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Picture of your car (2011)
- Thread starter r.j.s
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My jeep is currently in shop getting
1) new tires
2) oil and filter change
3) new brakes
4) inspection
It's an 05' Liberty 4WD and I love the thing. Ill clean it up and post some pics tomorrow.
1) new tires
2) oil and filter change
3) new brakes
4) inspection
It's an 05' Liberty 4WD and I love the thing. Ill clean it up and post some pics tomorrow.
That's the old BMW for you, tough as nails. I wish BMW, Volvo, and Mercedes still made cars like they used to but building cars that rugged and long lasting is terrible for the bottom line.
I see more '70s BMWs than '80s models out there and it's probably around then that they got smart and built in obsolescence. That being said, I loved the look of the '80s BMWs and at the time, and I thought they were making a huge step up from the 2002. Little did we know.
To the BMW guys, how reliable is the E46 325i?
I have a chance to pick one up for a fairly low cost (Less than $6,000 canadian). It is pretty much mint and VERY well maintained.
Car has a bit higher miles (~125,000 miles/ 205,000km), but I am guessing well maintained they will last quite a while?
I really enjoyed my brothers E36, and I just got rid of my project cars so I figure this would be a nice change.
I have a chance to pick one up for a fairly low cost (Less than $6,000 canadian). It is pretty much mint and VERY well maintained.
Car has a bit higher miles (~125,000 miles/ 205,000km), but I am guessing well maintained they will last quite a while?
I really enjoyed my brothers E36, and I just got rid of my project cars so I figure this would be a nice change.
My brothers/dads old E46 330xi has been giving him trouble with 150,000 miles on it. Things do wear out, but it seems like every time I hear about the car, it is broken.
Avoid that BMW like the plague.
German + high miles = no way
Been there, done that, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Shame on me.
I'd rather take my chances with an old pile of an American car, because at least it will be cheaper to fix constantly.
Old BMWs are great if you like $1000 surprises. For the price you'll pay in repairs, you could have a car 2.5 times more expensive with a regular, planned, budgeted payment.
German + high miles = no way
Been there, done that, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Shame on me.
I'd rather take my chances with an old pile of an American car, because at least it will be cheaper to fix constantly.
Old BMWs are great if you like $1000 surprises. For the price you'll pay in repairs, you could have a car 2.5 times more expensive with a regular, planned, budgeted payment.
There isn't much out there after the legendary 2002 that has longevity attached to it. Speed, safety, handling, yes all of that, but I am with the rest of the crew on newer BMWs with miles on it.
It's a hard car to pass up if only performance and looks counted, but like Mercedes and Volvos after the 1970s and early 1980s in some cases, you are dealing with repairs all the time.
The last tough Mercedes may have been around 1980 and the Volvos kept up a long lasting car sometime later into that decade.
These days, outside of some 1990s Honda Accords/Civics, it's hard to bet on any car having an unusual amount of longevity attached to it. I wouldn't be surprised if newer Hondas are now built to crap out 10 to 15 years down the line but we won't know in another 10 to 15 years.
The best thing to do is to look at what 20 year old cars are out there. You can get a good deal on them, and they lasted that long for a reason. I am very skeptical of 1990s used cars since many makers went offshore for their production, as well as making things a lot cheaper on the inside and outside of the vehicle.
American cars, as we all know, were the first to build in obsolescence into its overall recipe. How many original late-1970s and later US cars are at shows that haven't had a ton of extra work done to them to simply make them run? Gone are the days of the '57 Chevy and '65 Mustang, many of which are still in shows and on the road.
Evos are awesome cars! How fast is your model 0-60
Oh, and I'm gonna try to get pics of the smoked tails on my G37S (not pictured in my first post)
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Back of my car
Nice car man. I had a P10 G20 with JSPEC Sr20DE and that thing would run low 15s with an automatic!
Not diggin' the tail light covers however. Lights are to be seen. Never understood why people would put headlight covers on their cars, or even the blue halogen bulbs that would try to simulate HID..
I also had a 1971 510 wagon that was awesome, an A2 (MKII) Jetta GLI that was quick, but was expensive to fix and had problems, to say the least. Also had a 97' Altima that was so super reliable. In 90K miles, I only changed the oil, and alternator was fixed under warranty (that is how long ago it was
).Nice car man. I had a P10 G20 with JSPEC Sr20DE and that thing would run low 15s with an automatic!
Not diggin' the tail light covers however. Lights are to be seen. Never understood why people would put headlight covers on their cars, or even the blue halogen bulbs that would try to simulate HID..
I also had a 1971 510 wagon that was awesome, an A2 (MKII) Jetta GLI that was quick, but was expensive to fix and had problems, to say the least. Also had a 97' Altima that was so super reliable. In 90K miles, I only changed the oil, and alternator was fixed under warranty (that is how long ago it was
I'm not a fan of the blue lights either (though I do like the LED lights on MBZ and Audi and the angel eyes on BMWs)
I like the smoked tails because it just seems to flush and flow with the car.. the red lights were just too bright. The lights can be seen, they don't completely cover the light... the backup lights are 100% visible, and the break lights shine right through the overlays (even in complete day light)
Some people though black out everything including the backup lights. There is this one person in my apartment complex that has his taillights all black and I couldn't see his backup lights and as I got up to his car, he started to back out. Luckily he saw me.
My car (well, when I finally pass my test) is below, the blue Nissan Micra on the far left. Not a very impressive car at all by any means, but it was seen on Top Gear a few years back when the boys made their electric car and took it to Oxford.
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It depends on whether the car has received regular maintenance or not. There is no substitute for a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a competent BMW shop.
I am the original owner of my 330Ci and over the life of the car my average annual maintenance costs, excluding tires, have been $1300. The car is coming up on 9 years old and has a bit over 100k miles on it. I plan to keep the car for a good long while as I continue to enjoy owning and driving it.
The E46 forum on bimmerfest.com is generally a good source of information. Review the wiki before asking questions. There aren't a whole lot of questions that haven't already been asked and answered many times and the wiki is intended to forestall those.
I see quite a lot of E28s and E30s. E28 M5s are popular with collectors and are usually too nice to be used as daily drivers. The E30s are very competent autocrossers, plus there is a Spec E30 racing series. Clean stock E30s are getting tough to find these days.
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The MB W201 (1982-1993) was a brilliant small sedan, and you can still find them on the road today. Like any other German car, if you maintain it properly, it will run forever.
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With or without integrated M249s?
2011 Subaru Legacy. Our first Subaru. So impressed we're selling the other cars and buying a 2011 Outback for my wife!
It's not a fancy looking car, in fact it looks easily can be mistaken for any other boring sedan from GM/Ford/Toyota/Honda/Nissan.
Im jealous, im regretting not getting a Subaru Legacy. I got a 2010 Ford Fusion, should have got the legacy for the good looks and the AWD.
I am not to worried about that. I can do my own repairs, my last cars were major project cars. I have done pretty much everything (engine swaps, transmission swaps, etc.). Parts are not much more than I am used to, and since I won't be paying for labour does not really affect me.
Plus this guy seems like he really takes care of the car.
Thanks for the info.
the guy looks like he really took care of the car (based on his ad). The pictures make it seem mint, and he says all maintenance has been done regularly.
Obviously I will take a look in person and see how true it is.
I found the bimmerforums site a few days ago and have been searching quite a bit. Nothing I am finding seems out of the ordinary, or something I haven't seen yet.
Still trying to make an appointment with the guy and see it in person though.
German, English, and Italian cars right out of the dealership are the coolest, best performing, best designed machines out there. And yes, they all need proper care.
It just that there are cars like cockroaches (not too expensive like a Carrera or Lambo and in no way as sexy) but they don't die, even when they are abused. Toyota pickups, Honda Accords (stock, not riced), and Volvos of old don't win style points, but they have the longevity that is legendary.
One of the coolest cars out there are most Jaguars from the 1970s until now, but I can't think of a car that breaks down more often, or is never seen in public if more than ten years old. There is no excuse for that. It's much more acceptable when a ten year old Yugo is not out on the road (when they hit that age back in the past) because they were very inexpensive. But at the same time period, dumping $25K or more into an XJ only to spend thousands more on repair on a car you would have to eventually sell is not acceptable.
A lawyer friend of mine got divorced and had to get rid of a car. She lived in a small, rented house and had no use for two cars. She was down to a rather new Honda Accord or a nice metallic green Jaguar 12 cylinder. She kept the Jag and dumped the Accord, which she got for top dollar. A few years later, she dumped the Jag. Not only was there the typical Jag problems that plague the maker, but the sun (near the ocean) did a job on the metallic green paintjob as it does to all metallic green paint jobs.
Sounds good then, but keep in mind the sheer downtime you will have, even if you do the repairs yourself.
FTR my E36 was a complete cream puff, one owner, full service records and regular maintenance--and it was the biggest piece of crap I ever had. I unloaded it needing $4500 worth of work, on top of the massive piles of money I had to throw into it over my four years.
Good luck, but you have been warned.
heh down time is nothing. My last toy was down for 2 yearsSounds good then, but keep in mind the sheer downtime you will have, even if you do the repairs yourself.
FTR my E36 was a complete cream puff, one owner, full service records and regular maintenance--and it was the biggest piece of crap I ever had. I unloaded it needing $4500 worth of work, on top of the massive piles of money I had to throw into it over my four years.
Good luck, but you have been warned.
As I said before, there is no substitute for a thorough pre-purchase inspection by a competent BMW shop. These cars can be money pits.
Bimmerforums is mainly an E36 site. Bimmerfest is a better E46 resource.
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rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
I also agree with the generally expensive cost of owning a used BMW.
I searched long and hard for my E30, and with over $14k poured into it by the last 3 owners as of last year when the work was done, I picked it up at the right time. However mine was a special case due to the engine+tranny swap.
I wouldn't trust an E36 (91-99) much under $10k. The e30 is cheap to maintain as well as easy to work on, but due to age, if completely stock, be prepared to start pouring money into it to make it a dd again.
Audi, I wouldn't touch used, even though they are damn cool cars, same with Mercs.
Much is luck finding a good DD BMW as well as proper knowledge and inspections.
Good luck finding one that you are happy with. If you get a bad feeling, or feel that the seller is less than 110% honest, just run.
On a side note, the previous owner of my E30 that I posted on page 1 just called and offered to buy it back, and offered to do a trade + cash for his much newer e9033i (if I understood him correctly). I need to take the e30 out AutoXing first to decide...still, will give him first dibs once I decide to depart with this classic car. I think I would have to get rid of it for an E30 M3 though ;-)
I searched long and hard for my E30, and with over $14k poured into it by the last 3 owners as of last year when the work was done, I picked it up at the right time. However mine was a special case due to the engine+tranny swap.
I wouldn't trust an E36 (91-99) much under $10k. The e30 is cheap to maintain as well as easy to work on, but due to age, if completely stock, be prepared to start pouring money into it to make it a dd again.
Audi, I wouldn't touch used, even though they are damn cool cars, same with Mercs.
Much is luck finding a good DD BMW as well as proper knowledge and inspections.
Good luck finding one that you are happy with. If you get a bad feeling, or feel that the seller is less than 110% honest, just run.
On a side note, the previous owner of my E30 that I posted on page 1 just called and offered to buy it back, and offered to do a trade + cash for his much newer e9033i (if I understood him correctly). I need to take the e30 out AutoXing first to decide...still, will give him first dibs once I decide to depart with this classic car. I think I would have to get rid of it for an E30 M3 though ;-)
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No show winner, but its mine
Woot I'm not the only one!
Here is mine. 72 Super beetle.
Woot I'm not the only one!
Here is mine. 72 Super beetle.
Love the colour! nice
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