cygnusx1

I always get blamed for things... Just sold this: and bought this 2006 330xi - 6-speed.  Kind of a rarer BMW:

Yeah but it feels good to get a $140k car for $70k doesn't it? Â

 I was out in my driveway working on my brothers Scirroco many, many years ago in the bronx.  The neighborhood was built on bars.  Our driveway was at the end of an avenue that terminated with a concrete wall, poured when the major Deegan expressway was dug.  I heard a loud crash of metal and glass, followed by a skid.  I thought it was weird that first the crash then the skid.  I was accustomed to seeing and hearing major accidents in front of our apartment.  All of us would run to the overpass to witness the carnage on the expressway.  We saw some great ones.  This one was different.  It was not on the expressway.  It was right on my street.  I looked over the hedge and saw an old lincoln with it's nose smashed dead square against the concrete wall at the end of the street, looking like a bulldog.  The drivers door was open and a WASTED 80 year old man was trying to walk but couldn't.  I thought maybe he was injured, but I realized quickly that he was feeling NO pain.  He was drooling drunk at 10am.  I landed him a nice seat on the curb.  The skidmarks on the street were backwards.  Granpa hit the brakes AFTER he hit the wall and the car skidded on rebound!  LOL.  Now that's how you enjoy your car when you get old in the bronx in a 'hood built on bars.  Â

Actually my point was never that a BMW holds a value better than any other car.  I'm smart enough to know that it's a case by case thing, dependent on local economy.  My point was that if you are going to lose $XXXk/year on a car...pick your poison, they almost all are bad investments.  Common knowledge that brand new cars take the largest hit in their first few years.  You take a smaller hit if you get onboard the curve AFTER the car has "adjusted" to being a used car.  On another note, with the lease turn-in rates being very high on these euro-luxo-sports-sedans from the "golden years gone by", the dealers are bending over to keep the lots clear.  Look, if I drive an Equinox off the lot, brand new, and then go to sell it in two years...I might as well have rented a car on a weekly basis (slight exaggeration to make a point).  You can get a 2007 335xi (twin turbo) CPO BMW right now for $24-$27k, with less than 40k miles, with a 6yr/100k mile warranty.  That is A LOT of car for the money and in two years with average use, you may not even lose near $10k.  If you do lose that much, at least you rented a cool car.   Let me clarify my initial comparison which was hidden behind an Equinox and a 330xi...you will lose less money in the long term with a slightly used version of almost anything resembling a car...and Mike, at least you weren't the original buyer of that Porsche.  How much was it new?

 Absolutely, the low resale on the domestics and some of the euro cars makes for some great deals if you are willing to possibly eat some reliability.  I will trade some reliability, for joy behind the wheel, any day.  There are also some inexpensive cars out there that are a blast to drive.  In this market, second and third hand, is chock full of choices.  I considered the final gen Holden/GTO's as well.  I just need the AWD, the warranty, and some fun.  It's not real level around here.   Â

Yawn. Don't get me wrong. Â I like Hondas. Â They are good for something. Â My wife loves her Odyssey and my parents drive an 07 Accord. Â This morning my dad took my 330xi for a spin and when he came back, he turned to my mom and said: "Maybe we'll sell the Honda and get one too?". Â LOL.

Very true Mike. Â But would you rather drive a depreciating Accord???

Bald, 42, unemployed, slightly overweight...image schmimage....thanks to my very supportive wife I can still play. Â

Funny, my sister in law gave us crap about buying a BMW saying it was an image thing and we paid for image and all that...so I looked up her Chevy Equinox that she paid $28k for and it's only worth about $18k 2 years later... Now I DOUBT my 43K mile CPO BMW is going to lose $10K in two years.....since I paid a little more than her Equinox is worth now, and the bimmer is twice the vehicle. Hey even if it does...at least I got a lot of style, thrills, and bells and whistles, for my money.   Maybe even an AWD LS1 in the future is possible!? I drove it home from the dealer tonight and what a joy.  It really is an amazing package.

Lower compression than before and the same "retarded for safety" timing will cause the turbo to become an afterburner. Â That's why it's so hot and colorful. Â The timing curve you are running is only efficient at idle and under high boost. Â Everywhere else, you are dumping raw fuel into the exhaust. Â You REALLY need to be able to map the timing curve with either a turbo dizzy or something else.

Everything in NYC is double and triple priced from what you are used to. Â Don't get too scared. Â Just try to do the free or cheap stuff as much as possible...pick a couple of "MUST DO's" and pay for those. Â Remember, even the homeless survive in NYC. Â you just need to be creative. Â I am not sure about Jersey City, NJ, anyone from JC chime in here, but it may be cheaper to stay in JC and take the Ferry back and forth to NYC. Â Even the path train will take you under the river for cheap. Â You definitely might save money in JC. Â The benefits are, the awesome ride across the mighty Hudson, and view of the skyline from the water, which are both priceless. Â I think a value meal at McDonalds runs around $8+ in NYC right now...haven't been there in a while though.Â

 Nah, I know how versatile the S30 is.  If you ever get a stubborn post, try the GT-R.  Might work better. The original drip rails on my silver Z were all twisted to hell because I used this thing as a daily driver here in the NE for many years back in school days.  Had a home built roof rack that would carry FOUR sailboards, masts, a large quiver of sails and booms, up and down the east coat looking for wind and seawater in the same place at the same time.  It has driven through hurricane driven winds, on the beach in over a foot of seawater a few times.  I has served as a sleep-in camper (park with the nose up a dune so you get the proper recline angle to get comfortable) on the beach.  It has carried me to northern vermont in the winter for ski trips to Sugarbush and Mad river....it has been through my BMX days, my mountain bike days....it has lived in the bronx....it has never pulled out a fencepost...on purpose.Â

  LOL.  I hate to see a car designed to hit gaurdrails sideways, take air on swales, supposed to be covered with molten tire, but only take damage from a Walmart parking lot instead.  It's nowhere near NYC I assure you.  This guy was a coot farmer and I deeply admire his taste in vehicles, and appetite for bargains!  Â

 Went to Walmart this morning and I see this black GT-R lumbering through the lot. It parks a few cars over from our minivan so I go over and this 80 year old man gets out in a tatterd sweat outfit. The car is black, beat to ****. The rims are all curb rashed. Large dents in the fenders, scratches everywhere. I talk to him and he tells me how he went to look at an Altima but he liked this one better so he bought it. He said he was very surprised at how much pep it had. OMFG was I burning up inside. It was a 2010 model too!!!!Â

I run sealed beam halogens through the stalk and my same connector was getting pretty hot. Â Turns out the connector had too much resistance. Â I cleaned and re-crimped the wire at the connector and it stays much cooler. Â However, relays are the ultimate solution.

Also might be repeating stuff but here is my list... Statue of Liberty, a cab ride, Circle Line ferry, The Village, helicopter tour, Empire State OR Top of the Rock, The Intrepid, Museum of Natural History and the Planetarium, Guggenheim Museum, Grand Central Station, Subway rides, city-dogs with mustard and kraut, giant pretzels off the street, Times Square....good walking shoes.  If you do the Bronx Zoo, also plan for the New York Botanical Garden, they are almost back to back. If you want to get out to the country a little, check out the Mohonk Mountain Lodge.  It's like Shangri-La!  One of the most surprising things about NYC is that as soon as you get into the Bronx and head North, it turns into rural and very pretty hilly forested areas very quickly. http://www.mohonk.com/ If you like rock scaling and climbing, they have an awesome "rock scramble" that is challenging but anyone can do.  Don't plan on staying at the lodge unless you are bringing gold.  Visiting is very very cheap. Don't sign up for any group stuff, just park the car pay the small parking fee, and walk in to see the lodge, the gardens, and free hike the trails/rocks at no charge.  Staying is $$$.Â

Just signed up at E90post... CygnusX1 is taken over at bimmer.....I'll try something close.    CygnusZ

 Just bought this CPO 2006 330xi  6-speed, for our family DD.  43k miles, sport, winter package and some other stuff.  The stock 17" wheels will become winter wheels and I will add some black 18" wheels next Summer.  I pick her up on Monday.  I can't wait.  I'm already getting the "Oh you bought a BMW" from people...funny thing is I paid quite a bit less for this than almost any decent AWD new car would have cost...lets hope she don't bite me later on down the road too much.

Start here: http://qik.com/video/7523042 More videos as the day goes on....lower right of screen. A few laps of the Z: http://qik.com/video/7535966

Glad he came out and spilled the beans otherwise we would have to spill them forcibly....

Have you ever seen those Brembo brake caliper covers? Â Maybe I should market a plastic "Farrari" V12 Engine cover and sell it on ebay for $319.99.

They look good but if you want a "brighter" aluminum look, you might consider giving them a light coat of cast aluminum colored paint. Â I like brake caliper spray paint that contains aluminum flake. Â It really looks like bright cast aluminum. Â You could also try VHT wheel paints in aluminum color. http://www.vhtpaint....wheelpaint.html I always spray bare cast aluminum with aluminum colored paint because it looks better, and won't pit. Here is my painted intake manifold:

 If the BMW thing does not work out, I am going to look at the Kia Forte new.  I think I'll find the right AWD bimmer eventually though...Â

One-Dim-light and a side of noodles please... Seriously, the one dim light means that the right light is not getting 12v directly. Â It is getting feedback voltage through the other headlight. Â The cause is probably a bad fuse, fuse box, or connectors for the fuse box. Â Check all of those things. Â Take out the fuse box, clean it up along with the connectors, even if they appear clean.