[QUOTE=clutch2;43363915]The big thing is maintenance. With a 2nd being insurance.
If you can afford a nice car and are willing to learn to drive carefully and not beat the crap out of it and take care of it, that's great.
BUT.
If you want to learn to work on and maintain a car mechanically yourself, a newer BMW is not a good choice in my opinion. The electrical is not as friendly, nor is how it's built. I've been to a few rodeos, and even just changing the tensioner pulley on my friend's 2002 3series wasn't a great time (I swore a lot). It's going to be a much steeper learning curve. If you do want to take on the challenge, give it a shot, just know it's going to take some more work. Def get the 3Series, though.. nice little car, sporty, better gas mileage, less electrical crap to stop working (like brake pad depth sensors and junk).
Now, if you do want to learn to work on your own car, and don't want a challenge... get a 4cyl Japanese car, IMO. Late 90's Corolla or Civic are both great cars, fairly comfortable and nimble enough to make for a fun ride. For $3000-$4000 you can get one that is in pristine shape with like... 30,000 miles on it probably. Stay away from American 4cyl stuff like Cavaliers and Escorts.. cuz those are pretty crappy overall I think.
Japanese 6 cyl vehicles are OK, but will take a big of extra work for doing maintenance like plugs and wires, since they usually have a big overhang intake that needs removal. American 6cyl stuff like Grand Ams and Impalas that have the 3400 V6 are another great car to start with, since that engine is easy to work on and learn with. Again, you can get one in great shape for what you've got.
Finally, if you're NOT planning on learning to work on the car yourself and just plan on taking it to a shop for maintenance and repairs, a BMW will be fine. BUT be prepared for larger bills both in labor and parts. Just sayin.[/QUOTE]
THIS!
Seriously OP, just get a nice reliable car, and not BMW just because it's BMW.
My dad and I found a a few good beamers for under 10k (that was our budget at the time, looking for my first car), but couldn't come to a good deal. I ended up settling with a inline 5, 3.7 liter Chevy Colorado crew cab. We paid 19,500 for it (not including our mini van trade in and some cash down), and payments are 130 bucks a month. It had a 3 year, 36k bumper to bumper warrenty (now expired) and a 5 year 100k mile powertrain warrenty. It's practical, great for everything I could ever need it for, and reliable. I drive this bitch cross country every few months with no problems.
Consider doing something like I did. I love my car even though its not a BMW.
And this thread has successfully turned into a circlejerk.
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Why reply?" - MaxOfS2D))[/highlight]
[QUOTE=cyclohexanol;43425645]And this thread has successfully turned into a circlejerk.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to the FP AA section. Thanks for visiting! The exits thataway.
[QUOTE=FordLord;43381566]*I* didnt crash mine, though someone not watching the road managed to hit me.
Theres a big difference from someone crashing a car, and someone else hitting them
I mean, if youre using that logic, if my car was parked in a parking lot and someone slammed into it, itd still be me who crashed it[/QUOTE]
I would like to chime in on this one....
Theirs a thing called "Defencive driving" were you know... you watch things going on around you.
If you were a good driver you would be "Ohhh god wtf is tha- BRAKES ALL THE BREAKS".
[editline]5th January 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=masterwolf;43426027]Welcome to the FP AA section. Thanks for visiting! The exits thataway.[/QUOTE]
Just remember when working on your car that your key is being ran as administrator!
[QUOTE=DPKiller;43426994]I would like to chime in on this one....
Theirs a thing called "Defensive driving" were you know... you watch things going on around you.
If you were a good driver you would be "Ohhh god wtf is tha- BRAKES ALL THE BREAKS".
[editline]5th January 2014[/editline]
[/QUOTE]
That's one thing I was getting at. A new driver has enough on his plate to avoid hitting others and obeying traffic laws... throw in something unexpected with someone doing something wrong and they don't always see if before it's too late. An experienced driver who's comfortable behind the wheel may have the mental resources available to see that threat and avoid it before it becomes an accident.
[QUOTE=clutch2;43430883]That's one thing I was getting at. A new driver has enough on his plate to avoid hitting others and obeying traffic laws... throw in something unexpected with someone doing something wrong and they don't always see if before it's too late. An experienced driver who's comfortable behind the wheel may have the mental resources available to see that threat and avoid it before it becomes an accident.[/QUOTE]
My first car accident wasn't my fault. Insurance agreed. However, had I been a defensive driver the accident wouldn't had happened, I would had saw the lady merging into me, and aborted merging into the lane me and another driver opposite me were moving into, the side of my car wouldn't had been swiped. So in a sense it was my fault. And thats the most important tip and most un-acknowledged tip (cause I was always told this and shrugged it off as nobody would dare challenege my elite driving skills) and once you fuck up, if you havent already realized this, you will.
TL;DR - Get a saturn L series with dent resistant door panels and check your blind spots every 2 seconds :v:
[QUOTE=ramirez!;43381722]If you're insistent on getting a BMW for a first car, get an E36. Parts are (much) cheaper, the car itself is (much) cheaper, and they're still just as fun.[/QUOTE]
Or E46 M3. :p
[QUOTE=insistent;44535846]Or E46 M3. :p[/QUOTE]
or necropost
[QUOTE=dbk21894;44536030]or necropost[/QUOTE]
or a Daihatsu
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