SARAFIL
05-30-2005, 03:23 PM
Took some time this afternoon to give my car a much-needed bath after this past week of non-stop rain showers. Here are a few pictures of our happy BMW family.
I got the E36 two years ago this week. Despite that fact that I have an itch for a new car every few weeks, the sensible part of me always comes back the fact that the 318 has been almost totally problem-free in the time I've owned it. (knocks on wood) Other than some maintenance, the only expenses I've had with the car have been a new secondary air pump and a new window regulator. That translates into a VERY LOW cost of ownership. Maybe I'll keep it and spend a little bit on some mods.
The other two cars in the family have also been quite problem free. The E46 is coming upon it's 3rd birthday in a couple of months, and my folks are trying to decide what to do when the lease comes up. We've had 3 of them since '99, and this one has been flawless (which is far from what could be said about the other two, one of which was a buy-back.) It's almost wrong to give back such a nice car (especially since they are also 10,000 miles below their allowed mileage limit.) I'm pushing them to buy the car off lease with the CPO warranty and keep it 2 or 3 more years.
The X3 has also been quite reliable and we all grow to like it more with time. I'll be the first to admit that the interior materials are not the finest out there, but they certainly aren't as bad as many make them out to be. The handling is great for an SAV/SUV, and the car feels very light/nimble compared to bigger utility vehicles. It has a good amount of cargo space, and it performed very well with the stock all-season tires this past winter. I'll also admit that out situation is a bit unique in that I was able to score a sweet below-invoice lease deal through BMW on this one, which makes the car all that more attractive to us. The changes made for 2005 (especially the pricing changes) make it an even more attractive vehicle for the "average" consumer that wouldn't qualify for the deal I got.
I got the E36 two years ago this week. Despite that fact that I have an itch for a new car every few weeks, the sensible part of me always comes back the fact that the 318 has been almost totally problem-free in the time I've owned it. (knocks on wood) Other than some maintenance, the only expenses I've had with the car have been a new secondary air pump and a new window regulator. That translates into a VERY LOW cost of ownership. Maybe I'll keep it and spend a little bit on some mods.
The other two cars in the family have also been quite problem free. The E46 is coming upon it's 3rd birthday in a couple of months, and my folks are trying to decide what to do when the lease comes up. We've had 3 of them since '99, and this one has been flawless (which is far from what could be said about the other two, one of which was a buy-back.) It's almost wrong to give back such a nice car (especially since they are also 10,000 miles below their allowed mileage limit.) I'm pushing them to buy the car off lease with the CPO warranty and keep it 2 or 3 more years.
The X3 has also been quite reliable and we all grow to like it more with time. I'll be the first to admit that the interior materials are not the finest out there, but they certainly aren't as bad as many make them out to be. The handling is great for an SAV/SUV, and the car feels very light/nimble compared to bigger utility vehicles. It has a good amount of cargo space, and it performed very well with the stock all-season tires this past winter. I'll also admit that out situation is a bit unique in that I was able to score a sweet below-invoice lease deal through BMW on this one, which makes the car all that more attractive to us. The changes made for 2005 (especially the pricing changes) make it an even more attractive vehicle for the "average" consumer that wouldn't qualify for the deal I got.