Whip

What are your thoughts on BMWs, I like 4 door cars, and cars with comfortable lookin' cabins, and mainly just the look of BMWs they look nice. So know I'm in a bind with probably a budget of $1000-$3500/$4000 ish. First, like a month ago I wanted a older 5.0 Mustang. Now I want a '99-'04 Stang. Now I'm in between one of those Mustangs and some BMW models.

bob

Well the good with the Mustang - cheap and easy to fix, especially the Fox cars.

The bad with BMW - get ready for some expensive component and/or repair bills

Knight

They may be similar in price to start with but any repair or maintence you buy will make that BMW cost more and more over a sn95 Mustang.

future9er24

It depends on how severe the repairs are. I know when my dad's 2000 323i trans broke, BMW wanted 7K to fix it. We ended up taking it to a german car mechanic our family knows and the whole works was only 3k

but my friend has the same car and his water pump went out and it only cost him $40+time to install it and he's not the most mechanical person in the world. They aren't the hardest thing in the world to fix, but shops will charge you an arm and a leg to repair them, especially BMW places

as for regular maintenence, I don't think we've had to do much more on our two bimmers than on the bullitt. The major components like motors/trans are going to be expensive to fix, but they also last for quite a while. the old 3 series is a pretty excellent car, if lacking the power of an SN95

rhumb

Very nice cars, coming from an E46 M3 owner, but yeah, the generally high repair cost caveats are well considered. Doing your own work can mitigate some of that and the basic bits are generally long lived. I would be a bit/lot nervous buying any fairly recent model at the price points you mentioned, getting into beater Bimmer territory.

AlsCobra

BMW makes an excellent vehicle as long as it still is under warranty and you have a service contract. Once the warranty is up, trade it.

karman

They actually don't look particularly interesting to me.
The kids (20-30 age group) seem to love them though.

future9er24

I can't speak for newer models but my dad's is really fun to drive. The combination of a really nice handling chassis and a car with not too much torque is kind of fun because you can flog it without worrying about sliding the car around. a different kind of fun, but fun nonetheless. hated the seats in it though

Zastava_101

Anyone I knew (including myself) had issues with German cars. I would stay away from them. If you wanna a luxury car go with a Lexus.

rhumb

Lexus may be as reliable as anvils, but they're as soulless as refrigerators too -- the perfect luxury transportation appliance.

97svtgoin05gt

This.

Someone just starting out with a limited budget should RUN not walk away from BMW. That is of course unless you enjoy walking.

hi5.0

^^^ QFT. My neighbor easily spent over half your budget on some engine work and maintenance on his mid-90's 3 series sedan with 100+k miles on it.

Slims00ls1z28

Took the words outta my mouth.

Ministang

I used to think they were just status symbols driven by yuppies until I started autocrossing and found out what great driving machines most of them were, and spent some time behind the wheel of a BMW 330i. Personally, if I could only have one vehicle that would do everything well (with two kids to haul around in the back seat), it would be a BMW 3-series sedan.

For the OP's budget, if he is capable of doing his own repairs, I'd find the nicest E30 sedan you can afford, and buy it. The older ones seemed to be easier to work on and were simpler overall with more manual stuff and fewer power gadgets.

rhumb

While a lot of yuppies do drive BMWs simply as status symbols, that is not to say that BMWs themselves are only status symbols without any underlying driving and performance qualities. Unfortunately for BMWs and the true enthusiast BMW owners, that distinction is often lost.

Them boyz in Bavaria DO know how to engineer and build excellent performance vehicles as most, though not all, BMWs are. I think a 5 minute drive in my 2001 M3 would convince anybody that it is a very serious and capable performance machine regardless whether they subjectively liked it or not.

bob

I wont argue BMW's talent as engine and chassis guys, I do think thier reputation is overblown a bit when it comes to longevity. Now, given what the domestic industry produced in the 80's and 90's and grading on that bell curve, BMW understandibly would appear to have been over-achievers

Whip

Ok now let me drive in your 2001 M3 lol !

Antigini-GT/CS

E60 M5. That is all.

SoFlo Mustang

E46 M3>all.

I love BMWs lol

I just cant find a lighlty used e46 MANUAL M3


Oh and the e60 v10 is also rather awesome heh

Automagically

Golly bum guys. As a BMW yuppie I take offense! Not really. Though I hold a soft spot for all things M. Somehow the E60 is my least favorite. I like the body style and the glorious V10 but as an overall package I wouldn't want one. I'd rather have a Viper. But I would love to get some seat time behind a BMW V10. I am still one of the biggest e39 M5 fans. Even the new M3 is tough to beat. That little 4.0l is amazing. Equally as amazing as the V10. Though much less powerful. I will eventually end up with an e39 and e92 M cars. I am a V8 enthusiast. No matter how much I like the I6 and how great all of the I6 engines in the Earlier M cars are. I will continue to melt at the sound of an awesome V8.

Awww who am I kidding, if it's awesome it's awesome!