Hello,
I've been browsing these forums recently so thought I might as well post something!
I'm currently 17 and learning to drive at the moment so as you can probably imagine I have quite an interest in cars at the moment.
Just dreaming for a minute, I was wondering what you all think of the styling of modern BMWs. I believe they are quite controversial? Personally I love the styling, particularly of the 1 series - it's so sporty and distinctive. I've also noticed through reading the forums that a lot of you seem to hate drivers of Beemers - why is this? Haha I'm just interested in the thoughts of motorists! I drive a Ford Ka and a Vauxhall Corsa which is my instructors car - talking of 'image' what sort of person does it make you if you drive these?
Cheers!
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dont worry about the status of cars
things you learn
i) flash cars are a pain in the bum, as people want to race you from the lights all the time which gets tiring and repetative, you will be more of a target for the coin down the side brigade, your stereo etc has more of a chance of being "liberated", bored motorcycle cops will notice you
ii) bmw drivers are on the whole a pain in the bum, as they are often in company cars (care little about the car), often in a company cay middle exec level (arogant so and sos), and they do in practise often drive up your rear on the motorway in quite silly ways etc, you learn to expect it
iii) Q cars are good, look like run of the mill, but have some poke
iv) nothing wrong with a small modest car
styling wise, everyone has their own taste, like pavlovs dog i have been conditioned to hate bmws, since out of the 100's of people ive known with one 99.9 have been people i dont like
unless youre an art student i wouldnt worry about image
its actually quite cool in some parts to have a non cool car
etc
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Buy a BMW an eighties 3 series as your next car. You will either love it or hate it (as can be seen from the above it attracts extreme opinions). If you love it you will never want anything else.
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if you do get one book a track day with a rear wheel drive car, and learn how they feel in extreme before you find out on the road
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Mostly we don't hate the BMW itself we hate the arrogant types that drive them! I actually rather like BMWs but couldnt help noticing when I drove one how nobody let me out of junctions etc!
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The BMW driver phenomenon was something I only heard about since visiting these forums. When I lived in the US there is no "company car" culture so BMW drivers were either genuinley wealthy or on the poorer end of the scale and drove much olders cars.
When I moved to the UK and was shopping for a car I leaned towards rear-wheel drive cars as that was all I have ever owned and the past experience of family members with front wheel drive cars put me off them (my next will most likely be FWD though). The choice of rear-wheel drive cars in my price range isn't very large and being new to the UK and many of the models here, I found myself being put off by the uncertainty of buying a car I knew nothing about, the Vauxhall Omega being the questionable other option. I found an N reg 520 in quite good condition for not much money, so I bought it.
I didn't spend considerable time in other cars before buying the BMW to notice whether other road users treated me differently but I can honestly say that I don't perceive a problem with getting let out of junctions etc. When I drive my wife's Astra I certainly don't find that people are more generous with regards to the letting out issue or general courtesy at all.
At work I got lots of comments along the lines of "oooh you don't need this job, you drive a BMW" which I actually found amusing as every one of those comments came from people who were driving newer cars that cost alot more than the £2300 I paid for mine.
I don't regret buying a BMW at all. At older ages they are quite affordable and the wealth of knowledge for the DIYer from the various BMW specific car clubs and forums is a big plus.
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Buy a BMW an eighties 3 series as your next car.
At 17? with no NCB? No driving record? The insurance will be crippling.
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>>>> bmw drivers are on the whole a pain in the bum, as they are often in company cars (care little about the car), often in a company cay middle exec level (arogant so and sos), and they do in practise often drive up your rear on the motorway in quite silly ways etc, you learn to expect it>>>>
This statement is no longer true, since our friend Gordon has hammered the company car driver so badly that the majority of BMWs are now privately owned. I accept that there are some arrogant drivers among our ranks, but so there are for numerous other marques. I find Peugeot turbo diesel drivers and even the Citroen Saxo boy racers particularly aggressive.
As far as recent styling of Beemers is concerned, I think Chris Bangle is leading the company into a totally negative direction, - if you visit any BMW main dealership, you can`t but notice the large number of low mileage ex management E60 5 Series sitting on their forecourts at heavily discounted prices and still not selling. Whereas with the previous E39 5 Series, discounting was largely unheard of and there was always a 3 month waiting list, which speaks volumes for the public`s perception of the new styling fiasco.
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New E90 3 Series is very nice though, I've seen a couple of completely undisguised ones here in Munich even though the model won't be launched for another couple of months. Very nice front and side view, front treatment reminiscent of 6 Series, lots of road presence though it's clearly gone up a size. The ones I've seen were riding on the usual stylish BMW alloys. Interior looks just like the 5 Series, rear end will take some getting used to though. It's supposed to be an even better driver than the E46 so should be quite a car. There is supposed to be a 335d version of it which might make a sensible replacement for my M3 in a couple of years.
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Styling might not be quite the right word - except for the 6 Series convertible...
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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