Basically I just got a fucking huge ass promotion and it gets me a company car allowance to cover a car payment/insurance. They cover all maintenance on said car and I get to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of what a $500/month car payment will get me. Technically I'm buying the car (as in, its in my name) and they make the payments for me..so I'm going to most likely trade in my current car which should bring the price down about $5000.

Anyways, my price range was originally around $15K depending on how long I finance but could go up to $20K considering my trade in. If I find something cheap enough though I could just keep my old car for now. I've been mainly looking at some 3 series bmw's that are a few years old that come in at around $18K... I really don't know much about "economic" cars and reliability of cars in that market..so, what do you guys recommend?

I don't want a civic.

[Edited on January 2, 2008 at 3:48 PM. Reason : oh yea, need something under or around 50K miles since I'll be driving the shit out of it.]

1/2/2008 3:45:08 PM

What are you most interested in--sporty, fuel efficient, luxurious...will you need to carry people around or is it more just for you... There are a fucking LOT of options for a car in the $15-20K range with under 50k miles.

1/2/2008 6:09:54 PM

dude toyota camry. no wait escalade.

1/2/2008 6:31:05 PM

I am in the same boat, and looking at 2001 maximas with a 5 speed.

1/2/2008 7:34:02 PM

seriously, will they cover maintenance too??

1/2/2008 7:41:38 PM

shit if they cover maintenance 8-series bimmer

1/2/2008 7:44:32 PM

Yeah they're covering everything.

It needs to be big enough to fit a few people in if I needed to but not so big that it sucks with gas... Gas mileage is of major concern. Something around the size of a 3 series is what I'm looking for. I don't want something the size of a civic and don't want something the size of an escalade. I'm def leaning towards a BMW still right now, especially since a lot of my business will be with BMW, it couldn't hurt.

haha, i don't wanna hear "why the hell did we let you pick out your car again?" I'd rather hear.. "the last car was great, now pick out another one that costs more"

[Edited on January 2, 2008 at 7:46 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/2/2008 7:45:26 PM

well what do you want? i may be able to get it for you at auction and save you a little.

1/2/2008 7:55:58 PM

well if bmw is a customer, I think problem solved.

1/2/2008 8:00:02 PM

I'm gonna keep looking for a 3 series until I get an absolute budget nailed down in my employment agreement which should be the first of next week. Which auction do you go to usually?? I've been to the one in Greensboro a few times and generally the prices didn't impress me at all. Every now and then a car from Ford since ford credit sells a lot of stuff there would go through for a low price but anything even slightly luxury or rare would bring over bluebook all day long.

something like this:
http://carmax.com/dyn/factsheet/factsheet.aspx?id=4760181
and this
http://carmax.com/dyn/factsheet/factsheet.aspx?id=4661250

First one too many miles, second one I don't like red... If that one was black I'd be very interested. What do I need to be aware of with BMW's? I've always heard lots of $$ in maintenance but not sure what to expect with a highway driven relatively low mileage car that I'm not driving the shit out of for once.



[Edited on January 2, 2008 at 8:03 PM. Reason : ^yeah I think boss will agree with you there]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-OWNER-Silver-BMW-325CI-Sport-Pkg-Full-Warranty-325-TX_W0QQitemZ180199718951QQihZ008QQcategoryZ6007QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


[Edited on January 2, 2008 at 8:17 PM. Reason : another link]

1/2/2008 8:02:37 PM

stay away from e46 323i especially with auto transmission. tranny is weak.

'01 e46 330i had steering problems. look for '02 and above if you will be going in that direction.

you can pickup '03-05 330i ZHP (performance package) for $19-20k with 40-50k if you look hard enough. 235hp, more aggressive cam profile than regular 330i, higher redline, shorter gearing and gorgeous 18" and nice aero package.

[Edited on January 2, 2008 at 8:23 PM. Reason : f]

1/2/2008 8:22:53 PM

k, thanks... that's the kind of info I was looking for.

1/2/2008 8:23:47 PM

I got a friend sellign her 03 BMW 330i ZHP



email me and I will give you her info....great car, but a divorce is forcing her to sell.

mabench@mindspring.com

1/2/2008 8:50:46 PM

thats not the one with 90k on it that was posted on nceuro?

1/2/2008 9:00:07 PM

his description in a PM says the mileage is 94K'ish

1/2/2008 9:07:58 PM

^^ gg on the call out

1/2/2008 9:08:58 PM

So there are no restrictions on what you can get? The last place I worked gave you $500/month but that included maintenance and the car HAD to have 4 doors, less than 75k? miles and less than 4 years old at any given time, or you were required to get a new one.

1/2/2008 9:36:40 PM

They haven't given any details like that.. I'll find out more at the first of next week. I doubt it'll be very strict conditions as long as it's reasonable.

1/2/2008 9:39:18 PM

you still have that lincoln ls? just stick with that and use the money to buy a toy. bmw's are nice cars, but i think it's assinine to pay that much for such a slow ass, boring 323 . go jap if you're set on a 4 cylinder sedan, or possibly an a4 1.8t.

when i was doing the real estate thing and looking hard at 4 doors, i found the g35 to be about the best thing going in performance and value. i really liked the 330's also, but they were a little too pricy at the time. if you can really get an 03-05 for $20k now like was mentioned above, that's a pretty good deal. cadillac cts is definitely worth a look too.

1/2/2008 10:54:13 PM

yeah, that performance package with 94k...she wants way too much for it.

my buddy just bought a car on ebay. drove from chicago to orlando to pick up a MINT '04 330i performance package, imola red with black leather, 6-speed, $22600 out the door. has only 21k miles. still under factory warranty. thats a steal for $40ish car when it came out.

deals are out there, but you have to spend time and be willing to drive few hundred miles if necessary.

323i is trash. both 323i and 325i are underpowered (actually slower than e36 325i). even 330i is nothing special as far as power goes, but it's a gorgeous car with decent performance and handling is above anything else in its class.

'03-04 g35 with 50-60k are in similar price range- $20ish

1/2/2008 11:03:47 PM

lexus.com

oh nm, 18k budget

civic ex

[Edited on January 2, 2008 at 11:50 PM. Reason : .]

1/2/2008 11:50:14 PM

Id vote for an A4 quattro

1/3/2008 12:05:06 AM

acura tl
lexus es

1/3/2008 12:52:16 AM

I don't know how interested you are in it being a serious sports sedan, but if not, have you considered a Volvo S60? My roommate is currently looking at getting one of those, and I took one for a test drive as a second opinion...I was actually very impressed. Great seats (near perfect if you can get one with the performance package/sport seats), well executed interior, roomy, smooth ride and decent handling, very nice styling that I think will age well. Stay away from the older non-turbo cars, but if you can find one in the last few years with the 2.5 turbo engine, they're fairly quick too (~220 hp/230 tq). If the sticker is to be believed, gets low 20's MPG city and 30-ish highway.

Really worth a look unless you're dead-set on a BMW/G35/other "serious" sports sedan. Even then you could consider the S60 R, but I doubt you'd find an R in your price range.

[Edited on January 3, 2008 at 12:53 AM. Reason : r]

1/3/2008 12:52:53 AM

e39 would be sweet. 540i sport

1/3/2008 1:13:01 AM

Quote :

"'01 e46 330i had steering problems. look for '02 and above if you will be going in that direction"

there aren't problems with it--it's that some people considered it to be overboosted.

I owned an '01 330ci, and I found the steering to be totally satisfactory.

[Edited on January 3, 2008 at 3:17 AM. Reason : (and i'm pretty sure i'm more picky and discerning than the OP or most people buying an E46)]

1/3/2008 3:16:44 AM

Quote :

"you still have that lincoln ls? "

yeah still have it... i think i'm going to just pocket the money for a few months at least. the last thing i wanna do is get 3 months into this job, realize i hate it, and be stuck with a car payment on a car I wouldn't have bought otherwise.

Quote :

"acura tl lexus es"

acura tl was the first thing i looked at actually but can't find one in that budget range (for a new body style one, I hate the old ones)

Quote :

"have you considered a Volvo S60?"

no, i hadn't..but I will look into those as a possible option.

Quote :

"e39 would be sweet. 540i sport"

yea those are pretty nice... but I've never been a huge fan of them. for some reason i like either the newest of the 5 series which are way out of my price range and the 3 series, looks wise anyways. i'll keep them in mind though incase something worthwhile pops up.

[Edited on January 3, 2008 at 8:30 AM. Reason : more]

1/3/2008 8:25:33 AM

major concerns: hauling people, gas mileage

4cyl (2.5s) altima

a 3series is tiny in the back

1/3/2008 8:42:57 AM

I thought about asking you guys about an altima on the way to work this morning then forgot once I got here I'll read up on those too.

1/3/2008 8:50:47 AM

Quote :

"I owned an '01 330ci, and I found the steering to be totally satisfactory."

have you driven any other post '01 E46 330i?

1/3/2008 9:59:12 AM

hmm, dad had a 330ci and a Z3 2.8. i don't remember what years they were...but we owned all 3 of those cars at different times, so it's tough to compare.

[Edited on January 3, 2008 at 12:35 PM. Reason : i think the Z3 was a 2000 or 2001. don't remember about the 330ci.]

[Edited on January 3, 2008 at 12:35 PM. Reason : but at any rate, it's pretty good. just might not be as good as the '02 plus.]

1/3/2008 12:35:03 PM

do they have any requirements for the car?

X weight or size or anything ?

1/3/2008 12:36:02 PM

"practical and economical" is basically the requirement. They'll have to approve it..but as long as it's something reasonable they aren't going to give me shit about it.

[Edited on January 3, 2008 at 12:38 PM. Reason : its not a huge company with all sorts of rules.. if the CEO says ok, it's ok.]

1/3/2008 12:38:44 PM

don't even bother with the altima. i had new one as a rental a couple of weeks ago, and i wasn't impressed at all. the only cool thing was the cvt transmission and push button start. otherwise it was slow, understeered like hell, rode like crap, and transferred a lot of road noise.

1/3/2008 2:36:12 PM

Quote :

"It needs to be big enough to fit a few people in if I needed to ... Gas mileage is of major concern. "

passat tdi

1/3/2008 4:30:35 PM

ding!^

1/4/2008 8:10:46 AM

whatever happened with this?

1/8/2008 3:48:26 PM

I've decided to wait a few months before buying anything and just pocketing the extra money. No point in getting into debt for a new car when what I have already will do the job for now. Long term I obviously don't want to consistently put that many miles on my car but since I won't be traveling much in the beginning I'm better off pocketing the money.

1/8/2008 3:56:45 PM