BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

dantess

Thanks to everyone that responded to my post. The two quotes that I received were from Sterling and Passport. actionjh, you are correct. The price of $40,650 from both dealerships are exactly $2000 over invoice cost. However, both prices include destination charges and floor matt. I test drive it at the Sterling dealer and the salesman was really a nice guy. I called him to set up an appointment and when I showed up he just hands me the key and said see you later. If I can't get a significantly better deal somewhere else than I would definitely give this guy my business. Again thanks everyone for responding!

postoak

Thanks. That earlier post by someone was the first I had heard of taking the floormats out of your car and transporting them yourself -- that would be quite a hassle. I'm willing to do the First-Aid Kit, License Plate and Emergency Triangle. But really, if all this stuff is missing at delivery, it seems that you would be able to hold someone responsible. It would be a bother going through the process, however.

shipo

I have a car scheduled to pick me up at 4:00AM tomorrow for a 6:20AM flight from Newark to Taipei (via Minneapolis and Tokyo). The dispatcher at the car service assured me that getting to the airport by 4:45AM would be plenty of time.

Sure hope I don’t miss my flight.

Best Regards,
Shipo

mr323

A little more for this thread...

I'm looking for a 2002 325 with

metal paint, PP, HK, rear bags, leather, xenons.

Cutter Motors in Santa Barbara will sell for cost plus $1450, which for this car is $32,970 (incl $250 MACO but excl tax, title, paperwork).

A local dealer will do $33,430 (incl floor mats).

1) I'm surprised they are so close.

2) Yet money is money, and a $500 difference is a difference.

3) Yet again, it's a good idea to spend it where you earn it.

4) For reference, MSRP for this car is $34,130 (if I'm adding correctly), so the local price amounts to $700 off.

Perhaps I should visit the local dealer with my wife and my checkbook to see if the deal can be improved.

Advice?

Thanks and best wishes,

Ed

PS I post all this detail hoping that it will be of value to someone else.

orkwis

mr323, a point of reference for you. I live in the MidWest and asked Cutter Motors for their best deal (sort of on a lark). They said they had an internet special going at $1350 over ED invoice. While $100 is probably not enough to raise your interest, you might as well ask about it!

tenet1

I assume that you are going to India for your vaca, given the cars you listed. They still exist and Ambassadors are still considered the most durable, safe, and rugged cars out there. Though they are no longer popular with the city folk, the Ambassador is still the vehicle of choice for cab drivers, and for those in smaller towns and villages.
The Contessa (another tough cookie) replaced the Ambassador about 10-12 years ago as the peoples choice, since it resembled a more modern car.

Have fun on your trip.

genie1

tenet:
Yes, it's been several years since I was there last, so I'm looking forward to seeing the changes. I'll have to try the MacAloo Tikki Burger that I read about.

anyway...I'm going to Mumbai and Goa (Calangute beach, Panaji)...do you have anything to add to my must see/do/eat/buy list?

shipo:
I doubt you would miss your flight, especially as the airport would be nearly empty at that time. ...oh wait, he's already on his way to Taipei.

jthai

I've heard that for Canadian ED, you will have to pay duty (in addition to taxes) when you import the car... ends up being not as worthwhile as doing it from the US.

I have also found dealers here (Toronto area) much less inclined to discount the cars for local delivery, but this was a few months ago...

nyccarguy

Shipo...Travel Safely.

Off Topic

I hate the idiots who arrive 5 minutes before the plane takes off. Some People do it on purpose because they know they will be rushed to the head of the check in line and the airline will do everything in its power to ensure they make their flight.

ccotenj

me too... but not as much as the ones who attempt to carry on enough luggage to go away for a month...

curious: how'd you folks with summer tires do in the ice/snow/mixed garbage we had this weekend in the northeast???

-Chris

bing330i

Shipo:

I feel your 2 hr 20 min time window is good but may be a bit tight. My credential is I fly every week - before and after 9/11, before and after last friday's new security measurement (I know sadly I fly too much but that is how I can make my ED trip totally free :->). Not familiar with Newark. The most times you'd spend to get to your flight are in check-in counters and security checkpoints. From your schedule, you seem will fly on NWA. If you are a premier member, you can cut the counter time to 10 min depending on counter traffic. (keep in mind, the airlines will not check you in unless you are at least 30 mins before your flight scheduled time). But the lines at the security check point are normally much longer and slower. Unless NW has a special check point for its premier members, give to that at least 15-20 passing mins to be safe. Also give a bit cusion on your cab ride.

Good luck. Eat well in Taipei! Bring some of the pink stuff if you are not used to the authentic Chinese food. :->

abcnyc

dantess,

Have you contacted VOB BMW ? I was able to get $1790 over invoice for my 330i (not a huge difference from your price). The salesman was also very cordial. I test drove 3 different cars at 3 different times - I was evaluating the 325i, 330xi, and 330i. Each time, he just gave me the keys and asked if there was anything he could do - no pressure. He was also very open and honest about the 2002 invoice increases, and we worked out the deal in less than 30 minutes. I had also contacted other dealers and gotten some pricing. VOB offered me the best deal at that time, so it was pretty easy to make a decision.

kominsky

I was in the pocono's this weekend with the wife's
Odyssey and had no problems. :-)

When I got home, I plowed my driveway and took the BMW out to see what would happen. I couldn't get out of the driveway. The grade is minimal... a rise of about 7 feet in a distance of about 75 feet. I made it about 3/4 of the way up before hitting some icy stuff and that was it. With TCS on, the car just sat there trying to figure out what to do and with it turned off, the rear would step out and forward progress ended. Fortunately, I could put my baby back in the garage, clear off the Altima, and head out. Unfortunately, my BMW got dirty...

1pierce

What I meant by "wash-out the last two months of my Maxima lease" was that I am expecting the residual value of my Maxima, plus the sum of my last two payments as the trade amount. My residual is about $16,000, and my payments are $312/mo (I got an awesome deal on that car), so I would be asking about $16,650 for my trade, i.e. they take the car two months before the lease is up and make it go away.

My Maxima is loaded, and in excellent condition, though it will be buck-up against the mileage limit for the lease. If they try to nail me on the trade, then I guess I could buy-out the lease and sell the car myself, or just wait until the lease is up to buy the BMW, and return the car to Nissan (This could be complicated, because I may be over my miles by then).

One reason I lease is that I hate the trade-in negotiation. I almost always feel cheated. I've also heard of people who ordered cars and then had the dealer renege on the trade agreement when the new car arrived. When that happens, you're pretty much at their mercy, especially if your current lease is up and there is not time to reorder. So I was leaving a couple of months slack in case there is an order snafu or I have to start over again.

There is one rub to leasing different models of car in succession. I have found that if you release from the same manufacturer, they will forgive miles and even a few months(and almost anything else within reason) to get you into another one of their cars. That doesn't apply when you change brands.

williamshim

I had a lot of fun this weekend with my Z3. I intentionally didn't change the tire yet (I have them in my place. and had 2nd vehicle just in case) to see how my car would do in the snow. I was doing OK in my apartment complex until I had to stop during turn and incline situation due to another vehicle getting into my side of lane...From then with DSC on, it couldn't get out but when I turned off DSC, it got thru with some fish tailing. (There was no vehicle in sight and I had plenty of room at this point.) At this point, I though I should be OK to my friend's house since my apartment complex wans't plowed yet and therefore road condition would be better out side of my apartment complex. I got to my friend's house in around 5 P.M. and except for few spots, it did well. I decided not to push it in the night with road going icy though... I stayed overnight and got home following day. I'm changing to Winter tires tomorrow because 1. I already have them and 2. I want to know how much it will improve over my summer tires.

ccotenj

i had mine out (blizzak shod) and had a BLAST! especially later in the day when there wasn't anybody out... the f-150, otoh, was a handful...

1pierce - curious (or maybe i missed something). how do you figure you are gonna get the value of the residual of your leased car on a trade?

-Chris

dave330i

Had some frost on the grass this morning. Nothing to drive on though.

brave1heart

My summer tires did just fine - I've been driving the Quattro with all-seasons in the past 5 days ) Frankly, the precipitation we got in the Boston area is the worst for the season for Boston but it doesn't begin to compare to the 12+ inches of snow that we got within a 24-hour period in Albany 3 weeks ago. It was very tough getting out of a flat driveway in 3-4 inches of heavy (nearly frozen) slush in 14-degree temp. There was a Mustang that got stuck and had to be towed but I was OK (just barely). Right in Boston we got maybe 3-4 inches total and the roads were cleared quickly but a lot of the houses that we've been looking at in the suburbs half-hour away got a lot more snow and it would be impossible to get out of their steep unplowed driveways with summer tires. Overall, toughest thing is getting going but once you're moving, the car is fairly stable. I am sure snow tires would make a night and day difference in snow - give us more details about your experience.

kominsky - how is a 7-ft change in elevation over 75 feet minimal? That change would equate to a 9.33 degree slope. I am surprised you made it even halfway from a stop with the 245's in the rear...

kominsky

Actually, if I remember correctly, it would be about 5.3 degrees... tan-1 7/75. It's been a while since I learned that in school, so I may be wrong.

ccotenj

9.33 would be the percent slope...
5.3 would be the slope angle... (i.e. when looked at from a "degree" standpoint, kominski would be correct, when looked at as a percentage, brave would be correct (assuming he used percent instead of degrees)...

-Chris

buulu

That should explain why info. on it is so scarce in canada. (what a shame!!!)

Thanks for the reply.

dave330i

you can always throw grade into the mix.

kominsky

Wouldn't that be what the 9.33 percent would be? percent grade? Again, it's been a while...

dave330i

actually, if I remember grade properly, it's determined by rise over a fixed distance (1000 feet or something).

ccotenj

he would be correct again!

grade = climb/distance. so in this case, a 7 foot climb over 70 feet (roughly), would be a 10% grade. as follows:
7/70=.10
.10*100=10%

just make sure you convert everything to the same units...

-Chris

1pierce

I figure its worth much more on the market than the residual. I have seen dealers in my area advertising '99 Maximas for $20-23,000. My bet is they sell them for +/- $18-19,000. That leaves $2,000 on the table for profit, if they buy mine at residual. Actually, I think I'll be losing money by trading the car at the residual amount - but I hate the idea of selling a car myself, and I can't absorb the cost/risk of it sitting in my driveway for a few months. In any case, if I can't make my lease go away as a wash, then I'll just wait to buy the BMW, and return the car to Nissan. I will not go upside down - I think that's very bad business. There is risk, there, though - I'll be driving my pick-up until the Bimmer comes in, if the order timing doesn't work out.

ccotenj

while that may be true...

1) bmw dealers don't sell maximas, so if he "buys" it from you, he's going to turn around and sell it at auction, and it's unlikely he'll get within 2k of "retail" at the auction. plus why does he want to deal with that aggravation?

2) as difficult as it might be, your best bet would be to sell it yourself. as you pointed out, you got a heckuva deal on this car.

3) even if he was going to sell it himself, judging from what "dealer types" out here (and in other places) say, 4k is probably closer to the number in their mind than 2k (don't forget, they are going to have to put some money into it to resell it, plus store it and so on), if they sell it for 18k and buy it from you for 16k, that 2k isn't all profit. plus (again, from the dealer's standpoint), used cars are a big profit land for them. they probably wouldn't make enough money on your car for it to be worth it to them.

i'm not doubting you can do it. i'm just wondering whether or not you'll find a dealer who WILL do it. there's no great motivation for him to do so.

good idea on not going upside down. that's financial suicide...

-Chris

stgreen

one could also go on swapalease.com and someone might want to take over your lease to get a good buy-out if the residual is a good deal compared to kbb or edmunds.

chewie5

Hi all,

I'm in the process of getting a new 325i sedan and I had a few questions about the dealer installed alarm. Is it worth it? How much should I expect to pay?

Also, I read in the brochure that as part of the "vehicle memory" system, you can have a motion detector activated. Does that require the alarm, or is it separate? Is there an additional cost involved?

Now, about the extended warranty--is it necessary? How much should I expect to pay?

Thanks

brave1heart

To me it was worth getting the alarm. I find it surprising that the vast majority of 3-series owners do not buy it - it will pay for itself in just a couple of years via the lowered insurance premium. Most of all, it will give you a peace of mind. I paid $400 and change installed and ready to go on the day I picked up the car. The motion detector and a tilt sensor come with the alarm and are not stand-alone options.

The extended warranty is not necessary and NOT worth it. It goes for $450-650

skobola

I got my insurance discount even without the alarm installed because I explained to them that BMW has a passive immobilizer, chipped keys and all such stuff that makes the car impossible, or at least difficult to start without the key(s). And they gave me the discount like they would apply with for the car with an alarm. The thing that I like on the alarm is the red blinking light, but still $400 is kind of high for that. On the other hand, a friend of mine got the alarm with the car because they did not want to uninstall it once she said that she would not pay for it, so she got it for free.

orkwis

braveheart - You seem adamant that an extended warranty is not worth it. What is your argument against? I'm also surprised at the real low cost you cite. I've been checking out extended warranties and the dealer's quote was $1500 for 6yr/100k miles. However, warrantybynet will do about the same thing about for $1150 new. On the other hand, it looks like you can get the 6/100 warranty just before 50k miles and pay about $1500, which to me seems like a good deal if it takes 4 years to get there, cost of money and uncertainty about keeping the car factored in. Plus, the warrantbynet deal give 6 years from the point you buy the warranty not the point you buy the car. In my case, about 15k/year takes 6 2/3rds years to get to 100k, I'd want to wait anyway.

The extended service is a bit of a question in my mind. $400 for the fourth year 14k miles. Does that make sense? Do you really need a set of brakes in that time?

jim52

Anyone have any experience negotiating with dealers since invoice prices went up? From what I see it looks like base invoices went up by 1% and option invoices went up by 7%. Are dealers being more aggressive by offering deals closer to invoice or simply passing the added costs on to the buyer?

derprofi

While first shopping around for my 330i, I phoned up my State Farm insurance agent to ask about rates. He indicated that having an alarm would not lower my premium at all (currently about $650 per year). Your mileage may vary, of course.

huntzinger

The insurance companies typically offer discounts in various increments off of your comprehensive portion of your bill, and vary in accordance with what the specific feature is, as well as by company and perhaps also region.

For example, New Jersey Manufacturer's Insurance Company asks the following questions to figure out what discount they'll apply to your policy:

1. What type of anti-theft device is installed in your vehicle? Click on all that apply.

 

( ) Alarm system with horn, bell, siren, or other sounding device.

 

( ) Ignition or starter cut-off device to prevent the vehicle from starting.

( ) Fuel cut-off device to prevent the vehicle from starting or running.

( ) Armored cable or electronically operated hood lock AND ignition cut-off switch.

( ) None of the above. (Skip to question #3.)

 

    

2. How is the device activated?

( ) Removal of the ignition key and performance of a separate manual step (e.g., locking doors, setting a switch, using a remote control).

 

( ) Removal of the ignition key only.

 

3. Does a steel clamp/collar (such as "The Club") cover the steering column?

  Yes No

  

  

  4. Is there a permanently attached steering wheel lock operated by a tubular key (other than the ignition key)?

 

  Yes No

  

  

  

5. Is there a lock on the emergency handbrake that can be released only by entering a preset digital combination?

  Yes No

  

  

  

6. Is a steel-encased lock permanently attached to the floor to prevent movement of the gearshift?

  Yes No

 

  

 

7. Does a high-security replacement lock device or protective cap prevent access to the ignition lock cylinder?

  Yes No

 

   

8. Is the vehicle identification number (VIN) etched into all windows of the vehicle?

  Yes No

  

  

 9. Is there a pulse, signal or satellite tracking device by which the location of the vehicle may be tracked by the police or a central monitoring station?

  Yes No

 

Disclaimer: I've been a satisfied NJM customer for 10+ years. If you're in NJ, they offer some of the best rates around.

Their website is: http://www.njm.com

-hh

nyccarguy

Has anybody seen the "Electric Red" on an '02 3 series? Is it darker than the '01 "Bright Red" or closer to the "Imola Red" on the M3?

riez

orkwis... Talking about extended warranties (not extended maintenance service contracts), you have to be very careful. The warranty is only as good as BOTH the contract (so pour over all the details, learn the terms, limitations, exclusions, appeal process, how they pay, etc.) AND the company (is it financially stable, how are its financial resources, BBB complaint files, etc.). IF either is poor, then so is the extended warranty. There are lots of fly-by-night operations where both are worthless. And too many people get burned by halfway decent companies when they go to file a claim and learn about some exclusions or limitations in the contract that they failed to pay attention to.

I think most, nearly all, 3rd party extended warranties are not a good insurance bet. Either the contract or the company isn't what it should be. Think only the manufacturer's warranty is worth it. I'd only go BMW CPO. You pay more but you get a better contract and more stable company.

postoak

The best deal I've seen anyone get ($1000 over invoice) was negotiated on the new invoice prices. Here's the post:

heatmiser1 Jan 4, 2002 4:45pm

div2

I thought Bavarians didn't like rice:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=600686424&r=0&t=0

ccotenj

who would desecrate their bimmer with those?

-Chris

nyccarguy

who would do that to their E36 Coupe should be dragged out into the street and shot (no offense to anybody on the board if you have).

kominsky

I guess your checking account is down $154 now, huh? ROTFLMAO!!!

1pierce

I'm also curious about nyccarguy's question. I saw a 2001? M3, and I think that red is too dark for my taste. I like reds that tend toward the orange tint, rather than the purple tint. As somebody who plans to get a red 2002 325Ci, I was disappointed when I got the brochure and saw that the red color had changed. I think the "Bright Red" was just about perfect.

ccotenj: Good points. I'll give it a try and see what happens. I guess their only incentive would be if they wanted to sell the car today, rather than wait and take a chance that I would buy somewhere else. I really don't want to take a chance on trying to sell it myself. People are much more leery buying an expensive used car off a private owner than from a dealer. If I can't trade it on the Bimmer, I'll probably wait until the lease is up and return it. That will be torture, though, as I'll have to wait until August to get my new car.

kominsky

What do you think? Two back-up lights, two brake lights and 1 turn signal?

ccotenj

yea, i hear you there. it's not any fun to have to wait those last couple months of a lease when something is out there you REALLY want...

i hear you on selling it yourself too. when i bought mine, i could have sold my mustang for more than i got for it, but:
1) i didn't want to bother advertising
2) i didn't want strange people coming to my house
3) i didn't want to deal with all the wheeling and dealing and nickle and diming
4) and so on...

good luck. hopefully you'll find someone who'll make you a workable deal.

-Chris

ccotenj

darned if i can figure it out...

maybe one of them flashes in neon??

-Chris

dave330i

I've just lost my appetite. :P

dave330i

just pointed out to me that some poor BMW owner must be suffering from IS300 envy.

1johann

I can get 6.5% loan from my credit union for a new car with maturity of 5 years. I ran the BMW payment estimator on the bmw www site, and the used car rate is something like 7.3%.....but what is the rate you can get from BMW on their new cars, from BMW Finance? Wondering if they have any incentives.

Oh, and what are your thoughts on buying pre-owned "USED" certified BMW vs. a new one. The interest rates seem to be cheaper for new cars....vs used ones. The used ones (say two years old) are however a bit cheper (not that much it seems).

Was thinking only of a used one (say '99 or '00) 3 Series. But, the prices don't seem to be that much cheaper......makes me think about financing another few thou. and get the new car.

Thanks for your input.

nyccarguy

I know what you're talking about. I've got the new car fever already and the lease isn't up on my Saab until December 4 of this year, but who's counting?