Well, I'd never driven a BMW so I thought I'd take a look. Drove a 02 330c with 5 speed.

Minus's
-- First off, the salesman was super arrogant and ignorant too. He took every chance he could to bash the Acura, front wheel drive, and handling. I told him finally , I got the message alright. I told him it was annoying that he kept bashing my car.

-- 330 felt much, much, slower than my six speed, esp in first. He said I was wrong and it may be a perception of the car differences. He said the CL was almost 7 sec to 60, and the 330 was 5.9. I knew he was wrong but I didn't know the exact numbers. He even mentioned if we raced the BMW would win. I said I don't need to race, I've driven both and I can tell. (I looked it up and they are basically the same - BMW is .01 faster to 60). but it sure didn't feel like it.

--_The dash is not as user friendly but it might be ok once you are used to it, lots of buttons, looks too busy.

+++The main thing the BMW has over the CL is the handling and steering, firm and in control. Brakes were better too. Seats were more comfortable than they looked, better seating position than the CL, great styling, and charisma.

I could never justify the extra $ for the 330 considering what the CL offers. What good is tight handling if when you punch the gas it doesn't shoot. I prefer the on-tap acceleration of the CL over the tighter handling of the BWM. It felt like a 225 (or less) hp car. The salesman was a big turnoff too. Only Dealer in Town Syndrome again! so smug, and acted like I knew nothing about cars. THe only complement he gave me or the Acura was he said I was handling the BMW very well and he seemed surprised. I guess he thought if you don't drive a BMW you don't know how to drive, he was a goof. I should have told him, yea, it's not much diff than my 6 speed, just slower!!

 

...........just counting down the number of minutes till crazy sellout highjacks this post.......

 

lets not forget about killer resale value!

The only BMW I've ever test driven was a 330XI @ motorwerks of barrington! I liked the car very much, but was put off by the price. It felt really powerful for a 3.0liter inline 6, rated at 225Horse. The thing that made it so powerful was the torque! they dyno at like 200wt@ stock! so I think their crank rating of 214 is a little off. Also their gear ratios are also very aggressive. THe car also had insane handling stock! It was LOADS of fun to drive.

 

I think this may be standard BMW salesman When I was looking to upgrade from my '90 Legend in '98, I test drove M3's from two different dealerships in Md. During the test drive, both salesmen told me that "you're a very good driver". When the first one said this, I thought "yeah, so what" ... but when the 2nd one said the same thing somewhere during the test drive, I assumed it was scripted. After all, they're there only to make a sale, and they figure that stroking your ego is one way to help accomplish this.

 

I'm really perplexed about the acceleration feel of the 330. I thought I was in 3rd once starting off, it felt so slow. It seemed I had to be up to 5k rpms anytime to get any pull, on my CL I get good pull even at 3-4k rpms. I know the clutches are very different. The 330 is smoother and engages at the top of the pedal, for easier shifts.

I just figured I'd look at them since I've been thinking of trading up to a Navi 6 speed CLS and the total price the dealers want to trade in my 03 CL would equal to this car or more. this 330 was priced at $33.9k. it's the only other car I would consider.

 

don't look for a "Vtec", like pull from any other type of engine unless its got a turbo! this was why I thought the G35C was so slow when I test drove it! I thought a CLS "felt" so much faster due to the fact that as the needle rose, I was looking for that "surge", but it never came! You think a car is slower that it is, if your comming from a top end car, to a low end car. just my 2C.

 

My salesman at Paul Miller wasn't so bad. He was actually, kinda nice, however he still hasn't called me back. I guess they have all the business they need.

I actually liked the car but the price when I get it to where I want it is over $46K and that's insane. The G35 or another CL 6MT makes more sense.

 

when i was buying my cl-s, my salesman bashed the bmw left and right...so really, theres no point in what salesmen have to say...they will all bash eachother.

when i was test driving the 1.8t A4 last year, the salesman actually told me i need to work on my driving...maybe cause i stalled :o

i am one on the board that doesnt think that the 330 is overpriced...u really get what you pay for

 

98% of salesmen are ignorant minimum-wage fools trying to make extra bucks on commissions made on lies and manipulations.

All they're good for is getting u that key to the car u wanna test drive. How sad

 

My other ride!

 

Good ol' John Roberts BMW. I will say that I think Dave McDavid Acura is just as bad. You'd think that with umpteen people laid off in Austin and the post dot.bomb aftermath still in effect, these guys would lose a bit of the attitude.

 

When I was trading my TL-S to a BMW several sales-guys came out and looked at my car. It should be very fast why you trading it they kept repeating. My answer was - handling-wise it is no BMW. They agreed but kept admiring my car. As to the acceleration, the seat of the pants feel often gives you a wrong impression. I could swear that TL-S is equal or better to 60 mph and slower to 100 mph than 540ia I traded TL-S to. But track numbers show exactly opposite. 540 is quicker to 60 mph and slower (at least my car) to 100 mph. 1/4 in 14.3 at 94 mph. I still believe that 540 will destroy any TL/CL-S above 110 mph though.

 

I prefer the CL6 to the 330 overall. Reliability, cost, features, roominess, rarity, and the shifter are all better in the CL. The engines are very close. The 330 is a lot sexier inside and out, prestigious, and sporty, has lots of charisma.

In some ways they are very different cars, but they are the only 2 coupes I would really want to own. The CL hits more sweetspots for me overall. Reliability is extremely important, and no surprise extra costs or problems. For me, it's not worth $5-$10k more to have the BMW. But there are things I really like about both cars.

 

Hell ill agree that a CLS 6-speed is faster than the 330 for sure.

Everyone is different and they buy cars for different reasons. I bought this because i love handling and and the quality work that is put into bmws. Theres just a certain feel of the bmws that makes you feel connected to the road. Hard to explain i guess. But for me and where i live, going fast cant be an everyday thing. But to others it is. the extra 10k is still worth it to me after putting 8k miles on her. Im still a happy when i drive her and thats what count for me.

 

Two weeks before this past Xmas I went to a BMW dealer and gave him my cell number and told him what I was looking for. I told him to find something for wifey for Xmas that was nice, some 3 series ride would be great. Her old Blazer had seen better days and I wanted to suprize her big time. He returned my call mid February. Wifey has a C-class now. M-B returned my call. Simple as that. Merry Xmas.