Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

part 2.

I did call, but got into a VM, so just showed up. Salesguy goes to get car, comes back with SM who said it was at the wholesale lot, since it needed work. Did offer to show me a 2004 325xi though, which I did not like. About to leave, and salesguy mentions a nice 2005 coupe. So well looked. And drove on their little racetrack (yes, the complex has an actual racetrack).

my lord, this was nice. A 2005 330ci coupe, black over saddle, AT. 80,000 on the clock, but did not show it. Very clean. and a blast to drive.

had them proce it. Best they did was 14.5 with a 7k trade. Not exactly in the price range, and IMO too much car to pass down to my daughter next year.

but it looked great, and drove really well. Of course, my daughter wanted it bad, but I wasn't jumping into that deal without some serious thought.

still might call on the steel blue and offer 2.5K + trade, and see what they say. The Princess was turned off of it, but she would come around I am sure if I did get it.

Otherwise, the whole BMW plan may die on the vine, and we will be back to the hassle of sharing a stick. The kid is really short, and screws up my seat something fierce!

anyway, the search continues. But I think the counter on the steel blue will happen, since it actually seems like a pretty good deal, even as it sits from them.

Sandman6472

The blue one would be what I'd pick...hands down! Absolutely the one. But it would be great if y'all could snag it. Me, I'm holding out for the last generation RX 330 or 350. I really need that slide right over car as I age & my spine gets worse. And there are so many down here in South Florida. Maybe in a couple of years the plan might work...always optimistic! I am...

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

If I hadn't brought my daughter along it would be easier. She was picking on the little flaws (good thing I guess to bring miss OCD along to do so), and the color was not her favorite. Probably the people at the store (and the burning smell out of the heat!) were issues too.

It was probably a good deal, but I suspect it will be around for a while.

Just have to keep looking, eventually the right car at the right place will drop into my lap.

stickguy

At the dealer with the 2005 330ci.

Saw it on the apron, and it looked darned nice. I just don't see it on their website (nor do i see the one I drove today!)

but, they had a 2006 M3 SMG, silver/blue (not sure exact color) over gray, for $29,995 (windshield sticker). No idea of miles, but looked danged nice.

isellhondas

That black/red interior package is another one of those "love it or hate it" color combos.

Personally, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me but it sure wouldn't be my first choice either. Most would be in my camp and that's probably the reason it's been sitting there for two month.

And, yeah, I am an American who hates cramped cars.

isellhondas

Wow...12,000 for that Reatta???

Heck, mine doesn't need a headliner and I'll sell it to you for a third of that price. Always a babied Seattle car too!

qbrozen

What's that worth, $14 - $15.5 GALVES?

Yup. Right about there. So even if I loved it, I wouldn't go a dime over $18k on it. And that's probably even too much with the cloth seats.

I was really itching to try to get up to that 135 today, but it just wasn't in the cards. Couldn't catch a break. We'll just have to see if it sits there till after xmas. They might be more willing to deal the last week of the year anyway.

qbrozen

well, on that blue one, I said $10,500 would be fair if its all there. And the trade number on your car was $7-$7500, right? So $3500 diff is right on the money there. Another $500 would be nice, of course.

I don't think you'll get there with the 330. $6k difference would be a very good deal for you, and you may not even get that low.

nyccarguy

You are going to love the 135i. I've never driven a 135i but have driven an E90 335xi & an E60 535xi with the N54 motor. It is awesome. The fact that you are looking at a car that performs as well as the 135i for the low-mid $20K is remarkable.

The N54 pulls like a small V8 rather than a Turbo 6. It is such a gem of an engine that I've considered (by looking on autotrader & BMWUSA) trading in my perfectly good 2010 Acura TSX for a 335xi (much smaller) or 535xi that is a year or 2 older.

stickguy

the 330 was never in the plan (though plans can change...). More of a shiny diversion, but dang, my daughter liked it (and it probably spoiled her for anything else now!)

I really thought about firing back with 2,500 and I sign now, but was not 100% sure on the place and the car (though it is probably the nicest one I will find at a reasonable price and higher miles).

at this point, having the Accord in play is too much of a hassle. I really need to separate the deals, but I don't know what I can spend until that is sold, and my wife will have a cow if I sell my car again without having a replacement in hand (did that once, then couldn't find anything I liked. It got ugly).

But, if I can get some picks, I am seriously tempted to throw it on the 'net, and if someone bites at my price, work out the details later! Nothing like cash in hand to make shopping easier, when you can drive it away today!

nyccarguy

if I was, I'd LOVE a BMW 535xi w/ 6-speed Stick like this one.

Q what do you think the GALVES is on this car? The stick has got to kill it in our area. $26K?

akangl

Found a truck I really liked, hard to believe anyone ever drove it. 1 owner, babied, seats hovered in, thinking pretty hard about seeing what I can get out of the F-150. Would have to wait until next week or so, have a pretty sick kid right now and am running back and forth to the hospital. Another reason the F-150 hasn't made it back to the dealer for repairs, need it too much right now and its functioning ok as long as 4WD isn't a huge deal.

What do you guys think? Truck

qbrozen

your link just took me to bmw's site. I tried to search, but the site is being completely glitchy on me. First it would only show me 535i, then, at some point, the 535xi option showed up, but told me none were in the country... now I can't get that option to even show up again.

EDIT: ah, finally got it to work. But there are still 14 options. Which one?

qbrozen

I don't know trucks these days, but unless I'm overlooking it, I don't see where that says if its 1500, 2500, or 3500. :confuse:

nyccarguy

That seems like they are asking A LOT of money for an almost 6 year old truck.

nyccarguy

It is an '08 535xi with premium pkg, navigation, comfort access. Black/Black w/ just over 37K miles & a 6-speed manual transmission. Dealer is BMW of Bloomfield in NJ.

Contrary to the BMW enthusiast community as a whole, I LOVE the E60 5 series. My Mom had a Black/Black '05 that was just a fantastic car. Never in the shop for anything except scheduled maintenance. About 3 weeks before the lease was up, someone in a Sienna made a left turn into my mom while my mom was going straight. Did close to $15K worth of damage. Our insurance paid to have the car fixed (by the dealer) & we never saw it again. Our service advisor said the car came out PERFECT.

andre1969

I guess you like to drive close? I've noticed my cousin does that. He is about 2" taller than me and when he drove my car I couldn't believe how far he moved the seat up (and how far down he tilted the steering wheel).

I've noticed that a lot of people are like that. For instance, I'm 6'3", and in just about every car I've ever driven, I'll put the seat back as far as it will go. And sometimes on long trips, I'll even drive barefoot, which is usually the equivalent of giving you another inch or so of legroom. But, I have a friend who's only 5'10", and he'll usually put the seat all the way back. Yet. another one of my friends, who's around 6'2", will usually move the seat up a bit.

stickguy

every time I look, something else pops up. I wish I had next week off instead of being slammed at work and way behind on getting X-mas prep done!

Over in PA, at a dealer, found a dark blue over gray 2004 325i with 83K on it, for actually less than 10 grand.

and even better, it is a sport package (love those seats!) with a stick. Perked my ears right up!

roadburner

Contrary to the BMW enthusiast community as a whole, I LOVE the E60 5 series.

Even I wouldn't turn down an E60 M5... :P

qbrozen

Galves does say $26-$27k; HOWEVER, they are lacking an auto trans option. It is a $1350 hit on the 528xi, so I'd think it the same here, making $26k the absolute top after all reconditioning.

js06gv

Denalis of that vintage were all half ton 1500 models. It wasn't until recently that GMC expanded the Denali model line across to the HDs.

isellhondas

I guess I'll never know why you keep getting rid of cars only to buy another that "something" will cause it to lose favor with you quickly.

Definatly an expensive thing to keep doing.

Sandman6472

Agreed...why change so much? But obviously $ isn't an object for y'all but damn...I just don't get it!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

after another round of driving training on the stick (poor accord...), my daughter is no longer that enthused by going through the stick process. While she agrees that with enough practice she could finally become proficient, she is not really feeling the love at this point (kind of a "why am I doing this again?" concept).

while it is certainly a good life skill to have, if she is more comfortable with the 2 pedal mode, then I am not going to force it.

so, back to my original plan: find something I don't mind driving for the next year that has an AT, but is old/cheap enough to consider passing along to her a year from now when she can solo. Until next November, she is going to be on a permit anyway, so we will "share" whatever I get!

I think my best bet is to stay within the budget I can live with as paying cash now (which will keep me from getting too much car for her a year from now, if you follow the logic), then just worry about selling the accord later on. Or just keep it for a while. Who knows?

stickguy

next year, when we need 3 cars again, I get to find a toy. Already started looking. Found 1 place with a Z3 (1998) and a Z4 (2003) that I could live with!

Hmm, buy a 325i now, and a Z3/4 next year, then let my wife splurge on an X3 next Christmas? Might lose the house doing it, but dang, could go from all Honda to all BMW!

akangl

Definatly an expensive thing to keep doing.

It is and I don't really want to trade again. Right now my truck is somewhat functional and we are trying to baby it and keep it going until its appt later this week. If I do trade I'm not going to buy the Denali, very nice truck, but the more I thought about it, it doesn't make sense to go from a 1/2 ton to a 1/2 ton. I might as well got to a 3/4 ton and not be at risk to run out of truck (or bed length....5 1/2 ft bed gets short sometimes).

For now I'm going to give them another chance to get the F-150 fixed again, it has an appt on Thursday and they've promised me a 4WD loaner. I really do like the F-150, I just hate having a vehicle in the shop all the time. Hubby's Civic has over 90k on it and has NEVER been in the shop for anything other than oil changes.

stickguy

you got plenty of warranty. And it is not something that should really be that hard to resolve. Just let them take care of it, and just hang onto the thing.

qbrozen

Thanks for the clarification.

Jolie, that rig would be worth all of $17k as a trade-in and, at the absolute tippy top of the retail scale, $21k .... down here in the sane states. What do we add in for Alaska? Is 10% fair?

akangl

that rig would be worth all of $17k as a trade-in and, at the absolute tippy top of the retail scale, $21k .... down here in the sane states. What do we add in for Alaska? Is 10% fair?

I was thinking it was overpriced, I don't think I would have gone over $22k for it and that dealer does not negotiate, the price you see is the price you pay. Funny thing is its owned by a car guy I worked for several years ago.

As for add in, I don't honestly know, I just watched a friend pay WAY WAY too much for a truck from dave smith motors. Similar truck up here could have been had for easily $4k-$7k less and that was without looking too hard. I guess it depends on the vehicle and the time of year. Winter time the 4WD/AWD vehicles are hot and FWD doesn't bring much, in the summer its the exact opposite. Worst times to buy a vehicle is October (permenant fund dividend time) and spring (tax refund time).

Its looking like the Ford is going to stay around, I really do like the truck......best heated seats ever!! Plus its fun to drive and when its working right its a very good truck. Reminds me a lot of my Titan *sniff* :sick:

bolivar

Throw some wood in the back of that Ford pickup. It will then go almost anywhere a 4 wheel drive will go.

rayainsw

Briefly:
Noticed when filling the tank this AM,
I passed 3,000 miles over the weekend.
Summary:
Enjoying every [s]mile.
Providing enjoyment [ at least ] commensurate with price paid.
- Ray
Very happy customer.....

ateixeira

yeah, besides, how much can the kids grow by 7 and 3 when you get rid of it?

You beat me to it.

ateixeira

So, dad is shopping for a 200c convertible, any suggestions as to model or powertrain or options?

I'm thinking Pentastar all the way, for the smoothness/power.

They seem to have a Touring 4 or V6, Limited V6, and S V6. True car has those at around $24k, $28k, and $30k respectively.

I have a feeling he'll end up with a Limited. He wants leather. I will definitely suggest heated seats.

Cloth top or hard top? Any issues with those?

corvette

From the reviews I've read, definitely the V6. The Sebring/200C has never been known for its structural integrity. I don't like convertibles, but if I were buying one, I'd want a folding hardtop.

qbrozen

So, dad is shopping for a 200c convertible

you are allowing this?

qbrozen

This will be the one. I swear this time!

isellhondas

I would read the reviews which are NOT favorable.

Resale is horrible so maybe a year old one would be a smart buy if this is what he really wants.

ateixeira

I tried, but he's pretty determined.

For me the 200 was a half-effort, not as good as the new Chrysler's full efforts (JGC, Durango).

At least reliability for the 200 is good, per early data.

I rented a Sebring but that was a while ago. Test drove one when the hard tops came out, but yeah, creaky structure, plus the window on the hard top model is no bigger than on a cloth top. Missed opportunity.

He's looking around today, plans to buy tomorrow.

tjc78

The problem is in that segment what are your choices? If he likes the 200 it is safe to say a Mustang or Camaro vert are not what he is looking for.

If it were my money I think I would do what Fezo did and pick up the newest used Solara Vert I could find. A used Volvo C70 is pretty nice too, but I'm not sure how they do in the reliability dept.

ateixeira

Resale is horrible so maybe a year old one would be a smart buy if this is what he really wants

Good idea, just looked on Cars.com...

$24k for a Touring. No engine specified. Ridiculous because one quote was $23.5k for a brand new one.

$21.5k for a V6 Touring, that's about $25k new, maybe a tad more. Not really a compelling enough difference for me to send him shopping used.

I think the 200 convertible just came out so maybe in a year or two you'll see bargains, especially former rentals. He won't wait, though.

ateixeira

I don't think he'd go for used, just not his cup of tea.

Mustang is a good idea - I may suggest that as an alternative. Where do those start, $$$ wise?

ateixeira

Hmm, $24k for starters (V6) per TrueCar, a hair over $27k for the Premium packs.

So same pricing. He just needs to decide if he wants a back seat. I don't even think the Mustang coupe has a real back seat, so I imagine the convertible is only worse.

nyccarguy

So $26K GALVES then if they're desperate, should let it go for $28K + tax? The 5ers don't seem to be that much more expensive (asking prices) than the 3ers of the same year (335 vs. 535).

qbrozen

The 3 definitely holds its value way better than the 5. If they are desperate? Well, nothing to lose but your time. Go for it. Just don't expect CPO at that price.

nyccarguy

Like I said before, I'm more of a chronic car looker & definitely a chronic car keeper. That 5 would be an ideal car for me, except I've got a perfectly good 2010 TSX with 45,000 miles that's only 36 months away from being paid off (hopefully in 24 months) that I just can't part with right now.

isellhondas

" At least reliability for the 200 is good per early data"

I've always wondered how they can predict reliability on a car that is brand new to the market?

isellhondas

" I'm not sure how they do in the reliability dept"

Are you kidding? It's a VOLVO!

Few cars are worse!

tjc78

I thought so, but, Chrysler isn't that great either and at least the Volvo should be decent to drive.

stickguy

noticed that the latest 325i to catch my eye (a 2005 with 43.6K on it) had a carfax linked to the website fromt he dealer (used car lot). One reason for low miles? they have had it since 9/2010(!) and did 700 miles in that time. Also noticed that it had an accident reported in 2007 (front end damage/collision), but no details of course.

so, I can't decide if this should make me run and hide, or just lower my offer to 12K take or leave it. Pending a BMW specialist PPI of course!

amazed they still have it after that much time.

nyccarguy

Figure another $2K CPO?