[quote=empy;957639]it may be useful to post your budget. i may be tempted to suggest the E39 M5, but i'm not sure if you'd be willing to spend that kind of dough ;)

anyway, the e46 3-series has a classic, timeless design and great performance. i know i'm biased, but i'm very happy with my purchase. it has been very reliable, but the cost of ownership has been very high. if you will have a problem with high maintenance costs and expensive parts, DO NOT buy a BMW.

too many people buy these cars and not expect to ever have to fix or replace anything...or get upset at the cost of the parts. that's the price of owning these cars, and it is up to you to decide whether the pleasure of owning one is worth the expense.





Empy, My budget is for the a 3 or 5 series [w/out the 'M']. If one of the 3 series can give me the driving experience & feel of a bimmer then that's what I'll buy. But I'll get a 5 if that's what it takes. I like driving & I'm alone in the car most of the time. The driver is with the wife & kids all the time.

I can go for either diesel or gas as I have both vehicles now.

I understand that owning a bimmer will entail higher PMS & spare parts cost. Well baby check-up is about P12k every 10k & P25k every 20k [Pls correct me if I'm wrong]. What I can't accept are bimmers that will turn out to be service intensive, problematic & prone to premature parts failure. I don't what to buy a headache. I want to enjoy the ownership & I want to keep it for a long time.