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141.152.218.34
In Reply to: What Purchase Was Your Biggest Waste of Money? posted by dsockel on May 4, 2007 at 16:20:50:
back when it was almost new. What a piece of crap. Something expensive broke every time you turned the key. That thing came home on the back of a tow truck more times than under its own power. Its how I learned BMW = Big Money Wasted...Dave
Follow Ups:
I put a thoroughly merciless 40,000 miles on my 1995 540 six speed manual in the past year now clocking in at 168,600 miles and it has had only normal wear items replaced. It handily outperforms 98% of the cars on the roads today and is an absolute pleasure and joy to drive. Power winds out of that 4.0 ltr V8 with such smooth authority and confidence it is a constant thrill. Becoming intimately acquainted with the maintenance and systems of these cars is very rewarding as is the large worldwide community of friendly enthusiasts.
I'd love to know the story behind that one :)
When I was a young child I was up at the local playground and was about to swing across the rungs of the Jungle Gym and as I swung out my foot snagged on one of the step rungs, my hand grip broke and I swung down hitting my head on the steel pipes. I believe I was knocked unconscious but when I opened my eyes I saw three small triangular objects in the sky above me. I can still clearly remember focusing on them and wondering what these things were but being a young child I didn't have a great deal of knowledge so I got up and forgot about them. Perhaps ten years later I was a young man of 20 now out in California. In the course of making new friends I met someone who had with him a book he kept wrapped in a silk cloth called The Keys of Enoch. To a 20 year old mind this seemed a fascinating resource explaining the nature of the Higher planes of existence and their interaction with Earth and Human Beings. Remember now you asked for an explanation,lol! So as I leafed thru this book I saw a diagram of three small triangular objects and I immediately recalled the event described above from my childhood. These objects were called Merkaba here and described as vehicles used by Spiritual Intelligences to enter the material universe when needed. Forward to the present and I live in a State where I see a lot of what are here termed Initial Plates so after considering several words and desiring to employ something with some significance or interest, in my frustration I called out to the Lord for an idea and this word MERKAVA immediately unfolded within my mind. I used the spelling with the letter 'V' because I understand it to be correct. It was only later that I discovered that Israel also uses it for their main battle tank so this was not my reason for choosing it. On a purely mundane level it appears to simply label my Car for what it is, my mode of conveyance but it may also serve as a reminder of Heaven's Glory and the One who rides His Merkava in Eternity.
BMW has opened their books and has been cooperative in compensating any who were used as slave labor during WWII. There is Redemption in this Life and I reject any association anyone would lay upon me with the Nazi regime during WWII and any of their acts or ideologies but I see no reason either to deny myself such an enjoyable ride because the name of the company which built it was part of the German War Machine sixty years ago. I'm sure there are millions of Jewish people who aren't hindered in driving German cars today built by companies which in reality today keep only the Corporate name and Logos which to be fair they used before they were brought into the War efforts. So I hope you are edified with my explanation and the Redemptive powers of Heaven may spread and uplift further.
Thank you even more so for the etemology of "merkava." Words that don't have a latin origin aren't immediately apparent to me.
Lovely 540.I really must have an AWD SUV where I live and after owning two outstanding Toyota 4Runners I wanted something practical but not so bland. And it had to be somewhat fun to drive. My 2002 BMW X5 3.0 has been wonderful! For an SUV it handles amazingly well and it's been completely reliable so far.
I still think Toyota makes the best cars in terms of reliability but why do they have to be boring!
My wife's Honda is starting to fall apart se we're eying maybe a used 330xi awd to replace it. That's what I have in mind anyway. ;-)
I got forced into buying this car because I was dating my wife at the time and I was told her parents wouldn't think highly of me with the car I had. So I used money I had set aside that I was going to buy a Counterpoint amp with to get it, and it was just as you say.They are the biggest pieces of crap in the world. You know that's why Germany lost WWII. The Panther may have been the best tank in the world when it ran.
But it was never running...
And the crews couldn't fix it...
On my SOB the oil pump kept deciding not to work, and the cam shaft would go all to hell. I couldnt' get anyone to work on it locally except the dealer and since it was due for inspection too I had them do that. The guy wasn't going to pass it because he said the one door was "hard to close". That was the closest I ever came to having my head explode in public. It was literally one thing after another with it the entire time I owned it.
My next car was a brand new 1995 Plymouth Neon. We put 186,000 miles on it in 10 years and it never broke once, ever. I didn't even have to replace a water pump, nothing.
No more German cars for me!
It's all about the music...
My brother was at the toll booth when he heard a noise and it did not sound good. The head cracked on the straight six, two months after the warranty expired. The cost? How does $6500 dollars sound?!
I also had a 328i and it was nothing special. Overrated and too expensive for everything.doggy
I can't speak to the underpowered 530- that little 6 is just overworked with all the mass of the - in the 3 it worked quite well but the extra heft of the 5 was just asking too much imho.Should have sprung for the 540/550- the 4.8L v8 is a dream and bulletproof in my experience.
Vik
My Bavaria had the six banger also only with dual Solex carbs instead of fuel injection. Of course those Solex carbs were probably the worst carbs ever designed. I found out to late that the early BMW 6's were prone to blown head gaskets, cracked heads etc. Was truly a piece of Sh*t car...Dave
had to be the worst time for all of the manufacturers, especially the British ones. I worked at a full service gas station in high school from about '75-'77. I did brake jobs, tuneups, tires etc. The worst cars were the Citroens, Fiats, VW Dashers, Audi 100LS and most of the domestic models. Those included the Ford Pinto, Maverick, Granada and others like the Chrysler Cordoba with the "Lean Burn" 400 cid.
I was one of the lucky ones. I drove a 1967 FIAT 124 wagon with oversized diameter snow tires on the rear. I paid $50 for it and drove it for about two years/75,000 miles. All I did to it was a brake job. Gas was 45 cents a gallon for Sunoco 260 and auto insurance was not required in Rhode Island. I sold it to a friend for $450!
Then I got a '70 Buick GS with a 455 having just under 380 HP and torque in the high fours. The only problem I had with it was that the lack of octane made it ping like crazy under load. I made a profit on that and bought a '76 Regal. It had a big block 350 (5.7) which made a whopping 145 HP in fill smog trim. It was enough for driving around Boston during college. Still no insurance though!
I drove a '58 Fiat 1100 wagon during college and it held up very well and had well over 200k miles on it when I sold it. One car I had back then that was impossible to kill was a '54 Volvp 444 I had for years. had around 200k when I bought it and was still running good at 310k when I sold it.
I've had several Citroen's and the '72 DS21 Pallas I had wasn't to bad but the Maserati Citroen I had was nearly as bad as the BMW except the parts cost even more. Not all 70s cars were junk. I had a '72 Jensen Interceptor III with the factory mopar 440 and it was a great car all around. the '72 Rover 3500S I had was pretty nice also but that had the equivalent of the Buick 215 V8 in it.Dave
Mine had the oil pump croak also. It took out the cam, the distributer bearing and the cam that ran the mechanical fuel pump. Later the head gasket blew also. All kinds of fun stuff.
I drive a '87 Alfa Spider for an everyday car now and it has about 118,000 on it and only recently finally had to replace the water pump. Its never left me stranded ever and no major problems except when a a/c hose broke and all the freon escaped. I just chose to leave it that way as its a convertable anyways. Always passes inspection no problem and gets 33mpg freeway...Dave
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