Time for a decision... MS3 or....

[Haltech]

my limited knowledge... info is close, score is my opinion, score considers price, not trying to start a war

ms3 ~ $23k-$26k excellent value for very good performance... average highway score 9/10
ms6 ~ $25k-$27k (rebates) excellent value for more car, good performance, average highway score 8/10
A4 ~ $28k-$31k best highway cruiser, below average performance, consider A3 score 6/10
GTI ~ $23k-$27k not as good value, electrical problems, squeaks and rattles, average performance, good highway score 8/10
C30 ~ $24k-$28k very good highway, average performance, volvo quality has been good score 7/10
135i ~ $34k-$37k good value for easily best performance, very good highway, limited back seat score 9/10
128i ~ $28k-$30k excellent value for very good performance... very good highway, limited back seat score 10/10

why consider cars that go 0-60mph in the 6 to 7 second range and cost mid $20k and jump to the 135i which will go to 60 in prolly 4.4 seconds but costs $10k more? the 128i will compete with every other car in terms of performance and be a good cruiser and it only costs about $4k more.

128i is the winner (imo) but the speed3 is a close 2nd(second)

128i doesnt hold a candle to the MS3.. its their most dummed down, stripped model with a gutless engine. Look at the X3's on the road that are missing 30% of their body painted and a cheezed up interior. The 135i or as i call it, the M1 will be the only 1 series i would consider owning. BMW lately has totally priced their 3 series out of what it was designed for and with the G37 rockin their ass, its a do or die for them to get back on track.

G37 if you got the cash, but im not sure how they are priced when comparing the same options as a MS3. Probably $38K

 

[Haltech]

C30 = 3 dr.

With 2 kids, a decent back seat and 4 doors are desirable. The Volvo S40 seems interesting, the T5 turbo 5 cyl. motor rated at 230hp for 2008 seems pretty decent.

Exactly. Nice car but not enough room for some. i just hope it doesnt have a horrid service record.

Theres a lot of hot hatches coming down the pipe, but by the time they arrive, the MS3's production will be completed and done with.

 

[solomr2]

Well, I drove a lot of cars and I finally made my decision. The new car is sitting in my driveway....

I test drove the following before deciding:

Volvo C30 - okay car, but smaller than I expected and not as much fun as it looks. Clutch is light as a air (no feedback) and the steering is overboosted. Funky interior design.

BMW 325 (sport) 6spd manual - nice, a little sluggish, but very solid and refined feel. The leatherette (faux leather) really fooled me. A great car, but pricey. I can see why BMW is the benchmark in this group.

BMW 325 (luxury) Nav - skip it and go for the sport. The bluetooth phone system with the Nav is very good, but the iDrive nav system could be better.

BMW 330 - quicker, but not that much quicker. 325 is a better value.

Mazdaspeed 6 - great value, but not as exciting as I was expecting. Not in the same league as the German sport sedans. Not very impressive.

Mazdaspeed 3 - great value, good fun, a tough competitor. I think I would have bought this car if the Audi deal had fallen through.

Audi A4Q - good value, sufficient fun factor, good gas mileage and awesome fit, finish and quality workmanship. The 2.0T is pretty fun to drive, and the AWD system is very impressive.

The car I bought is a 2006 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro. It only had 5,800 miles, so it was really still new. Leather interior, dual climate zones, 6-spd manual, 6-cd changer, 2.0 FSI turbo motor, very cool sunroof, dual power front seats, heated seats (front and rear), full size alloy spare wheel, and Audi throws in all the maintenance for the first 50K miles. For $25,000 I couldn't pass it up.

I drove 1100 miles with it last weekend, average 85-90mph, and still managed 29.6 miles per gallon. And with the fine power seats and 4-way lumbar adjustment, I never got fatigued or sore.

Thanks to all for your input and ideas. It was fun trying them all out.

So now, my 2003 pro-5 goes up for sale.

 

[Mocoso]

Here's my thought:

In any event, ask your friend to keep spinning those "BMWs are expensive to repair" yarns. Those stories make it easy for me to pick up used BMWs on the cheap...(drive2)

Oh come on - they arent yarns... dealers wanted $700 bucks to repair a bad seal on the valve cover on my 330i (after 80K miles) and a repair shop wanted "500 bucks" for the same job...

Did the frigin thing myself for $60 in parts (including the $30 DIY book) and had spare change to buy a nice tool chest

BMW are the ultimate driving machine "while in warranty" - great cars just not the car you want to have out of warranty and our of service while on a budget....


Oh did I mention they wanted $275 for windor regulators of which I had 9 (yes NINE) instances of them breaking over a 5 yr period... if you own a BMW you "KNOW" what window regulators Im talking about... Im not paying for them to fix an obvious design flaw...

Amazing they will be able to charge over $30K for a 1 series ...... Ill gamble on a lowly Mazda over the long haul over any European car and Ive had my share of them....

P>S. I posted this BEFORE I saw you bought an Audi... didnt mean to sound like an "arse" on your German purchase... Good luck with it.. I think the Audi right now is a better buy than the BMW in any case... at least from the enthusiast point of view...

 

[Mocoso]

128i doesnt hold a candle to the MS3.. its their most dummed down, stripped model with a gutless engine. Look at the X3's on the road that are missing 30% of their body painted and a cheezed up interior. The 135i or as i call it, the M1 will be the only 1 series i would consider owning. BMW lately has totally priced their 3 series out of what it was designed for and with the G37 rockin their ass, its a do or die for them to get back on track.

G37 if you got the cash, but im not sure how they are priced when comparing the same options as a MS3. Probably $38K

I agree... the 3 series priced itself out of the market it is targetted at and they cant very well lower the price on the 3 unless they want to take a blood bath on the residual values on all the leases....

 

[solomr2]

I definately agree that german cars are not the kind of car you want to have out of warranty.

I also want to point out that my Mazda Pro-5 was one of the most reliable and dependable cars I ever had. Other than regular maintenance, in 4 years and 80k miles the only problem I had was the battery went bad, and the paint in front chipped a little easy from road debris. Even the regular maintenance was pretty light and easy, just oil changes, did the brakes, changed the cooling fluid and replaced the spark plugs.

I can only hope this new Audi will be just as easy to live with.