Fuel economy, reliability, comfort, maintenance costs, etc.............
Not as good as a J-Body or Civic I am sure
.... but how do they fare up overall?
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Where I work:
HP
What I take for Memory and Focus:
Focus Fast
Fuel economy isn't bad. Not the best but low 17/18 city and low 20's hwy. Its going to depend on how you drive. The reliability on them is pretty good. They have strong motors but issues other places. Overall they're pretty easy on mainteanance. When it does need work done though parts are expensive and to have someone do it is even more expensive. They're a bitch to work on. They come with a lot of fancy bells and whistles.
I'm looking into a BMW myself so I've done some homework. My buddy had an 03 325i and got rid of it in favor of an 03 M3 and has loved every minute of both cars. He's been talking me into it. I'm going tomorrow morning to look at an 04 330ci thats been Super Charged.
theyre not as pricy as some people think, and with the amount of resources out there, its easy to learn how to do many things on them. As far as paying for labour goes my suggestion is to find a specialty shop in your area. My girlfriend works for a BMW / VW / Audi and porsche specialty shop, with factory certified former dealer technicians and they charge about $20 an hour less than a local dealer ship. Parts are pricier then a jbody yes, but not astronomically so and for the quality of a ride you get with it, i find it worthwhile
What year and engine you looking at?
My dad drives a E36 328i convertable in the summer...Its a great car to drive. Its all stock, but I am ordering him an intake for it for his birthday in January. As for fuel economy he gets around 40 miles a gallon on the highway (thats imperial gallons not US gallons so not sure what that works out to, maybe 30mpg?) and I think he gets mid 30's gigging around, mind you we don't live in a city. He hasn't had any problems with it other than having to get a new clutch (has 100+ miles on it). The major problem he has been having with it is with the power roof but other than that he has nothing to complain about it. I have driven it numerous times and its wicked fast on the highway, its a fairly heavy car so it makes it slower from the get go but by no means is it underpowered. The car is sooo smooth both powerband and ride. I love going home and taking it for drives and just running it through the gears in the twisty roads. Its a way nicer car to drive than mine even though mine is faster. I think you would be very pleased with it. I really like the BMW's and my mom drives a X3 and she loves it too, I don't think you can go wrong with it.
I don't see how you're saying parts aren't too expensive. A set of brake pads cost 90 dollars for a cheaper set. A alternator is 250 dollars. Thats pretty pricey lol. Yes it not up there with like a Ferrari or something, but when the repair bill comes its still hefty.
Well we have never had to replace the alternator before...I paid 400 for the one in my cavalier so $250 for a BMW one is pretty good I think. As for brakes, they are brakes, you need them regardless. Like I said, the only problem he has was with the clutch and it was half the price of the clutch in my cavalier so once again I don't think thats too bad. Mind you he has spent over $1000 on motorized roof motors but other than that he has just had to do regular oil changes. As for my moms X3, 60,000kms and not a penny put into it so I don't think you can complain there. I think BMW is great quality and I would pay more for a car that is going to run well for a long time and I only have good things to say about them. I have a friend that used to have a 92 318i and he drove the crap out of it and other than tires and the odd brake job he had good luck with it. Just my 2 cents.
400 for an alternator in a cavi...someone got ripped >.<
that was lifetime warranty and installed...on my 2nd or 3rd free alternator now, so the warrant saved me a lot more
400 dollars installed? Still got ripped. The 250 is just the alternator. I guarantee labor is going to be way more. If you can't change the alternator in a cavalier you need help....man up.
Rabbit(AKA RedAssassin) wrote:Fuel economy isn't bad. Not the best but low 17/18 city and low 20's hwy. Its going to depend on how you drive. The reliability on them is pretty good. They have strong motors but issues other places. Overall they're pretty easy on mainteanance. When it does need work done though parts are expensive and to have someone do it is even more expensive. They're a bitch to work on. They come with a lot of fancy bells and whistles.
I'm looking into a BMW myself so I've done some homework. My buddy had an 03 325i and got rid of it in favor of an 03 M3 and has loved every minute of both cars. He's been talking me into it. I'm going tomorrow morning to look at an 04 330ci thats been Super Charged.
Cool, thanks for the feedback and good luck with the car tomorrow
I am thinking 330 or 328 4 door ...... pretty much an A-B car ......... although i've considered an M3 lol What do those go for? 15-20K or so?
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Where I work:
HP
What I take for Memory and Focus:
Focus Fast
E30's are insanely reliable, and the maintenance parts are dirt cheap. E36's are notorious for being extremely unreliable and having lots and lots of little things go wrong in a string. Everything I hear abour E46's from their owners is good. it seems the E36 was a transisional phase and had a lot of quirks and hiccups, but they ironed them out and made the E46 pretty darn solid. I still think it's the best looking 3 series they have made. Very closely followed by the sexy E30
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
JLAudioCavalier wrote:E30's are insanely reliable, and the maintenance parts are dirt cheap. E36's are notorious for being extremely unreliable and having lots and lots of little things go wrong in a string. Everything I hear abour E46's from their owners is good. it seems the E36 was a transisional phase and had a lot of quirks and hiccups, but they ironed them out and made the E46 pretty darn solid. I still think it's the best looking 3 series they have made. Very closely followed by the sexy E30
Pretty much what my buddy said. All though the E36 M3 is lighter and handles a little better from what I've been told. Which is why the motor swap from an E46 into an E36 makes a killer combination. I found an 04 SuperCharged 330ci they want 12k for. Its got 107k miles on it. I also found a black four door manual for 335i for 14k. I was pretty damn set on the Lexus but damn these BMW's are nice.
Rabbit(AKA RedAssassin) wrote:400 dollars installed? Still got ripped. The 250 is just the alternator. I guarantee labor is going to be way more. If you can't change the alternator in a cavalier you need help....man up.
Well I found the alternator at canadian tire are it was $249 and install was 2 hours at $60 an hour...so that would be $370 before tax so thats right around $430 (that is canadian dollars), not sure why you think I got ripped?? As for changing it, maybe you could have helped me change it when it went dead in -32 degrees in a snow storm in a parking lot. And being 500kms from home in university I wasn't going to have the resources to change it. And I did have to get a new one put on a few months ago and it took 5 hours because of the s/c and the alternator was too big to drop down through. But hey, I need to man up.
Hey, get down in that lot and replace it yourself to earn your man-card apparently, lol
Canadian dollars isn't so bad. Sorry didn't know it was canadian.
Its been a while since I owned a J-body, body but I could have swore they were on the top of the motor. If I'm correct you need to give your man card up as well.
Exodus 259 wrote: Hey, get down in that lot and replace it yourself to earn your man-card apparently, lol
Think they were on the 2200...it sits below the s/c and manifold and the guy was unable to pull it up through so he has to work hours to fit it down through the small hole (after cutting a few lines). The only other option was to take the entire s/c off the car so that would have been a crap load of work. Anyways, no sweat, thought I'd try and clear some things up.
Onto the topic, I think you should buy an e45 as a DD
How about an E46 M3???
maintenance reasonable?
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Where I work:
HP
What I take for Memory and Focus:
Focus Fast
The E46 M3 is by far my favorite looking M3 they have made
BMW's are usually pretty dependent on maintenance. If you just research a bit and find what parts need to be serviced or replaced and when, they you will get an idea. Look up parts costs, or labor costs if you aren't mechanically inclined. Definitely reliable as hell, but will need to be strict with maintenance.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
the E46 M3 GT-R or AC Schnitzer are in my top 3 dream cars.. i'm gaga over them. if I won the lottery or came into a decent amount of money, one of those would be in my garage without question
as far as I know, most BMWs are reliable. a lil pricey since they're european, but def worth the coinage you'll have to throw down. i'd say go for it
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Matthew Jollymore wrote:Rabbit(AKA RedAssassin) wrote:400 dollars installed? Still got ripped. The 250 is just the alternator. I guarantee labor is going to be way more. If you can't change the alternator in a cavalier you need help....man up.
Well I found the alternator at canadian tire are it was $249 and install was 2 hours at $60 an hour...so that would be $370 before tax so thats right around $430 (that is canadian dollars), not sure why you think I got ripped?? As for changing it, maybe you could have helped me change it when it went dead in -32 degrees in a snow storm in a parking lot. And being 500kms from home in university I wasn't going to have the resources to change it. And I did have to get a new one put on a few months ago and it took 5 hours because of the s/c and the alternator was too big to drop down through. But hey, I need to man up.
I'm going to be a real dick here. I can have an alternator out, new one put in, in less than 15 minutes. Even if it's a 2.4 with supercharger, jack up the passenger side, take the wheel off, and slip it thru there. Problem solved. Another 15 minutes.
Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.
