Bteljuice

Nowadays, with this economy, I was going to suggest a Hyundai Gensis Coupe.
It has all the electronics and power required, It is beautiful and most importantly, THE WARRANTY IS GREAT and the price is 1/2 of any German car of such caliber.

I also saw an ad about Hyundai cars dealers would give you an EXACT estimate on how much they would buy the car from you if you plan to buy it and return it after x years ( I am not sure about this, I was at a sports-bar and wasn't really focusing on the ad, just glanced at it).

pradden

I have just under one year left on my CPO warranty... I can't help but question whether I should be spending $$$ on mods, or saving my $$$ for out of warranty repairs. Or...Just drive it, have fun with it, and in 11 months SELL it before the warranty runs out.

IDK guys, it seems like owning a E60 out of warranty for the long haul is rare and risky. Just the constant worrying for something expensive to need fixing/replacement is STRESS.

V, I'm sure you love your E60, but you must be so pissed/heart broken this happened with the car still so young. Shit, I would be LIVID!

If you are considering something non BMW, I gotta tell ya I agree with Bteljuice about the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. (the 3.8 one tho) I test drove the 2.0T version, and it was seriously disappointing. However my friend says there are tons of performance mods for the 2.0T engine set up that aren't too bad on your wallet, and return pretty good power gains.

Anyway the new Hyundai's are great cars. I owned a new 09 Sonata for 2 years. Great car! Not BMW by any standards, and definitely a bore to drive, but still a great car none the less. The only money I spent on that car was gas . And doing a DIY oil change is a piece of cake.

Good luck man!

porsche911targa

After the warranty period expires, all my BMWs have gone to an independent BMW shop. The reason is plain and simple, money. However, there are certain instances where going to a dealer is still a must. I've not had any experience with this yet, but I believe that anytime the yellow "check engine" light comes on, I might consider the dealer. The independents just don't have the computers and software that cost in the $100K+ range, and the reason, btw, why the dealers need to charge $200 to hit a button and run the software.

Basically for me, pure mechanical work (brakes, shocks, mufflers, fluids, radiator, water pump, thermostat, etc.) gets done at the indie. Any computer related warning gets taken care of at the dealer. I just don't want my car fixed by trial and error. I want to go to a place that has the right tools to diagnose and take care of the problem the first time around.

DYI is out of the question. I enjoy driving cars and I hate being under cars.

v_therussian

I principally oppose to buying from car companies that do nothing more than copy everyone else. Sure, they have a decent design now, and their quality is up, but they provide no progress in the automotive field - they simply copy best design cues and blatantly steal their techs. I'd rather be fixing leaky engines in BMW's, than paying half for Hyundais and thereby helping the demise of the progress in the automotive engineering... not to mention reinforcing the notion that original thinking is not valuable. That's my two cents anyhow...

They have made incredible leaps and bounds in terms of quality - perhaps even so much so, that BMW and Lexus could take a few lessons. But again, it is easy to manufacture proven and tested technology - they aren't exactly setting engineering and design world on fire with their originality. They are simply taking the best of what is already out there and putting it into production, making sure the quality is good in the process. Hardly a feat worthy of notion IMO If I were to strain from BMW for some unlikely reason, I'd look for a driver's car first and foremost. And still, more likely than not, I'd be missing BMW even if I did strain from it.

This is, I think, a more concise way to arrange my own thoughts on this matter, than I myself would have ever been able to muster. And to prove, here's an example: I had someone else look at my car yesterday, and I was reassured it is simply misfiring. No cylinders are knocking. I've decided to take it to the dealer this week and have it properly diagnosed. And if we're talking about some major stuff, I'll be looking at my options then. At this point, I'm still hoping I'll be able to keep my baby for many more years to come. But I'm definitely going to find a dealer and SA that I can trust.

PS Two indies so far misdiagnosed the oil in the coolant issue, while a member on this forum was able to point to it without even seeing the car. This, to me, means that indies are definitely not any more trustworthy, than a good old DIY. Dealer experience - remains to be seen. The dealers that I have dealt with were difference - one was a solid B, another was a C and the third - a big fat F. But that was all for minor stuff and warranty repairs - I'm bettin' that when I'm paying out of my own pocket, I'll be getting a better idea of whether it is worth it to overpay or not.