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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
#22254 of 30250 Opinions on 1990 325i, please by 420blackbirds
Mar 10, 2003 (6:15 am)
Hi everyone. I'm needing a car, for which I can pay cash, for basic commuting purposes. I've got a friend whose step-mom has a 1990 325i for sale. It's been in the same family since her mom (that is, the step mom's mother) purchased it in 1990. It's got 215k on it, but only 80k on the rebuilt motor. Looks to be in very good shape, and of course I'll have a mechanic check it out. They are asking $2500.00 for the car. What do you think? How does one allow for the rebuild--does it get credit for having 80k on it or do you plug in the whole 215 when calculating for mileage? Are BMWs fairly reliable? All opinions, comments, etc. are welcome. Thanks!
#22255 of 30250 420blackbirds by div2
Mar 10, 2003 (9:45 am)
I think that a 13 year old 3er with 215K on the clock will prove to be a bit fussy for everyday use as a work hack. Make no mistake, an E30 3er is a great car- assuming that you can do some of the maintenance/repair work yourself and that you know where to get OEM parts at a good price. I'm a gearhead, so I'd give it a good hard look-my philosophy is that you can never have too many BMWs in the garage. However, if you are going to have to take it to the shop for every little hiccup the $$$ will add up very fast.#22256 of 30250 by leenelsonmd
Mar 10, 2003 (11:11 am)
seivwrig: I look forward to the car control school this weekend. I made the cut. Now to find out just how bad a driver I am.brave1: sorry about the ticket. I worry when i drive the wife's car too. with the v1 i just drive according to conditions and find myself looking at the tach mostly -- worry free. when i drive her car i have to monitor the speedometer instead..
#22257 of 30250 boring story by leenelsonmd
Mar 10, 2003 (1:06 pm)
So my M3 has 8500 miles on it now.Driving great.
The yellow oil light has been coming on the last 3-4 days intermitently. I checked the oil level and it was on the lower side of the scale but still above the minimum.
So I went to Autozone for some Catrol TWS 10W60. They do not carry it.
I drove over to Advantage BMW downtown and my service advisor (Joe Calebrese) opened his desk and tossed me a quart. He said, "This is all you need and I had some laying around." (They would have added it, but I told him I was happy to add it myself).
So I was walking out with a smile on my face thinking--that is great service. They went the extra mile. I was totally happy.
Then some cheesey (sp?) service advisor in front of Joe raises his eyebrow and says "You sure are lucky that stuff costs $9 a quart." What a poser.
He tarnishes an otherwise perfect exchange between a happy customer and his company.
Some complaints:
1) Does he think the monetary value of the free quart affected how much I appreciated it?
2) Does he think that I do not know how much performance synthetic motor oil costs?
3) I drive a BMW...does he think that I really care whether it is worth $3 or $9 matters when it comes to such a necessary component for the car?
4) He knew my car was 4 months old -- does he not think that on principle alone had he been my service advisor I would not have checked the car in for service and had the oil topped off for free?
The bottom line: I was still totally happy that Advantage provided the top notch service. (I had planned on paying for the oil anyway).
I am sure we all have similar stories. Sorry it was not more interesting.
#22258 of 30250 BMW in Houston by chile96
Mar 10, 2003 (1:42 pm)
About a week away from purchasing a new 325i sp, auto, leather, etc and naturally want to negotiate the best deal. On an MSRP of $33500 (invoice 30800), what deal should I be happy with? Are there any caveats I should be aware of before I sign (any dealers in the area w/ a bad reputation?) Am leaning towards using Advantage BMW but will go where the best price is. Thanks for any replies!#22259 of 30250 Re: BMW in Houston by 1violinist
Mar 10, 2003 (3:28 pm)
You should start negotiating from invoice price. I guess $31,500 would be a good deal, depending on the market in Houston. E-mail your offer to different dealers in your area and see their responses. (follow the Rizzo method: http://www.bimmerfest.com/faq/rizzo.html )After you get a great price, in order for the deal to be great in total you should:
1- Get your own financing before going to the dealer
2- Turn down all the extras that the dealer offers you at the business office, such as extended warranties, paint protection, alarms, etc. Usually you don't need these items, and even if you do it would be much cheaper to buy them yourself on the internet.
Good luck!
Tony
#22260 of 30250 330i performance package by dusterbuster
Mar 10, 2003 (3:39 pm)
kdshapiro,did you see the 330i with ZHP at a local dealer? just curious as to whether the dealers are starting to get these in. would love to go see one in person.
#22262 of 30250 dusterbuster by kdshapiro
Mar 10, 2003 (5:12 pm)
I saw it on the road, at night. It was impossible to miss. I would think that they will be hard to find for the next couple of months.#22263 of 30250 Scheduled Maintenance by mschukar
Mar 10, 2003 (6:29 pm)
I took my '02 325i in today for scheduled maintenance. I took possession of the car one year ago tomorrow. They changed the oil free of charge, but, to my surprise, the service indicator was not reset (there's about 2500 miles left on the service indicator).I did not notice before I left the dealer and have not called them yet. I'm wondering what will happen when the indicator hits zero? Will they change the oil again or just do the other items on the scheduled maintenance that weren't done today?
Has anyone else experienced this with their dealer?
-murray
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