Buying a new car; any suggestions?

[impact]

I think Schorsch summed it up nicely.

Anyways, The Rock, my advice would be to go and check what people think about the car you are about to buy at http://www.carsurvey.org ... you'll find out a lot of interesting things (even about BMWs, they aren't as great as Gurm wants them to be).

[Gurm]

Oh, don't get me wrong - BMW has had their share of problems, especially in the late 80's and early 90's. Most of them were with the larger cars, thank heavens.

The 3-series has pretty much been nailed down to a science - and that's what his budget could handle anyway.

As for my earlier comments about "pissant" European car companies... I retract the "pissant" part. I did a little checking and yes, there are a large number of Eurocar companies still thriving in Europe.

However, I maintain my original point - the PREMIERE companies in the world make their nicest cars in RWD only.

- Gurm

P.S. As for the expectation that the new bug would be rear-engine, rear drive... the demo model they showed at the car shows the year before it was introduced was RERD, and they told all the major car mags it would be. Oops!

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[This message has been edited by Gurm (edited 16 May 2001).]

[RedRed]

I have a new Putgeot 206 xs.... OH MY GOD.... it is only a 1600CC engine, but so agile. I would not hesitate to recommend one or the 2 ltr GTI. You might find them a bit cramped, if you are used to big motors, I actually 'downsized' from saloons, firstly for economy, but now I wont go back (nimble and plain FUN), unless I get more Kids....

It makes it a pleasure to drive again. It doesnt have the 'lift' of the bigger beemers et al, but for day to day use, its hard to beat (fully galvanised too!)

Its like a grown up mini.... Ive had a few of those as a kid....

re FWD/RWD/4WD I would plump for FWD 9 times out of 10. Exception: the x type Jag or maybe an Audi Quattro..

I still have a RWD car as well... as 1968 Triumph 2000 (like the white car in the Levi's twisted advert over here) which reminds me of what I miss with it. I can live with fwd for the added safety, especially in the wet/low traction conditions....


Scomp you said:
"As far as what's better on a race track, it depends on the type of course. All things equal, such as power, weight, tire size, aerodynamics, and good front/rear weight balance, a FWD would never stand a chance on a traditional road course, but could on a high speed oval."
however this years winner of the world rally championships was a Pugeot 206

I have been in a couple of scrapes in my time... minor understeer is easyier to recover from than oversteer. Yes major Understeer is impossible (practically) to control recover from, but it is harder to achieve than major oversteer. All really fast cars need the engine in the middle/rear and power the rear wheels (Formula 1 & indycar Porche and Ferrari)

There is my tuppence worth....
cheers


[This message has been edited by RedRed (edited 16 May 2001).]

[Indiana]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The Rock:
I'd be curious to know how a bimmer handles a cold Canadian winter.Bart</font>

Now that's a point. BMWs don't really like the cold... Get a Mercedes or a VW instead.
I really like most BMWs and at the current time think I would prefer nearly ANY used BMW or Mercedes over a VW, Audi, Volvo, ... - but if it's really cold (-20°C and down, Brrrrr ), they're sometimes not that well behaving. Luckily we don't see these temperatures here very often .

And Schorsch: the Mercedes A is a terrible ..err.. ...thing... (I refuse to call that a car). And it's FWD is most probably (together with the too small tires and other flaws) responsible for it's bad behaviour in borderline-situations that had to be eliminated with ESP.

[The Rock]

It can hit -30C here in winter, and its a very dry bone-chilling cold that doesn't favor some cars. At least with the old VW I had a block heater that I could plug in. Although it felt really stupid having to "plug the car in" to help it start in cold weather.

Hey Gurm:

How cold does it get where you are? And if the answer is DAMN COLD, hows the BMW handle that?

Bart

[agallag]

Hey Rock, just move down to Toronto. Doesn't get that cold very often, and we get WAY less snow than you guys (when we do get snow we have to call in the army to dig us out ). Of course, you'll have to be prepared to pay twice as much for your rent/mortgage, but who's counting

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Andrew
Carpe Cerevisi

[SCompRacer]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by RedRed:


Scomp you said:
"As far as what's better on a race track, it depends on the type of course. All things equal, such as power, weight, tire size, aerodynamics, and good front/rear weight balance, a FWD would never stand a chance on a traditional road course, but could on a high speed oval."
however this years winner of the world rally championships was a Pugeot 206
</font>

That's why a fellow has to be careful about speaking in absolutes....at one time I believe that it was a true statement.

All my info and opinion is dated now, haven't been to a PRI (Performance Race Industry) show since '97. While my primary interest was drag racing, you rubbed elbows at the various booths, swapped stories and attended seminars with all types of racers for four days. You picked up valuable as well as interesting info.

Back in '92, there were predictions that FWD would never be competitive. Driving style and vehicle behavior was way different than RWD in regards to straight line acceleration and approaching and exiting a curve. FWD racers desperately tried to reduce front static weight from 65% to 55% to get avoid steady rate understeer in their cars.

I dabbled in a bit of circle burning here and there but my heart wasn't in it. Back in the late '60's when I was old enough to drive and up until the mid 70's, it was pretty easy to shoe a ride if you had the nerve. My first nic was "Crazy" or "Wild Man," then evolved into "Racer." Not particularly proud of it but I did do some street racing for both money or for grins.

I broke from my traditional drag car on the street in '74 with a red Pontiac Trans Am. That was the last year of red, white or blue for the color. I liked taking my drag race buddies for rides and watching them squirm when I sped up for curves. Had a 455 that remained stock for about a week. Stock springs, tires, shocks, and sway bars were replaced too. It was my first automatic car too, had a turbo 400 that we just upped the pressure on. Retained the 3.23 rear gears for top end and some decent low end performance, so it was not really geared properly for the 1/4 mile. It could make full use of that 160mph speedo.

Did a lot of point to point, exit/entrance ramp racing as well as Skyway "top end" racing, sometimes putting in a 2.73 rear gear for even more speed.

Fortunately I got engaged about that time to a gal that started to calm me down.

[Gurm]

The BMW handles cold about as well as any car. Better than Julie's Volvo, believe it or not (and I figured the Volvo for a snow car, being built in Sweden and all).

I do think VW's handle the cold a bit better.

Just let the Bimmer warm up and it has no problems. Never once failed to start, just bitched for 5 minutes before I could drive it.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Alec]

Oh, and there´s also SEAT, an ex-spanish company now owned (too) by VOLKSWAGEN.

[cjolley]

http://www.autonet.ca/
www.canadiancarlot.com
http://cars.about.com/autos/cars/lib...used+%2Bcanada


[This message has been edited by cjolley (edited 17 May 2001).]

[The Rock]

Thanks for the links. I'm gonna need a bib for all this bimmer drooling.

Bart

[The Rock]

Ohhhhhh man. Did some online looking at www.bmw.ca and I am IN LOVE with the 328i. I found a couple that were stretching my money farther than I wanted to go, but they look worth every cent. Found a couple of 328iA's; here's some stats:

CANDIDATE #1
Body Type: Coupe
Exterior Colour: Blue
Interior Colour: Sand Beige Leather Sports Seats
Installed Options:
Inclement Weather Pkg-3 Series
-Heated Front Seats
-Headlight Cleaning
Sports Package-328i/is
-Sports Seats
-Sport Suspension
-M Technic Sport Steering Wheel
-Double Alloy Spoke Wheel
Fully painted bumpers (as opposed to half painted ones?? )

Kilometers: 74,328
Price: $30,900

CANDIDATE #2
Body Type: Sedan
Exterior Colour: Blue
Interior Colour: Sand Beige Leatherette
Installed Options:
Inclement Weather Pkg-3 Series
-Heated Front Seats
-Headlight Cleaning
Fully painted bumpers

Kilometers: 49,093
Price: $31,900

I wish I had pics of both cars to compare the overall look of the Coupe vs the Sedan, but I guess when I visit the dealer in the upcoming weeks I'll see.

Bart

[cjolley]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The Rock:
Thanks for the links. I'm gonna need a bib for all this bimmer drooling.

Bart</font>

Don't drool on the beemers.
My 1971 2002 got pretty rusty.
chuck

[Gurm]

The 328 is pretty sweet. I highly recommend a stick over an automatic though... there's no point in buying that much car and then not driving it to the fullest. (GRIN)

My 325is is pretty much done up to the specs of that first one you listed, except my bumpers aren't fully painted. Yes, that means that all the way around the car the bumper devolves to flat plack plastic for the last 4 inches. This is the area where the jack mounts are (on the sides), where the fog lights fit (on the front) and where the tow-hook openings are (in the rear). Purely cosmetic, and half the people I know opt to replace them with the M3 panels instead of painting them over. If they're already painted, so much the better for looks.

I'll send some pictures along of my 325is soon enough (can't take pictures today, it's raining), it's pretty identical to 328's through 1996 or so. Even has the wheels from that one you listed (an upgrade I recently purchased).

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Gurm]

Oh, and you really want the sport suspension. You can do it yourself after the fact, but basically it is lowered a couple inches and has more agressive springs.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.