Wrecked My E34 - Need Replacement Opinions

You sure that it's totalled? It looks as though it would be an easy fix. OOPS, just looked again and noticed the bags are popped. Nevermind......that sucks.

Finally drove the E39 I've been after and it was as good as everyone has been telling me. Now it's just a matter of finding the right one. Going to take one to the BMW mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection. Worth the money after my last BMW experience and might give me some bargaining power over the $9900 asking price.

Going to go check out a 2005 Saab 93, found a fleet vehicle with a manual, not too expensive. Worth a look.

Went to go drive an S60R and the one in my price range was so bad that the "upscale" used car dealer took it back to the auction. Nice.

In spite of its lack of a manual trans, we're going to go check out a Pontiac G8 to see if it's even an option. With my father in law's retiree discount, their low interest, $2500 in incentives, and GM's financial position, it might be worth a look. We'll see.

I have no personal experience but people that own and drive Subaru Legacy GTs like them. I seem to recall reading a lot of glowing reviews as well.

belteshazzar wrote: 02-03 Maxima with 6sp

^^ I'm with this guy. ^^

That Maxima is a great car with some serious sporting potential. It is a front driver but should work as a replacement for your BMW pretty well. I'd at least test drive one if I were in your shoes.

Spend a weekend with a GTO before you get one.

Having just got out of a 4 year relationship with an 04 I can say I won't miss it. The strait line power was great and easy to mod but it has typical GM numb steering and numb braking. The stock suspension was awful in my opinion, way too much understeer and way to much body lean. I never felt connected with that car.

The very raked A pillar causing me to hit my head on it every time I got in the car and the doors do not open very wide so I hit the speaker grill with my foot every time I exited the car.

While rated at 15 mpg city you'll never see it. If I "hypermiled" and drove at 1100 rpm everywhere (there is no "driving experience" doing that) the best I could get was 14 but if I drove it like I normally do, which is normal by any standard and not full throttle, I would get 12 mpg. Power is waaay down if you have to use 87 octane (Atlanta had a gas shortage this fall and that is all that was available).

I just traded for a E36 M3 Sedan and like it a 1000% better. I am one with that car.

Randy

Randy - I remember when you got that car, and how optimistic you were. Bummer to hear that it's glory faded.

Re: Maxima - Great cars, but if you want a RWD, it's not going to suffice. It is very much a front heavy, McStrut having FWD.

man did a search on ebay under $10K manual, damn there isn't much out there in RWD sedans, maybe a Lincoln LS with the V6 can be manual but the BMW seems to be safer

or this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___CADILLAC-CTS-2003-Luxury-Sport-Package-Navigation_W0QQitemZ300280957346QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item300280957346&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A727|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Drove the Saab today, nice car with lots of warranty left. Wife really liked it. Suspesion was a bit soft and the seats were unbearable. The manual adjust seats wouldn't do what I needed them to do. I would have to find a pair of the power adjustable seats or get some nice aftermarket seats. I need to remember it's not a sports car but it has potential.

The G8 was a nice car. Surprisingly firm suspension and the shift business was ok. If it had a manual I think I would be a lot more into it. Very roomy inside, maybe one of the best looking American sedans in my opinion. The wife is against the payment since we recently paid off our SUV. The dealer would have to call and knock another $4k off of it for me to even consider it. Without the 19" wheels and sunroof, the GT would be around $25k after the first visit to the dealer. I'm sure he'll call back. Not terribly excited about playing car dealer hard ball right now.

I'm going to take the wife to drive another E39 maybe tomorrow.

Most of those Maxima's are at the slack jaw dealerships, found one with carbon fiber hood and badgeless grill, super cool! Maybe I'll go look at one.

I test drove a G8 gt yesterday, very impressed with the car as a whole. Didn't get to test the handling too much but it certainly had decent power. Unfortunately there's not many rwd cars out there in my price range. Not very happy with my Grand Prix mainly because of it's fwd but I have yet to find a decent replacement, good luck with your search.

aussiesmg wrote: man did a search on ebay under $10K manual, damn there isn't much out there in RWD sedans, maybe a Lincoln LS with the V6

ugh, i drove a V8 LS when i was looking for cars and it was slow, i'd hate to feel the V6. there is a manual/v6 one here not far from my house for under 5k, they're very nice looking cars if you don't mind it being almost a total design ripoff of the diamante.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Randy - I remember when you got that car, and how optimistic you were. Bummer to hear that it's glory faded. Re: Maxima - Great cars, but if you want a RWD, it's not going to suffice. It is very much a front heavy, McStrut having FWD.

Looked under the front end of any BMW lately? Yep, those are MacPherson struts, but they must be filled with magic pixie oils and made by little German elves because they just flat out work. I agree though that a Maxima just won't do it, a buddy has a newish one and I've driven it, it's a nice driver until you start to push it. The Max isn't a 4 door sports car anymore. That buddy's looking to unload his Max and get into a 5 series.

I can't say I'm totally shocked by the Saab seats not working for you, they're great for 99% of the population but for the other 1% they're sheer torture, as they were for me when I had a 9000CSE.

Good luck in your search for the perfect replacement car.

pigeon wrote: Looked under the front end of any BMW lately? Yep, those are MacPherson struts, but they must be filled with magic pixie oils and made by little German elves because they just flat out work.

They work better than a Maxima for sure, but that doesn't make them good.

After all the disussion, looking at several cars, and watching several episodes of Top Gear in a row, I've decided to focus all the search energy on the BMW. I want the big motor, tight suspension, BMW style, and quirks. Really, who needs a warranty and reasonably priced maintenance? Not me!

Thanks to all. Will let you all know when I find the car. -B

Have fun looking! Let us know what your end result is...

I can't seem to post a new topic so I'll ask here....

Does anyone know a reputable Euro car shop in Long Island? I've found a car that I want looked over before I seriously consider it.

Anyone want to do a drive by and tell me if the car is as clean as it the guy says it is? I'll make it worth your while.

Thanks!

I looked breifly and didnt see anyone suggest a Lexus IS300...pretty good power out of the toyota 2JZ even though its a 6 cylinder, and I love Toyotas engineering...very straight forward and practical. Think of this car as a 4 door Supra. Found several on autotrader for less than 10k, a couple with less than 100k mi. Some more extensive searches may find some better results since this was a very brief search.

The IS300 was the car I was looking for before I bought my BMW from my brother-in-law. I may have to find a beater if I don't find the right BMW soon. I'm trying not to be in a hurry.

Possible shenanigans? The car I'm considering in Long Island doesn't have any CarFax info since May '07. It's showing as a dealer vehicle, no emissions, no registration. Only 9k miles in a year and a half which isn't by itself unusual for a New York car. The guy selling it has also sold two other 540i/6's in the last year and a half on Bimmerforums.com and says he's not a dealer. I've spoken to him several times and he seems to be on the level as he just needs to sell it to make room for a new car. Other vehicles from the area show emissions and DMV info on CarFax. Here's his ad:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1109284

Where did he acquire it from? When I bought my Contour SVT a few years (and cars) ago it had been purchased by a guy with a dealer plate at auction who used it as personal transport for a year and then sold it to me, so it had a one year hole in the carfax history. Possibly the prior owner of this 540i/6 was also a dealer. Bottom line for me, have it checked out and if all is as represented and the price is right go for it. It sure is a good looking example.

(my car, not for sale, but ive seen them around $10,000 for a decent one) a couple grand can be an exaggeration as far as the suspension goes.

H&R race springs $2-300 poly bushings for front, $20-30 CC plates $150ish Koni SA $550ish upgrade front bar (IIRC) $150ish Panhard Bar $350ish

ok, so over a grand, but helps the car alot.

Noone has said P71 yet?

or how about a mercury marauder? see some on fleabay that are buy it now for $11kish

Well, just when I thought I'd be posting pictures of my new car the world throws you a curve ball. Making deals over the phone can work but it will depend on the integrity of all individuals involved. I was getting ready to pay the guy in Long Island for my new 2001 BMW 540i/6 and it turns out the guy didn't even have it titled in his name. I should have known it was going too smooth.

The story goes, guy was working at Euro car dealer, acquires car. Instead of actually buying then titling it, they do a change of ownership to avoid paying sales tax. This explains the lack of data in CarFax since April of 2007. He finally admitted last night he was avoiding sales tax. The rub is I paid $90 to have a pre purchase inspection done after he SAID he had a clear title, agreed on the price and agreed to getting the car inspected. Oh well.

I think this guy was a dealer all along rolling with dealer plates. The wife favored this car for several reasons and I went along with her to a certain extent. It was still my call I suppose.

Lesson = get copy of front and back of title before proceeding with car purchase over long distance.

Next up? Possible flood car in Scranton owned by BMW technician. Super clean with all service history, all maintenance records, low miles, many M specific upgrades, and priced accordingly. My bank/insurance are treating it like any other car so that works for me. We'll see.

In reply to VWguyBruce:

Sounds like the same guy who is selling a e39 528i manual on ebay right now. I was seriously considering it. :(

That accord is nasty. lol I drove one like that a couple of times, I didnt like it at all.

If the title is clear and the car is in the condition as represented (and as you paid $90 to find out) why not purchase it? So he avoids paying sales tax on the purchase/use of the car for 18 months or so - what do you care? As long as you can get it registered and a clear title to you, which shouldn't be a problem based on my own experience posted a few posts above, wouldn't you rather have this car than a flood salvage car, that will have lousy resale if/when you decide to sell it?

The way he's making it sound is that NY does things differently than the rest of the country with respect to titles. He says he only needs to do a "change of ownership," mentions non-title holding state, "you don't have to title your car," etc. He's not going to get me a title in his name and he can't produce a registration with his name on it, either of which my bank would accept with a bill of sale. The car is still titled to someone in Maryland that hasn't owned the car in over 2 years. My bank really tried working with him on this and in the end they said it was all too fishy. I didn't much care if he paid taxes or not, if I can't get him the money then it won't work.

As for his honestly regarding the car, he was spot on. The mechanic said the car was as clean as he claimed and well worth what I was going to pay for it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a car from him but next time I'll be asking to see the title before I even look at it. I don't know if I'd even call him dishonest so much as he just left certain "details" out of the discussion. It all came out in the end that he was avoiding the taxes as a "perk" of working at the dealership when he acquired the car and mentioned to the bank that he can still sell cars through the dealership, which makes him a dealer when he said he wasn't. He's making a living selling cars. But for goodness sake, if you're a dealer, say you're a dealer.