What Do We Think about BMWs?!?

http://www.state.sc.us/cma/images/BMW_logo.png

since we have ILE threads about Volvos and Saabs, what do we think about BMWs? or has the adoption of BMWs as the car-of-choice by countless insufferable douchebags irredeemably destroyed these cars?!?

The styling of recent models is...baffling. Older models were really nice looking machines too. I can't think of any specific examples, but when I see recent ones on the road, they usually strike me as ugly. I think maybe the Z3 was the last one that looked nice to me.

have been considering a 10 year old BMW 3 series touring recently due to the dearth of Jetta and Volvo V40 estates round here.

i really liked the Z3 sporting brake, but otherwise I am never really wowed by their design.

As with most european cars I really regret that they never bring their super efficient diesels over to the states but at least they bring some diesels over.

BMW X series vyes with the porsche cayenne for most likely to run me off my bike whilst being driven by some prick on a phone.

yea some idiot in one of the bmw suv thingys was buzzed me like 3x on my way to work this morning and i think to myself "that's sum douchebaggery. fuckin beemers."
they are nice to drive tho. everybody always goes on about german engineering so i don't have to.

"was buzzed me" . . .
meant drove too close to me on my bike

they are nice cars but there's something about getting behind the wheel of one of these that makes people just a little more aggro on the road, even moreso than other high-performance cars.

Yes. A good friend of mine from Munich tells countless stories of how, even there, in the homeland of the Bavarian Motor Works, the drivers of Bimmers are assholes.

Now, that isn't to say that DRIVING one isn't a whole shit ton of fun. Because it is. Invariably. My pops had a 1982 528i, and I drove it for the last year or so of his ownership thereof. Wonderful, wonderful automobile.

The new ones all have run-flat tyres, and that makes the ride shit. Really firm and bumpy, even on motorways. B.L.A.M otm about the 528i; it's been great in all its incarnations, shit tyres or no

I love, love, love BMWs. I haven't had one for years (Hurricane Katrina knocked over a mango tree in my yard, which in turn, crushed the roof of my 328i), but it handled so well and revved like a little rocket ship. And it was virtually problem-free.

OK full disclosure time: I've owned five BMWs

1975 530i - Purchased it in 1991 for a dollar from some friends who were moving to the NW. The odometer was broken, but I estimated that it had 250K miles on it. I easily put another 150K miles on it and about $5K in repairs/maintenance in the seven years I owned it. The interior was completely thrashed to pieces, but damned if it didn't chug right along for six years and multiple thousand mile road trips.

1986 535i - Purchased in 1995. Very nice car, but not nearly as indestructible as the 530i. A lot of money went into this car (new valves, front suspension pieces, eternal oil leak fixing, etc.) but was a continual game of whack-a-mole. Annoyingly, this car had an automatic transmission otherwise I would probably have fonder memories of it.

1983 733i - a.k.a. PANZERWAGEN. A two-and-a-half ton car that outperformed everything including itself. Purchased cheap on a whim from a friend who needed to get it out of his garage (plus it had a manual transmission! rare for 7-series). Busted muffler meant that every acceleration from stop-light sounded like space shuttle launch. Too awesome for it's own good and luckily I sold it off before I had to pay for something that cost more than $500 (i.e. smog check). If I still owned this car, I would totally take it to band gigs (plus I could fit two amps, three guitars, a keyboard with spare room for a couple people to pass out)

1986 328e - Obviously I was insane at the time. Anonymously OK.

2001 323is - Last car I owned before current one. Purchased new (mistake). A really really nice car. Road tripped everywhere in it. HOWEVER, once past the 100K mileage mark you were at the mercy of gremlins. Each gremlin costs $600 to fix. There is a 33% chance that gremlin extermination will create new unrelated gremlin.

Still I would do it all over again for one of the late model E12s.

There's also a '74 black 2002 in the neighborhood and I swear if I ever see a For Sale sign on it...

I owned a red 320 in college, and received 5 speeding tickets a year. Now that I own a white Miata and drive significantly faster, I never, ever get one.

My father, an MD, has owned BMWs for 30 years, and fits the typical profile of the asshole BMW driver. I regularly put my hands in front of my eyes or on the dashboard as a passenger.

I'll also add, they don't break down more often than Hondas, Toyotas, and Mazdas, but when they do, you'll need a second mortgage.

fits the typical profile of the asshole BMW driver

lol wait, waht?

Is it really neccessary to tailgate everyone you pass on the expressway? I don't, my asshole BMW driver dad does.

lol. I used to drive plenty far from everyone else (too worried I'm crash my one nice car ever)

love it when BMW drivers get aggro on me for going 55 in the right hand lane

aggro driver cars:

bmws
audis (the new ones most especially a4s and a5s)
infinitis
mercedes suvs

those daytime LED lights on the new audis are kinda passive-agressive

An orange 2002i was the first car I ever coveted when I was a kid.

I would really like a 320d touring, but would probably still pick the Volvo V50 Driv-e over it.

the current BMW range is really schizo in the styling department, how can they do both the X5 (which despite its SUVness is a well-proprtioned vehicle) and the X3 (which is just a smaller version of the same shape but looks totally horrible due to the details??

Neal Stephenson from Snow Crash

BMW drivers take evasive action at the drop of a hat, emulating the drivers in the BMW advertisements--this is how they convince themselves they didn't get ripped off.

So so OTM.

Though in SoCal, the asshole driver car of choice are now Audis

tbh i would LOVE to drive one of these & would prob be an aggro driver (i sort of am now, not rude, just very impatient) & go way too fast, and it would be awesome! all those other dudes on the road in dc/md/virginia driving bmws are insufferable douchebags, clearly i need to drive faster than they do, at all times, and change four lanes at once on the beltway, that sort of thing.

the current BMW range is really schizo in the styling department, how can they do both the X5 (which despite its SUVness is a well-proprtioned vehicle) and the X3 (which is just a smaller version of the same shape but looks totally horrible due to the details??

I actually like the X3 in person a lot more. The newest ones have some nicer details (lights, body metal creases) that help it out. I agree, though - in pictures, it looks awkwardly proportioned.

What do you guys think about the X6? While it's totally useless, I kid of love the way it looks...

it's a crime that BMWs can be had with automatic transmissions, is all i'm saying

well, 3 Series, anyway

The 325i was my dream car for pretty much all the time I was aware of cars but not yet a driver.

Also my dad has a totally totally rad '60s era BMW belt buckle with enamel blue & white bits...I should try to make sure I get that and he never throws it out....

those daytime LED lights on the new audis are kinda passive-agressive

― Rosy Rube (haitch)

yes

they look really angry

aggro driver cars:

bmws
audis (the new ones most especially a4s and a5s)
infinitis
mercedes suvs

Add: Cadillac Escalade

add: Dodge Ram, especially the ones with those scoop out things to accomodate the dual rear tires.

The x6 looks really odd to me, however there is a 5 series coming with a similar body shape which looks a heap less odd and even quite nice.

i'm always impressed when i'm trying to merge onto the freeway and someone driving one of those vehicles actually slows down to let me in, as opposed to speeding up and tailgating the person ahead of them to prevent my entry, usually followed by them flipping off the driver in front of them when they won't move ahead to tailgate the person ahead of them, usually followed by the driver cutting around onto the shoulder and speeding ahead to get ahead of everyone, cutting off a school bus at the last second.

Designwise, I really liked new BMWs introduced up to 2000 (including the E46) when the Bangle-ization happened. The E92 signaled a partial return to form and the just announced and excellent 2010 5 series largely puts a nail in the Bangle coffin (although design is now headed up by the man who actually penned the hideous 7 of 2002). BMW have released several perfect cars: E9, E24, E39 M5 etc.

I totally saw a dude on the freeway last night with the following license plate:

"528IGUY"

I narrowly missed getting a photo. Sorry, Bimmer thread folkz.

it's a crime that BMWs can be had with automatic transmissions, is all i'm saying

What about the1 series? I don't know... Kinda like'em but I'm in doubt, y'know. The X1 look great too.

My father had a (secondhand) 732i. When I was learning to drive, he let me sit behind the wheel. I think I managed to drive a few yards until my parents decided it was best to stop. LOL. Fuck that car was powerful. Scared the shit outa me.

I have a strong aversion to the brand, and have really enjoyed driving every single one of 'em I've ever driven. Which makes me typical, I guess.

i want a 600
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/BMW_600_Front.jpg

Do the garages charge so much more for BMW maintenance?

Those 1s are fucking EVERYWHERE here.

An orange 2002i was the first car I ever coveted when I was a kid.

There is one that lives somewhere around my neighborhood. I covet it frequently.