Thanks, Asharus...
I'll definately check out a CPO BMW....one more thing, what do you think about the CPO 3 series?
Thanks, Asharus...
I'll definately check out a CPO BMW....one more thing, what do you think about the CPO 3 series?
If your a driver go with the WRX Sti. Take a performance driving school first 
If I had that much $$ for a car, I would get a $5k beater and a $30k collectors
car for showing off on weekends. A 95' Porsche 968 cabriolet can be had for <$25k.
If I had that much $$ for a car, I would get a $5k beater and a $30k collectors
car for showing off on weekends. A 95' Porsche 968 cabriolet can be had for <$25k.
The 3 series are nice cars, but may be a little tight in the backseat. I went to the BMW homepage http://www.bmwusa.com and clicked on "Certified Pre-Owned" and did a search for available cars (enter your zip code)... You can pick up a fully loaded 2001 and up 330i and 330xi models for under $32k! Oh and I searched for 540i and 530i and a lot of 2001s showed up as well. You can also find 325i and 525i samples that are newer/cheaper. FYI the (x)40i is powered by the V8 and the (x)30i is powered by their larger Inline-6. The x25i is powered by their smaller Inline-6.
Again, don't be shy! Test drive the TL, test drive a CPO. Don't buy either w/o comparing them! Good luck!
Edit:
Test Drive the STi too! You'll probably hate the interior though...
Oh, and I'm not sure if the complimentary driving school given w/ every BMW purchase applies to CPO purchases, but that would be great!
I'd suggest either getting a Acura TL, or a Lexus IS300 or ES330, or the Infinity G35 coupe or sedan over the BMW 3 series. I think in that price range they are best choices because in the long run they will be more reliable cars and cost you less in repairs/services. Also those three models are still young in their body styles compared to the BMW 3 series. I think the new 3 series design came out in 99 and BMW will probably change the body design after 7 years so you'll have a new looking 3 series till '05. Based solely on that I'd stay away from BMW because I'd hate to spend 35k on car only to have start looking old after 3 years, and nothing makes a car look dated than a new redesigned model. Also, the BMW are nice cars but after your warranty expires I'd expect to pay high maintenance costs, I have friends with BMW's and whenever something breaks on them it'll cost them a minimum of 800 bucks to repair it, I think you'll get much more reliability out of Acura, Lexus, and Infinity since their based on Honda, Toyota, and Nissan.
I was in the same situation as you last May but I only had about 33k to spend on car out the door. I really wanted a 325ci, but the dealers weren't flexible on the price and I knew a redesign was coming soon so I passed. Then I had my heart set on and Audi A4 3.0 quattro with the sport package, it's a new model and drives great!! but again the dealers wouldn't go down in the price. The lowest the dealer would go on the Audi A4 was 38k (ouch!) or 37k without the sport package. I could have gotten the A4 1.8 quattro for around 31k but who wants to pay that much for 180hp 4 cylinder, I wanted a 6 cylinder. Next I set my sights on the Infinity G35 coupe, it was near my price range but just a little too much. Finally, I went to the lexus dealership and looked at the IS300 sport design and found a car I could afford with all the features I wanted, xenon lights, auto dimming interior/exterior mirrors (the exterior ones hardly dim though), moon roof, sports suspension and rear wheel drive and above all else I got the reliability of car that's made by toyota. And all for 30k, plus the thing is built like a tank, I've read in the forums at is300.net that people have gotten up to 100k miles without any problems, My dad's audi A6 has broken down 6 times and it's only has 60k miles on it at a total repair cost over 5000 dollars (thank god we bought the extended warrenty).
Well at any rate that was my experience, I hope it helps. I don't really know about the new TL because it wasn't out when I was car shopping, I've heard it's a great car in terms of features with an excellent stock stereo but I've read that some people think the engine is too powerful for a front wheel drive car it causes steering problems or something I forget what it was. And a final note on the TL, and it's a big note since it is a new designed model it's usually best to wait a year before buying it because it usually takes about a production year for the auto manufacture to find all the production flaws in the assembly line so the second year models have lower defect rates and higher quality compared to the first year model. So if you can't wait a year just try and wait as long as possible and ask the dealer for the newest factory delivery car.
Oh and stay away from the Mercedes C class and Jaguar X-type unless you want your car to live at the shop.
I was in the same situation as you last May but I only had about 33k to spend on car out the door. I really wanted a 325ci, but the dealers weren't flexible on the price and I knew a redesign was coming soon so I passed. Then I had my heart set on and Audi A4 3.0 quattro with the sport package, it's a new model and drives great!! but again the dealers wouldn't go down in the price. The lowest the dealer would go on the Audi A4 was 38k (ouch!) or 37k without the sport package. I could have gotten the A4 1.8 quattro for around 31k but who wants to pay that much for 180hp 4 cylinder, I wanted a 6 cylinder. Next I set my sights on the Infinity G35 coupe, it was near my price range but just a little too much. Finally, I went to the lexus dealership and looked at the IS300 sport design and found a car I could afford with all the features I wanted, xenon lights, auto dimming interior/exterior mirrors (the exterior ones hardly dim though), moon roof, sports suspension and rear wheel drive and above all else I got the reliability of car that's made by toyota. And all for 30k, plus the thing is built like a tank, I've read in the forums at is300.net that people have gotten up to 100k miles without any problems, My dad's audi A6 has broken down 6 times and it's only has 60k miles on it at a total repair cost over 5000 dollars (thank god we bought the extended warrenty).
Well at any rate that was my experience, I hope it helps. I don't really know about the new TL because it wasn't out when I was car shopping, I've heard it's a great car in terms of features with an excellent stock stereo but I've read that some people think the engine is too powerful for a front wheel drive car it causes steering problems or something I forget what it was. And a final note on the TL, and it's a big note since it is a new designed model it's usually best to wait a year before buying it because it usually takes about a production year for the auto manufacture to find all the production flaws in the assembly line so the second year models have lower defect rates and higher quality compared to the first year model. So if you can't wait a year just try and wait as long as possible and ask the dealer for the newest factory delivery car.
Oh and stay away from the Mercedes C class and Jaguar X-type unless you want your car to live at the shop.
Oh one bad thing about the lexus is that it gets bad gas mileage my IS only averages around 20-22/miles, it's rated at 18/24 and if I ever floor it the mileage drops way down. I think the TL and G35 both get around 21/27.
tl tl tl babYY!!! or if you want to look cool (notice i said look, not drive) get a used jaguar s-type!!! w00t!!
To those that would buy a USED badge over a better options, lower cost of ownership, more reliable car: You seriously got your priority all fux0r up! Quit living for the badge, and get real, buy what you can afford, and quit looking up. (when the maintenance bill comes, that's when it's gonna bite you in teh arse).
I heard G35 is getting new interior for 2005 model year. I would wait for that before buying. TL is fine if you don't care about which wheels are driving. I would rather get the TSX and save some money.
Seriously check out a 2 or 3 year old CPO BMW - You still would have 1 or 2 years of the new car warranty followed by 2 years of CPO warranty. Essentially all the warranty protection of buying a new BMW except save 25% or more.
A brand new car is the biggest waste of money ever invented. Let some other sucker eat the huge initial depreciation.
A brand new car is the biggest waste of money ever invented. Let some other sucker eat the huge initial depreciation.
Not really true with bimmers or acuras. May be true with Infiniti because they lose resale faster. A 2-3 year old Bimmer might have 40k miles on it, and only drop 10K in resale, so it's only 25 cents per mile in depreciation to drive it for the first 40K miles. Worth buying new, IMO.
A 3 year old 530i cost about $52,000 new and would CPO for about $32,000 with 30k miles on it. That's 66 cents/mile depreciation. A 3 year old 330Ci cost about $42,000 new and would also CPO for about $32,000 w/30k miles. 33 cents/mile depreciation. Maybe worth buying new or not, $10k is a lot of money.
BTW, used E39 5-series BMW's are the absolute best used car bargain right now. They are fantastic cars but the used market is glutted with them at the moment driving prices to the basement.
AgaBoogaBoo
Lifer
- Feb 16, 2003
- 26,108
- 5
- 81
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 24K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 23K
-
-
Facebook
Twitter