I love when people ask if my car is a 2000.....

[Anthony 94 525i]

Then I tell them it is a 94' and they just can't believe it.............. :D

[Jason]

its always a great feeling.

[califblue]

Same hear mine they don't believe me when I tell them it is 12 years old! :D (92' 535i w/5sp)
...they think I make way to much money when I drive the Red Bitch to Work! :p

http://www.labusas.org/photopost/data/500/41E34-med.jpg?8618.


P.S when I tell them I paid 9K :p for it a year ago w/ 64k on the clock they almost have a Heart Attack! :D

[SC David]

Same hear mine they don't believe me when I tell them it is 12 years old! :D (92' 535i w/5sp)
...they think I make way to much money when I drive the Red Bitch to Work! :p

http://www.labusas.org/photopost/data/500/41E34-med.jpg?8618.
Try my '89 525. I ask people to guess the year, and they usually think its at least a '95. Plus there's the fact that I'm a youngun 18 year old driving a Bimmer, and I would assume that most people think I'm a spoiled little kid. For $6000 it was a steal.

http://members.cardomain.com/bmwspde34

[scott540]

So, how many of you get the **** about "well, it must be nice to be able to drive a BMW" or crap along the lines of that? Usually comes from the people who just spent $40,000 on a truck. Then I tell them it's 9 years old and they don't believe me.

[632 Regal]

I just say "see what I got for $8000?" then they really think im full of it.

:D

[Russell]

Bet they will not say that about the new 5 series. It may become dated rather quickly like Chrysler cars.

[Anthony 94 525i]

Then I tell them it is a 94' and they just can't believe it.............. :D
I am in the design and construction field, and if I show up to a job in my wife's $37000 SUV no one says a word but when I drive up in my $9000 94 525i they look at me like I am a thief........

[Super90]

Yep, I get all sorts of grief about the 5er. Funny thing is, they don't react to the Land Cruiser like that, and it's worth more than the 530, even with 150k on the clock.

Just goes to show, people are clueless.

Almost all my coworkers make comments about the BMW, which is 10 years old, and I paid cash for it, while they are making payments on their new Camry or Accord which was well over $20k !!! They too could have had a nice 5-series or 3-series, but they don't want to hear that. BTW, these folks are financial analyst for a living, but don't know how to manage their own money !!

Then there are the comments my Dad gets on his 1998 740i that he bought with 40k mi. on it for $22k. Everyone thinks it's new and that he dropped serious cash on it.

The general public doesn't do any research on anything. If you happen to know of a good way to get a serious car for reasonable money, you're the jerk for owning the German car, not them even though they are talking about things they don't know anything about.

[scott540]

I had a former boss who bought a brand new Ford minivan, paid like 28K for it. Hey, I got a minivan too so I wanted to check it out. When I told her it was really nice she says" Well, we can't afford a BMW". I told her I'd trade her even up for the minivan. She didn't get it. This is even better though. Their first minivan they leased for 3 years, then bought it from the dealer and traded it back to the dealer a year and 1/2 later and bought a new van for $28000. And I'm the one who drives an expensive car? because I bought a used BMW and haven't made a payment in years.

[ryan roopnarine]

reason, the 525i is getting de-emblemed for my trip to ontario during the first week of may. after 3 years of travelling at insanely illegal speeds (CC at definitely above 85) on the florida autobahn (turnpike) with florida highway patrol cruisers passing me at higer than 95 speeds during the twilight hours (in a 99 ford taurus), got my first ticket during spring break in the 5 for something i don't even think they would have batted an eyelash for in the taurii. the trooper asked me what year it was before he walked back to the camaro. i can put the emblems back on when i get there.

[rickm]

I work for a state of nc agency and I hear that crap nonstop. I work in the administrative area but am not part of the admin cabal (just the IT guy). At lunch some of the staff will start bitching about how this place sucks because we haven't gotten raises in a while (no pay raises, just 80 hours of vacation that rolls over forever, not a bad deal) then they start on their "well you must have gotten a raise, look at your car!". Oh yeah, it's a 94. I wash it every 2 weeks then wax it. The interior is normally spotless since I rarely eat in it and take any trash out with me.

Last week I pulled in at 9am and parked next to the director's new SUV. All of the suckups were out there ooogling it (****, it's a plain Chevy, nothing fancy, dead stock). He looked at me and said "I wish I could afford something like that". Damn boss, I paid 10k, you paid 5 times that much". He didn't believe it until I showed him the receipt from the dealer. Then I showed him my paystub, which has any loans I have on it. Nothing on there but a mortgage, dude! He finally believed me.

I think you could drive a beater bmw (like the 3 series at work someone has...it's 3 shades of red, mismatches tires, interior is mostly duct tape but it has a 2k stereo) and people would think you're loaded. Sometimes public perception is wrong.

Hey, I don't care because I'm not making payments.

[Super90]

Yep, people don't understand payments and how they are actually paying far more than they realize. All they know is their monthly payment is "only $XXX", so "I got a good deal".

Leases can be even worse.

It's a crying shame and dealers/leasors just keep churning people through the same mill continuing to cause that "customer" more financial burden.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

[DueyT]

Rickm, too right about caring for your car/washing/etc...

I do get a lot of grief from the guys at work. Military pay isn't big but pilots do get a slight bit (12-15%) more than equivalent general ranks. Funny thing, the Colonel just bought a brand new Volvo V70 T5 (quite a nice car!) and still looks over at mine and says, "what I'd really love is a Bimmer! Too bad I don't make what you pilots and the doctors make!"

I just laugh...fiscally, he could buy three of my cars for his one, but I've since given up on trying to tell people that. I just chuckle to myself knowing I have no payments on my car...you try to explain value to some folks and it doesn't sink in. I'd prefer that people appreciate my savvy in getting maximum bang from my buck, but most just think I'm a bit full of myself for flaunting money through a sharp looking car. Oh well...let them think what they will! :D We know better!

Cheers,
Duey

[bahnstormer]

hehe yeah its the best.
since they never believe me that i got my car for 4 grand ($4,000)
91 535im 135,000miles when i bought it

i tell em that i bought it for a grand...

[MicahO]

This is one thing that I will miss, admittedly. There's a lady with a '94 530ia that rides my bus. Her car's in great shape, but when I told her my '90 535 was a 1990, she was floored.

Now it's gone, and most people who've seen me before still see me driving a "black bmw" and don't give it a second glance. That suits me just fine.

On the flipside of what Robert said - I would note that many people who have older non-leased/non-mortgaged cars don't really notice how much money is being spent/consumed when maintenance, repairs and depreciation are all taken into account. I'm not saying that it equals a monthly lease payment, certainly not on a new BMW, and by no means am I defending the dealer/lessor cabal. But good record of real expenses and watching book value over time, even on a car that required little work, can be eye-opening. IF (big IF!) you can find a good and timely deal on a car that you want, some deals can be attractive, particularly when personal issues (time and energy) are taken into account.

[andyman32]

Absolutely... mine's the Calypserot (sp?) Red... i.e., burgundy. Sharp-lookin car with stock double-Y wheels. I also just installed subwoofers and a nice amp in the trunk.

I told my neighbor that I spent $30 on a litre of CHF-11S for the power steering system, and he said, "That's what you get when you buy a BMW!"

Well, I'm too nice to say things like, "Your girlfriend spent more on her VW Cabrio with MORE miles on it than I did."

I sold a '02 Buick Regal to get this one, was worth $15k. The sticker price on the 540 ($8500 + ttt) was low enough to make my wife amenable to the whole thing. Now wait until I get started with MODS!!! :D


So, how many of you get the **** about "well, it must be nice to be able to drive a BMW" or crap along the lines of that? Usually comes from the people who just spent $40,000 on a truck. Then I tell them it's 9 years old and they don't believe me.

[andyman32]

My dad has this bizarre misconception that no car can ever really be worth keeping & maintaining beyond 10 years of age. He's relatively well-to-do, so he knows how to handle money. But regarding cars, he's got some really screwed-up woldview. His ideal way to do things is to negotiate a good 2- or 3-year lease on an American car, then give it up. Oh well. My dad will never experience the joy of a pristine E34. ;)

[dave b]

In 3.8 years of ownershp, I've spent $3,770 on my car for all maintenance, tires, smog tests, etc. I keep track of everything that wouldn't be covered under a new car warranty. Works out to about $83 a month for maintenance/non warranty. Compared to a new car payment and considering what I got, that's not bad.

But add in the money I paid for the car plus the headaches I got when something goes wrong, and yes, it would be easier to plop down a few hundred bucks every month for a Honda/Toyota and no headaches. But what would be the fun in that?

[MicahO]

Believe it or not, some Chevy dealers are offering new Malibu's for $79 per month for 47 months (with an optional buyout of <$9K). Of course, you're still spending for tires and oil and maintenance on a car like that. And you'll have to drive it or have your name otherwise associated with it. But my nephew could make that money each month mowing my lawn and still have money for a date or two thrown in. Amazing what the American car companies are doing to push tin.




In 3.8 years of ownershp, I've spent $3,770 on my car for all maintenance, tires, smog tests, etc. I keep track of everything that wouldn't be covered under a new car warranty. Works out to about $83 a month for maintenance/non warranty. Compared to a new car payment and considering what I got, that's not bad.

But add in the money I paid for the car plus the headaches I got when something goes wrong, and yes, it would be easier to plop down a few hundred bucks every month for a Honda/Toyota and no headaches. But what would be the fun in that?