KBB Value dropping drasticly

ayrton88

I had a 325i which I bought new in '02. It was strange because in some ways it was the best car I've ever owned and in others the worst. I'm 63 so I've owned lots of cars. It's gearbox was like butter. The straight 6 has to be one of the smoothest out there. The car always felt planted. It certainly wasn't a fast car, but with the manual you could still have lots of fun with it. The quality of the interior materials was fantastic. It had lots of nice features that I don't really miss.
Now the bad....I don't think it ever went 6 months without some kind of problem. All after the warranty was up. Three of the four window regulators went out at around $500 a pop. Even the service adviser said they were crap. Had problems with the thermostat which was electronic and part of the HVAC system which was another $500. Both rear springs broke which I have never had happen even on the crap domestic cars I've owned. In fact the Bimmer reminded me of an old Pontiac I had. As soon as it got cold it made the strangest noises just like the Pontiac. Didn't inspire much confidence. I could go on more but I'm getting way off target of the thread.

edk370

So the problems were mostly electrical huh?. Yeah, the high end German cars are what I see as "lease" cars. You only lease them. You don't want to own them more than 3 years from new. It's no coincidence that BMW, Mercedes, and Audi market their cars like this. Consumer reports says that Porsches are reliable. But I see Porsche as an "expensive VW" or a slightly "upscale Audi."