I'm lost you say don’t get a BMW because of the repair costs.. have you seen BMWs warranty this year?? They now cover repair costs that aren’t under warranty... they take care of all of the items below and more.. You say don’t get a hybrid because you would have to drive it over 100,000 miles to break even, so why is BMW with a 4 year 50,0000 mile warranty with full maintenance ridiculous if we don’t know how long he plans on keeping the car? http://www.bmwusa.com/Vehicles/3/2006325iSedan/warranty.htm
Oh take that commie rhetoric elsewhere. I have owned nothing but Fords and have NEVER had a major problem with any of them. Nearly everyone in my huge family drives Fords, all makes and sizes and again we have no problems. Simply because you guys like driving Japanese soccer-mom cars doesn't make them the king of the road. The pansification of American men has made them "happy" to drive 4 and 6 cylinder vehicles... I for one enjoy having a car with some balls. Now feel free to go back to discussing your glorious 4-door sedans.
My personal experience with Ford has not been good. I won't be buying another one. I've been through several rounds of recalls and repairs. I've even gone through an engine replacement at only 40k miles because their engine design was flawed(under warranty thank God). I have also been unsatisfied with their service department. I posted a story a while back about how they botched an air conditioning job replacing my air compressor. Then, they didn't want to take responsibility for it but wanted to stick it to me some more as far as paying for it all because they didn't do the job right the first time. I don't believe in the American auto. I'm going foreign. In the end, it's all about personal experience with the car you buy. I'm sure other customers have had no problems with their Ford cars. However, I have and I'm not willing to look past them while gambling on another Ford in the future. Noone...not even God...could talk me into another Ford at this point.
It's not about savings, its about smuggines....with a hybrid, you can be as smuggy as you want! (see Southpark episode last night). Savings still aren't in line. Performance, on the other hand, depends on the company. Lexus, and Toyota seems like it too, the hybrids give you more performance. I think the new GS hybrid, for example, is essentially giving you V8 performance with v6 fuyel economy.
Smug is a huge problem...especially when it interacts with the smug from George Clooney's Academy Awards speech. I don't want to cause any smug due to owning a hybrid.
The designs are almost identical. But if you want to get into semantics, then so are the ES300 and Camry. Audi is built in Germany with quality fit and finish, whereas VW is mass produced in Mexico factories with notoriously poor quality control.
That's the direction Honda took with the V6 Accord hybrid. Regular gas, 255 HP, 0 to 60 in about 6 seconds, and very good gas mileage. Hopefully, it'll get cheaper.
You're paying a $5-$10,000 premium on BMW's name already. Trust me, you're paying for those "free scheduled maintenance" items. There are Acura and Infiniti drivers who have negotiated free oil changes for life for example into the car deal. It's not like it's unheard of. Brake rotors and brake pads are replaced within 50,000 miles provided wear and tear exceeds BMW's specs. Great... so let's see... I pay a $5-$10,000 premium for the BMW brand and you're going to give me new brakes and rotors and wiper blades (wee!) for free for the first 50,000 miles. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people either need 1 brake job or no brake job in that time. How about oil changes? Hey, that's great... so I just paid my $5-$10k premium for BMW and you're going to give me free oil changes... umm.. wooptie do. Car dealerships make most of their money at the service bay. They want you to keep coming back. One way they do it is by giving away "free services" so they can find other problems, otherwise you'd probably take it elsewhere. And trust me, they'll do everything in their power to find something not covered by the warranty or some way to make you pay. Honestly, how much do you expect to pay in repairs for your car in the first 50k miles? Seriously. If you're having major issues within 50k miles, you've got a dud of a car. Here's my breakdown of "major" expenses so far : I have a 2004 Acura TL that just hit 51,000 miles. I've had to have the rotors replaced due to warping and the brakepads replaced. Total cost - $0 (yes, they did it for free) I'm averaging an oil change every 6,000 - 7,000 miles. I got synthetic oil on clearance from walmart for $1/quart. My car takes around 4.25 quarts. Filters run around $9. I take it to a Mobil 1 bay and they charge me $15 to change the oil. So... around $29 per oil change and about 7-8 oil changes for the first 50k miles.... you do the math. I've had about 5 or 6 tire rotations in that time. Walmart does this for something like $10-$15 - I forget. I've had 2 alignments done - probably around $180-$200 total I think. I had a subwoofer/speaker go bad on me... replaced for free. Still on my first set of wiper blades... All this ain't worth the BMW premium price... the price you pay for getting things "free". And like I said there are Infiniti and Acura dealerships that give you some of those things free as well, but you may have to negoiate for it there. Most other major failures within the first 50-60k miles are covered by the warranty. It's not that difficult to understand. I said it because most people buy hybrids thinking they're saving money. I don't know of too many who buy a BMW thinking they're saving money, especially when the price they pay is already at a premium when compared to similar cars in the class such as Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus. They're called mutually exclusive statements. I can explain further if you still don't get it...
Go buy all the Fords then. I am talking from experience. REALLY BAD experience. Also talked to people at school and work. The results were overwhelming. STAY AWAY FROM FORD!! I find it amusing that you bring up the cylinder conversions. The Ford Mustangs despite extra cylinders were getting beat by cars with lower cylinders. Quiet embarassing. And no, those cars werent supercharged or Turboed, in case you are wondering. Hint. Its not about the cylinders. Ford makes garbage cars and they even look like solid heap of metal junk. Can they please hire a designer?? Take a poll here Mr. Ford sucknut. You will be amused. Ford! Bwahahahahaa! BTW. I dont look at cars as Americans, Japanese, or Europeans. I look at cars as good and bad. I love the American Corvette, especially the limited edition one. But I hate Ford because they suck. It just so happens that they happen to be an American company. It's a shame really because I rooted for them. But when you continually have bad experience from the same car company on multiple occassions INCLUDING rentals, you learn your lesson. My next car is neither American or Japenese, since you care so much. I am switching from 350Z to a fiesty little machine. My Lotus Elise is on the way. See ya on the road. I will wave at your Ford pinto from my Lotus Elise.
Your whole original argument of buying a BMW was about the "silly repair costs" but now you're arguing the types of repairs that you think will go wrong in that time are silly.. You cant have your cake and eat it too, but I can ALSO "explain further if you still don’t get it".. We can agree to disagree DoD..
That's your opinion Shelly, and I gave mine. If American men like driving the same kind of car Grandma does, that's cool... I guess. Do you even have a clue what the hell you are talking about Rhonda? I would imagine not. The only foreign made vehicle that can keep up with American made muscle cars for under $30,000 is a Subaru... which is far from Asian, and you can get a Mustang for 5+ grand less then slap on some bolt-ons and blow them all off the track. There is a reason that the faster street legal cars in the world have more then 4 cylinders and a coffee can on the tailpipe. Pamela, I didn't mean to strike a cord when I called most foreing cars pansy'ish. I could care less what kind of cars people on a basketball forum find nice... especially on a forum that I know is over run with Asian influence. I for one like driving a car that can snap my neck back when I barely touch the gas in 2nd gear... if people like the cruising in a soccer mom's ride, that's cool. Oh now that's just brilliant Diana... you rent a car and base it's performance off that? I guess you pay sticker too huh? Do you even know what goes on in rentals? You're obviously more brilliant then a Guiness commercial. Wow Samantha... I am amazed at the brilliance of your choice of rides... I'm sure American muscle cars everywhere will be shaking in their boots when you hit the road. You know, there may be a Mazda Miata out there that will give you a run for your money... that 180HP and 189lbs of torque are freaking FRIGHTENING... especially for that 40G price tag. If you don't like Ford or other American cars that is fine, but calling them "crap" is just stupid.
