Want a new daily

[WRXtranceformed]

You can have an expensive, nice European car you don't have to work on and will lose a fuckton of money on. Or you can have a soulless, overpriced, boring but maintenance free Japanese car. Or, you can have an affordable, nice European car that will require a little bit of time and money to keep going, but in the end will be far, far less financially devastating than, oh, say, a newish Jaguar, and far, far more fun to drive than a FWD Acura.

A well maintained 100k mile E46 is also a far cry from the 20 year old, 150k mile, worn out pieces of shit we buy. I've hit plenty of rough spots over the past 4 years with my car, but I've also been on this odyssey to bring back a poorly maintained, more or less left for dead car.

I just don't get the hate for a man with a $12k budget and wants a car that isn't a glorified Accord or CR-V, and is willing to wrench on it as a trade off. It ain't your money, tools or time. :dunno:

Comparing my car purchase to this one is apples to kumquots. I generally never own a daily driver outside of its warranty period. Short term reliability is important to me, long term not so much. Why do you think I walked on the deal on my car twice when they got shifty about an included warranty? I won't even get into the stellar reliability (despite what some of the questionably motivated Consumer Reports say) of modern Jaguars since Ford and now Tata have owned them. A quick forum lurk will show that aside from a few known TSBs like any vehicle, new Jag owners by and large are really happy with their purchases. Besides, if it ever goes into the shop for some reason I am driving an XJL or better

I just find it funny that you guys in one breath warn Deersty about the problems he is basically guaranteed to have while in the next you say that it is going to be the best most reliable car he has ever owned. It is also amusing that a car like the TL-S is described as over-priced...when compared to a German car! :lol: When I bought mine it was by a vast margin a better value when included features and overall performance / quality were examined in comparison to its German counterparts. Additionally the used BMWs I looked at very briefly before my current car were vastly overpriced for what they were. That is also ignoring the fact that BMWs were among the majority of used "luxury" cars on the market. There are a couple reasons for that, one being owners nervousness about owning one out of warranty. My brother's E9x M3 was the only stock BMW I have driven that I felt was truly awesome...and he sold it for his S4 that is a better all around car. I would still own that TL honestly if it weren't for the second sentence of my post.

I mean you guys probably have a dedicated drawer for BMW tools in your toolboxes for when stuff inevitably breaks!! I am not trying to rain on the fanboi parade too much here just see through the blue white and black haze here for a bit and be realistic in your recommendations and advice. You all are free to be masochists, I am trying to be realistic and offer a practical solution that isn't going to suck and is a genuinely fun car to drive.

[SlimKlim]

Its fun to have your jimmies rustled isn't it?

I wasn't comparing this purchase to yours or saying your car will be unreliable, just saying there is a group of people that want a nicer european car and don't have $40k to spend, so the alternative is buying an older car that will require some attention. To some people the added value of not being in a Honda is worth the time in the garage, to some people its not. Also, while the Jag might be worth $20k in 3-4 years, the $12k BMW will be worth $7-8k. Hype-S's are still going for $15k+ last time I checked, and just cause it runs your flag up your pole doesn't mean it does it for everyone. You were probably looking at off-lease E90s when cross-shopping right? Not the E46? We're back to apples and cumwads, err kumquots. The E90+ generation of cars are far less DIY-friendly without nearly as much enthusiast support. If something can break on an E36/46, a detailed DIY has already been written for it.

I never told him it was going to be the best most reliable, I told him they are super nice cars that occasionally require attention. The only specialty tools I've really needed to get through a cumulative 5 years of BMW ownership is a set of torx drivers and a $40 set of fan clutch removal wrenches. Of course you need special tools when you're screwing around with the timing chain, but I feel like that would be true for most cars.

I am being realistic about ownership of these cars, and given that I actually have owned the cars, I'm probably pretty familiar with the reality of it. But go ahead and keep telling me what I don't know.

[.RJ]

I just don't get the hate for a man with a $12k budget and wants a car that isn't a glorified Accord or CR-V, and is willing to wrench on it as a trade off. It ain't your money, tools or time. :dunno:

Well, you wouldnt want anyone to scratch their watch turning a wrench :lol:

[WRXtranceformed]

Its fun to have your jimmies rustled isn't it?

I am being realistic about ownership of these cars, and given that I actually have owned the cars, I'm probably pretty familiar with the reality of it. But go ahead and keep telling me what I don't know.

:lol: What's fun is reading through project threads and seeing fanbois justify their poor life decisions. <3

Kidding, I say that now and my XFR will throw a rod through its block :p

I have owned over a dozen cars in my life and not a single one has been German...for a reason. I'm glad some of you guys power through the headaches and have positive experiences. Didn't Adam lemon law his brand new VW Rabbit? Hasn't pretty much every 335i in existence had dramatic fuel pump issues? Oh right, apples to sorostitutes. Except if they haven't fixed reliability / build quality in the last 10 years and people still dump them off lease it doesn't give me a lot of hope for old commuters. Just saying!

RJ ironically I laughed when I read that because I have a massive scar on my wrist from an oil change on my Tundra. Some douche used an impact wrench on the oil pan bolt, it broke loose hard on me and I lost the battle with the dust guard. Needless to say I have paid someone the $20 to change my oil from then on.

[BLINGMW]

hmm. Typical moron shop overtightens drain bolt, causes prolbems changing oil. Solution?
A) Change oil yourself from now on :dunno:
B) Always let moron shop change oil :evileye:

We're on our 2nd E46 (and no, the first one didn't break, we just didn't need it at the time). They're like the Honda of BMWs, low maintenence, well documented, hold their value decently. Nobody's recommending an old busted BMW, nor are we recommending a 335i. I think you're oversimplifying things. BMW doesn't = money pit. I'm a cheapskate. I would know.

[WRXtranceformed]

hmm. Typical moron shop overtightens drain bolt, causes prolbems changing oil. Solution?
A) Change oil yourself from now on :dunno:
B) Always let moron shop change oil :evileye:

B all day long. My rare time off at home is worth more than $20 and the headache.

[BLINGMW]

ok so RJ's point was pretty accurate. That's ok. :dunno:

[Goodspeed]

*opens thread*

[WRXtranceformed]

And what have we learned in this thread? That Goodspeed knows how to win the internet. Without ever saying a word.

:lol:

[*insertusernamehere*]

The gif wins! Good points on both sides of the argument. I say if you're curious to know why we love BMW's and you're willing to deal with one or two problems then go for it and then if you wanna stick with the brand after owning one, awesome! If not, well at least you got the experience (expeting it to be a good one!). However if i was in your position my eyes would be ALL OVER an IS350 or TL.

[HAULN-SS]

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what do we think of this one? stay away because track car and i dont know shit about those mods?

[HAULN-SS]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://imgur.com/a/5auRI">http://imgur.com/a/5auRI</a><!-- m -->

also anyone know this car? Guy is in reston. Might try to go look at it..even though it's silver and a bit higher miles than I wanted. Might be a good one to pick up as an entry into the bimmer world.

[CaptainHenreh]

http://imgur.com/a/5auRI

also anyone know this car? Guy is in reston. Might try to go look at it..even though it's silver and a bit higher miles than I wanted. Might be a good one to pick up as an entry into the bimmer world.

Yeah that's my buddy Chet. He's cool. His old lady has big jugs.

[SlimKlim]

^ :lol:

Stay away from the red one, my car used to have H&R Races on it and they were the most insanely stiff springs you can imagine. Sometimes my teeth would click together when going over that thick white line of an intersection at speed... If it was just the springs I'd say they're easy enough to change, but you probably don't want to be running -3.0 in your commuter car, those brake pads prolly squeal like piggies when they are cold, and the painted moldings are hideous IMO.

How many miles on the silver one? Looks clean

[xvxax]

I think H&R race give the feeling of being stiff because they are too soft and too short. The rates are somewhere in the 300/400 range f/r.

I would not be scared away from a car with modifications. As long as it checks out, you can always just sell that stuff and make some money back.

[.RJ]

I can look at the silver one this weekend if you need someone to eyeball it

[HAULN-SS]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?11203-2004-330i-ZHP-6MT-Imola-Sedan">http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthre ... mola-Sedan</a><!-- m -->

Hey i found another one of these. The problem is the guy didnt list any contact info in the listing, and that stupd ass site wont allow new members on the forum. Is anyone here on there already? Says the guy is a bmwcca member but i didnt see the listing at their classified site either.

[SlimKlim]

Guess I don't have an account, that website is stupid.

This looks clean though: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/sho...mola-Sedan

[HAULN-SS]

^same car. His picture link is busted, but Im going to get him to email me

[HAULN-SS]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://usedcars.truecar.com/car/BMW-3-Series-2007/WBAWB73567P022197">https://usedcars.truecar.com/car/BMW-3- ... 567P022197</a><!-- m -->

I know this isnt what i said i was looking for, but i posted because it seems like a really good price for that vintage. Do those have some major problem that could be why this one is a few grand cheaper than ive been coming across them?