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I'm considering a used BMW...am I nuts?
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Replies to: I'm considering a used BMW...am I nuts?
A Lexus LS is not exactly sporty to drive, though. Of the Lexus sedans, probably only the GS and older generation IS could be considered sporty, if that is what the OP is looking for.
Having said that, we bought H a used BMW for his big birthday a few years ago. He hesitated and dragged his feet for a while - we wanted a new car, but he went in for a used BMW. He absolutely loves driving it - says it is such a joy! It is indeed troublesome to maintain - he has had trouble finding a reliable mechanic for it in our area (our usual guy doesn't do german cars). But hey, as someone said, life is short - if this is what you wanted and you can afford it, why not??
Some people are car people and others are not. It would be hard to convince someone who sees a vehicle as a means from point A to point B that a German car is worth the money.
But their service costs are also the most expensive.
Completely accurate. It's either in your blood or not.
However, if I were buying a German car and looking for "sportiness," then I'd opt for the used Porsche (Carrera, Cayman, Macan, Cayenne, etc.). I'd look for a used Boxster or Carrera, since I love convertibles.
Google the Bimmer forums and BMW's X-drive, it's supposedly a maintenance and usage headache.
I went from a Mercedes C300 Sport 4MATIC to a Mazda6 Grand Touring. The only things I miss about the Mercedes are the straight-line acceleration and the AWD. The Mazda may be just a hair less sharp than the Mercedes (which had an aggressive suspension set up, staggered wheels, etc.) but it will carve the curves and is easy and fun to toss around. Not to mention it does it with a 20% MPG gain, regular vs. premium fuel and bare minimum maintenance expense. If you wanted to keep it around $20K you could get a CPO 2016 6 right around that or even less (depending on the trim level). I opted for the 2016 Grand Touring (highest trim and feature package) one year ago, only 4 thousand miles, CPO extended warranty, for $24K. With it being a year older and with slightly higher mileage, $20K is about right. Every person who gets into my car now says they had no idea how nice Mazda’s were...they are aiming up market and doing it well. And if I had to go back to an AWD sedan, the Acura TL SH-AWD does the trick with regard to handling and acceleration in a very reliable package. Just some non-Germanic options for your consideration.
Actually, Mazda got some good things out of the Ford association, such as the second generation Focus platform for the Mazda 3 and 5. Both Mazda and Ford have tended to be on the sportier side of less expensive mainstream cars, so many of their offerings are worth looking at by those who want a sportier drive but do not want to pay the brand prestige premium of BMW and Audi.
I think the OP's interest was partially due to the convenience of knowing someone with a BMW for sale. And I apologize for getting the OP a bit off topic. Honda, Toyota and Subaru all have fantastic used sporty options for around $20,000 or less. Knowing BMW's, the maintenance and depreciation isn't worth it for me.
About $20,000-ish:
German sporty: Porsche Boxster or Cayman
Japanese sporty: Mazda Miata or Toyota FRS/Subaru BRZ
I'm sure there are a few possibilities that I missed in the Japanese category.
In the past, when there were more rebadge variants of the same car, sometimes one of the rebadge variants would have a lower level of insurance losses and insurance pricing compared to the other, so it made sense to favor the rebadge variant with the lower insurance pricing if it were otherwise available for a similar purchase price with the same features.
Body style variants (2 door versus 4 door, hatchback versus wagon versus sedan) could also have different levels of insurance losses.
But what people are saying about the maintenance costs are absolutely true. I just took it in for scheduled maintenance yesterday. $800 for oil change, spark plugs, etc. And it eats tires! Time for yet another set of tires, another $800.
Quick summary - 2006 330i, excellent condition, well maintained, only 40,000 miles.
Because of the low miles I drive it sparingly, which sort of defeats the purpose of owning it. For everyday driving I tool around in my 2002 Honda Insight (200k miles/65 MPG), but I much prefer the BMW.
On approach would be to try to let go of my innate frugality, and just drive the car I love to drive (and can afford to maintain), plan on putting another 50,000 him or so miles on it, and dump it when the maintenance costs start to compound.
What would you do?
Having watched a lot of videos and read tons of reviews, here's my personal conclusion on the three:
- The BMW has the best transmission, followed closely by the A4
- The BMW and Audi have the best handling; probably a slight edge to Audi.
- The Audi has the best interior quality and slightly more room (or seems to) in the back seat.
- The Infiniti has the most power -- it's a turbo V6 with 300hp -- but the worst mileage. The Infiniti and BMW consistently throw down times of 5.4-5.5, while the A4 has a range of 5.1-5.7... maybe they're using launch control to get those lower times, or just a heavier foot.
- All three are about equally fast, mid-5 seconds to 60 mph
- The Infiniti is the sexiest
I'm leaning towards the A4, but if I found a prime 328i X-drive for under $20k, like you have, I would run, not walk, to buy it. Even if it was white or black, my two least-favorite colors; you can always get a paint job. Assuming my boss would let me buy it...