Went car shopping again

The newest plan is to lease Janet a car so we went looking again. Last time we did this was a few years ago when we where having problems with Sophie (her 1987 325) and we looked at Honda's (hey, if you can't beat em join um).

At the Honda joint it was a blast, I hooked in to a good salesman, we talked and he knew I was a car guy so he gave a plate and set us loose on anything he had; we drove so many cars it was silly. It was a great day and we walked away knowing a lot. We decided to fix Sophie and she's been good ever since but I want Janet in a new car; she drives to all her gigs at all hours and our accountant said she could write it off a lease (or most of it). It would also be a nice option to have something in the driveway you could hop in to and go anywhere without worry. I haven't had that since the 70's (1971 2800cs)

This time I took us to the VW dealer and we liked...wait, she liked the touareg (alright I liked it too) but what I though should be her car is a TDI. They have two flavors, the small one is a rabbit and the bigger one is the jetta I think.

Unfortunately you can't drive anything there so it would only be a guess as to what to buy. I HATE THAT! I think if I called around I should be able to find a dealer that has demos that we could take out.

The problem is though, shes loves the Mini. I've driven one and I'm not a big fan (but I did like the car) and then there's that small car thing; that car Is really small. Janet thinks she would totally love it but I know first hand what a small car feels like out there. When I started driving my moms Alfa spider it took a few years for me to align with it, and I loved that car. The mini is a neat car but if one is all we get I would much rather have a bigger rig; the jetta tdi is the smallest I'd want to have I think and think of the 40 MPG!

I am trying to talk sense to my little musician airhead Janet (I say that lovingly) but the latest thing is "find me a newer 325"

There would be nothing I'd rather have than a newer thirty but we need a car now and I'm tried of screwing around.

The one series, she doesn't like..... too bad, it's one of my favorites and we could still have a proper rwd car.

This might be a futile hunt; the last time I had to pull a car away from her was her 2002tii and I thought she was going to kill me in the end, really!..... She wound up loving the 325 and if anything feels closer to it.

There is another thing.... the lease. Anybody know about these things, I know some of them suck.

I don't know really what I'm asking but that's about it- any feedback is welcome



perseverance furthers

VW Touareg comes in diesel too here, up to a V10.

If the current Mini is to small for you, check the original!

Did you get E46 diesels in the US?

And! Most important! Never buy before you've driven it! It's a damn lot of money to spend on the wrong thing.

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Michiel 318iS
VW Touareg comes in diesel too here, up to a V10.

If the current Mini is to small for you, check the original!

Did you get E46 diesels in the US?

And! Most important! Never buy before you've driven it! It's a damn lot of money to spend on the wrong thing.

Hi Michiel, Where's here?

Do you mean you can get a V10 (that's ten cylinders) in the Touareg?

Finding an E46 Diesel could be hard here in the states if they came here at all. Remember, we don't get the good models; too many idiots ordering the wrong cars...

I've had an original mini, what a little screamer they were/are. I do believe if I could find a nice one Janet would buy it right away. When it comes to old cool cars, she's onboard!

I'm with you, I would never commit to a car without really being sure what's there

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rkj

Quote
Michiel 318iS
VW Touareg comes in diesel too here, up to a V10.

If the current Mini is to small for you, check the original!

Did you get E46 diesels in the US?

And! Most important! Never buy before you've driven it! It's a damn lot of money to spend on the wrong thing.

Hi Michiel, Where's here?

Do you mean you can get a V10 (that's ten cylinders) in the Touareg?

Finding an E46 Diesel could be hard here in the states if they came here at all. Remember, we don't get the good models; too many idiots ordering the wrong cars...

I've had an original mini, what a little screamer they were/are. I do believe if I could find a nice one Janet would buy it right away. When it comes to old cool cars, she's onboard!

I'm with you, I would never commit to a car without really being sure what's there

Yes, the Touareg came in a V10 diesel. Looks like the current offering in the US is a choice of a gas or diesel V6.

I don't think the Minis are outrageously small. And of course you could always go for the Clubman if you want a little more space/size. I considered waiting for the Clubman to be available back when I bought my Mazda3, but the rear door is on the wrong side of the car for me, and I'm not a big fan of the way the split opening hatch doors put a pillar right in the middle of the rear window, which compromises visibility. They're very fun little cars, though a bit expensive for me to consider as my commuter car. I'm quite happy with my Mazda.

We did not get diesel E46s (or E36s) in the US, and frustratingly, the only E90 diesel we're getting is the 335d. BMW NA can't bring themselves to import a diesel that makes sense, every car has to be a "performance" car. I'd be thrilled with a 320dT or 323dT. Actually my perfect commuter/all-around car would probably be a 5-door 123d. Unfortunately I live in the US, and that model will never make it here, I'm sure.

Cab
1990 325i(s)
2004 325XiT

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Cab Treadway
I considered waiting for the Clubman to be available..., but the rear door is on the wrong side of the car for me,...

You mean the side door for the rear seat? You'd rather have it on the left?

Here = Belgium (it still exists at this very moment), or Europe, if you want to.

To bad diesels are so environmentally unfriendly, even in the cleanest form, I like them to drive in our busy traffic and it's the cheapest way for me to get moving without compromising boot space for an LPG tank.

My sister leased a 530 iX sedan and loves it. She bought it at the end of the lease.

There are a few low mileage E-30s around the Seattle area and most of them will be on display at the Puget Sound BMW club E-30 picnic next June. Probably 200 E-30 will be there. A few people here also refit the S50 engine into them so they can have a non-timing belt engine.

Bob in Lake Havasu

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Ferdinand

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Cab Treadway
I considered waiting for the Clubman to be available..., but the rear door is on the wrong side of the car for me,...

You mean the side door for the rear seat? You'd rather have it on the left?

Yes, absolutely. I almost never drive my car with humans in the rear seat. The only thing I need the rear door for is to put my laptop bag in the rear seat (I don't like climbing in and heaving it over to the passenger side) and to let the dog into the back. I didn't want to have to walk around the car, open the front door, open the rear suicide door, get the dog in and buckled (yes, she wears a seat belt), shut both doors, walk back around, etc... I much prefer having a real rear door on the same side as the driver door.

Cab
1990 325i(s)
2004 325XiT

Quote
Cab Treadway

Quote
rkj

Quote
Michiel 318iS
VW Touareg comes in diesel too here, up to a V10.

If the current Mini is to small for you, check the original!

Did you get E46 diesels in the US?

And! Most important! Never buy before you've driven it! It's a damn lot of money to spend on the wrong thing.

Hi Michiel, Where's here?

Do you mean you can get a V10 (that's ten cylinders) in the Touareg?

Finding an E46 Diesel could be hard here in the states if they came here at all. Remember, we don't get the good models; too many idiots ordering the wrong cars...

I've had an original mini, what a little screamer they were/are. I do believe if I could find a nice one Janet would buy it right away. When it comes to old cool cars, she's onboard!

I'm with you, I would never commit to a car without really being sure what's there

Yes, the Touareg came in a V10 diesel. Looks like the current offering in the US is a choice of a gas or diesel V6.

I don't think the Minis are outrageously small. And of course you could always go for the Clubman if you want a little more space/size. I considered waiting for the Clubman to be available back when I bought my Mazda3, but the rear door is on the wrong side of the car for me, and I'm not a big fan of the way the split opening hatch doors put a pillar right in the middle of the rear window, which compromises visibility. They're very fun little cars, though a bit expensive for me to consider as my commuter car. I'm quite happy with my Mazda.

We did not get diesel E46s (or E36s) in the US, and frustratingly, the only E90 diesel we're getting is the 335d. BMW NA can't bring themselves to import a diesel that makes sense, every car has to be a "performance" car. I'd be thrilled with a 320dT or 323dT. Actually my perfect commuter/all-around car would probably be a 5-door 123d. Unfortunately I live in the US, and that model will never make it here, I'm sure.

The Minis are not "outrageously" small but it Is a small car and out here everybody and his brother is running an suv type rig it can be a bit intimidating if you're not used to it and these smocks play rough, even the girls. It's also not cheap and the amount of crap the Miss' takes on a small trip it will get cramped. In the end she has to be the one making the final cut, I'm just going to put logical options on the table... It's overwhelming how much things cost, my head starts spinning everytime I go to the dealers and start looking for cars!

Thanks for the info guys, I've got a lot of looking to do and I need to do research on the lease thing, our account still assures us it can be almost a total write off for Janet.

The search continues