Scott R

I'd really feel more comfortable buying something I can look at in person, and I'd be willing to drive up to 4 hours, but obviously the closer the better. Within CT, I'm finding squat for '02's close to $20K. The silver/saddle '05 is about 1.5 hours away. It's priced higher than I'd like to spend, but since it's an '05 I could extend the loan out to 48 months (with an '02 I could only get a 36 month low-rate loan, and I probably wouldn't want a longer loan than that on an older car anyway). The '05 also brings with it wheels that I could be happy with for a while (though you'll occasionally find '02's with upgraded wheels) and I believe that the nav system has newer firmware, and Bluetooth (I think). I would imagine that there are a couple of other minor tweaks as well.

While this '05 is priced higher than I'd like to be, it still seems to be priced a good deal lower than any other '05 I'm finding online (which I'm guessing is largely due to the two cosmetic issues).

Anyways, I search cars.com, autotrader, craigslist, and eBay every day in case something new pops up that's not too far away.

96SC4

iTrader: (2)

it depends.. is it tape or is it paint? tape is easily removable with some adhesive remover, followed with a light buff and wax. if its paint...thats another story. i've seen paint stripes removed before but only on cars that had them striped a few days earlier(and the customer didn't like it). but your talking about an '02..so chances are the stripe has been there for 7+ years... hope this helps. good luck with the search.
oh, and to answer your other question. you could have the dealer remove it and then buff/wax it yourself. but if you'd rather have a professional do it, i have a family member that does this sort of stuff for a living in the brewster,NY area(close to Danbury), i dont know where you live in CT.

tromly

If it's tape you can easily do it yourself, paint either leave it on or let a professional do it, find one who has done it before !! You're taking a chance if it leaves a line of residue (darker color of car which hasn't faded) after the paintstripe is removed .

Scott R

In this case, the car is pearl white (or whatever the actual name for it is), in case that makes a difference. I will probably email/call them to find out if it's painted on or a tape.

majormcker

I have 2 options...

2002 with 30k miles or 2004 with 55k miles?

Same price and same condition. Which would you guys pick?

Thanks for the tip. =)

tfischer

As the owner of a 2002 with 30k miles, I'd suggest you buy the 04, because 20k miles on this car is not much at all. You will also get a newer gen NAV with a few nice features.
Still, it's a pretty close call, and all other things being equal, I'd go with the red one.

Scott R

I thought the next-gen nav didn't come until '05.

Is there a list anywhere that shows what, if anything, changed with each new year?

tfischer

You might be right on that, I wasn't paying much attention at that time to the Nav updates. You can find the list here by searching, as it has often been discussed.
My memory works pretty much like a lazy susan these days, and unless you want to wait for that little tidbit to swing around to the front again, you will probably find it here faster by searching.

Scott R

I'd be curious to hear if any of you have had experience with the BMW 3-series convertibles. Specifically, if you had the choice between an '02 Lexus SC430 and an '02 BMW M3, which would you choose and what would you consider the pros/cons of each to be? Obviously, I'm expecting the answers to be generally in favor of the SC430 here.

aquanuke

Very different cars, for me biggest con against an M3 is you only buy one for one thing. So expect the previous owner to have raced the nuts out of it, then make sure you have enough to pay for its upkeep.

JohnnyCake

Everyone will tell you that the backseat is useless and just for packages and to get a lower insurance rate. I've never understood that. My youngest kid rides in the back seat every single day on the way to and back from school. She's never once even mentioned that she has any difficulties or problems. The other kid rides in the front seat and the seat is in about the mid position so that they both have room.

It might help that the kids at school always stare and say, "COOL CAR!"

Yes

it's not that hard to understand. most of us play with grownups. very few people have mentioned having kids

tfischer

My kids are all growed up now, but I do have friends and relatives with young children, and they love to ride in the back seat, as long as the top is down. By about 11 or 12, however, it's too small for them, but it was fun for a while.

tromly

That's what I was thinking aquanuke, I have three friends with M3's, I would never buy their cars even though I know they maintain them. Here's my philosophy, an M3 with 20k on the odometer, is equivalent to an SC with 90k miles. You race an M3, you're always on it, that's why you bought it. How many people race their SC's??

4onenight

i have sat two full grow women in the back seat with my top down and the seats pulled up front just enough to manage, and for the handlin put coilovers, sway bar,strut bar, and wider tire set...youll be good