Thanks guys, one and all. Whart - went coupe, not convertible, Pennsylvania is not really a great convertible state, already have one classic drop top, and don't exactly have a lot of hair for the wind to sweep through anyway. Gonna take me a little time to decode all the SMG stuff. I assume that little sliding scale on the tranny indicator is for mode? No one at the I just liked the coupe better. And yes, 1200 miles for break in. I also love the moving yellow line on the tach. As the car warms, the rev line moves up. Very cool. Rob. M5 is nice, but $$$$$$$$ seemed awful high. I did have the pleasure some years back of having my doors blown off by an M5 when I was in my 911, very embarrasing indeed. and 4 doors are out. I drove 4 doors for the last 8 years. The kidsw are dig now, have their own cars, and we have a Land Rover for those days, few and far between, when everyone goes out together. I'll post pix tomorrow. thanks again guys for the solid advice... Dave
Dave, Congrats on the car! The SMG is a lot of fun once you get used to it. We have an '03 M3 Convertible with SMG that we took on trade and..... well...... someone has to drive it. All the best.
What Bimmer boards do you frequent? There seem to be several and I really don't want to spend as much time there as I do here, then I'll never sleep. But do you have a favorite one that is as infomational as FerrariChat.com?
Dave here are the ones I visit: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/ http://bimmer.roadfly.org/bmw/forums/ http://www.bimmerboard.com/ I am auraraptor over there as well. The last one is more E38 directed though. The first 2 are pretty active though. Good luck! BMWs are great cars! I have an old 6 and last gen 7.
Geez. Sure do get an interesting bunch of guys on these BMW boards. Not quite the swarthy, sophisticated crowd we have here at FerrariChat.com. Anybody have a bmw site where the average emotional age is at least 1/2 of mine? I know I'm an old fart, but, good grief, these guys make Animal House look like a senior citizen home.
Mind if I interject my current 3-ci owners opinion? I own a 325ci and I love it (even though IM shopping for a new car, post to come later). It is an 03 loaded (save for Nav). Over the 330, I would highly recommend going with the 325 and use the price difference for some performance mods that will overpower the 330. For a bigger chunk of change, you can get an ASA Supercharger, intercooler, exaust on a 325ci and put just under 300hp to the rear wheels. That will get you right up into M3 territory for quite a bit less. Now, if you are a lease whore, like myself, this isn't really an option, but if you are buying, I would suggest going with the 2.5 and throwing in some aftermarket mods. The M3 is a win win situation simply because SMG is awesome. Aggressive manual control when you want it, and computer controlled automatic ease when you are feeling lazy. I believe the SMG is also available in the 3 series now, if so, I suggest you take that as an option. Edit: Im also selling my 3 series. 2003 with all of 11k miles on it. www.graphiqdezine.com/bmw for pics.
Went M3 SMG, picking it up tomorrow. However you are correct, the SMG is available in the 325 and 330, I saw a 325 with SMG sitting on the lot at Devon Hill BMW.
Thanks, I'm anxious for its arrival. Dunno on the 6. 6 month wait, or pay $10K over sticker, at least in my neck of the woods. Used, low miles convertible for $80K??? Also, rear end is ugly, ugly, ugly. It's not the same type of car as the 3 at all. It's more of a boulevard car, not a drive it hard, push it around car. Too big, too heavy, not enough power. I'll stick to the M3, my Dino, and the Discovery for days when the weather gets really ugly.
Looks good, a blast to drive. It and I are off to the shore tomorrow, wife and 1 kid in tow. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I agree. I like the aluminum shadow trim; it makes the interior look richer and more substantial (by the way, i let my dealer remove the yellow tag i see stuck on yours, over the glove box, because i did not want to risk scratching it). Let us know what you think, particularly if you get to drive it under a variety of conditions. I have found the car to be unusually sensitive to tire pressures (actually a telling, good thing). Enjoy it. Its a terrific and very right combination of size, power, tossability and comfort. (BTW, try as i might to grow fonder of the Banglized era, the 6 looks to me like a Germanic Sebring). There is something almost retro-chic about the boxy look of the older style 3 series. (Every once in a while i see a 2002tii and marvel that such a mundane looking car achieved such glamour, it still looks serious today).
Sounds good to me. The 330Ci is my choice for my next car. I hope to get it in a year and a half from now.
I wondered about that sticker. I certainly don't want to dcratch the aluminum. I'll take a closer look in the morning. Agree the 6 in not cutting it, although it looks better than the 5 or 7. Maybe Carbon will get the 6, it does match his existing car quite nicely.
The sticker, you would be suprised what a hot sponge, and a load of patience can do. I would not trust the dealer to do it, the guy who will get the task will probably care less then you would when removing it.
You should take my advice on the 325ci. The rather small gain in power isn't worth the price difference. If you did intend on spending that much over the price of a 325ci, go for the convertible. As to dm_n_stuff, you show a picture with those legs, and we don't get to see the rest? Shame. Congrats!
Those legs are attached to my 18 year old daughter (who loves the new car.) While I'm sure she would be flattered to know you guys find them shapely, I'm gonna pass on posting her picture here. She's a runner and works very hard to stay in shape. She's wrapping up the 7 miles a day she's running all summer in anticipation of her first year in college where she'll be running cross country in the fall and 1 or 2 mile events in the winter/spring. As you can tell, I'm pretty proud of her. I would be if she never ran in another event in her life, but, even more so that she's prepared to take on college and athletics at the same time in a very competitive atmosphere. And, the friggin' car is hot! I'm off on an all day adventure today.
Thanks for the advice. But the way I was thinking, is when I priced both on the net, the 325 with the options I choose came to around the $35,000 range and the 330ci came to b/w $39 and $41,000. And since I'm already going to be paying in the 30's at least, I figure that another 5-6 grand really isn't that big of deal. And no convertibles for me. Never really liked em. A few cars yes, but not the majority.
