BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

mfeldman

THanks for the fan responses. ds2k1, out of curiosity, what was your production date and do you have 5 speed or step?

jasonkureejii

Yeah, if I knew that most of the people around here have recently been given quotes at ~$1500, I guess I need to renegotiate a better deal...I'm contacting a local dealer here again...~$600-$700 is still alot of money to me...in the beginning, I didn't think BMW barely even came off their MSRP...tells you how much I know about dealing with them....

ds2k1

Production date was 2/13 and I have the step.

Good luck.

tcn2k

Here is what bmwna told me about this issue:

I'm with BMW of North America, LLC and read your comments regarding the
> radiator fan and the steering in your car. Thank you for your patience
while
> I investigated these concerns. With regard to the radiator fan, we had a
> few isolated instances with cars equipped with manual transmissions only,
> automatic transmissions were not affected. Our dealers were able to
repair
> any cars that had this problem. With reference to the steering question,
> your car has the old harder road feel and nothing further needs to be
done.
> Thank you for driving a BMW.
>
> William Stuart, National Customer Relations Representative.

JingleJill

Jason...check your e-mail. I agree with Braveheart, you can do better!!! I am not sure if they will deal in Dallas, at least not John Roberts.

aaa330i

Try the Rizzo method or try your luck at Garlyn Shelton in Temple, or try the Bryan/College station dealer. The dealers in West Louisiana also deal well, I've heard.

brave1heart

Jill, Suzy, or Stacy? Intrigued... It must be different names for different days of the week or even every mood? You know we are big on names on this board. Does your car have multiple names too? )

thedeepdarkblu

JingleJill

Brave1heart,

My real name is Stacy. When I first signed up with Edmunds I used Jill. My aol e-mail is SuzySparks. I guess I'll answer to all of the above, but I'm really Stacy.

Co-workers and friends have named the car the "silver bullit". I refer to it as "Baby".

Stacy

ds2k1

When I had questions about my steering, I too was contacted by Bill Stuart of BMWNA. He seemed to be somewhat confused when I spoke with him regarding exactly which version of the steering I have. Turns out I have the "new" steering, but not the "new old" steering - meaning that I received the first fix which occurred on cars with production dates after 1/15/01, but not the complete swap-out to last year's heaviest steering. I'm perfectly happy with my steering as it is, so I didn't get the swap-out done, but BMWNA did offer it if I wanted it. Good to hear the fan problem is "isolated", although it seems to me like maybe it's a bigger problem than old Bill's willing to admit, don't you think? If Bimmer.org members are screaming to Hell and back about it, maybe it's not so isolated. Or maybe they're just "the sky is falling" kind of people. I don't know.

brave1heart

Your boyfriend and/or husband must be confused ) Do they use generics like 'Dear' or 'Honey' a lot when addressing you? I'd watch out with those generics if I were you. Gotta keep your man in check )

I like "Baby" better than "silver bullit".

titaniumsil325

I have a 325 and I have the following options:-ette; htd seats; pp; auto & March production(I don't think I am missing anything.) I paid $30,800 for the car + tax, title & registration. Two dealer swere willing to give me this price - BMW of Manhattan and LifeQuality BMW in Canarsie Brooklyn. Theoriginal dealer that I went to see REFUSED to go below $1500 - but I shopped around - you should do the same.

brave1heart

platypus

Just got the following in response to an e-mail I sent to the Owner's Circle concerning the steering retrofit:

"Dear Mr. Platypus,

I am an employee of BMW of North America, LLC and I received your correspondence regarding your 2001 BMW 330i.

I have added your name to the list of customers to be contacted for the steering equipment level change.

You will be contacted shortly to make the necessary arrangements. We appreciate your patience in the interim."

And my car is a week 14 car (4/01 production), so don't let 'em tell ya that it can't be done!

And to the guy (jason I think) who's looking for a good deal in Dallas, take your business to Temple or to Richard Foard at Moss Motors in Lafayette, LA. They'll treat ya right!

errickson

I concur with the other posters about striving to get a good deal. If that is important to you, you CAN find some VERY competitive pricing in the Texas / Louisiana region. I have done much of the legwork for you....

You can go to BMWUSA.com website. Do a dealer search by state. Choose Texas and Louisiana. Print it, and start calling. Have in mind a $$$$ amount over invoice, at which you would be willing to close the deal. When calling, simply say "I am ready to buy a 3XXX with these options, and would like to pay ??? (ie $1200) over invoice. Can you sell me this car for that price?" As you call around, don't get discouraged! Dealerships will laugh at you, think you're crazy, and think you don't know what you're talking about. Just cross them off the list and move on. Eventually you WILL find a dealership that will sell you the vehicle. Be ready / prepared to proceed. If calling far away, (ie El Paso, Louisiana) remember to add in $$$ for transport costs, or a 1-way plane ticket. The dealership in El Paso agreed to sell for $1000 over, but they wanted $500 to ship it to Houston. Plus, I don't have time in my schedule for a 12 hour drive to bring it home. Also, big city dealerships add on the MACO/DAG advertising fee which adds from $400 - $700 to the final price. "Small town" dealerships don't add this fee. The dealership will tell you if they add it or not.

I have rambled long enough. I hope a morsel of this helps in your endeavor. I ended up buying from Moss Motors in Lafayette, LA. Richard Foard is great to deal with, and a couple of other posters have bought from him as a result of my experience. Again, sorry for the long winded post. I will crawl back under my rock now. Good luck!

brave1heart

I am on the list too. They told me 1-2 months to contact.

platypus

1-2 months would be fine with me. My car's not due to hit my dealer until mid-June anyway.

Knowing that I'm on the "list" is enough for now...

brave1heart

I want to do it after I've broken the car in anyhow. I even liked BMWNA's attitude - they were almost apologetic that it would be that long. To me, it's just an assist issue (on-center feel), not even a road feel issue as much. I did NOT notice a significant difference in road feel when I compared old to new back-to back.

jasonkureejii

Thanks for all the help, but I guess I didn't have the time nor patience...my car is leased right now, and I have only 1200 miles left that I can put on it. I'll have to figure how I'm going to be getting around for another 4-5 weeks or see how much the extra mileage will be. I didn't expect in the beginning that there would be a production wait of 9 weeks for a manual, so I went ahead with the deal at 33000+TTL with wheel locks and mats (Garlyn Shelton), no other fees whatseoever and gave a deposit via credit card. He already gave me the production number for a late July arrival...haven't spent this much time online at work since I started, but it's been great being surrounded by this group of diehards...thanks, anyways! Maybe when I move up the BMW ladder sometime, I'll give it more effort...gotta get SOME kind of work done...BTW, how soon can you check the BMW website for the status???

damore1

Can any owners out there tell me how the 325i Rear wheel drive sedan does in the snow?
Does the traction/stability control compensate for the fact that it's not Front wheel drive.

thanks in advance

jnscheong

Just want to chime in about pricing. I live in Southern California, Orange County to be exact. I just ordered a Steel prey 330i, black leatherette, sports package, in-dash DC, xenon headlights, floor mats, and alarm for $925 above invoice.

Here is the price breakdown.

car - $30750
advertising fee - $310
metallic paint - $405
sports package - $1020
in-dash DC - $170
xenon - $425
destination - $645
------------------------
total - $33725

mats - $100
alarms - $425
------------------------
total - $34250

My sale price is $35175, out the door price is $38368.5. All these numbers have been taxed to me by my dealer before I gave him $1000 deposit using my credit card over the phone.

How did I do it? I used the method outlined in the Personal Finance section of the Motley Fool web site (www.fool.com). Here is the short version. First, find all the dealers that are within, say, 100 miles radius. Get their fleet managers' name and ax number. ax to each of them stating that you will buy right now and are requesting bids from your local dealers and the exact options that you want with your car. Wait for the axes to come in. Call the dealer with the 2nd lowest bid and ask him to beat your lowest bid by some amount. If he agrees, you get your deal. If not, the dealer with the lowest bid wins your business.

That's how I get my $925 over invoice deal. Now only if I don't have to wait for my car!!! ;-)

jnscheong

P.S. The fax response wasn't overwhelming, 5 out of 26 to be exact. One way to get a better response may be to call ahead to the fleet manager before your fax. Just a thought.

lazydog

i've had my 330xi for about a month now...and the guilt of owing one has just about faded away

couple of things...

the 15,000 mile oil change... its ok... the oil pan has these large magnets within it to catch metal shards,nuts, etc... change it yourself and you'll see these shavings attached to the bottom

the steering is a little light... especially at 120mph, but since i don't commute on the autobahn and have to settle on the nj turnpike, the steering is acceptable at 85 mph... so i'll live

anyone else have bimmeritis?... constantly checking this board, doing searches on profusion and vivisimo for reviews, cheering at all the favorable ones and turning your nose up at all the unfavorable ones...

my wife thinks i'm obsessed... i think i am too

btw... another symptom of bimmeritis... wondering if i got the best price... but i've gotten over that now... once you drive the car for about a month or so... you realize that even paying msrp is worth the perfect balance of a bimmer...

see you on the highway... and don't forget to flash your xenons!

brave1heart

Traction is where the weight of the car is. If you have a front-heavy FWD (aren't they all?), you will have good traction. If you have a RWD that is heavier in the rear, traction will also be good. If you have a car with perfect weight distribution like any Bimmer (and you know you need that for best handling), traction and stability control help a lot in snow. Bottom line is, it depends on your tires a lot more than any other factor. Csaba Csere from C&D had a great article a couple of months ago in which he argued convincingly that your tires are even more important than AWD. If you are a bad driver, even an AWD system may not help you. If you are a good sensible drive you will do fine with any configuration. The average Camry and Accord driver will still be better off with a FWD - they have less of a chance of spinning the car out of control that way. But if you have traction/stability coupled with all-season tires (snows are fine on any car), you will do just fine in snow and/or ice.

gurumike

...unless you quickly turn them on and off !!!

lazydog

don't forget to flash your lights or honk... in such an unfriendly world...let's show our mutual and admirable respect for our fellow car enthusiasts bc that's exactly what you become after buying these cars!

brave1heart

You must be very excited. This is one charismatic, sensual, exotic, graceful car - you won't be disappointed. I hear you on the $500 but look at it this way: If you finance over 60 months for example, it will cost you only about $10/month (interest and all). Not a big deal for getting the car that you really want. Congrats again and don't lose your job now )
You can start checking your car's status as soon as you get a production and/or VIN number. Just keep in mind that the website is not as up-to-date as most people would like it to be and calling BMWNA (or asking Gurumike here) is the most reliable way to track your car.

veekay1

brave1heart:
any idea what specific features make a significant difference to the Insurance company (in terms of discount)when finalizing a contract for the 325er?
veekay1

alpine325i

My Car Was built on 1/10/01. Would this be in the "Light" steering time frame? The steering feels good to me, a nice balance between heavy and light, but I would really like to know! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Alp )

unboringuy

As one who has suffered the fate of the defective cooling fan, and who is now waiting for a week 23 replacement 330xi...I don't think the problem is isolated. I was told that they got a bad batch of fans, and I suspect anybody with a manual transmission should be concerned, particularly in stop and go traffic.

brave1heart

...will vary widely depending on geo area, driving experience, driving history, coverage, gender, maybe occupations, and as someone put in, the alignment of the stars. Here in Mass, you get a discount up to 25% off the total premium for alarm systems. I think the BMW alarm qualified for 20%, you need Lo Jack to go to 25%. I think airbags may help; most insurance co's don't care about ABS (they think drivers don't know how to use them); sedan is a tad cheaper to insure than the coupe; try limiting your annual miles too - unlike lease miles, you probably won't get penalized if you go over; even if you do, they'd just adjust the premium back to what you would have paid. Anyone else, feel free to jump in on this...I'll be on-line for about 10 more min and then and I'm gonna try to live a little (not to sound like a competing brand)...

taos2

I've read both sides but can't decide. I drive
to ski every winter weekend, rarely in blizzards.
If I get the sport pkg on rwd for the suspension, can I put all seasons on those wheels
or snow tires and get winter handling? Also, am I
the only one that's irritated that to get the
front center armrest you have to buy the premium
package or pay $450! I'm considering making it a deal
breaker or negotiating point.

brave1heart

But who cares, as long as you like it and you are happy with it.

brave1heart

If you are getting the 325, this thing will be a total dog with the AWD (250 lbs on top of the wagon weight). 330 - you can go with anything - the engine is a lot more powerful. I'd say, get the RWD and plan on driving with snows during the Winter, esp. with your lifestyle. If you go with the RWD SP, you can fit 16" rims on the 325; you can't on the 330. In either case, you will need snows for your driving. Those are more expensive for the 17" rims but what the hell - it's still a small price to pay for enjoying your car so much more.

veekay1

taos2:
go with the AWD!! Its real sticky!! and you dont have to worry about changing tires.
Especially if you ski; its good even in rain; i took the test drive during rain and couldnt tell the difference in road feel compared to dry pavement!
veekay1

veekay1

The wagon might be a bit heavy...i tested the sedan 325xi....felt quick enough to me...its personal decision......in my case I am jumping from 125hp to about 192 hp...so i am happy.....depends where you are coming from taos2!

brave1heart: thanks for insurance info. so you think getting the alarm is a no-brainer, right? Can I get it from circlebmw and ask my dealer to install it? (i believe its a diff of about $150)
veekay1

brave1heart

JingleJill

Brave1heart,

Actually, my boyfriend does not like "baby". He is a truck man; prefers Dodge's and could care less about BMW. He ribs me all the time about the car. I know when he says "Baby" he is referring to me and not the "overpriced german" automobile I am in love with. ;o)

Stacy

vesuviusii

Braveheart -- I got it! (and the original, agreed-upon "deal" about which I fretted so much two months ago (Invoice + $1,300 w/ free mats). I picked it up today and it's PERFECT. Boy, you weren't kidding when you said people get out of your way! Can't wait to take it home tonight to test the Xenons.

Platypus -- RE: Steering, door jam said 4/01. Yes!!! I just snuck in there. Thanks for the info.

Looks as though folks are getting better deals than that now. I'm not bothered. I'm very happy with the deal I cut.

True to his word, BUD ARMSTRONG at BMW of Macon hooked me up. If anyone is looking to purchase in the Atlanta area (Birmingham or Jacksonville for that matter), I highly recommend him.

For those with cars on order: Hang in there people, it's worth the wait.

V

brave1heart

yes and yes. The alarm will pay for itself within months (at least in my case). Make sure your dealer is OK with you buying the alarm some place other. If they donn't give you a good deal, just remember that you can have that don anywhere. The diff. in my case was something like $65 and I had the dealer put it in for $405. I think the alarm was on sale for $250 and installation was $90.

brave1heart

You sob - what a great deal!! I'm so happy for you. I was wondering where you diasappeared. Great to hear this, you must be thrilled.

brave1heart

You know what we'd say - get a decent boyfriend who knows good cars. I hope he has better taste for women )

kominsky

This may have been posted here before, but here's a comparison between FWD, AWD, and RWD cars in wintery conditions. The article pretty much points to tire choice being the major difference for braking/steering and AWD being the best for acceleration/hill climbing.

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/features/1999/May/199905_feature_whatp.xml

vesuviusii

Braveheart -- I got it! (and the original, agreed-upon "deal" about which I fretted so much two months ago (Invoice + $1,300 w/ free mats). I picked it up today and it's PERFECT. Boy, you weren't kidding when you said people get out of your way! Can't wait to take it home tonight to test the Xenons.

Platypus -- RE: Steering, door jam said 4/01. Yes!!! I just snuck in there. Thanks for the info.

Looks as though folks are getting better deals than that now. I'm not bothered. I'm very happy with the deal I cut.

True to his word, BUD ARMSTRONG at BMW of Macon hooked me up. If anyone is looking to purchase in the Atlanta area (Birmingham or Jacksonville for that matter), I highly recommend him.

For those with cars on order: Hang in there people, it's worth the wait.

V

wam325i

Go check out the following site. It contains tons of interesting info.

http://www.bmwgroup.com/I/index2.shtml?s80&0_0_wow_bmwgroup_om/7_innovation/7_2_aid/aid_home.shtml&

Click on Topics' in the left margin and look for the section on winter driving. If you live in the snow belt, get snow tires, all seasons by their very nature are pretty much useless for most conditions, (unless you go mud plugging in the deep South).

wam325i

Go check out the following site. It contains tons of interesting info.

http://www.bmwgroup.com/I/index2.shtml?s80&0_0_wow_bmwgroup_om/7_innovation/7_2_aid/aid_home.shtml&

Click on Topics' in the left margin and look for the section on winter driving. If you live in the snow belt, get snow tires, all seasons by their very nature are pretty much useless for most conditions, (unless you go mud plugging in the deep South).

adam68

Prefer to use the P21S wax every 6-8 weeks...the shine and ease of use are more than worth it..

postoak

When we (or at least I) say $xxxx over invoice, the advertising charge is not to be included -- that is, it comes out of their $xxxx profit. Why do we figure it this way? Because not all dealers have to pay the advertising charge and we want to be comparing apples to apples. So, your $925 over invoice we would consider to be $925 + $310 MACO = $1,235 over. Still an excellent deal.

However, there is one other troubling thing in your transaction. You gave a figure of $35,175 with a drive out of $38,368.50. $38,368.50 is a bit over 9% over $35,175. What's that all about? In my state, Texas, tax is 6.25% -- maybe it's higher in your state.

I would not tell a dealer I will pay $xxxx over invoice. Instead, making sure we are agreed on what car we are talking about (i.e., what options), I would get the invoice from Edmunds/KBB, add the $xxxx myself, and say "I will pay $yyyyy for this car plus $zzzz for TT&L, which means driveout will be $aaaaaa, right?". I don't see how they can cheat you that way, although I'm sure they'll try to find a way.

Braveheart1 - bear with me here -- it's been 10 years since I've bought a new car -- but this $50 title fee you paid -- wasn't that the documentation fee? I mean, does the county charge $50 for registration of the title? I'm still a little confused about this part of the transaction. Also, these mats that some people are getting thrown in for free -- what is the actual cost if you have to buy them yourself?

denk

Has anyone in the Chicago area been able to get
$1500-$2000 over invoice on a 2001 325 xi? If so,
would appreciate knowing dealer name and sales
contact. Thanks.

emilyk

Wow, I really wish I lived in Texas. In California, the tax rate is 8%! I just figured that if I lived in TX, I would end up paying $682 less in tax than in CA for the car that I ordered. My TT+L ends up being a whopping 9.5% over a base of $39020. The cost of living here in the Bay Area is really getting to be a bit ridiculous.

jpcbearden

Hey, do you know what your local dealer does when your car arrives at their lot? What sevices are included? Do they do registration/process title for you? Didn't have a chance to ask Joern yet, and you seem to know a lot of things :-)