Opinionated MURCers give me your car reviews

[KvHagedorn]

In 1991 I got a 1980 BMW 528i for $5000. Some people thought I'd spent too much on the thing but it was sweet.. a modern classic. The powertrain was in superb condition and it handled wonderfully (that was the first year the 5 series got a 5 speed tranny.) You felt like part of the machine. Very cool looking compared to the mid-80s 5 series, with the hood that came up backwards and all. Loved that car to death. Maintanance was not really a problem at all, either. I drove it for 7 years (don't ask what happened to it.. don't wanna think about that )

I would get another BMW in a heartbeat if I was in the market and could afford one that I wanted.

[Rags]

Originally posted by Gurm
You just have to be willing to go back a few years. If you want a 2000 330 then no, you can't have that for under $25. If you want a 1996 328... that's doable.

But let's be honest here - Bimmer engines last for 300k miles or more. I bought mine with 100k on the odometer, and expect it to last me until 2010.

You can have a nice mid-to-late 90's 3 series for short money. My brother bought a 1994 with low mileage (60k) and a warranty for $14.5k, two years ago. When I was shopping for mine, I found a 1996 M3 which was SO SWEET that I nearly overspent (they wanted $19k).

As for reliability - yeah your Honda will outperform the Bimmer in that regard. But will it be fun to drive?

- Gurm

Let's be honest. Most all engines can last to 300K miles if maintained like crazy.

You make it sound like BMW has the most dependable engines around and waste most all others. Face it, BMW is ranked BELOW Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln, and Lexus. My experience is the same. Cadillac 4.9's and Northstars are very dependable, I have seen several with 300K+ miles. Buick 3.8's are regarded as one the most dependable motors being produced, I have seen two with 400K miles on the clock, mine had 325K on the clock when I traded it off (never needed anything but alternators).

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BMW's, but the fact is for the price, there is a lot more value if one is watching his dollars. A person is better off purchasing say a new Maxima over a 4 year old M3 or whatever unless they are buying it just to get the BMW and not looking for the best value, and least amount to maintain.

Rags

[KeiFront]

Rags I don't know which engine that buick has if it's a 3.8l (name is buick 3.8) than it should be capable of running 300K miles plus. Most BMW's don't have 3.8l engines rather 1.8l > engines they won't last 300K + miles. If i'm wrong about the Buick just forget this post.

[Gurm]

Kei,

90%+ of BMW's ship with 2.5L engines (3-series) or larger. Look at the designation...

320, 325 = 2.5L
318 = 1.8L (yeah the poor cousin)
528 = 2.8L
750 = 5.0L

Etc.

Rags,

My point is that the ENGINE in a Bimmer is good for 300+k miles with no special maintenance other than what is considered routine. Volvos, BMW's, and Mercedes are known for it. Everyone I know with a Volvo has had theirs past 500k miles. EVERYONE. Not just a few, or the really well maintained ones. You can beat the living snot out of a 240, never change the oil until it is a problem, overload it, drive around in 4th gear, and STILL it will last 500k miles.

Sure, overall maintenance bills can add up on a BMW, especially a 5-series or (heaven forbid) a 7-series. And the M cars are VERY costly to maintain (reason #2 why I didn't overspend and buy one). However, in the two years I owned my Corolla I put more money into it than I've put into this 325is. Same goes for my Cutlass.

I'm not saying that it's MORE cost-effective than a Nissan. But let's be honest here - I don't want to DRIVE a Nissan. Sure, it's reliable, dependable, cheap to maintain, and will last a long time... and I'll be bored stiff the entire time. I don't care if there are "no other cars like it" on the road. There's a REASON for that.

All I'm saying is that BMW's aren't as pricey to own and maintain as some would have you believe, nor are they as pricey to own if you don't insist on new or next-to-new. And you can't find a car that's as fun to drive on this side of $50k.

- Gurm

[Sasq]

Just skimming through here. A note on the maxima's. I owned a 1990 Ti model in Australia. Nice, Nice car. Very few problems with it, but when it did break it broke in very very expensive ways.

If you get a maxima, get it new, and upgrade regulary

Dan

[Rags]

All I'm saying is that BMW's aren't as pricey to own and maintain as some would have you believe, nor are they as pricey to own if you don't insist on new or next-to-new. And you can't find a car that's as fun to drive on this side of $50k.

- Gurm [/B]

Sure there is. It's called a C5 Vette.


Rags

[impact]

Oh yeah, the BMW...

Everything is ridiculously expensive to fix.

The engine in this car is make of a compound called nikosil. The compound is affected by a high sulfur count in American gasoline, which causes the cylinders to be eaten away. BMW knows about the problem with the engine block and only fixed it (under warranty) if it happened within 5 years or 100,000 miles. This is over a 4000 dollar repair to change the short block if you have to pay it yourself. I bought this car without knowing this and my car had just gone out of the warranty from BMW to fix it. So now I have this to worry about plus the 4000 dollars it cost me to fix the rest of the stuff.

Whoops!

As for the whole FWD/RWD/whatever is better, check this article:
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/tec...7/article.html - they all have their advantages and disadvantages, and of course, let's not forget personal preferences... some people like FWD, some like RWD...

[spoogenet]

Volvo.....BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!

Ok, ok, I'm over exaggerating a little. See, I drive an '88 240. I treat the car like crap....but only because she treats me like crap. I call her Bertha.....well, I thought it was a good name for a tank.

Anyhow, maybe $200k on it, not really sure becaues the spedo and odometer are broken.....I've got 2 instrument clusters that are non-functional. Fortunately the local Volvo shop hot-wired my temp guage so I see somewhat accurate temperatures....this is only because the car over heated right after I moved to Texas. I never trusted the guage, though, because when I turned on the headlights the temp would skyrocket....turn them off, back to normal.

Reason for overheating? Bad engine mounts, the block had twisted so much that the cooling fan wouldn't turn.

Not to mention the oil leaks, did I mention the clutch?

Hahahaha....anyways, I'm nervous to buy a new car. I know how to take good care of a car, I just can't be bothered to take good care of Bertha. Not to mention I never have to worry about my doors getting dented in a parking lot......speaking of doors, one of my latches broke and now the driver's door just swings around when it wants to (when open....stays closed when closed).

Just thought I'd share.

b

[KeiFront]

Gurm I said 1.8L > so thats 318 and up. And your right the 318 is the poor cousin.

[Wombat]

Yeah Kei, you said 1.8L >

That's the confusion. You should have said > 1.8L


1.8L > is confusing, but if anything it's like writing < 1.8L

[KeiFront]

didn't noticed my mistake yeah it should have been >1.8L not 1.8L >

[omegaRED]

Just to pop in ...

My uncle bought a `99 BMW528 automatic for 19.000DM (some 9-10.000$) a couple of months ago, drove to Germany to get it. The front was hit but not much, he only replaced the hood, the headlights and the front bumper, so it costed him around 11.000$, but the car is SWEET. The previous owner didnt drive it that much, and i dont know the mileage, but it wasnt that big (after all, it was 2 years old) ... I still cant believe that he got it THAT cheap ...

He has a thing for BMWs, owned 5 so far, but the one i liked most was the `85 M5 ... that was a beast