get him to go for it without a hassle. I thought I'd start with the dealer closest to my house, and work out to my brother's dealership - since I have a connection of sorts there.
Opinions???
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Does the Owner's Circle provide tracking for ED cars during the shipment phase?
On a side note, how in the hell did you guys manage to wait for the car after dropping it off. This is driving me crazy. But not crazy enough to have paid the extra and not done ED.
Brian
Pat
Host
Sedans Message Board
The wait? It's bearable. And it makes picking up your car the 2nd time that much more joyous.
The Mac had an Open Firmware problem. After trying all suggestions, we called in a tech, finallly installing OS 9. Works well now.
The PC is still slow to start, because it is used as a server to the other machines. But I will run Scan Disk to clean the bad clusters and keep an eye on it.
Thanks for all your help, guys!
Genie
who's feeling much more cheerful right now!
Has anyone done ED and left it in? Was it there when you got the car? I'm just wondering what my chances are of it being there when I go to pick the car up.
Second. I think I saw someone mention that you can have the alarm installed in Europe? Is this true? Cause I ended up asking for it after the order was placed and my dealer is installing it. If I would of known I would of been more careful when placing the order in order to save the cost.
Third. Wheel locks? What exactly are they, and are they worth it?
Thanks,
Brian
2002 325xi Orient Blue w/ Tan Leatherette
PP, CWP, HK, Xe
P.S. BTW Orient Blue is a very dark blue, in the right light it almost looks black. It's actually darker than I thought it would be, but I still like it quite a bit.
I'm leaving for my vacation on Thursday...I promise to take pictures of any "exotic" cars I see...I believe there are quite a few unusual cars that are being sold there at this time...at least more models than the Fiat and Ambassador duo that was available a couple of decades ago.
I have wondered about adding the alarm and other accessories in Germany. But I have read on Bimmer.org that BMW NA does not advise it. I have already figure that when I pick up my 325i in March, that I will go on a shopping spree.
I'm no genius on BMWs, so I rather read everyone elses opinion.
Brave:
Congrats on the baby. I hope to be there within a year.
Install the disc changer at my brother's house. Enjoy it for 10 days. Before I drop the car off in London, uninstall the changer at my father's house and pack it in my luggage. Pending that I don't buy too much clothes.
Wheel locks??? I guess it is a matter of where you live. I guess if I lived in East St. Louis, it would not make a difference. The whole car might be gone.
My car will be optioned as follows:
325i
Auto
PP
Xenon
Nav
Split rear seats
HK
Jet Black/Black Leather
My intention is to get an aftermarket suspension and Racing Dynamics or Hamann exterior effects. Therefore, I went against the SP. I'm still fighting myself over the tranny issue. I'm probably gonna regret this. Like someone said before, teach the household to drive a manual. My wife might buy a 5 series, so that will probably be a manual.
What I hate is when they ask you to get there early, the lines are out the door, and when you're finished with immigration, there's no time for Duty Free. It's a great place for Chocolate, perfume and other cool stuff. I'm not sure if they still do it, but the Dubai Duty Free used to have draws for Porsches, Rolls Royces and MBs.
I actually knew people who won!
Well, as far as items making it through delivery, I left a chocolate bar (missing 1 bite) in the center armrest and an empty Karstadt shopping bag in the trunk. Both were still there when I took delivery at Passport. Good thing too... I was a little hungry having gone without breakfast the day I picked up the car, so that leftover Ritter Sport did the trick :-)
I went to my local dealership in Southern CA with the Costco AutoProgram, and they also gave me $2000 over invoice on 330i. $2500 over inovice for 530i.
In addition, I was told the floor mat is not a standard equipment on the 330i. It just sounds odd for a "luxuary" car not to have floor mats as a standard equipment. Who doesn't want a factory floormat when buying a Bimmer?? I was quoted $125-$159 for the 300i floormat from various BMW dealers. Remember to add in the cost of the floormat when dealing with the sales person.
If anyone had recently bought a 330i, can you please share your buying experience and the price you paid with the current potential buyers? I would greatly appreciate your input and help.
I am currently debating if I should buy the 330i with moonroof or not. Will it be difficult to sell the car if there's no moonroof 3-5 years down the road? Frankly, I don't use the moonroof on my 2000 3.2TL at all. Any inputs are welcome. Thanks!
It took me a while to decide what car to buy, but I've just ordered a 2002 325i from BMW of San Francisco. Here's a quick summary of my buying experience:
I originally went to Sonnen BMW in San Rafael on a Saturday to look at the car. Being a twentysomething, I was initially ignored (which pisses me off to no end, but I digress...) They didn't have what I wanted in stock (325ia sedan w/SP and PP), so I test drove a 325ia coupe w/sp and pp which was close enough for me. I left my phone number and asked the salesman to contact me and tell me when one with my specs would be in. Meanwhile, I sent a couple of email out to different dealers asking for quotes on the car I wanted. Days went by and I didn't hear anything, so I called Sonnen and left a message. Still nothing. So I called back and got the salesman--no word on the availability, he was busy with other customers and hadn't had time to look up my car. To make an already long story short, this pattern repeated itself a couple of times. (I still haven't heard when it would be available)
I ended up getting what I thought to be a good price ($1500 off MSRP, including floor mats) in an email from BMW of San Francisco. I called them and the guy I talked to sounded busy, but he took the time to talk to me and answer all my questions--it took about 10 minutes. I was sick of trying for days with Sonnen and I felt like they didn't really care about earning my business. I ended up putting down a deposit with BMW of San Francisco and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my new car. I haven't yet gone in to deal with them face to face, but dealing with them over the internet and on the phone was quick and easy.
I guess that wasn't exactly a quick summary, but I hope this helps!
Do not bother with buying the floor mats. Ask for it when you sign the deal and they will give to you.
Without moonroof would be harder to sell. Normally dealers will request you to pay more deposit if you order.
Good luck.
This is the second time I'm postin this ED canada "graduates" please share your experience.
I'll like to know your ED buying experience (pricing, dealership, province etc).
All 5 dealerships I contacted via email in Toronto and Vancouver will not give me any deals off the ED MSRP. They even mentioned I'll have to pay for car insurance in Europe, shipping cost to canada e.t.c on top of the advertised ED MSRP.
I will take your advice and ask them to include the floormat with my final deal. Tks!!