elsensei

With the new BMW 3 series coming out about now, is anyone going to look at it or maybe consider trading their TL for it?

I don't think I would, but I have to confess they had a 330i 6sp manual with sport package at the auto show and I thought it looked pretty cool. Also really liked the sport seats with the leg bolsters.

Not really a BMW fan but for some reason the new 3 appeals to me more than BMW's in the past.

Anyone else, or am I crazy?

Ol Blue Eyes

Here are a few opinions

funk101

We considered it till we found out it was out of our price range. I've always liked the performance/handling of the 3's though.

I think that even if we could have bought a base model 3, we would have still opted for the TL.

JPSMAN

I'll test drive it.....although pricing still seems very high from a comparison standpoint.

Minarets

when does this finally hit the dealer lots?

Sclass88

I saw a handful of them over here on the East Coast so i assume they have already arrived at a bunch of dealerships. I dont like the new 3.

TLOBLLC

I find the BMWs hard to look at since the Chris Bangle era. There used to be a certain honesty to the classic BMW conservative design that is now gone with too much 'styling' and weird swoopy body lines.

Then again, what has happened to German car styling lately? The koala bear nose of the new Audis work with european plates, but in the US they are just hideous. And VWs used to have very attractive styling with the Jetta, but the new 06 jetta just looks strange.

As much as I admire the 3 series engineering, going to a 3 from a TL would seem a step back and I'd never consider a 5 with iDrive and its hideous styling. The new Lexus GS or Infiniti M however....

rets

Good reminder.


If I have plenty of roads and excellent traffic condition ahead of me, I'll get one.

Wildcat Jon

I have already driven the new 3. Arrived at local dealer this week. It is bigger, better and badder simply said. I know it will cost more for a 330i similarly equipped than a TL, but the one I drove was heads above my 04 TL in every single way other than the looks of the interior layout and the back seat legroom. Otherwise, the car is incredible. It was disappointing to go back to my vibrating 04 TL POS after driving that car. I'd readily plunk down another 8k for the loaded 330i. It was that good.

svtmike

I won't consider a new car for at least six years unless something terrible happens to my TL. Oh, and the 3 is too small for my needs.

Mike

subinf

No

mikekit

A March 23rd story from the New York International Auto Show said:

“With all this technology, the MSRPs of the 325i and 330i are $30,995 and $36,995 respectively. A typically equipped 325i includes the Premium Package, an automatic transmission, leather upholstery and metallic paint. At $35,645, a typically equipped 2006 325i is only $150 more than its 2005 counterpart and has substantially more equipment. When you factor in the Xenon Adaptive Headlights which are standard on the 2006 330i, that model with Premium Package, automatic transmission and metallic paint is actually $100 less than a similarly equipped 2005 model, again with substantially more equipment.”

Has anyone seen prices at the BMW dealerships?

PG2G

Yeah, my TL is only 5 months old now. I won't consider trading it in for at least 4 or 5 years. And if anything was going to do it, it'd likely be that new IS350.

jdone

NO, I had a new previous generation BMW three series. From now on I plan to stick to reliable cars that can stay out of the service department for more than six weeks at a time.

NFLblitze1

BMW's have grown to look extremely ugly....

nikko

I will drive test one in a few weeks if I have time. I know beforehand that BMW has a better handling than my 4 months old TL which by the way is soooo silky smooth and quiet but I wouldn't buy a car simply because it handles better.
There is an array of things to be considered when getting a new car and handling is only one of them.
Going back to the initial subject of this thread, I will drive test one but not interested in getting one.

tims1448

To get a "similar" 330i to the ASpec, will cost you 46,500, which is an actual quote from a BMW dealer. They also are way above invoice because of the demand. You still lose significant handling, you wont have 2 sets of wheels and tires, and the BMW nav system sucks.

They arent even comparible cars for the price.

funk101

Good point.

Tecworld

The car is SOLID, quite powerful, and the compactness seems perfect. Just not enough to dump 7k in a 1 year old car trade in.

JetJock

Ever since Chris Bangleized the styling, I'll pass thank you.

J RIDE 81

Whatever BMW is trying to do with their new models, they got it all wrong. BUTT UGLY IMHO!

Acuraluvr

iTrader: (2)

ugly
still bad idrive
still old yet robust engines........ i think they should change them though
FUNK101's avatar is cool

enuff said

hokietl

I was looking at the 05 330ci A/T convertible for the wife. The dealer has a few 06. Exterior looks nice, but the dash is very plain IMO.

Repecat

No, I don't think I would go and look at them. In fact, if the BMW dealer was to bring one to my house, I would make it a point not to be home.

caball88

the new 3 looks less sporty than the previous versions. the interior also looks a little bland. i am sure since its a bmw that the handling will be nice. but not enough to sway me into getting a new 3 series. i'm really not crazy about the chris bangle designs but they do seem to grow on me as time goes by. i like the new 5 series and think after seeing it more on the streets the 545 does look pretty agressive and sporty. i have not seen the new 3 series enough in person so only time will tell if the new design will sink in. but bang for the buck jap cars will win out everytime. i would get pic any jap car in the same class as the 3 series. they are a little overpriced for what you get in terms of technology and reliability. you just get so much more with the jap cars than germans. last car was a bmw and i hated all the times that i have to bring it in to get stupid things fixed.(still fixing things to this date as i am trying to sell it). the TL has been trouble free since i got it(20K miles on clock).

MattT516

Since my mother drives a 7-Series, I could tell you that the iDrive is not practical for everyday driving. It takes like 5 minutes just to change the stupid radio station, then turn the heat on a little more. I hope to God this doesn't signal the future of cars, where every single car has a mouse instead of a hands-on display.

And for a BMW 3-Series to be $46k loaded, BMW has to be smoking some great crack. I'd take an M35x or GS300 at that price, thank you very much. When I give my TL-S back I'm going to look at the TL A-Spec, S4, S60R, and the M35x and that's it. BMW isn't even a thought in my head.