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My brother said, "The pool of date-able women will increase significantly once you get the car." I replied that I wouldn't want to date the kind of girl who wants to be with me for my BMW. He said, "How true. But wait until you meet the kind of girl who can really appreciate the refinement and power." Something to look forward to, eh?
Holy crap! That rate, he informs me, reflects a full point bump applied by VOB over the BMWNA rate, so they get some profit on the financing.
I just submitted a home equity loan application to lendingtree.com. I suspect I can get a rate that good on a home equity loan, PLUS the interest will be tax deductible.
I am also thinking of looking at taking bids on regular car loans.
Man, if they think I am going to pay 7.5%, they are CRAZY.
I've decided I will go the xi route and, after much rationalization :-) will even cough up the dough for a 330xi.
Now for my new dilemma: is the Sport Package worth it with the 330xi? The difference in cost is about 2200 cdn$. The questions are: What kind of handling improvemeny do I get, if any? What kind of rims/tires do I get and which ones look better (it seems there are 4 kinds: 325i/xi, 330i/xi non-SP, 330i-SP, and 330xi-SP?)
I can get some elements of answers looking at BMW sites (Canada and US) but I'd appreciate all your opinions.
As a side note, I got my current Audi A4 Quattro without the SP and always had this nagging "what if" thoughts for the past 3 years (and the Audi's SP rims looked better..)
First, the AWD SP is looks-oriented, rather than performance oriented. It adds fancier rims, but the rims and tires are the same size as standard 330xi rims and tires. It also adds "M" aero ground effects and sport seats.
The AWD SP adds NO suspension improvements to the 330xi.
I concluded that the AWD SP is largely cosmetic and not worth the money. Though the sport seats are sweet, I didn't like the M ground effects, and I didn't want to shell out the US$800 for a package where I was indifferent (rims) or felt actively negative (M ground effects) just to get the seats.
Just my two cents.
As far as women goes, there's nothing better than having this car while you're young. Your brother is right - cynical as it may sound, I'd have to second his opinion. I see younger women staring at the car when I'm at a light for so long that I'd get uncomfortable. And believe me, they are not staring at me as much, it's the car. When you find the right one to marry, you'll feel it and know it but there's nothing wrong with helping yourself have a good time until the right woman shows up. Just one more reason to get the 3-series.
As an aside, I think you mentioned that you're currently in open parking in an apt. complex. So am I, and I'm concerned about my car getting dinged by careless people and pooped on by aviary bombers. How are you dealing w/ this? I'm contemplating buying a cover, but I fear that it will just attract attention--like, "Steal me b/c I'm mysterious and valuable enough to need a cover." Plus the BMW Noah cover has "BMW" boldly printed on it. Smart, really smart.
When one keeps in mind that home equity loan interest is tax deductible, this is actually a VERY good deal.
Still two more bids due to come in. I will keep you all posted. However, this offer already shows me that I don't have to just take whatever BMW is willing to dish out.
I have been riding motorcycles for years and bikers always wave to other bikers. Does the same apply to BMWers?
Strange point: A Harley rider will not wave to a Honda rider. I'm the later. Would a 3er flash a 5er?
BMW Logo: Any thoughts on the design? The black ring represents unity of the perfect balance of driver and vehicle(the lights blue ~ triangles)
drcr
Does $600.00 sound legitimate for this? or is he just blowing smoke?
interior motion sensor (~2 minutes); This was almost too easy... I kept looking back at the instructions to be sure I wasn't missing something. The only issue here is to make sure your hands are clean to avoid smudging the headliner material (I wore latex gloves).
tilt sensor (~15 minutes); this part goes in the trunk and was pretty easy too. The toughest part was removing the trunk panel to access the mounting location. The panels are basically carpeted card-board, and once you feel comfortable bending them a little, are easy to manipulate. Everything went back in place and returned to it's pre-bent shape.
siren (~40 minutes); this one requires removing several pieces of cowling at the rear of the engine compartment. Everything comes apart and goes together pretty easily, but it was a little intimidating to me to be disecting my new car. The hardest part was actually mounting the siren to the fire-wall. I struggled for about 10 minutes to hold the part in place and drive the bolt (I'm still looking around the driveway for that chunk of knuckle that got sliced off :-)). Finally, I tucked my tail between my legs and asked my wife to give it a shot. With her considerably smaller hands, she had no problem getting the bolt started.
When I take the car in on Weds. for the steering "fix", I'll have them activate the alarm. Assuming I didn't mess anything up, total cost should be ~$260 ($220 for the alarm and $40 for the activation).
I have only had one return of a wave or light flash... an E36 M3. It's kind of discouring to me. When I had my MG, we all flashed headlights. When I drive my Jeep, other Jeeper's wave.
Yeh well, I'll continue to do what I do on the motorcycle... wave at 'em all.
Not sure what you mean about the BMW logo. You know it is a propeller in motion, right?
If you ask a precisely worded, intelligent question, you are more likely to get useful information.
When I got my 325 the front license plate case/holder had the white sign stating the "Ultimate Driving Machine". I do firmly believe that our BMW are the Ultimate Driving Machines, however, that sign is a little cheesy. Here in MI they don't require front license plates so I can put anything in front. Do you know of any plates that look better? Do you know where I could get one?
Also, I really appreciate your advice on how to protect the cars: no sun, no rain, no driving, keep the car in underground storage in a perspex box with humidity control, wear gloves and a mask when approaching it, place lace doileys under the tires so they don't get dusty etc.
When I get my own M3, I will spend hours in front of the mirror perfecting the "flipping the finger technique" (think De Niro in Taxi driver-mirror scene-"you talkin' to me?!") at the weenies who drive 325s-really just lawn tractors with moonroofs and BMW badging.
Wave. I guess I just wave if its a silver 3 series sport. That's a shame. I had a VW scirocco and I would get waves all the time. I think its kinda neat.
drcr
BMW does not make planes now. Rolls Royce did not either. Their parent company Vickers does.
I rode the typical ones on my trip but boy I bet the 40 mph is a blast!
drcr
Unless Mass Millions or Megabucks helps (or EMC, Oracle et. al. come roaring back...), I won't be shopping for a new ride 'till fall 2002 at which time I plan to shop the usual suspects: BMW 3, MB C, Jag X, Audi A4 and maybe, but not likely, the Lexus IS300. Unfortunately, I don't ski nearly as much as I used to, so I'm going to consider RWD with TC. Therefore, I'm lurking in many discussions, but I really enjoy reading here.
For the Bostonians: It may be out of the way, but RoJo Sunoco has a self car-wash. It's on Rte. 1 in Norwood about a mile off of exit 15 on 128. So, if you're ever heading South Shore-ish, you can give that a look-see. Also, some of the cheapest gas around, last I filled up, $1.64 for 87 Octane. Add 10 cents/gallon as you climb the octane ladder.
Go Sox!!!
'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...)
indeed a security LED? How to make it blinks?
-John
So what specifically did this service rep tell you that has you so conserned?
Drcr.....I had a BMW motorcycle until just recently and gave up on waving to Harley owners. What a bunch of low-lives. If the Harley guy was wearing a helmet then there was a good chance he'd wave....but only because he was likely an business executive rather than your typical freak. Japanese bikers always waved at me.
MTV rules, dude!! C'mon, you gotta admit the Backstreet Boys are like more cool than Brittney Spears and Christina Aguilera combined and stuff.
http://www.bimmer.org/3series/messages/messages/40043.html
REGARDS,
DL
That's my rationale, and it works for me. I'll just have to park my car a little further away from the blast zone.
My wife and I moved out of the city back in 1997, built a custom 3,500 square foot house on almost one acre of partially wooded property, and our mortgage is considerably less than the rent my mother pays.
Finally after 10 years of living in the "Big City" my mother has taken off her "Rose Colored Glasses" and is looking to move out our way. Cool, free baby sitter. ;-) Just think, Mom can get a cool place to live AND buy herself a new 3-Series and still save money!
Best Regards,
Shipo
Our '95 325is is having some troubles I was hoping to get some answers to... starting about a year ago, 2nd gear (manual) wouldn't engage without some grinding. My fiance took it to our longtime mechanic, who said the clutch was burning out and it'd be better to wait until it was completely shot before replacing it (?? that's question #1!)
Within the last two weeks, however, it's gotten a lot worse- the clutch doesn't engage the gear until it's almost to the top of the pedal motion, and there's a fast rattling noise (sounds like a bee) that comes up almost all the time (*sounds* like a small plastic piece that must be loose, and vibrates 100s of times bc. of the engine vibration)... any thoughts as to what's going on/what we should be looking for?
Thanks-
bmwow
PS- congrats to all those whose long wait recently ended! I'm doing the fly out to Munich on the 27th...can't WAIT!
After having Gretl for about a month, I washed her to a glistening shine one fine Saturday morning. My wife and I decided to run a few errands. After a few stops, it was time load up on weekly groceries. After piling about a dozen bags into the trunk, I thought (using the left side of my brain), "How can I close the trunk without getting any nappy fingerprints on the clean, mirror-like finish?" "Use your elbow! (covered by long sleeve)," the illogical right side of my brain hastily replied. So down goes the trunklid with a thud, slighly bruising my elbow and putting a nice dent in the once-fine sheen of the trunklid. Ooopps!!! What a moron! At least I had no one to blame but myself. The dent is hardly noticeable to the non-informed, but obvious to me.
Moral of the story: a dent in the trunk is worth two fingerprints on the finish.
I can easily have it fixed for about $20-30 and 20 minutes at any auto body shop or dent specialist, but I haven't been bugged enough by it to cross it off the to-do list in the last 4 months.
Weird.
Just my two cents, but I think it would be wiser to buy a house and get the HUGE tax benefits of home ownership and start having my property appreciate than buy $60K worth of cars. Then again, it's none of my business and if it works for you, kudos.
Not my place to judge.