[kronzprinz]

Originally Posted by wj4

I drive a lot...and this is cutting back already. 10 miles each way to school, random drives on the PCH, etc. In my old car, I put 29,500 on her in the 15 months of owning it.


Very ignorant comment. It's not the fact that if one can or can not afford the maintenance (look at how many people are trading in their E46 M3s due to warranty expiring and moving on UP to more expensive cars). Let's give a scenario...you have a 335i with 100k miles on it, warranty is gone, the car is probably going to be worth less than $20,000...can you justify keeping the car if it costs you say $3,000-4,000 in maintenance every year? Let's say the fuel pump goes out after the warranty is gone...that's $1,300 in part alone, not counting the labor.

i knew a dumb a$$ was going to react to my comment without thinking it thru...
if you have 100k miles on your car that's the equivalent to eight year life... get a new car....
if your fuel pump goes right after the 48th month or at 50200 miles the $2K is not a big cost, get it fixed...

[vbb]

Originally Posted by retlod

Lease the 335 for 3 years, then go back to Acura and get the AWD, turbocharged TSX Type S that's rumored to come out in 2009 or 2010. I love Acuras, but like you said, just not enough giddy-up.

This is good advice. Or better yet, lease the car for 3 years, and if you decide you want to keep it (meaning it hasn't been giving you any trouble, and you still enjoy the vehicle) then just buy it out at the end of your lease. It will be more expensive than financing at the start... but not THAT much more expensive. Plus, you really get a chance to try it before you buy it. If it turns out that it isn't for you, or gives you more problems than you want, you can just give the car back and then go buy something else (like whatever Acura decides to come out with).

I'm partial to Honda/Acura myself, having had an RSX-S then a Honda S2000. I'm excited to see what Honda does with their new turbo engine in a car format and if it competes with BMW at all. But for now, the 335i seems to be the best deal going for the semi-luxury sports sedan, so that's why I ordered one.

[gloster]

I plan on keeping my 335 for about seven years

[BMW335icDDS]

BMW's in general are not as reliable as Japanese cars. I have a BMW 330i, and it has had quite a few problems. My sister's 4 yr old G35 has never had any problems. Thats the way it is, whether people here on the BIMMER forums want to admit it or not. I plan on keeping my 335 Vert for ever, but know I will have to buy extended warranty since I don't trust BMW's reliability.

[Doug R]

My son bought a 1999 325 a while back with 96k miles. Spent 7k on repairs,and sold it 12 months later for half what he paid for it There is no way in hell I would own a BMW or any other high end car for that matter out of warranty.

[a burrito]

i'd wait it out.. just look at the recent threads here. nothing but 335 problems..

[Shift_Fast]

Originally Posted by 7586

Damn! I've had mine for close to 5 months and only just hit 2000. I don't drive much i presume

Almost 5 months and 2300 mls. Yeah I guess I choose the days to take mine out too.

[John 070]

imho nobody should knowingly buy a car that cannot feasibly be driven once its warranty expires. By the same token, nobody should buy a car soley because it has a long warranty, i.e. Hyundai or now Chrysler with a lifetime powertrain is it? That's like selling a security for the sole purpose of the tax consequences, with no regard to the fundamentals.

How smart is it to drive 3 Acuras in 9 years? Imho that's a waste of money, we all know from common sense that 1 Acura could most likely drive more than 9 years.

Nobody can predict the future, but if your common sense tells you a 335 cannot be driven out of warranty without racking up huge repair costs, don't buy one at all. The depreciation in year 1 (some of us are already coming up on it) is around 9k. To take depreciation years 1, 2, and 3, and then replace the vehicle is not a good move.

Since a car is a pure luxury item, and lets be honest, a waste of money, the best move is to buy something one thinks can last a long time.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by vbb

This is good advice. Or better yet, lease the car for 3 years, and if you decide you want to keep it (meaning it hasn't been giving you any trouble, and you still enjoy the vehicle) then just buy it out at the end of your lease. It will be more expensive than financing at the start... but not THAT much more expensive.

That's not the case imho. And people seem to say this buy out the lease notion is accomplished by taking out a loan, on a used car? Why? Short of knowing something will change in a positive way with your financial situation, why do that? And if that's the case, wait 3 years to buy the car new.

When one makes a decision to buy out a lease, they should be like a roulette wheel--look at the deal that is presented before you. The roulette wheel has no memory, i.e. looking at its recent spins has no bearing on what the next spin will bring.

[retlod]

Originally Posted by John 070

imho nobody should knowingly buy a car that cannot feasibly be driven once its warranty expires. By the same token, nobody should buy a car soley because it has a long warranty, i.e. Hyundai or now Chrysler with a lifetime powertrain is it? That's like selling a security for the sole purpose of the tax consequences, with no regard to the fundamentals.

How smart is it to drive 3 Acuras in 9 years? Imho that's a waste of money, we all know from common sense that 1 Acura could most likely drive more than 9 years.

Nobody can predict the future, but if your common sense tells you a 335 cannot be driven out of warranty without racking up huge repair costs, don't buy one at all. The depreciation in year 1 (some of us are already coming up on it) is around 9k. To take depreciation years 1, 2, and 3, and then replace the vehicle is not a good move.

Since a car is a pure luxury item, and lets be honest, a waste of money, the best move is to buy something one thinks can last a long time.

The depreciation on a car weighs more heavily on the mind than the fun of driving it every day? We should all be driving used Civics then! There are a lot of things we consume that aren't absolutely necessary (ie wastes of money), but what good is having money if you never use it? There's nothing wrong with saving up and dying a millionaire, but it's just not for me...or the OP.

[carjon]

My answer would be no - don't keep it. But to me that doesn't just apply to BMW's. New cars are so electronic now that any sort of repair in the future will be expensive. I'm not just talking about having to replace a turbo. I can see going into a dealer (because for many items they will be the only source of repair) and saying my blinker doesn't work and being told that you need a new computer board and that will cost $1,000 please.
Even though reliability definately affects it, all cars break down and need maintenance and parts. New complex cars will need very expensive maintenance and parts.

[OTK_KART]

Originally Posted by John 070

imho nobody should knowingly buy a car that cannot feasibly be driven once its warranty expires. By the same token, nobody should buy a car soley because it has a long warranty, i.e. Hyundai or now Chrysler with a lifetime powertrain is it? That's like selling a security for the sole purpose of the tax consequences, with no regard to the fundamentals.

How smart is it to drive 3 Acuras in 9 years? Imho that's a waste of money, we all know from common sense that 1 Acura could most likely drive more than 9 years.

Nobody can predict the future, but if your common sense tells you a 335 cannot be driven out of warranty without racking up huge repair costs, don't buy one at all. The depreciation in year 1 (some of us are already coming up on it) is around 9k. To take depreciation years 1, 2, and 3, and then replace the vehicle is not a good move.

Since a car is a pure luxury item, and lets be honest, a waste of money, the best move is to buy something one thinks can last a long time.

I might not be as smart as you, but at least I can affort to buy all 3 Acura in cash and don't care much on depreciation when I traded them in. You are 100% correct that buying new car is a waste of money. But I do enjoying driving something new from time to time and there isn't any 4 doors sedan out on the market that can match the 335's performance.

[vbb]

Originally Posted by John 070

That's not the case imho. And people seem to say this buy out the lease notion is accomplished by taking out a loan, on a used car? Why? Short of knowing something will change in a positive way with your financial situation, why do that? And if that's the case, wait 3 years to buy the car new.

When one makes a decision to buy out a lease, they should be like a roulette wheel--look at the deal that is presented before you. The roulette wheel has no memory, i.e. looking at its recent spins has no bearing on what the next spin will bring.

First off, I think leasing is a good idea for many people in many situations. Although I've never been a leasing fan before, when I step back and look at my car buying history, leasing makes sense for me and it is probably what I should have been doing all along. Maybe the OP could benefit from a lease as well.

Secondly, if you have no qualms with buying a used car, then what better used car to buy than one that you've exclusively driven since it was new? Say the residual on your car is $25K after 36 months. Shop around... if you can find something you want more than your car for $25K, then go get that. But if you want to keep your car for the long haul, then you can buy it out for that price, knowing exactly how well it was treated and maintained (since that's always a risk when buying used).

[2007_E93]

Originally Posted by wj4

I drive a lot...and this is cutting back already. 10 miles each way to school, random drives on the PCH, etc. In my old car, I put 29,500 on her in the 15 months of owning it.


Very ignorant comment. It's not the fact that if one can or can not afford the maintenance (look at how many people are trading in their E46 M3s due to warranty expiring and moving on UP to more expensive cars). Let's give a scenario...you have a 335i with 100k miles on it, warranty is gone, the car is probably going to be worth less than $20,000...can you justify keeping the car if it costs you say $3,000-4,000 in maintenance every year? Let's say the fuel pump goes out after the warranty is gone...that's $1,300 in part alone, not counting the labor.

YES I can. I think your comment is short sighted. First, I have owned 4 cars now each over 10 years. All had over 100k miles except the only BMW (wifes) we've owned for 11 years at 78K miles. All other cars were not as high quality brand as BMW (Oldsmobile, Mercury, Mercury) and none had problems prior to year 7. I take care of my cars and do maintainence as directed.

As far as $3k-4k/year being "too expensive" for a car. Think of it this way. A $45K car worth $20k (using your numbers) after 4 years gives you around $18K at best with trade in value. You buy a new car for $45K. Now that $45K car is NOT as good as a $45K car 4 years ago b/c of inflation. That same car is probably more like $50K. That gives you a loan of $32k over lets assume 48 months (new warranty period) at 6% for $750/mo or $9000/yr. OK?...lets assume 60 months at 6% gives ~$620/month or $7440/yr. Which is cheaper?...keeping a car for the long haul and paying repairs until they get astronomically high that you are close to making new car payments to keep the old car. It has been shown over and over again that keeping a car and repairing it has always been cheaper than a lease. If your plan is to keep the car less than or equal to warranty then just lease. But in the end you'll pay more to lease or buy and sell in a few years than to buy and keep for long haul.

I seriously doubt that you are paying less than $333/month ($4000 divided by 12 months) for your car with no down payment other than your last autos sell/trade-in value. If you add ANY down payment or ANY more per month you have already proven my point!

Just my 2 cents...(or in this matter at least $3440/year)

[2007_E93]

Originally Posted by John 070

imho nobody should knowingly buy a car that cannot feasibly be driven once its warranty expires. By the same token, nobody should buy a car soley because it has a long warranty, i.e. Hyundai or now Chrysler with a lifetime powertrain is it? That's like selling a security for the sole purpose of the tax consequences, with no regard to the fundamentals.

How smart is it to drive 3 Acuras in 9 years? Imho that's a waste of money, we all know from common sense that 1 Acura could most likely drive more than 9 years.

Nobody can predict the future, but if your common sense tells you a 335 cannot be driven out of warranty without racking up huge repair costs, don't buy one at all. The depreciation in year 1 (some of us are already coming up on it) is around 9k. To take depreciation years 1, 2, and 3, and then replace the vehicle is not a good move.

Since a car is a pure luxury item, and lets be honest, a waste of money, the best move is to buy something one thinks can last a long time.

For once I agree with you John 070...Well said!

[dmboone25]

Just lease it.

[2007_E93]

Originally Posted by joech

I might not be as smart as you, but at least I can affort to buy all 3 Acura in cash and don't care much on depreciation when I traded them in. You are 100% correct that buying new car is a waste of money. But I do enjoying driving something new from time to time and there isn't any 4 doors sedan out on the market that can match the 335's performance.

I dont think he meant not to buy something new,..I think he meant just not 3 new ones in 9 years. That's a waste of money! At least thats my take on it.

[jbake]

I've never owned any of my BMW's past warranty. I always sell right when it's about to expire. They are very reliable cars and usually nothing goes wrong. But I do not want to foot the bill when something DOES go wrong. Because of the expensive costs to maintain BMW's. But hey you gotta pay to play.

[RichP]

The new 3 is a technology boat. The problem with such a car is when the smaller things break (window controllers, seat controllers, all other various electronic things) they are hard to diagnose, and the modules needed to fix them are expensive. That may be more of a cost issue as the cars get older moreso than drivtetrain reliability.

[OTK_KART]

I don't think its all that bad to have 3 new ones in 9 years. 2 of them I drove for almost 4 years each and the other one only last for 16 months. And the only reason it only last for 16 months was my daughter was born back in 2003 and it was almost impossible to put a car seat in the back of the RSX. To be honest, I could care less if the power windows or idrive doesn't work on the 335i when the warranty ran out. As long as the drivetrain is somewhat reliable, I will go ahead to buy the 335i when the dealer has the option lists available for the 08.

Originally Posted by 2007_E93

I dont think he meant not to buy something new,..I think he meant just not 3 new ones in 9 years. That's a waste of money! At least thats my take on it.