"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
07/06/2019 at 14:33 • Filed to: Torque
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"Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle" (1500sand535)
07/06/2019 at 14:33 • Filed to: Torque | 0
| 23 |
Lately, I’ve been missing the days of perusing craigslist and actually wanting the cars I’ve looked at. I haven’t been on Craigslist or Cargurus much lately; because why look at things I don’t really want? This a complete first world problem, and a true sign of how good my 996 is for what I need most of the year . The other part of my lack of excitement about unnecessary car shopping is that I’m pretty determined to go one of two ways with whatever I buy to replace my beetle:
1. Something less than 10 years old with a good size down payment and a small monthly payment and with an auto(for the sake of my wife).
2. Older and manual and no payment. Just pay cash. The most exciting car in this situation is probably an e46 325xi or Impreza hatch.
And either way; I’d prefer something RWD or AWD; and 4 doors . Between the two options; both are fine but I don’t get very excited looking for either one(lots of compromises involved) . If I weren’t trying to be frugal(which I’m actually approaching a point in my life where I don’t *have* to be); I could throw $20k at a handful of different cars and be pretty entertained, but that’s just not who I am. I want to tuck away money for retirement and fix up a few things in my house and so forth.
Anyways. Today the car below caught my eye and it’s nowhere near me but the idea of getting a reasonably fuel efficient, torque monster, in a neat color, with the sport package actually got me excited.
It’s nothing like my 996; but i love the post facelift E9X sedans and people report the 6hp transmission with a tune is decently entertaining. What’s more, the price is reasonable, it’s got sport seats, and the color is awesome on this one . BMW wheels with winter tires are easy to find on Craigslist. This car has me motivated to get rid of my beetle:
If it were down the road I’d be listing my beetle today; and I still might just because I’m realizing this is a fantastic compromise for all those nagging little compromises I’m trying to find in a third car. I’d be happy to road trip a car home with my daughter and what better car to road trip home than a diesel getting 36mpg on the highway.
Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 14:45 |
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Link?
HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/06/2019 at 15:03 |
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I know, right? Why post an entire article about a listing without said listing? Peak confu sion has been achieved
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Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
07/06/2019 at 15:05 |
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Chrome tends to eat links on mobile when you make a post, which is why I hyperlink or repost in comments.
bob and john
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 15:06 |
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why not a diesel one of these? would get the good gas milage points
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HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/06/2019 at 15:07 |
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Ah. I haven’t really been on mobile enough often to keep track of its issues, I moved over to PC once it started giving me serious hell with uploading pictures. Probably why I haven’t been so active on here lately.
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> bob and john
07/06/2019 at 15:16 |
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Sorry; it is a diesel
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 15:17 |
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/06/2019 at 15:17 |
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
07/06/2019 at 15:18 |
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Sorry; it got lost in the internet
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bob and john
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 15:19 |
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ah, in which case, very much easy. a quick ECU flash gets you 300HP and 500lb-ft of torque
Future Heap Owner
> Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
07/06/2019 at 15:29 |
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Not just mobile chrome, and I think not even mobile. Just a Kinja thing™
Jordan
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 15:32 |
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Doesn’t the Sport Pack include Active Steering? If it does, I’d give it a miss. Active Steering ruins the entire car.
Klaus Schmoll
> Jordan
07/06/2019 at 15:45 |
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Why? I have active steering in my E61 and I have to say that I’m a big fan.
BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 15:50 |
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The color is awesome. The condition looks great. Diesels around 100k though...beginning stages of needing lots of their emissions bits starting to be replaced. NP at 10500-11000 if it’s had that stuff done; I’d be cautious if not.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 15:54 |
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The only way this will ever be reliable is if you remove the emissions stuff.
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Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 16:29 |
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That color combo is the bee's knees
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
07/06/2019 at 16:30 |
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BMW has apparently extended warranties on the two most troublesome parts; I’m wary but not deterred.
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
07/06/2019 at 16:31 |
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Yeah; I think if I start shopping these I am going to try to verify service history on emissions stuff. Apparently, the emissions stuff on these cars isn’t terrible but costly if you do have problems. But the tranny and engine are apparently pretty rock solid.
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BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/06/2019 at 16:45 |
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Absolutely. I was looking high and low for a F10 5 35d but just couldn’t find one for a reasonable price. The DPF and sensors will fail, but they’re the only major concern on the M57 engine.
In the end, I got a F10 with the N55 because the lower cost of entry and similar fuel economy as the diesel (I’ve gotten up to 34mpg highway); that being said, I’d definitely jump on a diesel if one came along at the right price.
Anyway, the 335d you posted is lowish miles for the age. It would be nice to know how the last owners used it; short trips are no bueno as the M57 is keen on carbon buildup, even moreso than the gas engines.
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Jordan
> Klaus Schmoll
07/07/2019 at 10:55 |
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It varies the steering ratio using just two planetary gears, and a computer decides- independent from the driver- when to switch from the lower “highway speed” ratio to the higher-geared “parking lot” ratio- there is no in between . So the steering always feels unnatural, and at speed, borderline dangerous due to its lack of consistency. You could be going quickly along a straight with the steering in the low gear, and when you trail brake into the corner, the steering could suddenly change to the high gear, which could cause unexpected oversteer. Yet it may react differently at the next corner. Its a terrible system. Variable steering only works if the steering ratio is infinitely variable, like in the Porsche 997.
I have an E60 with the standard steering, which has none of the problems mentioned above, and has lots of feedback too.
E90M3
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/08/2019 at 13:46 |
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Fuck, I’m almost tempted to buy that and sell my 328i. That’s the exact spec I would have ordered mine in.
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Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
> E90M3
07/08/2019 at 14:18 |
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I would be jealous but I’d likely join you in ownership someday. The color and interior are really great. I’d be tempted to know if you called BMW with the VIN if they could tell you if any emissions work has been done.
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E90M3
> Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle
07/08/2019 at 14:22 |
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Unless it was done under warranty, I doubt they’d be able to tell you. I asked about pulling a receipt from my M3 and the dealer told me they couldn’t access that dealers database.