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New Car

taylorwilsdon

taylorwilsdon

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 16, 2006
1,870
13
New York City
I'm starting to take a real serious look at the 07 3 series, and I'm pretty much set on a 328 coupe. (pic is a 335, I know :D)

4-2007-bmw-3-series-coupe-335i-328i-e92.jpg


I spent a long while at the dealership last weekend and found what I'm looking for (for the most part) but I'm still hesitating to pull the trigger because the insurance premiums are high and the lease rates are crazy stupid. Its actually way cheaper to buy it on a loan and sell after 3 years, that way there is no mileage limitations, don't need full-value insurance coverage and I don't have to eff around with the dealership.

Downside is, no free service, obviously risky (if people stop buying cars, its worth $0 in 3 years).

Somebody talk me into this. I want to whip the bimmer. One last thing to consider is that I'm a pretty big guy (6'2, 175) and the 3 series is a pretty small car, but from my test drives it felt okay. The 328 is definitely cramped though, the dash is tiny.
 
Why buy a car that is cramped or nearly cramped to you? At 6'2" I'd venture to guess you'd be more comfortable in a 5 series.
 
jessica. said:
Why buy a car that is cramped or nearly cramped to you? At 6'2" I'd venture to guess you'd be more comfortable in a 5 series.
Click to expand...

Darn right I would, but they're a healthy handful more expensive. My next option would be to buy a 2000-era (new body style) M5 at somewhere around $25000 and hope it holds its value to resell (I can't afford to own it, but if its a psudo-lease through payments, that works). I can afford to make 3 years of payments in advance on a 60 month but I don't want to own it permanently. The ownership cost is so high.
 
Buy a $40,000 car that you can hardly fit into and worry about insurance costs. BMW's have some of the highest repair costs too.

Sounds like if you REALLY want a BMW get a used 5-Series or 7-Series so that you'll actually be comfortable. It might be better to buy it used anyways. European cars depreciate a lot more than others.

If its not for you, don't get it. Maybe look at the A4, C-Class, etc. They Will Fit you better. The Lexus IS will have good reliability unlike the others.
 
ErikCLDR said:
Buy a $40,000 car that you can hardly fit into and worry about insurance costs. BMW's have some of the highest repair costs too.

Sounds like if you REALLY want a BMW get a used 5-Series or 7-Series so that you'll actually be comfortable. It might be better to buy it used anyways. European cars depreciate a lot more than others.

If its not for you, don't get it. Maybe look at the A4, C-Class, etc. They Will Fit you better. The Lexus IS will have good reliability unlike the others.
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Its not like I hardly fit. My head isn't hitting the ceiling or anything, its just a little on the smaller side.

The other car I was looking seriously at was a 05 320CDI. A family member is very much into the whole bio-diesel thing and I could get a very good price on the diesel benzo, I'm just not sure if thats my thing.
 
Abstract said:
It's like buying an expensive, luxury shirt that's too small and not comfortable just because "you like it". Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do, right? So does this. ;)
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The very reason I buy small sz ralph lauren.

I'll take another look at the 5 series, but seriously, the size comment was more of a passing comment then a main thought. Its not too small, its a good size in my opinion. Small enough to fit in my parking spot.
 
you sound like a typical person shopping for a "cool" car. Your heart screams yes, but your head says no. If there was one piece of advice I could give you, be verrrry careful around car dealers. See if you can talk them into a lower lease rate, get it in writing, take it home and think it over.

As far as buying the car, I'm reminded of the old saying: no risk, no reward!
 
Kamera RAWr said:
Leasing, for the average person... is a sucker move, IMO :eek:
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I agree. Its expensive and locks you into a car that you might not like in 2 years (not to mention mileage restriction)

Its for people to bling without the dough to back it up, which is basically what I'm trying to accomplish.
 
You really like the car, and nothing compares to a brand new car.
If you can afford it -- get it.

But be a smart buyer -- who says you have to buy from the one specific BMW dealership? Go to at least 3. Also, if dealership #2 and #3 don't have the exact car you want, tell them exactly what you want (pretending you haven't seen the car at dealership #1) and they'll find the car you saw at dealership#1 in the computer and try to sell it to you. That way you can get the "lowest lowest" price from three dealerships, and you can even play them against each other -- you can say (without saying anything specific), "another dealership has offered me a car just like this for x less -- beat that price and I'll buy from you", etc.

Also, look at the same car dealerships' websites -- they often have "internet specials", lease specials and similar posted there that they won't tell you about in the showroom.

Car brokers might be another option -- they're just dealers without fancy showrooms. So just make sure to have enough price points to compare -- not just from one dealership. Be a shark when negotiating with these folks -- be ice cold! They want your business so if there's any way they can make the ridiculously low price you'll offer them if you're smart, they'll go for it if you physically leave after they tell you "no". Also, don't buy the invoice story. They can in many cases even sell below invoice and make a profit.
 
PS -- just noticed you are shooting for an '07 (not '08) model year. In that case, since it's September already, they should make you a ridiculously low price since they won't be able to sell them once '08 comes around.
 
true777 said:
PS -- just noticed you are shooting for an '07 (not '08) model year. In that case, since it's September already, they should make you a ridiculously low price since they won't be able to sell them once '08 comes around.
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Thats the main reason I'm looking at 07, because the dealers really want to move them off the lot for the 08's.

Big ups for the buying tips, thats some sound advice. My friend works at Edmunds and hes been helping me out a little (mostly putting me in touch with people he knows) and that info is right on.
 
taylorwilsdon said:
Its for people to bling without the dough to back it up, which is basically what I'm trying to accomplish.
Click to expand...

In which case I don't think we can really help you. You're on the fence already, and you know this isn't a good idea, but you want someone else to help you justify a bad move.

Having just bought a car, I can tell you lots of pros ands cons of this who issue, but the bottom line is, if you can't afford it, you shouldn't be looking at it.
 
Agree with above.

Sounds like you can't afford it. This is just a bad move. Maybe you'll find a way to get your hands on a 3-series, but why put yourself in such a bad financial situation?

Buy something you can afford. It's not like you're scrounging the money for a dead-beat car. If you were, you wouldn't have many other options. However, if you're scrounging up for a 3-series Bimmer, you have other, less expensive options. For one, I'd buy used, not a 2007 model. Also, what true777 said about car brokers is true. They're also a fantastic deal, from my experience.

Also, I have a friend who wanted a 2001 M3 (this was back in 2004-05), and he is 6'5", around 200 lbs. He got into one, and knew right away that he couldn't buy it. He ended up with a fairly recent Nissan Altima because of their legroom and comfort. Nice car. It's not a sporty 3-series BMW, but got it because it really was the best choice.
 
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