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Joined: Dec 2001
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Originally posted by 98 SE:
I am interested in the E0 SVTs. By the year 2004, if I take a year to save up, they will be six or seven years old, and hopefully better deals will be available. I have also considered and will look at the Duratec/MTX as you suggest (hopefully with keyless entry and a sunroof, lol ). It would definitely be a sensible choice.
you should come down my way, we always seem to find then around here, and the kicker is the one I just got came from NH anyway...
I to would like a SVT but that can be in the future, and a BMW after that in the future.
I have to agree but the whole point now is to have a reliable car for college. I think why my parents decided to get the four contour was so I might have something when my Mystque does go, since I had to put some money into it recently and I am in fairly uncharted areas closing in on 120k. So I see it as having to great, and fun reliable cars to have for the next few years.
If I have my way I will never get rid of them 
oh yeah, also someone else said it, repair costs, the BMW will be crazy and the Contour, with good know how you can fix yourself for much less
Last edited by brapple; 07/26/03 02:31 AM.
- 95 Mystique LS - Zetec/5spd
- 99 Contour SeVT Sport - Duratec/5spd
Official NE-CEG Contour/Mustang Family
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,960
Hard-core CEG'er
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Originally posted by TourDeForce:
........Forget the BMW. They'll be 12 years old, & the first time you need to buy a radiator ($400), tranny coolant hose ($130), or a drive shaft ($700), you'll be really sorry........
Thats an excellent point, it may be a $6k car now but the parts/service depts still treat them as they are a $30k car. It's great if you can do all your own work but thats the minority of us.
Bless our servicemen & women overseas.
L.Cpl Ian Malone, 1st Battalion Irish Guards, R.I.P.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 771
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I had a BMW 325E for 15 years and 251,000 miles before I got my '99 Mystique. I loved the BMW and intend to get one again sometime in the future. My BWM ran and looked like new, even with a quarter million miles on it. But everytime I took it into the dealer with a problem, I resigned myself to spending between $500 to $750, even for regular maintenance issues. Fortunately, it needed very little in all those miles....still had the original clutch, hoses, etc.
If you live in the snow belt, BWM's are rear wheel drive and very poor on slick roads. I had to buy a 4WD vehicle for those months the BWM was too dangerous to drive on the highway.
If you do your own work, most parts stores don't have a lot of BMW parts, so you'll have to visit the dealer's parts department for anything more than oil filters or spark plugs. Working on it was easier than the Mystique...the inline six left a LOT of room under the hood. I could change the oil filter from above, which is rare nowadays.
I agree with some of the other guys here...if you're in college and money is tight, buy something reliable now, like a Honda or Toyota. BWM's are great cars, but if you can't afford to take care of them like they deserve, they'll break down just like anything else.
-Mark-
'99 Mystique LS, totally original (including the original water pump and the premium stereo)! Bought new in December 1998 for $21,000.
208,000 miles
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 7,117
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Originally posted by MarkO:
Originally posted by TourDeForce:
........Forget the BMW. They'll be 12 years old, & the first time you need to buy a radiator ($400), tranny coolant hose ($130), or a drive shaft ($700), you'll be really sorry........
Thats an excellent point, it may be a $6k car now but the parts/service depts still treat them as they are a $30k car. It's great if you can do all your own work but thats the minority of us.
Those quotes are for the parts only! I just replaced the drive shaft for my 1986 325e a few months ago, $690 for the driveshaft & the U-joints CANNOT be replaced separately on these units like you can do on an American car. A freakin' tune-up on a BMW will cost about $1200 if the dealer is willing to treat you nice.
Must be that jumbly-wumbly thing happening again.
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Joined: Jul 2000
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In Mass, for safety reasons, you really are better off in a FWD car. My 'tour with snow tires can handle almost any weather condition securely and safely.
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Joined: Oct 2002
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Originally posted by 96RedSE5Sp:
In Mass, for safety reasons, you really are better off in a FWD car. My 'tour with snow tires can handle almost any weather condition securely and safely.
RWD is NOT unsafe in the snow! You all are a bunch of no-ability sissies if you say otherwise! I drove a Miata with good snow tires for 2 Buffalo winters and never had a problem, and passed many a sport-ute off in a ditch in that time. So long as you have GOOD SNOW TIRES, which you ought to have with any car in a snowy area, RWD is as safe as FWD. </rant>
As far as BMW vs. CSVT, the BWM will not necessarily cost more in parts or service, especially if you're doing work yourself. There's a number of mail-order places where parts are very reasonably priced. The insurance on the BWM will likely be higher, but you need to contact your agent to see for sure. As for a quarter-million miles on the 325e, first of all inline-6's are bulletproof generally, and second the eta motor was about the lowest-stressed motor ever made. Redlined at what, 5k? If I never pushed my car over 5k I'd get a quarter-million miles too. As for the other stuff on the car, there's something to be said for German engineering and build quailty - built to last.
Scott
Troll! '99 BMW 328i
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 85
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I actually made the switch from a 1988 BMW 535i over to a 99 Contour SE Sport. Granted, I gave up some luxury items, like the onboard computer, rwd, and 8 way power seats, I got peace of mind, and never having to worry about replacement parts. I had to do a radiator and fan clutch on the BMW ($540), brake pads ($80), but when the front end got the dreaded shimmy, the air went out, the brake bomb went, and I realized that the car would need work after that, I decided to cut my losses, and go with the Contour. BMWs are nice, but unless they have been cared for, they're not worth the hassle and expense. When they have been cared for, you pay a premium for it. I had $5k to spend on a car, and weighed the options, a 92 bmw with over 100k, or a 99 Contour with 46k. I chose the Contour, figuring that parts would be cheaper, it's an american car after all, the folks at the salvage yards won't give me attitude - quite the problem with going to a salvage yard and asking if they have parts. Though, we also have the Ford owned salvage yards here in Tampa, so used contour parts aren't too hard to come by. That's just my $.02.
- Ian in Tampa
99 SE Sport 5spd 48k
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