SWMBO'ed needs your help......please!

[Jr ///M5]

Every life has it's turning point, this time it's ours....from the birth of our twins almost 5 1/2 years ago till now, she has faithfully, without complaint, utilitized the invention of the "Mini Van"....this worked well, considering the older children occupied the "marsh pit" as we so lovingly refer to the "way back" seat (courtesy of Sherman & Peabody)....=)

Did I mention times have changed?....Our oldest is driving now, and taking quite a load off of the old man in the house...The days of "Taxi" are over....for now at least. But wait, there's more...

My loving bride for 21 years now, is comtimplating a new job, and could find herself doing 65 miles one way.

Thanks to the board, over the years, and the dilligent study of BMW's....=) (and our own Bill R. of course) the vehicle of choice is a 2001 Oriental Blue, 525 with DSC and Xeons, heated seats with 28k and CPO'ed.....you like???

The contender is a Lexus RX 300, same year, same price, (maybe a touch higher) options are close to the same as the BMW except for 4wd....

Leverage here, is BMW, of course, and I took the CPO'ed E39 for a test drive today. It was very nice.......

Next week, the RX 300 will present it's case for Lori's admiration.....

All I'm asking, is your honest opinion on the matter. Keep in mind that we experience winter weather about 4 or 5 months out of the year...and the 525 has DSC as well.

She's looking forward to your opinions, and I'm counting on you guys........

Thanks for your help,
Jr

[mikemaster]

As for which car you'd rather have, no brainer, the 525. But if it's your wife's car, and racking up that many miles, I might have to go with the reliability of the Lexus plus 4wd for the winter. Disclaimer: I would choose the 525, but the Lexus probably makes more sense. :p

[MicahO]

The fact that they are SUCH different vehicles makes it tough.

Start with the 4wd and winter - personally I would not let winter influence the decision, unless the job will be one where she MUST be there, no matter the weather. The reality is that even though we experience winter weather for 4-5 months per year, the number of days that present really bad conditions for driving when one MUST drive is rather slim. If you're a doctor or have some requirements for where you HAVE to be to get that paycheck, you'll want 4wd for those days. But most slipperies are handled more than adequately by a well balanced bimmer on snows, and the driving experience during the non-winter months makes a great case for not getting the sport ute. We live in a temperate zone, and we experience Winter, but it's not Alaska. ;)

The reliability of either car is going to be quite good. I'd venture a guess that depreciation on the bimmer will be better than on the RX, though I'm just guessing at that. The kind of miles you're looking at racking up, I tend to think that the bimmer's going to be more easily maintained by someone like you or me, particularly when you get into brakes and suspension bits that eventually wear. That also steers me towards the bimmer.

Then you get into the different types of vehicles. If she's going to be loading stuff into the back or have to cart things around for the new job - go with the open rear and easy-insert rear of the RX. If she's going to be moving people or clients, go with the bimmer. What are the roads like where she's travelling? If they are rough, go with the truck.

The biggest thing is how she feels in the vehicle. 130 miles per day is a lot of seat time. She should take both cars for a long drive, perhaps even taking each along the commute path that she'll be travelling. Some people will really prefer the up-high seating position and visibility of the SUV, others will really like the connected and in-control feeling from the bimmer. But she may not realize the appreciation of either until she's had time to travel the roads she'll be cruising on a daily basis.

All around a nice selection to choose from. If the vehicle fits the user and the uses, you'll not make a bad choice from those two.

[Bill R.]

Every life has it's turning point, this time it's ours....from the birth of our twins almost 5 1/2 years ago till now, she has faithfully, without complaint, utilitized the invention of the "Mini Van"....this worked well, considering the older children occupied the "marsh pit" as we so lovingly refer to the "way back" seat (courtesy of Sherman & Peabody)....=)

Did I mention times have changed?....Our oldest is driving now, and taking quite a load off of the old man in the house...The days of "Taxi" are over....for now at least. But wait, there's more...

My loving bride for 21 years now, is comtimplating a new job, and could find herself doing 65 miles one way.

Thanks to the board, over the years, and the dilligent study of BMW's....=) (and our own Bill R. of course) the vehicle of choice is a 2001 Oriental Blue, 525 with DSC and Xeons, heated seats with 28k and CPO'ed.....you like???

The contender is a Lexus RX 300, same year, same price, (maybe a touch higher) options are close to the same as the BMW except for 4wd....

Leverage here, is BMW, of course, and I took the CPO'ed E39 for a test drive today. It was very nice.......

Next week, the RX 300 will present it's case for Lori's admiration.....

All I'm asking, is your honest opinion on the matter. Keep in mind that we experience winter weather about 4 or 5 months out of the year...and the 525 has DSC as well.

She's looking forward to your opinions, and I'm counting on you guys........

Thanks for your help,
Jr

[Jr ///M5]

he,he,he....I was looking forward to your opinion. The local Lexus dealer has 4 nice used RX 300's which is pretty unusual for our area. Check 'em out....www.lexusofpeoria.com

I like the white one....=)

The lexus dealer treats you like a king, the only reason I get royal treatment at the BMW dealer is because of all the $ I've dumped there. Plus it helps to know more about certain models than they do...=)

[Geoff Hoad]

Jr, given all the white stuff you get DSC would be a great advantage. Aside from that it becomes a case of which one is prettier.... Good luck in your choice anyway.