By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Now, a plea for all and the story of why I was in NYC today. As our regular posters know I have a host of medical ills but the biggie in terms of actually living is a thing called myleodysplastic syndrome or MDS (also myleodyplasia). My bone marrow doesn't make blood properly. After being treated with local guys for 4 years or so today I went in to see the pope of such things at Sloan Kettering. I'll be needing and getting a bone marrow transplant. They will be testing my brothers looking for a match and if non e do they go into the bank of people that have been tested and find somebody. This is where you come in. I'm not expecting a match from in here but any time you see anything about testing people for the bank please go do it. They just swab your cheek to get the info they need and if you actually have to donate it's like giving blood - not drilling into your bone (though they did go into my bone today for samples; man am I sore.) Pretty much painless and you could save someone's life much like someone will be saving mine. Assuming all goes well I should be a nice 80 year old fezo one day.
I don't know the timing yet but when it comes I'll be in there for three months or more. The procedure doesn't take that long and is like getting a transfusion but they have to give the new marrow that long to establish and have to keep you from infections and such while it's at it. Will keep you posted of course. Am taking tomorrow off to rest my hip.
Make that most of my late relatives...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Richard
Richard
Hoping for all the very best to you.
I know people who have a lot fewer health problems than you do who aren't half as positive. You are a remarkable person and I hope everything goes as well as it possibly can.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Fezo - best of luck to you finding a bone marrow donor.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Hang in there. I hope everything goes smoothly and you get the best care available to you.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
I would not worry about rushing out to find a new one. The right one will find you.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
brentwood...I really like those Jag XFs. There was a point I thought about a CPO XF, too.
But, I've come to the conclusion I'm a new car guy. I don't want anyone else's butt prints in my car. Still, I do like them. New ones are out of my price league, though.
Picking up where we left off, while still uncertain whether I wanted to trade my TL, I started to eyeball the internet and local car lots as to what, if anything, might be available to me that I might be interested in.....that included pricing.
Don't know about all of you, but I usually pore over all of the trade rag reviews of cars I might be interested in (including Edmunds' excellent reviews). Then, I try to locate what's on my radar locally to see what the iron looks like in the flesh.
Everyone's favorite brand or target (depending on which side of the fence you fall on), BMW was first up. Head to the lots on a Sunday to window shop, I decide that the 3 and 5 are targeted.
While I do like the concept of the 5 series, the drivetrain dictates that it's little more than a larger 3 series...with a larger price tag. Trade rags say that the previous generation of the 5 is better than the current generation of the 5. With that in mind, I test drive one. The trade rags are right. The new 5 has become softer....more on par with the ride/handling of an E class (not a bad thing, just not my cup of tea). I preferred my TL SH AWD, by a fairly large margin...especially given the price point of the 5 equipped similarly.
Briefly drove the 1 series. Not bad, but geez, is it small and rather spartan given the price point.. Again, for 35K-40K a 1 Series costs, I think I'd prefer a TSX.
So, let's focus on the 3 Series. Drove all of them, the 328i, 328ix, 328i convertible. Nice, but not adrenalin inducing....that is, until you step into the 335i. THAT is a very good combination of ride, handling and straight out performance. You can actually tell where the price premium went on the 3.
So, clearly I like it. It's smaller than my TL, but I'm OK with that. It's usually just me, or my girlfriend and me, or driving with my son. So, I really don't care about back seat room.
The coupe is better looking than the sedan, by a fairly large margin, IMHO.
So, BMW has announced that they are bringing out a new 3 sometime next year as either a 2012 0r 2013. Engines getting smaller (for the most part). One thing about BMW, their styling doesn't change much over the years, either exterior or interior. I don't see that changing this go round either.
Plus, if BMW follows in the same footsteps as the 5 series, the current 3 might just be the better car.
Even better, there is an $1840 customer incentive on the xDrive 3, plus I was invited for the now popular "BMW drive for the Olympics" that gives another $1,000 incentive. In addition to that, new model coming out soon. All this adds up to the opportunity to do a real skinny deal on one.
But, there are other cars to test drive, and a decision to be made whether to soldier on with my trusty TL.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
OK, I'll look into testing.
On the the other hand, would you really want my old beat up marrow? Who knows what effect it would have on you? You might end up mean with the urge to yell at kids and buy old cars! :surprise:
You would probably be better off with some of that hi-class richard64 or driver100 marrow. If you want to win the marathon I would go for the graphicguy performance marrow. :P
Good luck buddy!
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Speaking of butt prints....
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/11/2007-11-11_former_rep_john_sweeney_ch- arged_with_agg.html
The story doesn't mention that the Congressman was driving a BMW.
Actually I think he was driving pretty good for being drunk and having a 23yo blonde in his lap. Now THAT's the feel of the road.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Last I heard you were headed to pick up that new BMW.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
You are the toughest guy I know and reaching 80 will just be another milestone for you on your way to 120.
Hang in there! You'll be in my thoughts and prayers!
Get better asap. Not sure if I qualify as a donor with my medical history but I'll be happy to get checked if need be.
Glad you went to Sloan, they rock.
Bill
I'm already close to that! We may match!
Richard - you would pay my mortgage and property taxes while I'm laid up! Think of the honor!
I will be actually playing around before going in with the idea of how to keep the bills paid. We don't have that much of a cushion and I'm the one that writes the checks and keeps things above water. That will be fun. Of far more concern is how the family deals with it. My wife's got plenty on her plate and my kids - especially my youngest are quite attached. It's that youngest one I'm most concerned about. She's 9.
houdini....if y'all want the Reader's Digest version and skip all the rest, I can do that.
Kirstie insinuated she'd like me to pen another tome for the sales stories thread. :P
or keep your TL, but as soon as the TL hits Carfax you may
not have a choice. I'm thinking 2-4k deduction for wrecked car.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
Sorry to hear of your illness. I never even knew about getting tested for a bone marrow match. I plan to ask about that in Aug when I visit my family physician. I always check the box for organ transplant every time I renew my driver's license. I learn something daily on this forum.
Gogiboy
Driver--
We did get a puppy a few months back from the Tulsa Humane Society. He's a funny looking fellow with huge pointed ears--more bat than dog. He seems to be some kind of shepherd mix. He somehow managed to win the cutest puppy of the month at our vet (I swear, we never voted for him) and did quite well in kindergarten obedience. He overlapped with ZuZu for about 4 months. Not quite sure if he has figured out that she's not around or coming back.
Gogiboy
"That's right sir, you need a client advisor to ride with you in the dealership's dime a dozen 328xi Sedan, but we'll let you drive our $100,000+, 400 hp Turbo V8 just released to the public 650i Convertible."
"Sure, why not, no arguments here."
"Do you have any questions?"
"Yes, how do you disable the stability control? Ha Ha Ha!"
In all seriousness, BMW's Turbo V8 is quite the engine. Bottomless torque, no lag, great sound, pulls like a freight train, twice the speed limit comes very quickly.
The car itself is striking. The interior is gorgeous. The car is comfortable, even with the tightest suspension settings and quickest throttle response.
To quote graphicguy: "I wasn't WOWED."
I'd have a hard time plunking down my kids' college fund on this over a 911. This 650 just isn't my cup of tea. My 200 hp, 4cyl TSX felt like it was going in reverse when I tried merging onto the highway after driving the 650.
I have driven the new 535i & 550i at another BMW test drive event. Both cars were great, especially the 550i, but I prefer the former E60 Body Style.
I 100% agree with your assesment of the 3. As long as you don't need to use the back seat that often, go for it. It is a fantastic car. You'll LOVE it. The E90 335i is one of my fav cars on the road.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I remember you mentioning that you and your wife were struggling with the new dog and I thought about that when we went looking for another dog. I'm sorry it didn't work out. Don't close yourself off completely from the possibility of another, You're still young and have your wits--well mostly.
It's funny how we measure our lives. After relentless prodding my wife agreed to let me get ZuZu for my 40th birthday (some middle age crisis, right!). I had only the barest inkling of how much work a dog--especially a Basenji--would be since we had only had cats until that point.
In my mind I keep wondering whether I could handle another Basenji. If it lived as long as ZuZu that would basically take me to my 70th birthday--which is hard to conceive. I suspect that some of my sorrow is also for the disappearance of my 40s and early 50s, which are now just water under the bridge. There is probably additional anguish because she was our first dog and, as many of you have mentioned--a member of the family.
Thanks for all the heartfelt commiserating I have received from the forum. Roadburner--boy, there is some truth to what you wrote.
Gogiboy
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Did I miss a post? Aren't you till looking to get the 335 that is to be shipped to your local dealer or did that fall through, too?
By the way, a month or so back I followed the general recommendation of you and roadburner and bought a 50" Panasonic plasma. My wife and I are very pleased thus far. I considered the Oppo blu-ray player, but went for a cheap Panasonic instead. The Oppo had great reviews on every site I checked--about as close to perfection as you can get with consumer electronics reviews. CNET says they use an Oppo as their reference machine.
Again, I always learn something daily on this forum
Gogiboy
Were you on a road with a 25 MPH speed limit?
Ha ha ha.
Good to hear about the no turbo lag. I'm finding that there's a bit of it in our CX-7. Mash the throttle to accelerate and its "one potato, two po-WHOOOSH!".
Gonna have to plan better on my merges from now on.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I'll go ahead and skip to the chase, except I want to head the posse off in advance. Only one person/dealer has asked me whether my TL was in an accident (out of about 10 who've seen/driven it). That's a testament to the quality of both the Acura and the shop that did the repair work. Plus, the only reason the one manager/dealer asked me if it had been in an accident was because he took a paint gauge to it (a first for me) and noticed more paint where they blended one panel to another. I did not deny it. I admitted it had been in an accident. But, it was a dealership that I wasn't interested in making a deal with.
I do not feel I'm fooling anyone. My car is a used car. It's not perfect. Want a perfect car, buy a new one. If someone had asks me if it has been in an accident, I will divulge that to them. So, that's my stance.
OK...so I decided on the BMW 335i xDrive coupe. I didn't want one with a silver exterior. I didn't want one with black interior. I wanted an automatic (no boos and hisses, I save my clutch work for muscle cars). Aside from that, I was open to all options. Although, I did see one with Black Sapphire exterior and Beige interior which really caught my eye (except it belonged to someone else).
Little did I know how tough it is to find a 3 series that isn't silver and/or does not have black interior.
Using Trucar.com and Edmunds, I came up with all the pricing info I needed. MSRP, Invoice, incentives, etc. Trucar.com actually gave prices (but not availability) of 3 dealers that were (relatively) close to me.
On my trade, I received 6 bids for it to formulate what it might be worth. CARMAX was first. They were literally thousands low and seemed only to want to sell me another car.
I received the highest bid from a Cadillac dealership (too bad I will never buy another Cadillac). Two from separate an Infiniti dealers, the other 2 from BMW dealers.
The local Infiniti dealer came in low on my trade, and just so happened to be the highest for the purchase of their cars. The other Infiniti dealership was very competitive on my trade. Interestingly enough, that was the dealership who used a paint gauge on my car and asked if it had been in an accident. They were also aggressive on the new car (a G37x coupe).
The two BMW dealerships (one 50 miles away, the other 10 miles away) were very competitive on their trade offers.
Based on all of this, I established my trade number at $32K. The delta between what I paid for the car new, and $32K was about $5K when all was said and done...this for a 2 model year old car. Pretty darn good in my estimation.
I'll catch up later.....
I agree, the 5 Series is just not that much fun to drive. It has a smooth ride, lots of room, competent handling, but where's the fun factor? The smaller 3 Series is more nimble.
Just my preference, but I like the 4 door model just as much as the coup. And, you don't have to be a contortionist to get into the back seat.
I also agree, the 335 is a totally different driving experience. Well worth the extra cost if you can do it.
If you have any desire for a convertible the hardtop convertible is the way to go. What a nice feeling driving with the top down.
I agree with most of your comments...we have very similar impressions of these cars.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I have seen some people get a younger dog when their current pet starts to get up there in years. I think that is a great idea. That must help with the loss to some degree. Each day does get better, but it isn't easy losing a member of the family.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I meant to comment earlier but I got sidetracked. You gave it a really good try, much more than I could have done.
I have a BIL who has a small farm - that's not his main source of income. To him a dog is like livestock, and I am sure he would put down a dog or animal if it wasn't acting the way he would expect it to.
I think you did the best you could do for Coco, and hopefully things will work out, and I give you a lot of credit, I wouldn't have lasted nearly that long.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I can hardly wait...and your story is excellent. I think you had a deal all set to go though, you were just going to go and firm it up last night, or the night before.
Any way....continue as soon as you can............................................
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
On my test drive, no sales people. Just me (which I was thankful for) and my girlfriend (who fell in love with the car). Plus, the sales people didn't seem busy, and weren't trying to talk to me. So, I appreciated that.
driver....Either I'm regressing to a younger age in my driving wants/needs, or people in my age bracket just don't appreciate a fast, good handling car. If the Audis had something more than a 4 cylinder engine, I might be driving an A4 or A5. I drove an S4...nice car....very, very similar to my TL SH AWD, for about $12,000 more. Thanks, but no thanks.
Over the years, I've test driven (or at least rode in) 3 different Mercedes...a C, an E, and whatever their SUV is. For the money, not impressed with any of them. They're slower, don't handle as well, don't have the materials, nor the tech as any of the other brands do....all for more money. I know there's a certain cachet that comes with them. But somehow, it's lost on me.
The BMW 5 is a nice car. It's a relatively car. It's a comfortable car. To me, it seems like the Cadillac is a closer comparison to it than any other similarly sized sports sedan. That's not a knock as the Caddy I test drove (CTS) drove nice (and similar to the 5 series), too. I just don't prefer that sort of driving experience.
Maybe a 550i would change my mind. Then again, that's well over my price level.
The 5 Series was certainly more sporty, but didn't ride nearly as nice. And the Audi never let me forget it was a front wheel drive based car, and I will probably never own another FWD. I hated the understeer. So, to each their own. Hope whatever you get makes you happy.
You took your TL to that many dealers? Did you just ask them to appraise it for a cash sale or did you tell them you might be buying a new one from them?
I imagine that they would offer a better price if it was part of a new car deal.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Now I'm wondering if Chevy is planning a SS version with a 6 cyl motor for the future. There is plenty of room in there for one. The previous generation Cobalt SS was listed as one of the 10 fastest cars under $25K. I bet there are plenty of 3.6L V-6s left over from Pontiac production. Combine that with the Cruse's superior handling and you could have a sweet little pocket rocket.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I'm sure you know what a turbo looks like, though.
Explorer is going to hit 1,000 miles after just about 6 weeks of ownership tomorrow.
Will fill it up for the 3rd time tomorrow and driving to Wilkes-Barrie PA and back on Friday.
Not the ideal highway trip, but should be able to get a general reading.
S-2000 test drives were usually scary and unproductive. I ran from people looking at them.
GG, I agree with all your comments once again...I really had the same impressions.
Did I have a dream or were you going to pick up a 3 Series at your neighborhood dealer? The car was going to be there and you were going to go there and sign on the dotted line.
Did I imagine all that or did I dream it? Did you actually go to the dealer? Did I miss a post about what happened? :confuse:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Driver--
I had the same question back in post #69887. I'm wondering if something happened at the local dealer, maybe akin to the saleslady who was "supposedly" going to do the deal, but then discovered the car had already been grabbed from the port by another dealership. Or are there more backroom shenanigans? Did his TL VIN finally show up on Carfax thus lowering their trade-in allowance? Or maybe GG is taking advantage of the same multi-part narrative cliffhangers ala Mackabee? The suspense is obviously working on both of us.
Gogiboy
I've heard that Chevy has no plans for an SS version at present.
The previous generation Cobalt SS was listed as one of the 10 fastest cars under $25K.
The only problem was, when all was said and done, it was still a Cobalt...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Thanks for your interest. The rodeo and Western Music Show in Jackson Hole were both spectacular. Five days in that area was worth it---Yellowstone and Grand Tetons included. There was just so much to do and see. Today, we arrived in Salt Lake City. Tomorrow, we'll tour the city and hear the Morman Tabernacle Choir tomorrow night. Friday, we head for Denver via Aspen, and on to Pike's peak.
The SRX is doing fine---needs a wash job in the worst way! Oil life is now down to 54%, having begun the trip at 77%. We've been roughly 3,000 miles at this point. I'll keep a check on it.
Richard
We must not make the mistake of measuring our lives in just years. I needed this trip to remind me of that. I think that I had slipped into the "old man " mode---a dangerous thing to do.
Thanks for saying that I was still young. That earns you free dues here for at least another season.
Richard
Richard
Richard