The main reason I don't buy new cars is depreciation. I've been shopping BMW 335i models of late. Most stickered north of $50k when new. Now, 4 years later (MY 2007 cars), they are hovering around $20k, some still with CPO warranty! That's a hell of a hit.
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Dec. 16, 2011 8:42 p.m. dyintorace SuperDork
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Dec. 16, 2011 8:42 p.m. JamesMcD Reader
frenchy wrote:
I think a lot of people here are like the guys 20 years ago that didn't like fuel injection and things like that.
The issue at hand is not about us obstinately disliking anything younger than a certain age. It's about taking a principled position against things that are stupid.
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Dec. 16, 2011 8:47 p.m. frenchy New Reader
JamesMcD wrote:
frenchy wrote:
I think a lot of people here are like the guys 20 years ago that didn't like fuel injection and things like that.
The issue at hand is not about us obstinately disliking anything younger than a certain age. It's about taking a principled position against things that are stupid.
That's not what I meant by that. I guess what I'm trying to say is guys from the early '90s talking about how "all these new cars have computers and suck to work on" and now we talk about"all these cars have nannies and suck to drive". In reality cars from the '90s were pretty easy to work on for the most part and you can still find cars today that are fun to drive. I just thought it was an interesting parallel.
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Dec. 16, 2011 8:49 p.m. dyintorace SuperDork
I'm not complaining about the advances (although I could do without massaging seats, etc). My complaint is that virtually all new BMWs are ass-ugly.
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Dec. 16, 2011 9:46 p.m. driver109x HalfDork
It reminds me of the Mercedes CLS(?) ... iirc, when it first came out, they called it the four door coupe
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Dec. 16, 2011 9:53 p.m. Teh E36 M3 Dork
mndsm wrote:
DILYSI Dave wrote:
Yes, BMW lost their mind. Selling new cars in brown with giant dents in the size can be considered Exhibit A.
Eh? Dents?
Did you see the picture of the 6 series above?
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Dec. 16, 2011 10:48 p.m. pigeon Dork
dyintorace wrote:
The main reason I don't buy new cars is depreciation. I've been shopping BMW 335i models of late. Most stickered north of $50k when new. Now, 4 years later (MY 2007 cars), they are hovering around $20k, some still with CPO warranty! That's a hell of a hit.
Yep, bought my 750Li 2.5 years old with 46k miles and it was almost exactly half the price of the original sticker. Of course, 3.5 years and 70k miles later its worth at best half what I paid :(
And yes, BMW lost their mind on naming several years ago - Names like "Z4 sDrive35is" and "X5 xDrive35i Sport Activity" aren't very friendly.
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Dec. 17, 2011 12:10 a.m. Sonic Dork
BMW depreciation is great for people like us. I'm buying my 4 year old, 39k mile Z4 M Coupe for less than half of it's original 56k price. In my mind, it is the last of the true M cars: no electronic diff, variable steering, gearbox settings, turbos, SMG or any of that crap. Just a two seater fastback with a N/A I-6 with ITBs, 6 speed manual, hydraulic rack and pinion steering, and a limited slip diff. That is an M car.
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Dec. 17, 2011 12:29 a.m. DaewooOfDeath HalfDork
All empires fall ... somebody else will come along and make non ugly cool cars.
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Dec. 17, 2011 6:02 a.m. gjz30075 Reader
They need to change their slogan to : "the ultimate 'keeping up with the Jones' machine"
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Dec. 17, 2011 8:34 a.m. jstein77 Dork
Reports of no feel to the electric power steering in the new BMW's (actually every manufacturer's electric steering) are very disturbing. I always thought that electric assist would be perfect to replace the hydraulic pump, but not if it makes the steering lifeless.
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Dec. 17, 2011 10:26 a.m. Xceler8x SuperDork
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Dec. 17, 2011 10:29 a.m. njansenv HalfDork
JamesMcD wrote:
frenchy wrote:
I think a lot of people here are like the guys 20 years ago that didn't like fuel injection and things like that.
The issue at hand is not about us obstinately disliking anything younger than a certain age. It's about taking a principled position against things that are stupid.
Like fuel injection. ;)
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Dec. 17, 2011 10:48 a.m. novaderrik Dork
i know nothing about BMW's and their naming conventions, and won't care until they start giving them actual names that aren't just a letter and a number. and even then, i'll probably still not care.
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Dec. 17, 2011 10:49 a.m. neon4891 SuperDork
I thought this was the apparent discontinuation of manual transmissions. Last time I looked, you can't get a non M 3 or 5 with a stick.
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Dec. 17, 2011 11:22 a.m. Sonic Dork
Manual transmissions are definitely offered on 3s and 5s, including the non Ms. Autos only on the 7 and SUVs.
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Dec. 17, 2011 12:38 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork
Ok, just had to dig around alot to find them on the 3
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Dec. 17, 2011 2:15 p.m. dyintorace SuperDork
Lots of non-M 3-series come with manuals. Well, maybe not "lots" but they are relatively easy to find when shopping used.

