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BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

30250 messages,  Last post on Mar 24, 2013 at 11:51 AM

You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

Messages Page 1054 of 3025

#10530 of 30250 Thinking about a 3 series by talman

Oct 25, 2001 (8:26 pm)

Hello:
 
I'm seriously thinking about purchasing a 1994-1995 325i when my current lease is up. I've never owned a BMW, but am really taken by the design and styling. I've found a particular model which has 78,000 miles on it and I'm guessing I can get it for 15K or so.
 
My questions:
 
Is 75K high for a BMW? Granted, I know it depends on the care etc., but the owner has all maintenance records etc., but can a BMW that's well taken care of reach 125-150K without major repairs?
 
I've also considered leasing a 99 328i certified used car--is it reasonable to think I can get into one for 300.00 a month on a 36 month lease with a few thousand down?
 
Thanks for the help!!

#10531 of 30250 Tires ect.... by dl7265

Oct 25, 2001 (9:31 pm)

Since at 25k miles i am buying new rubber VERY SOON for my 323i sport , appreciate the threads. As afore mentioned mine came with 225/50/16 Turanza er30 with treadwear rating of 140 ack..
 
As i recall Shipo still has several miles left on his with more miles with A/S.
 
One wheel test that im aware of compared 15-18 and concluded that the 16 was the best over all performance and for reasons in upper post getting quite larger deteriorated performance .
 
Ive read all the tire comparisons on tirerack and the highest rated performance A/S is the Yoko AVS DB at a mere $102.00 each. ER 30's are $160.00 .And those Kuhmos at $77.00 are one of the higher rated performance.
 
Contrary to popular belief i think my sport rides great, wether or not its the tires or that great BMW chasis its even smooth on Dallas road's which..well suck. hope i can say that on here....
 
Shipo a 330i ? i was thinking you purchased not leased any reasoning for the upgrade ?
 
Regards,
DL

#10532 of 30250 dl7265 by shipo

Oct 26, 2001 (5:08 am)

As of this morning, I have just over 31,000 miles on my All Season tires, they look like they have at least another 20,000 to 30,000 miles to go before a replacement is necessary.
 
As for my method of financing cars, I own a couple of small businesses and the tax rules are VERY biased toward leasing for virtually all corporations and businesses. Basically, as of 1986, when the tax rules changed, the depreciation schedule on purchased assets was changed to lengthen the time a business could write off a car over something like $16,000. On the other hand, a lease is simply a business expense, and said expenses are paid for in pre-tax income (unlike how us mere citizens pay for our cars). In essence, because of the “pre-tax” advantage, my lease is costing me essentially about $270 per month. Having said that, my current lease is up this coming spring, and while I have many options, the top two on my list are 1) order a new 330i for ED and take my wife (and maybe children) on a little jaunt through Europe, and 2) extend the lease on my low mileage 328i (according to my plan I should have over 41,000 miles on it right now) for an extra year or so and then have a look at the new 5 and 6 series cars. Sometimes it seems to be a bit of a problem having so many options. Gee, I hate this kind of problem.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#10533 of 30250 snows by njdriver1

Oct 26, 2001 (5:12 am)

I've been following this for 2 days now and I have to chime in. On an '01 330i (no sp), running the conti's that came with the car, will I be well served purchasing a set of Michelin Alpin or Dunlop SP Winter sports at 205/50-17 come the winter? If I'm willing to wait with the car for the 1/2 hour for the mounting, I should get longer wear over the tires, which I might have had to replace before my 36,000m lease is up anyway. Or is it a waste in NYC where the Conti's should be fine in the winter, and just trash them till its time for new ones, and I might get lucky and they'll last till the end of the lease. Any thoughts?

#10534 of 30250 do not, repeat do not... by ccotenj

Oct 26, 2001 (5:17 am)

attempt to drive in ANY type of wintry conditions with "summer" tires... unless you know someone who owns a body shop that you really want to give business to...
 
shipo also hit it on the head with the compound (as i also posted about, say, 2000 posts ago!), the summer compound turns into concrete much below 40 degrees or so...
 
-Chris

#10535 of 30250 NJDriver by shipo

Oct 26, 2001 (5:34 am)

The all season tires on your car should last 50 to 60 thousand miles, so no worries there. As for swapping your All Season tires for Snow tires, my opinion (remember what you paid for this) is that in the NYC metro area (where I live too), the all season rubber will have superior performance when compared to the winter tires, with the exception of a few (snow) days where the performance of the all seasons will be simply adequate.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#10536 of 30250 thanks shipo by njdriver1

Oct 26, 2001 (6:28 am)

i'll go slow with the all-seasons in the snow - better safe than in the body shop.

#10537 of 30250 Talman by gms13

Oct 26, 2001 (6:33 am)

I purchased my '92 BMW from a friend. It had 75,000 miles and was dealer maintained - he never missed a service. However, he did drive the car hard. I now have 140,000 miles on the car. In the last 65,000 miles (4 years) I have had on average at least one $1,000 dollar repair per year - all done at a reputable non-dealer shop, so I saved on labor. So if you are interested in a well maintained '92 BMW 325i with new radiator, new water pump, new front end, and new bushings - please contact me. $5,000 obo. Oops, new alternator also. Don't get me wrong, I love the car but I want traction control. Of course, I may keep it and just get snow tires - that would save me about $30,000+!

#10538 of 30250 talman by genie1

Oct 26, 2001 (6:52 am)

I bought a CPO 98 318is four months ago. BMWFS had a 3.9% financing deal with a balloon payment deal for the 36mos term.
 
This sounds almost like a lease, but you can play with the amounts down/per month as well as the balloon to see which makes most sense.
 
It made sense to me as I wasn't planning on keeping the car beyond 3 years. I have the option to pay off the balloon and keep the car or trade it in for a new one (it should be worth a little more than what I would owe).
 
The warranty expires about the same time.
 
Leasing makes no sense unless you can write the expense off (as in a business expense). Especially for a USED car.
 
This is JMHO of course and others may disagree.
 
Overall I am thrilled with my car. It has been a joy to drive and I would recommend the CPO route for some additional peace of mind. BTW the newer model has better safety features (incl. DSC) and ought to be more reliable.

#10539 of 30250 Exactly As Noted Above... by jrct9454

Oct 26, 2001 (6:54 am)

Buying one of these used can be a great savings on the up-front costs, but make sure you are reserving money in a fund somewhere to cover the other-worldly costs of repairing these cars [or anything made in Germany, it seems...they all share this characteristic]. Sooner or later, you are going to have to dip into that fund, and without a warranty, it's all yours to cover.
 
Whenever I hear of someone ready to buy a BMW with 60k+ miles on the clock, no matter what the history, my advice is always the same: make sure at least some of the money you're saving on the purchase price [over a new car] is being set aside for the inevitable rainy repair day.

Messages Page 1054 of 3025

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