320 i going at 139 K

[seansean]

My business associate was quoted 139 K for a 320i last week , which is 20 K discount off the list price... he is contemplating now between this and a C class....

He is worried that the 3 series is too new and most of the QA problem has not been sorted out .. like what happened to the 5's ... according to him quite a nos of owner have sold it off after a few months as it plagued with problems

 

[T6]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

My business associate was quoted 139 K for a 320i last week , which is 20 K discount off the list price... he is contemplating now between this and a C class....

He is worried that the 3 series is too new and most of the QA problem has not been sorted out .. like what happened to the 5's ... according to him quite a nos of owner have sold it off after a few months as it plagued with problems

I have not heard anything negative on the new 3 series yet in terms of bugs whereas the C class has been around for sooooooooo loooooong.... So I think reselling the C class will be a real problem. If your associate can wait a while more, the baby lexus IS250 should be coming in just a few more mths. That shd be a reliable car.

 

[martmode8850]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

He is worried that the 3 series is too new and most of the QA problem has not been sorted out .. like what happened to the 5's ... according to him quite a nos of owner have sold it off after a few months as it plagued with problems

the valvetronic engines were on the E46 318s for about three years already... so i think most of the problems would have been solved by now...

if budget is not a constraint, check out the 325i...

 

[TripleM]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

My business associate was quoted 139 K for a 320i last week , which is 20 K discount off the list price... he is contemplating now between this and a C class....

He is worried that the 3 series is too new and most of the QA problem has not been sorted out .. like what happened to the 5's ... according to him quite a nos of owner have sold it off after a few months as it plagued with problems

Engine wise I think there shudnt be much of a worry..
The only thing to watch out is the electronics.

E90 is definitely way better than C-Class in all areas....
It's more spacious
It handles better
It's the current design
and so on.........

 

[NTY]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

My business associate was quoted 139 K for a 320i last week , which is 20 K discount off the list price... he is contemplating now between this and a C class....

He is worried that the 3 series is too new and most of the QA problem has not been sorted out .. like what happened to the 5's ... according to him quite a nos of owner have sold it off after a few months as it plagued with problems

Having own/owned 2 MBs and 3 BMWs. From my personal experience, MB is more reliable than BMW generally. Having said so, MB is still no Japanese in term of reliability.

MB

Good:

1) More reliable
2) Better ride comfort
3) Cheaper to maintain, cheaper spare parts
4) Cheaper insurance premium (My M3: $5k, C32AMG: $2.1k before NCD)

BMW

Good:

1) Design appeals to younger crowd
2) Better handling
3) E90 newer chassis

 

[Gandalf Fett]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Is the MB more reliable? From the feedback that I have been getting, the BMW appears to be more reliable than the MB. My first MB was a C180. In the 7 years that I owned the car, I had to have it towed 3 times. My current car is a C200 and it's been in the workshop 3 times (for repairs) in the 2.5 years that I owned it. Which is why I am considering my options now.

By the way, one of my friends just bought and took possession of his new C class over the weekend. He's loving it. He's loving it very much. It was a black on black C180 under the existing deal that C&C is currently offering. He couldn't get the choice of colors that he wanted but the options remaining was not something that he couldn't accept as well.

 

[seansean]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

520 its seem was plagued by electronics problem not the engine ... the i drive i think .. 320 has i drive as well so this may be inherited from 520 ...remember the early batch 7 could only travel at 80 kmph top speed due to some electronic failure ... well having to wait for a year ... I think he will most probably settle for the c class (137 K) given its tried and tested.. most of the bugbear has been iron out IMO.... If i am buying I would get a E200 anyone know wat is the actual prize after discount

 

[Motofish]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Taken delivery of the E90 320i 3 weeks ago. Loves the engine and the great drive. My previous ride was a Camry and it was certainly more comfortable and to a certain extent, better built. While there is no problem with the engine and iDrive is not available in the 320i (at least not standard), I am bringing the new ride back to PML for the second time. Main complain is the wind noice coming thru the driver window starting at 100 Kmph. There is also a problem with some movement after I release the brakes (sometime forward, sometime backward) after the car had stop and auto gear in P position. This problem is heavily report in the E90post forum. I hope that PML can solve the problems soon. Having said all that, I am still quite happy with the car as I love driving it. Other cars I have test drove b/f deciding on 320i included the C200, A41.8T and V60. None of those comes close to the driving pleasure the 320i gave me.

Hope that the experience helps in your decision.

MotoFish
E90 320i -still stock.

 

[Gandalf Fett]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

520 its seem was plagued by electronics problem not the engine ... the i drive i think .. 320 has i drive as well so this may be inherited from 520 ...remember the early batch 7 could only travel at 80 kmph top speed due to some electronic failure ... well having to wait for a year ... I think he will most probably settle for the c class (137 K) given its tried and tested.. most of the bugbear has been iron out IMO.... If i am buying I would get a E200 anyone know wat is the actual prize after discount

I think you can get it at about S$178K and probably a further discount if you are not going for any trade-in.

 

[NTY]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Is the MB more reliable? From the feedback that I have been getting, the BMW appears to be more reliable than the MB. My first MB was a C180. In the 7 years that I owned the car, I had to have it towed 3 times. My current car is a C200 and it's been in the workshop 3 times (for repairs) in the 2.5 years that I owned it. Which is why I am considering my options now.

By the way, one of my friends just bought and took possession of his new C class over the weekend. He's loving it. He's loving it very much. It was a black on black C180 under the existing deal that C&C is currently offering. He couldn't get the choice of colors that he wanted but the options remaining was not something that he couldn't accept as well.

The 190E and the W202 C class were the bad apples of mercedes. Bad luck for you I guess. Their E class is well known for their relaibility. My current C32 is almost 2.5 years. The only repair so far was a bad O-ring on one of its sensor.

The M3 in contrast has more problems. Wheel bearings worn out at 50k km, faulty O2 sensor, crank angle sensor and number of worn bushings in the under carriage.

My previous E39 523i had to replace air-con compressor at 40k, gearbox died at 100k. Radiator, cooling fan, thermostat, water pump were changed at 90k.

My previous M coupe had bad differential at 16k mileage only.

Please don't take this as a BMW bashing post. I'm just sharing my previous experience. Although BMW may not be the most reliable car around, but I still love it.

Although the current C class is 4 year old already. The recent face-lift does give the car a refreshing look. I'm incline to choose 320i especially when it is 139k now

 

[L Armstrong]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

My business associate was quoted 139 K for a 320i last week , which is 20 K discount off the list price... he is contemplating now between this and a C class....

He is worried that the 3 series is too new and most of the QA problem has not been sorted out .. like what happened to the 5's ... according to him quite a nos of owner have sold it off after a few months as it plagued with problems

The new C class will be out next year. Why buy at the end of the product cycle. You will feel lousy when the new model is parked next to yours. The E90 is at the beginning of the product cycle. You will enjoy a full 6 years before BMW introduce a new model. Buy a 325 if you can stretch your budget as it is a new magnesium alloy engine that used on the 330 and 630. When BMW does a mid-life face-lift 3 years down the road, it will only be on the cosmetic as the engine is only 3 years old by then.

 

[//M]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Hearing from lots of friends, think a lot people still prefer the E46 look. So maybe until what BMW could come out next. Cheers!

 

[NTY]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

The new C class will be out next year. Why buy at the end of the product cycle. You will feel lousy when the new model is parked next to yours. The E90 is at the beginning of the product cycle. You will enjoy a full 6 years before BMW introduce a new model. Buy a 325 if you can stretch your budget as it is a new magnesium alloy engine that used on the 330 and 630. When BMW does a mid-life face-lift 3 years down the road, it will only be on the cosmetic as the engine is only 3 years old by then.

Don't think new C will be out so soon. It just had a mid life face lift end of last year. I think MB model change is every 7 years, similar to BMW. E46 to E90 is also 7 years. I think new C earliest appearance here will probably be late 2007.

 

[emiffy]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Depends on the production. I had one of the last batches of W201 190E 2.0, special indent because of factory sunroof. Had it in the family for 7 years, totally flawless car. It was registered March 1993. Most of the bugs ironed out by then.

So it's not true that the W201 was the "bad apple" of MB!

 

[NTY]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Depends on the production. I had one of the last batches of W201 190E 2.0, special indent because of factory sunroof. Had it in the family for 7 years, totally flawless car. It was registered March 1993. Most of the bugs ironed out by then.

So it's not true that the W201 was the "bad apple" of MB!

I agree. I had a April 1993 190E special. Generally trouble free and cheap to maintain. But that can't erase its earlier problematic history. I had friends who owned and cursed the earlier batches. The previous generation of MB especially W123, 124, 126 were well known for their bullet proof reliability and hence the 190E range became the bad apples of the family.

 

[TEE]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Hi ALL,

Last quoted 320i $136k, C200 $146k.....still dunno which car to buy

CHEERS!

 

[mistraele]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

i much prefer the C200 engine to the 320i engine. but i find the current C a bit cramped, especially the driver footwell area. its a really nice car to sit in though. if i had to choose between the 2 oowever, id probabl go for the 320i. but if there was a new C class, that might be a different issue.

 

[TEE]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Hi,

The new C class won't be out till 2007 or 2008 accoring to C&C.

 

[silverbeam]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

Tee,

Personally the kompressor engine is a little too rough for me (it literally roars) and i find the brakes not as responsive as beemer. I think it has alot more features for a car that appeared 4yrs ago, (eg find-me lights, auto-boot open from key, auto steering column & OBC has alot more info and controls)

I suggest test driving both C200 and 320 to get a feel of it. After that you will lean towards one. Good luck

 

[kai]

Re: 320 i going at 139 K

i vote for e90 320! new platform! last for 7 years!!!i got mine last month! very goood!~!!!