SLegacy99

He was supposed to get a discount of about $4k on the sale price, or so his salesman told him a few times at BMW. They only would take $1k off, making the price $26k. He went and got a newer car, an IS, with Nav, cooled seats, etc. with less miles for about the same price. I guess Lexus is more motivated to move cars in my area.

But $600 a month for an '06 330xi with MT is pretty steep I think. My mom pays $400 a month on her RX. Though she did put down more money, the RX is far more expensive and has more goodies.

mmarshall

Sounds like you may have some good financing up there in Canada, but, in general, base and list prices are higher there (in equivalent American dollars) than they are in America. I don't know why....it's basically the same cars, with (maybe) minor differences in safety/emission gear. For instance, a Chevy Cobalt that costs maybe 14 or 15K here, in American dollars, can run 20K north of the border.

mmarshall

This gets back to what I was saying, previously, about BMW being able to drive a somewhat harder bargain with their customers and get it, although, in the past, many new BMWs went out the door by leasing instead. Lexus discounts their vehicles more because they have to to move them; BMW, not quite as much.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to say but there are a lot of inconsistencies in this thread I just don't know where to begin. Great entertainment value & read none the less.. Carry on

mmarshall

Such as?

Are the inconsistancies with my review itself or just with the discussion and posts?

I'd be glad to discuss one if you'd point it out.


Thanks, but my reviews, Like Mike's (1SICKLEX) are not done to entertain, but to inform.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Well I am one who is not into typing long winded internet commentary so I will point out just a few inconsistencies that I've noticed in your review. The other posts regarding mom & dads vehicles I will not touch..

For one, the steering wheel in leatherette equpped X5's are made of 100% leather.

Stereo & climate can be controlled w/o the use of the I-Drive controller. The ***** and dials to controll these functions are right on the dashboard for one to control like any typical vehicle. This would be difficult for one who has been in an X5 to miss.

"Cheap & flimsy stalks that will break in your hands"......
The stalks in BMW's are made of a heavy grade plastic and are rather thick. I find it hard pressed for anyone who has been in a BMW to say that these stalks are flimsy & will break in your hands

There is more but I will leave it at that..

SLegacy99

I dunno. I agree with Marshall here. I feel like the stalks in my pop's 3 series are pretty weak when comparing them to the one's in my daily driver.

I also think some of the materials on the door of the 3 are cheap...as they flake apart. I wouldn't give the class leading interior award to BMW.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

Cheap & Flimsy...

SLegacy99

See how much they thin out.

mmarshall

BMW calls it "Leatherette", as I pointed out in my review. The stitching used on the wheel, like that on the newer Acura MDX models, feels hard, rough, and uncomfortable to my fingers. I wasn't impressed with the look or feel of the "Leatherette" on the seats either, but I DID point out that it was thick material and appeared to be durable. I don't think there's any unfairness or inconsistancy in that...that's just calling it like I see it.

Correct....but, even without I-Drive, they are still more complex than in many American and Asian competitors. And it's not just me.....Consumer Reports and some of the auto enthusiast mags have also come up with the same conclusion with many BMW and Mercedes products.


I was not using the term "break apart" literally, but as a metaphor, to illustrate a point....sorry if you misinterpreted it. But they ARE flimsy-feeling, as in many, if not most German-designed cars I look at. I stand by my statement. When German automakers start using better-grade plastic for their stalks, I'll mention it.


I'll freely discuss any issues you have, anytime.

pagemaster

I don't need to read the review to know that BMW got it right by offering a diesel in America.

Mercedes has the M
Volkswagen has the Toureg
BMW has the X5

Why does Toyota not have a Lexus GX, Prado or Land Cruiser diesel in America?

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Because Toyota doesn't do diesel in the States, they do hybrids.

mmarshall

Go drive it, and you're correct....you won't have to read anything. One minute with that diesel is worth a thousand words. Same with the Mercedes Bluetec, although, to my senses, the BMW 3.0 diesel felt even torquier at low RPMs.

Simple. As Allen K pointed out, the company's American branch is hung up on hybrids.

Vlad_Stein

Nice review... Thank you.

One thing I wanted to comment on is the up-down shift on the tranny. You mentioned that it is different in BMW from other cars with a similar feature. If I understand the picture correctly, one downshifts by pushing the lever forward and upshifts by pulling the lever back. If that is correct, than it makes perfect sense to me - I believe that it comes from sequential transmissions used in racing where the driver would be downshifting under heavy braking a lot of the time and the natural tendency for the hand is to slide forward under deceleration and to slide back under hard acceleration. So, I would think the BMW has it right on this one.

mmarshall

Sure...anytime.

BMWs and Mazdas are the only mass-produced cars in the American market (that I know of) that bump the lever forward to downshift and back for upshifts. While you are correct that a lot of racing cars do it that way, most drivers, in America, are used to doing the opposite, so they (and, yes, me too) have to be careful when we get in a BMW or Mazda that we don't downshift accidently at high RPMs and get a big jolt.....and possible drivetrain damage. The computer probably won't let the engine red-line or over-rev from an accidental downshift, but, notheless, you may get quite a jolt and place a lot of stress on the drivetrain. Some newer auto-manual transmissions have automatic rev-matching on downshifts to keep from getting a big jolt like that.