Buying Dilemma

[lib]

I am moving to Los Angeles on Tuesday. Well, I say moving but it's just the beginning of a 6 week transition.

I will be in LA for 3-4 weeks, then I'll head back to New York for a few days, and then I'll be driving a rental truck across country (I want to see the sights, so it'll be a good week long trip).

I just got rid of my car within the last 4 weeks, so when I get to LA in November, I will still be without a car.

In an ideal world, there would be a 2003 on the lot for me to take this Tuesday (the 8th of October). Even if I had known before this week that I was going out there this tuesday and placed an advance order.. I still wouldn't have a car due to this port strike.

Renting a car is a waste of money for me. A cheap rental would run $125/week for the average person. I am under 25, and this means that I get to pay $20/day EXTRA. That doubles the rental cost, and I can't get something fun. So, I'll be spending over $800 for the privilege of driving a Suzuki Aerio for less than a month. Then, after my move, I may have to rent a car again.

I really don't want a pre-owned, the prices on them all seem to be unreasonable (please feel free to correct me on this).

I also feel sort of stupid buying a 2002 when the MY2003 cars should be available already. And I won't have DVD NAV, which I really want.

So that's my dilemma. Perhaps I should get a 2002 off the lot, and get myself on the M3 waiting list.

Or should I just keep paying too much for a rental and get the 2003 I want.

Any ideas?

[Jon Shafer]

Originally posted by lib


<snip>

I really don't want a pre-owned, the prices on them all seem to be unreasonable (please feel free to correct me on this).

<snip>

Any ideas?

You should see the "new" CPO programs just announced
for October!

BMW is making the 1st payment on either a lease,
or a buy...

Money factors drastically reduced.
Insanely low A.P.R.s...

Now there's a hot tip!

:thumbup:

http://autotrader.com/findacar/vdetail.jtmpl?car_id=110218529&dealer_id=12630802&certified=n&max_price=&start_year=1982&end_year=2003&address=93105&search_type=used&make=BMW&model=328CI&min_price=&distance=25&advcd_on=n&advanced=n&color=&car_year=2000

[lib]

Originally posted by Jon Shafer


You should see the "new" CPO programs just announced
for October!

BMW is making the 1st payment on either a lease,
or a buy...

Money factors drastically reduced.
Insanely low A.P.R.s...

Now there's a hot tip!

:thumbup:

http://autotrader.com/findacar/vdetail.jtmpl?car_id=110218529&dealer_id=12630802&certified=n&max_price=&start_year=1982&end_year=2003&address=93105&search_type=used&make=BMW&model=328CI&min_price=&distance=25&advcd_on=n&advanced=n&color=&car_year=2000

Jon, that car is almost perfect. I saw that when I did a CPO search for Cutter earlier. It was the only 3-er that came up. You folks really only have that one car?

I'm glad you showed me the autotrader link. BMWUSA.com lists that car for $10k more.

This does bring up another question as well.. if I got that 328Ci, I would really only want to hang onto it until I could take delivery of a new M3 (makes me wish I had jumped on that cabrio that was mentioned recently). If you want to keep a car for <12 months, what's the best way to finance it? Should I finance it over the max term and hope I don't get hit with much of a loss down the road?

PS - you should make it so that from cuttermotors.com you can search the local CPO inventory.

[doeboy]

Originally posted by Jon Shafer


You should see the "new" CPO programs just announced
for October!

BMW is making the 1st payment on either a lease,
or a buy...

Money factors drastically reduced.
Insanely low A.P.R.s...

Now there's a hot tip!

:thumbup:

http://autotrader.com/findacar/vdetail.jtmpl?car_id=110218529&dealer_id=12630802&certified=n&max_price=&start_year=1982&end_year=2003&address=93105&search_type=used&make=BMW&model=328CI&min_price=&distance=25&advcd_on=n&advanced=n&color=&car_year=2000

:thumbup: NICE! :D

too bad for me I'm looking for new and those kinds of incentives don't apply.... :cry:

[JeffreySB]

Lib,

Why not just get yourself a nice little Japanese car to drive while waiting for the delivery of your M3? Japanese cars are ultra reliable, cheaper to purchase, and have high resale value should you decide not to keep the car after getting a M3. It doesn't make sense for you to purchase or lease a brand new BMW if you don't plan to keep it for a long time.

Just my $0.02.

[lib]

Originally posted by JeffreySB
Lib,

Why not just get yourself a nice little Japanese car to drive while waiting for the delivery of your M3? Japanese cars are ultra reliable, cheaper to purchase, and have high resale value should you decide not to keep the car after getting a M3. It doesn't make sense for you to purchase or lease a brand new BMW if you don't plan to keep it for a long time.

Just my $0.02.

Um... no.

Im going to get that 328 Jon mentioned above. This way I can be happy while I wait. See, my car is my only real luxury. I work 12+ hours a day, and I really don't have a life outside of work. I can't hold a relationship because of work. This is all about to change with the new LA office. With this LA traffic, I think I want to be comfortable. There is something just spectacular about the way a BMW feels that I have yet to find in another car. I can find bits of it in other cars. The Suburu WRX, the Honda Accord, the VW Jetta/Passat, the Hyandai Excel, and the Fiat Uno... they're all cars that come to mind that can do some things as nicely as the 3-series..

I just wish I hadn't sold my old car... I would have dealt with shipping it if I had done a little bit of research into getting an '03... I just presumed it would work the same way here in LA as it does in the northeast.