BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

ubrsf

What happens if you cancel ED 3 weeks before departure, after you have made your first payment! Anyone know?
Reason I ask, is that my wife might not be able to go, and the car is under her name, this will be her car! Any possibilities of me, picking it up. I know BMW won't allow relatives to pick up, but what about a husband?

brave1heart

Yeah but what if some of their children rebelled and became lawyers )

nyccarguy

My parents actually drove the 330i. They really loved the way it drove. My Dad thought the back seat was a little too small. They ended up going with the A6 which is bigger. I know, I know, they should have checked out the 5 series. My dad didn't want one because they're doing a redesign soon and my Mom (like every other crazed yahoo living in suburbia...lol) feels like she must have AWD for the 3 days a year it snows. So the 5 ws out of the question for her. People still remeber the Blizzard of '96. And I'm not starting a RWD vs AWD vs. FWD vs Tires deabate.

mg330ci

Robert, you got me wondering about the leasing return-issue and brake pad wear.

Since all new BMW's mantainance programs include replacement of items like brake pads and windshield wipers if they show excessive wear, then, in theory, this should not be an issue at the time of return on a post 2001 BMW with a 36m/36k mile lease (I guess as long as you have 35999 miles on it only!)?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, this little details are good to know.

Thanks, Robert.

By the way, does anybody know any horror lease return stories to share with us (particularly BMW related). (after several days of calm, peacefully observing in cyberspace the progress of my soon to be new Bimmer, and after ending my epic cyberspace battle with Robert, I need something to get my blood boiling again

mb595

The cars at Manhattan BMW are brand new, not CPO. Save the trip to Europe.

brave1heart

I still remember it. My wife (then girlfriend) was living in NYC at the time and I was visiting for the weekend. I left for Boston around 4-5 PM on Sunday night and it took me about 6 1/2 hours to get home with my '90 Jetta. Only one lane was cleared on rt. 95 and there must have been at least 7-10 inches of snow on the other two lanes which had not been touched at all. It was snow and ice and there were many drivers waiting their turn for a spot underneath bridges so they could clean their cars' iced up windshield and wipers. I actually enjoyed the drive - it was pretty and fun. These blizzards don't come too often.

pat

Hi all,

A reporter is trying to find consumers who've traded up from mass-market brands (e.g. Toyota, Chevy, Ford, etc.) to luxury nameplates. He says, "I'm not looking for lottery winners, just regular folks who wanted more car." If you have a story to share, please send it to me at jfallon@edmunds.com. It is helpful for you to include your e-mail, phone number and city/state of residence when you respond. Deadline for submission to this one is March 6. Thanks as always for your input!

Very best,

Jeannine Fallon
PR Director
Edmunds.com

millerro3

I guess that it shouldn't be an issue, but the things I usually see are for tires(which are not covered), scratches, dings and dents, and excess mileage.

Rob

ds2k1

Not sure if this has been covered previously, but BMWs are actually excellent cars to lease for precisely the reasons orkwis states above. They have phenomenal residual values and BMW Financial, or some other lending institution, frequently puts together really nice programs on these cars. I've also discovered that some dealerships are willing to take a bigger risk on the residual value at the end of the lease than others, further decreasing the amount of depreciation you're paying for. For instance, my wife and I just leased an X5 3.0i (and, yes, my wife suffers from the same malady previously mentioned which is the perception that we need AWD for the 5-7 days/year we actually go skiing) for $440/month with $3K down. The interest rate was 4.9% and the residual was 67%, if I'm not mistaken. This is on a $40K+ car! By way of comparison, Jeep/Chrysler wanted $420/month with $6K down on a $30K Grand Cherokee. Why the difference? Well, the Jeep's residual after 3 years was a whopping 38%! You're paying for a boatload of depreciation because of Jeep's poor reliability rating. So, for those of you contemplating leasing a BMW, you've picked the right car, assuming you find a dealership that isn't trying to screw you on the residual. Just to keep it relevant to the 3-Series board, I leased a 330i last March for $420/month, $3K down, 3/36, on a car valued at $40K even. Way better than anything offered by any of the other manufacturers whose cars I was considering (well, Audi, really).

Hope somebody finds this info. useful.

bill124

Thanks for the reply. So what you're saying is I can basically arrange where I want to drop off from so long as BMW agrees to ship from that spot. Even if I can get a dealer here to agree to $1500 over invoice, meaning I knock $2155 off the base price (and that's proving to be pretty hard), I still save approx. $2,400 going to Europe. Now, the real question is whether it is worth the effort? That's something that I need to decide.

seivwrig

Go ahead and email me. I can email you some information that might help especially, since I am on the stage where I go pick up my car. I plan to start working on my website, so I can add pictures when I get to my brother's house. I figure I can toy around with his digital camera. Just click on my alias to get my email address.

jmess

I just got handed a hard lesson from Lexus. I bought a IS300 SportCross a few months ago and found out a few days ago that Lexus had cut the MSRP by $2500. This is pretty unusual for the first model year. I contacted Lexus Customer Department about how they had just whacked the value of my car by $2500 and hit me with accelerated depreciation. Besides being rude to me they basically told me to go to heck and acted like I was trying to con them. So I agree that BMWs hold their value better and are a better deal than Lexus for leasing. Lexus will lease you a car one month and then hose you a month later.

So now I have a new mission in life to educate people that behind the Lexus facade weasels flourish. They only care about $$ and they don't care about you. I would have got better treatment at McDonalds if I took a hamburger back two months after I bought it and said I didn't like it.

If I can convince one person who reads this not to buy a Lexus then my mission is a success I can live the rest of my life in peace.

Any rumors about a 330 Wagon headed this way in 2003, that would be a natural replacement for my SportCross.

mschukar

After a month of checking BMW USA, my 325i (Steel Blue, SP, xenons, HK, WP, sunroof) finally changed from "produced-not shipped" to "en route".

I'm starting to get excited again!

Does anyone remember how much time it took the boat to arrive at the delivery center and how long it took there? Just curious.

Another dilemma, I've got a '95 Mazda 626 to trade in/sell. If I trade it in, I'm left with the summer tires on the 325i with a good probability of snow here in southern Wisconsin. Plus, I could probably do better selling the car myself.

On the other hand, it's been a mild winter with only a couple days where the SP would have been a problem. It would also be nice to be done with the 626.

Question: Could I limp home or to work in the snow with SP (20 miles, no steep grades)? I could go ahead and buy my winter tires & rims now, but it appears that Tire Rack isn't selling 16" steel rims any longer and I'm not keen on spending three times as much on rims.

Thanks
-Murray

bill124

My e-mail address if farrarw@sullcrom.com. Send me whatever you think would be helpful. Basically, I'd probably want to get in and out in a few days. Are you picking up another car by ED?

newbmwowner

I hope someone here can help me. After saving my pennies, I got together enough cash to buy a used, excuse me, previously owned BMW 323i sedan. I had the car checked by an indepen. mechanic; it passed with flying colors. I've had the car 3 weeks, and I love it... almost. The car has 48000 miles on it... 2k more and the warranty is over. The problem I'm having is as follows: the engine inexplicably cuts out. Whether cold or warm, whether going slow or on the interstate, it will lose power for no reason... after that it will buck like crazy...maybe returning to normal... maybe not. Now I haven't had the car THAT long, but it appears to happen with 1/2 tank or less of gas. I'm not one to drive a car till it's almost out of gas so that's not the problem.. I also know it is NOT the gas gauge as I've only gone 200-250 miles ( mostly highway ) when this starts. I've taken it to the BMW Dealer several times... as I want this fixed before the warrant is up. They of course can't duplicate the problem and they say that the car's computer is NOT communicating any problems to their computer. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS AS TO WHAT MIGHT BE WRONG. If you post a response, pls copy me on my e-mail as well: lacking556@aol.com. Thank you for your help!!!

pen101

My BMW is jet black. I wash the car every other week. The car is dirty five minutes after the wash. I know this was discussed somewhere before, but could you again mention if I can use a dry dust cloth to wipe down the car between washings (do not want to scratch or damage the paint)? Also what brand(s) and types of dust cloths do you recommend. Thanks.

postoak

I don't know about wiping the car off with a dry dust cloth. I DO know that a lot of people use the "California Duster" for this purpose, and seem satisfied with it. It's available at Walmart for about $20. Its fibers are impregnated with wax (I believe), which aids in holding dust particles and not scratching. I especially like the fact that you don't have to clean it.

mschukar

I'm no mechanic, but it sounds like a fuel pump to me.

-Murray

wrjohnsonpghpa

Murray,

I too have been following my order closely on BMW USA (a steel blue 325i). It moved from "on order" to "scheduled for (or in) production" within a day or two of my placing the order. It's now been in "scheduled for..." for three weeks. When my dealer checked on its status on 2/2, it was "in production." (He says it was scheduled for production the sixth week of the year.)

How long was yours "scheduled for (or in) production?" You said that it was "produced-not-shipped" for about a month, that's a lot longer than I thought (and hoped) it would be. Please keep us updated. I had been thinking that I would take delivery a month after it was produced. That seems now to be just wishful thinking?

tenet1

If you think your car was not shipped for a month, in reality it has probably been on the boat for 1 weeks. The web is slower to update. Now youprobably have to wait 4-5 weeks (depending on where it is coming from).

Almost there.

twoof1

I agree with mschukar it sounds like a fuel pump (not cheap) or it may be something simple and very cheap like a fuel filter. I don't think either one of these problems would show on the cars computer when they downoad the diagnostics. I would be wary of any dealers service that gives you the line "Can't reproduce the problem" and just sends you away without really trying to diagnose the problem. That sounds like the same incompetent service I used to get at my Volvo dealer. Any good tech should be able to diagnose this problem very easily. It seems that in todays service world, the tech's often are taught to just check the fault codes and if nothing shows than everything must be OK. You may want to check your service history records to see if the fuel filter has ever been replaced. The previous owner may have been running low grade cheap fuel and running it very low in the tank. This eventualy will plug up a fuel filter and can cause the symptoms you have described.
Please let us know how it is resolved.
BTW, welcome aboard!

dave330i

I highly recommend not driving in snow with Z-rated tires. Several on this board mentioned trying in for fun, and stated it was extremely difficult. Getting a set of rims and snow tires may seem expensive now, but isn't that better than getting into an accident in a new BMW you haven't really enjoyed yet?

Also, you could always keep the 626 until winter is over.

nyccarguy

Z Rated tires...not a good idea in the snow. My friend has an '02 Audi A4 With Quattro & a 6 speed and his car went nowhere in the snow we had here a few weeks ago. he lives in Connecticut and you're in Wisconsin.

Brave...I was a wee sophmore in College during that winter. Yes I'm only 25 now (going on 26)! I took on the hills of Ithaca, NY with my FWD Beretta and a set of Blizzaks (yes, I had Blizzaks 6 years ago).

pen101...The California Car Duster is the way to go. It will not scratch your paint. My Dad uses it to wipe down his '66 Corvette and has had it for a number of years.

genie1

What Dave said. You wouldn't want your brand new Bimmer skating around on four hockey pucks, would you? I'd keep the 626 till the end of winter if possible.

Winter tires are designed to function at lower temps, not just cut through snow and ice. Performance tires function at much higher temperatures than a Northern winter (i.e. they are useless in the cold).

Now that the weather here is finally below zero (Celcius), my Nokkians are handling beautifully. The harsh noise that I had experienced at higher temps/speeds (I installed them in November) has now disappeared.

dave330i

It's getting colder over here now. They are forcasting high 50's for the weekend.

tiredofmanual

I read ds2k1's post about leasing and it has me interested. I seem to be the type of person that wants something else every couple of years so a lease is probably a good thing for me. If I were to go into a BMW dealer to negotiate a lease, how would I know whether the residual offered is fair or if it is an attempt to make extra money on me? I.E. What is the approximate residual value on a 325 sedan?

genie1

HA! That would have worked if I hadn't just returned from the tropics. I've had enough sun to last me till May.

I hope the tan lasts till then. I haven't been this dark since I left the Middle East.

PS: I had my sunroof open yesterday and today, so it's not so bad here either. Beautiful, sunny, clear blue skies...

millerro3

325i residual value @ 36 months w/15,000 miles per year will be 60% of MSRP.

Rob

andrus1

Hi all,
I've never bought or owned a BMW. I'm thinking now about a 94 or 95 318I or 325I.
I just noticed the Edmunds Rating regarding Value. It gave the value an extremely low rating. Comfort, Safety, etc rated around the 7's. What does this value rating mean, and where can I read more about it?

dave330i

We were in the 70's over the weekend. Nice and sunny for sight seeing.

Car's going in for first scheduled maintenance this coming Monday. Hopefully, no unexpected surprises.

dhanley

You reported the problem during the warranty period. If they can't fix it before the warranty runs out, they still have obligation to fix it after it runs out. Talk to them about it.

Fuel pump sounds reasonable, though.

dave

ds2k1

Not sure if I mentioned it above, but the residual on the 330i (at the time I leased it) on a 36-month lease with 12,000 miles/year was 64%. Also, and perhaps millerro3 can shed some light on this since I think he works at a BMW dealership, I noticed that not every dealership quoted me the same residual value on the same lease terms. It went as low as 60% and as high as the 64% I ended up with. Seems like it should be a fixed number, but my experience shows me it isn't. And, obviously, if you lease a $40K car with a 60% residual value after 36 months vs. one with 64% residual value, you're going to pay that extra $1600 in depreciation over those 36 months (that's more than $44/month for those of you without a calculator handy). It really makes a big difference. And it also shows exactly why BMWs are good lease values. In this class, only Mercedes has a residual value that approximates that of the Bimmer.

millerro3

sounds like you got the "real" residual value on your 330i.

Dealers are independant franchises, and they can change the residual value on a lease to make a little more money on the overall deal--that's why it pays to shop around. The next guy you go to doesn't know what you know, so he may be more upfront with certain #'s to try and earn your business with a little straightforward 'honesty'.

Or he may try and bump the rate and drop the residual, which would not be good for any customer's wallet!

Rob

rdl40

I ordered my steel blue 330i(sp, 18" "M" wheels and leather) approx 2 weeks ago, and according to my
dealer and the bmw web site it has been produced and awaiting to be loaded on a boat.

The dealer said the car should be here sometime in mid-march(west coast).

That sure didn't seem a long time to wait!

Ron

stokdgs

Recently had a Jet Black 2001 325I that I did the claybar to a few times and the paint was so clear and clean you could read the little writing on the end of the shoplites that hang 8 feet over the car. Used the Calif Car Duster with success for about 32 years or so and thy are the only thing to use. Only use on cool surfaces, as post oak said, they use a paraffin on the fibers to catch and hold the dirt. They work better as they get blacker. They even sell them at Target Stores.
I know, black gets dirty within minutes, but the Car Duster helps out alot. Enjoy, I sure did!
DanF

abcnyc

I ordered my 330i steel blue with SP, CWP, and xenons on Jan 3 and it just showed up at the dealer today (east coast). I'm picking it up this Saturday. That's only 6 weeks. Once it's en route, it takes about 2 weeks over the ocean and about 1-2 weeks at port clearing customs, etc.

I've seen a lot of posts about getting the dealer to throw in t-shirts, key chains, etc. I already have the floor mats. Is this pretty standard ?

nobee

over 200 messages to read through! Don't you guys ever work?? ;-)

Nurburgring: No, I haven't had a chance to take my 3'er up to the tracks but my good friend goes up there every so often to race his bike. It's kinda funny how Nurburgring gets used for other purposes...It's kinda like a general-purpose "stadium" where they conduct not only car/bike races but world-famous rock concerts. I'll definitely have to try the 'ring out before I leave since it's only about an hour or so away from me...

Dealerships in Germany: John, My experiences with the German dealerships have been without a doubt awesome. Ever since the debacle with my car, I've received first-class treatment, HUGE discounts on accessories, and loaner cars while my 3'er was in the shop (00' Z3, 01' 5er). I would definitely recommend Auto Schaal near Bitburg.

For all you ED peeps: Have you guys ever thought about purchasing your accessories or wheels over here? I would think with the Valued Added Tax (VAT) forms you could get a big discount. For instance, I'm ordering 4 x 17" Parallel spoke 85 w/ Michelin Sport Pilots, Z-rated tires for approx. 1500 Euros (comes out to approx. 1300 USD). Granted, it may not be too cost-effective to mail it through the German post office, but if you're in my neck of the woods I wouldn't mind helping out a fellow member mail it through U.S. mail.

Got a road-trip planned for this weekend! Going to go up to Brussels and enjoy their variety of beers for a change. I was able to find a 5-star hotel for only 97 euros a night that includes breakfast. Actually, I really don't care how many stars a hotel has, just as long as it's clean and has an indoor parking garage! ;-)
Take care,
-nobee

nyccarguy

Thanks for your reply in the 5 series thread. I really appreciate you taking the time to work up some actualy #s for me. It definitely helps. A 3 series is definitely more attainable than I thought. And the $4500 in security deposits is 100% refundable? Where does the 18% return come from? I don't mean to sound like an idiot, but this is all new to me.

jim52

The 4500 I listed on the 5 series board should have been 5400 ($600*9). The extra $74 per month in my pocket + the return of my 5400 "investment" at the end of my lease translates into a monthly internal rate of return of 1.4%. Depending on how you translate that into an annual return it amounts to around 17-18% per year. Again, since this is a reduction in my monthly expenses as opposed to "income" it is also not taxed.

Hope this helps.

postoak

I have to fess up that I don't understand this fully either. When you borrow money and lend part of it right back to the same institution, aren't you in effect, just borrowing less? Wouldn't that mean that your effective interest rate would go up? Also, don't you have to factor in the loss of income on the security deposits?

I'm at a loss to understand why BMW would provide you with such a huge rate of return on your money.

jim52

I look at it the following way. I could lease my car, put down the standard 1 security deposit and pay X amount per month (call it $600). Alternatively, I could take an extra 5,400 out of my savings account and give it to BMW Finance for 3 years. In return, they will lower my payment by $74 per month - i.e. I will now pay 526 each month. That means I will have an extra $74 in my pocket tax free. As for the loss of income on the 5,400 for three years ("opportunity cost" in finance speak), if I could earn more than 17-18% on this money (after-tax) then I should clearly not put down MSD's. In my case, I would probably earn 2-3% on this in a money market and then get to pay tax on the income.

As for why BMW Finance would do this, I have asked myself the same question. My best answer is that in exchange for the extra security deposit, they feel more comfortable offering the more competitive rate. The problem for them with a lease is that the leasor never has any "equity" in the car since they are only paying the depreciation. By letting them hold on to 5,400 (6K with the normal sec deposit) you, from their perspective, have equity in the car and are more likely not to default on the loan and take care of the asset. Think of it as buying a house with zero down (or better yet only paying interest and no principal) vs putting 20% down.

nyccarguy

Now I understand. Thanks Jim.

On a side note... Has anybody heard from Shipo? Is he away?

jim52

No problem. The other thing worth noting is that from BMW Finance's perspective, they are not giving up 17%. They are giving up 2.16% (.0009 reduction in MF *2400) interest on the average value of the car (Cap cost+residual)/2. From the leasor's perspective, you are realizing this savings (same $ amount they are giving up above + any sales tax you save) on the amount of your security deposit. That is why it translates into a much higher interest rate return for the leasor.

nyccarguy

Multiple Lease Security Deposits
This option saves you money. In fact, it's kind of like an investment in that it pays a return in the form of reduced monthly lease payments, and you get the deposits back at the end of your lease. You can make up to nine additional refundable security deposits. This option is not available with PrePay. Multiple Security Deposits are limited by law in the state of New York. Ask your BMW center for more details.

postoak

It's hard for me to believe that putting down multiple security deposits makes lessors that much more responsible over one security deposit -- but BMW must believe it's so -- they're not in the business of giving money away!

postoak

Anybody do an ED dropoff in Amsterdam? I've never been to Amsterdam. Is it an interesting city?

pen101

California Car Duster is now on my shopping list. Thanks.

riez

postoak... Are you being facetious? Doesn't Amsterdam have one of those famous Dutch Red-Light districts filled with brothels? And all the pot places, due to decriminalization of marijuana? Part Sodom & Gomorrah, part Calvinist tulip city???

postoak

I meant apart from all that stuff!

derprofi

Awesome city and definitely worthy of a visit at some point if you've never been. However, I would highly recommend keeping your new Bimmer out of Amsterdam.


- The downtown area is tight and filled with large moving obstacles like streetcars (and in the battle of mass*acceleration the streetcar will always win)

- Parking is expensive (this according to relatives living in Dortmund who travel there regularly)

- Nighttime brings out plenty of foreign tourists and a few locals under the influence of various substances who may lean against, brush against, excrete onto, etc. your shiny new car if it's parked in public


Must sees: Anne Frank Huis, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum