Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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BMW 3-Series 2006
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A staggering 19,300 miles!!!
An oil change, an air filter, wipers. I think that was about it.
Are you serious? I'm having a very difficult time figuring out what is draining about driving a stick "in-city", regardless of whether you're alone, riding with a 300 pound gorilla or on a first date with a total hottie.
FWIW, moving forward from when I first started dating, I managed to stay single for nearly 21 years and did a LOT of dating during those years. Through it all I never once had a car with a slushbox, and not only was the stick not a drawback, many of my dates asked me if I would teach them how to row their own.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I haven't experienced much commentary about my vehicle being a stick shift--maybe I'm hanging out with the wrong crowds, or perhaps this is no longer much of a turn-on?
A BMW in southern california will not get you noticed. They're too common. A Porsche 911, Ferrari and maybe a Viper will get you noticed by people.
I suppose the same lack of attention would be true of a loaded Subaru, Saab, or Volvo in the northwest.
I'll go one better. Three weeks before my "one year anniversary", I paid on-line for another year (I have a 24 mo. lease). Not only did they still drop me one day after this anniversary, but it took two calls to "convince" them that I had paid, listening all the while to their lame excuses. After a 20 min. hold, the first person I talked to at Sirius actually hung up on me rather than listen to my complaint. I was not rude, however. Then it took multiple attempts to get me back up and running. When all was resolved, they finally apologized.
Being a single, young professional there is NO BETTER time to drive a stick.
You can't be drained with in-city shifting? What city do you live in?
I taught my wife how to drive stick while we were still dating (though she still doesn't like it or see the point of it).
I taught a friend's daughter (16) how to drive stick last week. It was only here 2nd time behind the wheel (3 days after she got her permit). She launched my car PERFECTLY without stalling the 1st time! I was impressed.
Blueguy: YOu continue to crack me up :P
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
How did they react when you replied "Sure, but not using my car!".
Best Regards,
Shipo
Honestly, the manual will come, but not now. I am only 25- i've got a lot of upgrades to go before I get into 'rowing'.
Cheers guys, have a good weekend. I'm off to AC.
Needless to say, it was love at first sight....
"Ummm, nope, not one worth having anyway."
"Then I'm not driving it, you're driving it."
"What!?! Me??? Ummm, no, I ain't driving it so that means that you have to."
Y'all can guess the rest. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
I can drive manual
I love BMWs...we had them when I was growing up and they felt sooo good
Baseball sucks
Love the NFL
I will never go camping with you
Without sushi, what's the point in living?
Ah, heavenly words.
Best Regards,
Shipo
jayluf: I will give you that the traffic in the DC area is horrendous. The only time my leg and foot were actually in pain was driving around Baltimore during rush hour. I could be driving around in a Ferrari F430 and not have a woman throw her business card in my window, but that's a discussion for another time & place :P
blueguydotcom: "baseball sucks" It really does everywhere else outside Yankee Stadium!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
If you didn't 'finish' setting up your account on Sirius's website, that might explain why you didn't receive notice. If you did, then they probably just screwed up.
-Paul
The last sentnece says it all. Sirius has the worst customer service of any company I've dealt with recently.
AGREED. Perhaps second only to Cablevision.
Their support when renewing my account was equally refreshing. *shrug* That is probably even worse - inconsistent customer service between service reps.
Like Forrest Gump said, "You never know what you're gonna get."
-Paul
I'm so excited. Lower weight, none of that bumpy-ride garbage, tighter handling and cheap replacement costs. Still can't understand what BMW was thinking by switching to such god-awful tires.
DL
As I had posted before I have bought a new 2006 325xi. Another friend of mine recently bought one too and had a highway tire blowout. He subsequently purchased the 5yr insurance for tires from the dealer for $700 etc. In your opinion is it worth it as each replacement tire costs close to half that amount. What are your recommendations especially with all the complaints on the RFT tires.
--Mathew
When you lease, you need to change tires once if you have a 3 yr. lease anyway. Continentals are about $150 for RFT's if you include mounting/balancing at a competitive shop (not BMW). I believe BMW charges approx. $65 for each tire.
So you can probably break even if you had to change all 4 without the insurance for Conti's. It bepends on the coverage in the warantee details.
Owner6.
It's a combination of hardware (double-stage intake) and software.
As for upgrading, you will have to wait and see if someone comes out with a chip.
Now, the twin-turbo 3.0L is looking very chippable.
did u have any success, cause my dealer told me it would fry the unit inside if i paired a phone not listed on the website. id really like to know if anyone was able to pair and LGVX8100 cuz its a greta phone and id prefer not to have to buy the $270 RAZR instead.
they do light on when headlamps are on or in the parking lamps mode though.
About 17K of it on original Bridgestone RFT, other 7K on the winterforce last winter. I am back on Winterforce this weeekend.
First 10K on original RFT was smooth, incredibly smooth. Last 7K very rough, very rough. I didn't know it was tire. Took it to dealer last week since I couldn't stand the rough ride, thought something was not right, feared something in engine/drivetrain. No, the dealer said the tires were chopped up. After only 10-17K ? I didn't ride it hot rod or anything, only an occasional speeding on the freeway.
Dealer said still thread left, so bear with it until 30K, then change to new RFT's. Quote - Bridgestone $1150, Conti $800. Saw Conti on Tirerack for $104 a piece, + $100 for switching over, I am thinking may be Spring 08.
Blue, how is reg tire you mentioned. I don't mind. I can use one of the winters as spare in the trunk. What kind did you get.
Here's another thing. On Thu I got indication I have a flat. I checked pressure, it was near zero, but no indication of flat just looking at tire. I drove about 3 mi at 40MPH max to gas station, inflated to 35 psi, and drove back home. Next day 30 psi still left. That's when changed to the winter (a week too early on my schedule. Typically Thanksgiving weekend). Found a nail right in the center. Took to shop and patched it. It should last until next Thanksgiving, I hope.
Love the car though. No problem. Even the oil stays max after 9K. 6K more to go. Get 24-27 MPG on mixed driving (2:1 backroads:freeway). I may have gotten 32 on the freeway on a trip, don't remember.
I have taken the car back to dealer twice after nearly having an accident with it, and they say "problem not verified". So, in that case, i have to prepare a lemon law case against them. I hate driving this car because of this condition, so i am going to want my money back including all the profit they made on the trade. wish me luck.
regards,
musicblue
The 330xi I have is a whole lot better than the LS but I'll bet you have the same issue. Take the Service Advisor for a ride and demonstrate the problem for him.
Let me know what you think.
Regards,
OW
The drive by wire senses not only the amount you depress the accelerator but also how fast. When I very slowly would squeeze the throttle...nothing would happen. There was no down-shifting at all. I too thought there was a problem...until the throttle got to the floor and the thing took off (down shifting 3 or more gears)
I eventually learned (I thought these things were supposed to do the learning) that if I quickly tapped the accelerator about an inch i would get a quick 1 gear down shift (with the appropriate acceleration) and if I quickly tapped a couple inches or more I would get a 2 gear down shift.
After “I” learned this I found it much more enjoyable than a conventional “cable” throttle setup...but no where as enjoyable as a proper manual tranny
This is going to unexpectedly land me on the beach for a bit (I've only got four to six months of work on my plate as of today), however, this also presents me with a number of opportunities. Given the Geographically Undesirable (GU) nature of this particular client, I'm almost assured that my next contract will be closer at hand, here's hoping, after all, I've driven nearly 50,000 miles since June 2005, and that means that owning and/or leasing a new BMW was seriously not cost effective.
Now add another wrinkle, Mrs. Shipo, Shipo Jr. and Shipette Jr. have all conspired to add yet another family member to our midst, a yellow Labrador puppy (that's another story). Given the distinct likelihood that I'll have to be doing at least once per day doggie drop-off and/or doggie pick-up, I'm thinking that a nice 3er or 5er sedan is out of the question. Grrrr.
I just happened to check the BMW-USA web site to see what 3-Series wagons were being offered for 2007. As most of you know, BMW saw fit to only offer the first incarnation of the E90 wagon as a 325xi; a car that was relatively underpowered, heavy, included AWD whether one wanted it or not, and last but not least, the 325xi wasn’t available with a true Sport Package. Double grrrr.
Sure enough, upon reaching the 3-Series page on the BMW-USA site, I immediately spied a 328xi Sport Wagon, but wait! What's this? A 328i Sport Wagon too? Nah, I must'uv been seeing things. Checked again and NOPE! I saw correctly. I promptly configured one (a 328i Sport Wagon) with Metallic Paint, 6-Speed manual, PP, SP, Xenon, Premium Audio (hmmm, exact same options as on my 530i), and yikes, $42,120. Yeesh, that's 335i territory.
Hmmm, now if I can land a new gig closer to home all I need to do is to decide between the 335i Sedan and the 328i Sport Wagon. :P
Best Regards,
Shipo
Good luck my friend (either BMW should be a "win").
Also, good luck with the new pup (ship-pup?).
Coincidentally, over the long weekend I also noticed that it's possible to get the wagon in RWD trim. I priced it pretty bare: SP, leather & premium sound -- $39,145. Haven't bothered to check the ED pricing yet.
The sedan comes in at $37,820 (same options, plus fold-down rear seats), so as long as the bike will fit, that's probably the way I'd go. Otherwise, the wagon's the only thing that'll work.
Besides the ~$1300 extra, the balance isn't so good either ~54/46, which seems a bit odd, given that I'd expect the added weight to go more toward the rear.
Good luck with your new situation.