Break it down for me Max. What type of beamer did you get your wife? How much did you pay? Have you had to do any repairs yet? If so, how much did they cost? What's your mpg generally? (if you know) Why do you think a BMW is so much better than a Camry? I'm just curious because I knew a guy who bought a BMW that was a couple years old. He was making crazy payments on the car while still living with his parents. He was the type of guy that walked around with the key fob saying, "I own a BMW."
Oh well, what the hell! Ha! I have Suburban that I like just fine. Then we just bought a Yaris (Toyota). The funny thing is if you fill them both up with gas at the same time, you can be half way to Coos Bay with the Yaris before the Suburban finishes filling.
Hahaha We were using a Ford Explorer. The MPG on that sucker is horrible. We bought some new tires that supposedly can get you an extra couple mpg. We'll see how that works out.
328xi Sportswagon. She wanted something small, nimble and fun to drive that didn't scream "soccer mom", but something safe, roomy that gets decent mileage. We got it European delivery, so we only paid something like $36K. It has 48K on it and so far we've only changed the tires. Nothing mechanical has gone wrong, although you did remind me I need to schedule an appointment to fix something that is under a recall. MPG is 20-24 city and 28-30 highway. I don't think a BMW is better than a Camry. My wife just liked it better. It was more fun for her to drive, has a massive sunroof (a useful item in CO), does well in the mountains, snow/ice (it has AWD) and still has all kinds of power at altitude. It's also really safe. As for the social baggage that accompanies it, I don't really care about other d-bags. What people think about my wife on the road doesn't really matter to me.
I borrowed my buddy's 92 Suburban about a decade ago to pick something up. As I usually do, I bought him a bottle of booze and filled his tank for him. His tank was almost empty. I had no effing idea the Suburban tank was that huge. The final figure was like filling up in Europe. Evidently, he told me he could pretty much get from St. Helens to Marin County on one tank.
That trip was only for a week because my wife was in her third trimester. I've also done European delivery for Volvo. That one was for two and a half weeks. If you want to justify it, you'll be able to buy a car 7-8% cheaper than the actual amount the dealer pays. With the options we got on the wife's Sportswagon, it would have been $48-$50K if we bought it in the States. The Volvo deal is the best (two free point to point round trip tickets, free night in a hotel suite, free limo service to factory and free lunch). The Porsche one is the worst (they charge you more to pick up your car because they know you want to drive your car 150 mph legally). If you get a Volvo or BMW, see Jim Mannheimer at the old DeLon in Salem (I think it's now BMW of Salem and Volvo of Salem). He sells the cars for BMWs cost plus a $500-$700 dealer profit for performing the transaction. There are only four of those BMW dealerships in the country.
We ended up paying 23k for the Camry. There's no way we could afford a BMW. I was looking on Cars.com and the lowest was around 35k. Way outside our price range. They're nice cars, but in terms of bang for our buck I think the Camry is a really good deal. 35 highway, 25 city so we will be saving a ton on gas. She used to drive a Volvo that she loved, but they get lousy mpg and they're outside our price range. Nice cars though. Most of my opinion about BMW drivers comes from watching men who drive them like they have no regard for other people. Generally I see women driving the SUV's, and they're not nearly as bad. But I'm also not saying that every BMW owner bought it for the status and they don't all drive like assholes. I just have a low opinion of the men who drive them and their personal license plates that say something like "mybmw" or some crap like that.
My wife is a bike rider. She got Oregon "Share The Road" license plates. Unfortunately, they come with only four letters rather than three letters and three numbers (ours was "DEYM"). People kept asking her what it meant. When she realized she was being painted as one of those BMW personalized license plate people, she paid to get a new "Pacific Wonderland" set.
"overpaying" is relative to what one can afford and how much they care about that extra bit of money. The obvious issue here is that you can't afford one of those cars and feel insecure about it. Like you said below... they are just cars. Don't get so butt hurt about them.
Oh I see, so do you think the government overpays for a hammer when it costs $80? They can obviously afford it, and they don't care about spending the extra bit of money, so it's cool, right?
Ha ha Yes you speak of mileage in a Suburban in terms of miles between fills which is impressive, forget about per gallon. The one I had prior to the one I have now was a Diesel rig and it would cover 1100 miles when both it's tanks were topped off. Great for running up to Alaska or Coast to Coast.
Jumping in at lunchtime. Good discussion going on about what kind of car you drive and why. I would love to jump in and say all the reason I enjoy driving a BMW and why I don't think they aren't overpriced, but got to eat. The question I have Nate, and don't take it as an insult, it you seem to have this idea "it is just a car" (which I agree). But then you go on and makes assumptions and draw conclusions about people because of the car they drive . . . so really I have the same thought to you, it is just a car. How you can get so much out of a person based on the car they drive shows you think a car defines a person. To me, it's just a car.
My personal opinion on a BMW driver (in general) is that they are paying that extra 10k+ for the name. I don't see how there could be anything in the car that warrants the extra 10 or 20 thousand dollars. That's what I don't understand. If you are just buying a car, and not the name, how can you break down the extra costs? And in regards to my comments about BMW drivers on the road, I see a lot of people who make comments about Prius drivers and generalize their abilities and decision making. Same kind of thing. There is a general thought that Prius drivers are smug because they drive a hybrid and they are saving the earth. They made a whole South Park episode about it lol. My personal experience with BMW drivers is that they drive like assholes. Switch lanes without signaling, cut people off, etc. That's just my personal experience, and obviously that's not every BMW owner, but just something that I've seen consistently over the years. HCP even said it. He likes the looks and the opinions that come with driving an Audi. I have a flashy motorcycle. I like that people admire it and take pictures of me when I'm going down the road. I put a lot of work into it, but at the same time it only cost me 3k. The motorcycle is my toy. The car is our transportation. We bought the Camry because it is comfortable, it is safe, it is affordable, and it gets good mpg.
That is where the difference is with us, your car is transportation, for me my car is my toy/vice . . . so it is so worth the extra money. But as I said before I love to drive. When I'm pissed, good mood, lazy mood . . . really any mood, I love to get out to the outskirts of Washington County and drive the the roads. SOmetimes I drive aggressively, sometimes I crank the music and drive mellow and other times drive mindlessly as a way to relieve the daily stress. So let me ask, you could have gotten a vehicle for 10K less that is comfortable, safe and gets good gas mileage. Why a toyota instead of a honda (cheaper than toyotas and many argue just as good) or a nissan (owneres love their nissans)or a huyndai or a chevy or ford. For you, stepping up to a toyota was probably seen as worth the money and probably not just because it is toyota name. I'm guessing many BMW owners are savy buyers. They aren't going to pay an extra 10K for the name . . . maybe some, but not many. Truth is they are paying more for the performance. Go to edmonds or whatever source you trust . . BMW is usually top of their list for their category. In the ultra competitive auto industry I believe "you get what you pay for" applies.
I'm right there with you. Every automobile i own are toys. One is to have fun going 150 mph on the freeway, while the other gets me to places no one else can and camp for the weekend.
