Reply to $20 to plug a tire in arlington

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Years ago, I witnessed a woman pay a BMW dealer $120 to change one of her rear taillight bulbs (or maybe a turn signal bulb).  That's getting ripped off (I could have done that in 90 seconds with no tools, while wearing a suit and not getting dirty).

I personally opt to replace not plug for a number of reasons.  $20 is fine.  [/quote]

she could've saved 50k by buying something other than a BMW.[/quote]

PP.  I drive a BMW myself (which was obviously why I was in the waiting room at the BMW dealer).  They're fantastic cars.  When I drive Nissans, Toyotas, or Hondas, it's like moving from a fighter jet to a Cessna.  The feel is entirely different - weight distribution, brakes, acceleration, steering feel.

I like X5s (my parents own one), but I would never buy one.  Same goes for a Range Rover.  In a vehicle that big and heavy, you just give up much of what I wrote about above.  But in a car like a 1, 2, 3, or 4 series vs something like a Sentra, Maxima, Altima, Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic, etc?  It is a massive, massive difference.

But I also race and do my own maintenance (once the car is out of warranty), and drive them a long time, so I'm paying a lower cost per mile for a much better vehicle than the typical Toyota / Honda / Nissan owner that is constantly trading their vehicle in.  [/quote]

Haha, tell yourself that.  Toyota/Honda owners aren't constantly trading in their vehicles, that's partly why they are so expensive used.

So have you flown a fighter jet and a Cessna?[/quote]

Yes (on the fighter jet question).  Being stationed with the USAF in Germany was where I first learned to love BMWs, driving them at high speeds on the Autobahn, and amateur racing.

You're correct that if you keep a Japanese vehicle a long time you'll have a lower per mile cost than me.  But I'm also correct the feeling between the two isn't even close.  [/quote]

Not the PP but you remind me a little bit of this guy at a dinner party who I was talking cars with. He had an F10 328i which I guess to him was the pinnacle of automotive engineering.

He told me to my face that my RRS and my wife's RX350 were overpriced. The RRS is the best vehicle in the class right now, and to me Toyota's fanaticism for long-term durability and the fact that they practically wrote the book on reliable large-scale manufacturing of something as complex as a car is much more impressive to me than a plasticky run-of-the-mill BMW that's practically worthless after 5 years because it starts falling apart. Your Cessna to fighter jet comparison is a little hyperbolic considering how the the recent non-M cars drive.[/quote]

PP here (the guy that likes BMWs).  Funny enough, I actually had a job offer from Toyota coming out of business school.  I really admire their manufacturing, but the word among American executives was the Japanese management style could be oppressive.

I assume RRS = Range Rover Sport?  If so, I have driven many of them over the years, but that's not my personal cup of tea.

I also have to be honest that I absolutely hate RX350s.  Again, they are so ubiquitous I have driven them many times over the years (I can count literally a dozen RXs in our current neighborhood).  I would chose almost any vehicle in its class over it, including the MDX or RDX, X3 or X5, Q5, Highlander, etc.  Really boring ride and I hate the design styling.  But I'll give you they are popular, and I'm not particularly worried about price.

I will also grant you that BMWs have never been known for their interior quality.  I wouldn't call it plasticky, but it doesn't hold up well to the Japanese luxury brands, Audi, Mercedes, or Porsche.

Where they stand out, though, is their handling.  I used to own a Euro-spec E36 M3, as well as an E39 M5.  I bought an E46 M3 coupe new, and have driven it for nearly 15 years now.  170k miles on the odometer, I have done control arms twice, a lot of stuff in the engine, aftermarket suspension, etc.  But it's generally been a very reliable car; I don't think it has ever stranded me.  And you are just not going to get Camry or Accord reliability and the level of performance you get out of a BMW M car... no one does that.  I also think BMW made some of the finest naturally aspirated engines on the market; their straight six was pretty amazing.  Everything has moved to forced induction, though.

I should also add that there is no such thing as an F10 328i (I'm not trying to be a dick here).  F10 would be a 528, and the 328 would be an F30.  That said, I've driven F30s and F10s, and they're fine cars.  Not world-beaters, but they are still light years different than a Honda or Toyota sedan.[/quote]

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