thinking of leaving the e34 community!?

[kyleN20]

i was thinking about it, and looking at cars to buy and i figured out a viable 2 car option i was considering, want to know what you think.

heres the plan, for the winter months in MI, i was thinking like a 1999 jeep grand chrokee, or maybe just a chrokee to save on price.

for the summer i was thinking small british roadster, like a triumph tr6, though i like the coupe (gt6) i wonder if i would miss the e34 too much?

[DaCan23]

I'd prefer an E34 w/ traction control & snow tires to a Cherokee anyday.... I live in MA and pass Jeeps on the roads all the time... although that is likely b/c most people are idiots and cant drive in inclement weather...

My E24 is my warm weather car, E34 winter... possibly 2nd warm weather addition in 2006 of an E36 or other 3 series... Entering my 6th winter, the E34 has never let me down with her snow shoes on... knock on wood... and I've drived in some doozies

[Torque]

I've also thought about selling the e34 ... but I honestly can't figure out what I would buy instead. I'd probably come right back to e34/e32. There is such a hot 88 735i for sale near me ... wish I had 5900 to blow on a car right now. My God.

[Jay 535i]

With the two cars you mentioned, I certainly would miss the E34. Neither a Cherokee or a Triumph offers the comfort and performance of the BMW.

A Jaguar XJ-S has the Bimmer beat on comfort and, IMHO, style. I'd buy one.

A Porsche 944 Turbo or 928 S4 offers at least as much as the E34, if you can spare losing a couple of seats.

If I could, I'd sell my E34 and have both an XJ-S and a 944 Turbo. But since I can only afford one European car, I think the E34 is the best all 'rounder there is.

[dacoyote]

I run the e34... and my mini van.... drive the van in the winter.... and the bmw all summer...

It works ok.... (the Van is emotial in the cold)

[Beez540]

i was thinking about it, and looking at cars to buy and i figured out a viable 2 car option i was considering, want to know what you think.

heres the plan, for the winter months in MI, i was thinking like a 1999 jeep grand chrokee, or maybe just a chrokee to save on price.

for the summer i was thinking small british roadster, like a triumph tr6, though i like the coupe (gt6) i wonder if i would miss the e34 too much?


If you don't want a better handling vehicle, and you're willing to throw reliability out the window... than sure what you listed will do nicely.

Seriously though, a buddy and I had to tow a Jeep Cherokee out of an 8 inch snowbank once. No Joke. Jeeps suck (except wranglers, and even they are very limited duty).

If you're looking for performance and handling and worried about inclement weather... get a Subaru WRX or somethin' like it.

[DaCan23]

Except the new Jeep Commander that kicks ass, C&D I think called it the best off road vehicle on the market... but then your talking $40k....


If you don't want a better handling vehicle, and you're willing to throw reliability out the window... than sure what you listed will do nicely.

Seriously though, a buddy and I had to tow a Jeep Cherokee out of an 8 inch snowbank once. No Joke. Jeeps suck (except wranglers, and even they are very limited duty).

If you're looking for performance and handling and worried about inclement weather... get a Subaru WRX or somethin' like it.

[kyleN20]

i suppose your trying to tell me that a wrx is better then a grand chrokee off road. and jeeps dont suck, they are actully quite a ride, and one of the only serious suv's. trust me if i had funds i wouldent be driving the e34, id already be in the wrx. grand chees are awsome in the snow and the incident you observed was mosy likly due to driver error, or possibly a 2wd model

[duckloads]

I have owned a TR-6. Great fun car. I have a word of advice PRICE A GOOD ONE. You will spend as much owning a TR-6 than you will an e34. Don't buy a cheap one and hope to fix it up.

Once again, it was an incredibly fun car to drive.

[kick7ca]

Well a Triumph could be fun, not fast, not reliable, but fun no doubt.

Any Jeep other than a Wrangler is a bad idea IMO. The transmission will go for sure, it's a pig on gas, they don't handle well at all, and don't ride particularly well either. Not fun, just semi-reliable, expensive transportation.

May I suggest, if you want an SUV with some fun baked in, a Mazda Tribute.

As for a summer roadster, make life easy for yourself and get a Miata.

[Jay 535i]

Except the new Jeep Commander that kicks ass, C&D I think called it the best off road vehicle on the market... but then your talking $40k....

C&D, along with the rest of the American motoring press, has a blatant bias towards American cars. American cars may be getting better, but they're not half as good as C&D, R&T, Motor Trend et al would have you believe. They're quite clueless, frankly..

[kyleN20]

you just took my picks and gayed em up, not to knock the homosexual community, just your picks, and i know the miata is a great car, but i wont be caught dead in one. friends dont let friends drive miatas. as for a jeep vrs a tribute, no, i just wouldent do it. the 4.0 i 6 is a workhorse and the trans just needs special chrysler atf fluid that most people dont care to put into it, its a jeep thing, you wouldent understand.

[kyleN20]

except for the fact that bmw 3 series has been on their top 10 for about 12 years running, and the new suv of the year is a jap suv, and that there recent car of the year is the 300c, a car created from german influance. they (auto mags) are americans, like me, so they may have a bit of national pride, but they write mostly non biased if you ask me. what would you have me reading? and would they be biased to there companys cars?

[Phatty5BMW]

I love suburbans.... Awesome in snow and plenty of power. That would be my choice...

my 02
Pat

[kyleN20]

not to bad of a choice, id like one all black, fbi style, but the jeep is a bit smaller, bit better sconomy, and a nice 4wd package in select-a-trac

[willobmw]

I'll stick with my 4Runner and the Bimmers thank-you.

[Gayle]

Kyle I didn't have you pegged for a player. You have only had that car since August. Did you fall out of love with her cause you finally changed her oil yesterday? What is the matter with you? What are you thinking? Obviously the strain of finals sucked all the sense out of your brains.

Also: 2 cars = 2 x the trouble.

[Kalevera]

Kyle, I actually won two different (high mileage) grand cherokees on eBay, went to go pick each of them up, cash in hand, and found irreconcilable problems with both. I ended up buying a 325iX. It has turned out to be more of a headache and expense than I expected or wanted (dishonest sellers...ugh), but I'm tolerating the car at the moment. Plus, as I learned last week, my 535 was about to blow the head gasket, so I would've needed to find something else to drive, anyway.

A few thoughts...but seeing as you have a family member working for DC, you probably know all of this already...

- Jeeps are not bad in snow. The availability heuristic is at play here; people are remembering the one time they saw a soccer mom get stuck in a snow bank, and that decides it for them. Ignunce! As with anything, they need to be properly equipped. Anything with Goodyear GSAs is terrible in the snow. Most ZJ/WJs came with them, from what I can remember.

- '99 GCs can be shitty. Brake problems, trans issues (above and beyond using ATF 3+ or 7176, if they're even still using that ****)...all par for that course. The real QC issue is the viscous coupler in most of the NV242/9 quadra trac transfer cases (edit -- actually, I think the 242 is selec-trac, I can't remember the non-low lock QT designation...), and poorly built front and rear differentials (they're actually somewhat assembled by Dana, but DC does the rest of it...badly). These VCs go at ~ 100k. Chirping through the turns and when doing figure eights on dry pavement is the sure sign. There are plenty of alternatives, fixes, and retrofits available, but you're going to spend 2 gees out the door on parts, given that you do your own work. Compare that to the boss's Tahoe, which needed a rear end rebuild after ~ 50k miles, mostly towing. Compare both cases to my quarter million mile iX, with a VC in the (apparently original) transfer case that continues to work as designed. So, the Jeep does well for what it is, that being a domestic. And you know that AMC 4.0l is a very decent motor. Both of the Jeeps I won were LA 318 powered limiteds, also not a bad motor.

best, whit

[540Dave]

I agree. My 540i was a bit of a worry for me when I bought it up here in Canada thinking about the winters here. Lot 'O torque and rear wheel drive and all. Then, just last week I drove it home after about 20cm of snow had dropped and no plowing had taken place. It has brand new Blizzaks on it and despite the fact that the traction control light was blinking most of the way home (about 60km) it handled nicely. A bit of fishtail here and there but it blasted through better than my old front drive Camry would have a few years back. These are heavy cars and they have predictable steering. Along with the ASC you are in good shape. Let it snow. It keeps the wimpy drivers off the road...or so you hope.

[Paul in NZ]

I dont know why you asked kyle you have poo poohed evryones suggestions anyway....How much is the jeep and how much would a good triumph be......and you cant get wrx for that money?

[mikell]

Triumph = utter defeat. The old jokes about British cars have their bases in fact, like:
Lucas - Prince of Darkness.
Why do the British drink warm beer? - Lucas refrigerators
What does it mean when your British car stops dripping oil on the driveway? - it's run out of oil.
A British car spends most of its life trying to turn back into it's natural state - rust.
They don't start unless the weather is dry.
They only stop some of the time.
But, they are a blast to drive, unless you want to go fast.

Stick with the suggestions above.

[kyleN20]

no, i cant, and i like the 4 runned suggestion, iv heard those are tha balls

[kyleN20]

poo, are they really that bad? my dad had a spitfire, was a blast, no engine trouble, dident have reverse, so before we put the new trans in, i learned how to drive a stick, is my love for the triumph strictly notsalgia?

[kyleN20]

4 runner, i like it, what year, how is it, how much?

[kyleN20]

ohh gayle
my car has it problems, there is no doubt, i would just rather had a winter ride that can handel 4 in of snow, and somthing fun for the summer, if money was no object i would have a wrx for winter and a m5 for summer, but money is tight. i might be thinking about changing my inital pics though. i think i might want a 4 runner, and a 325is, preferably e36.

youv knocked a little sence into me gayle, thanks

[azale]

Is there a reason no one has mentioned Audi? AWD, sporty, I hope I'm not offending someone.

An option beside the Jeep GC would be the Cherokee Classic. It isn't as nice on the inside but it does have a locking front diff, much less complicated than the GC, and did I mention that Jeep made about a billion Cherokees. Parts are cheap and easy to find and the 4.0 is a good motor, as was previously mentioned. The trans is strong too, even without fliud, just ask my bro. He just got rid of his '87 last week after 200,000+ miles: nearly indestructible.

I own a Subaru and have enjoyed it greatly. They are almost as ugly as sin (save for the WRX) but they have great reliability and are easy to work on.

Land Rover is another option. I hear maintenance is a bear but they have the reputation of being *the* premier off-road vehicle for a reason, viz. they *are* the premier off-road vehicle. Good visibility, sophisticated 4 wheel drive (uses ABS to shift torque to the tire with traction), clearance and a half, and the cold climate package includes a heated windshield. They warm up fast in the winter too . . . and I mean fast. maybe out of the price range but, it's my two cents.