BenzoDoc

She's fine, for those of you that have met her.

She had a blowout @ 70mph near Ennis last night, lost control of the car and thank God was wrapped up in the cabling/metal stakes that have been placed on divided highways in Texas.

She's asked me to start looking for an IS250/3 series/C300 with <30k miles and <$30k. All of those can be easily had, that's not the problem.

I know that there's a C300 section, but I also know that a lot of you E55 owners went from those three cars to your E55, or own the big brother versions of those three cars [C63/IS-F/M3].

I'm personally very biased towards the 335i/xi, love the car, cross-shopped it before picking up/deciding on the E55, and love the fact that it's got a 6 year/100k unlimited warranty, which means no bull**** B or D service charges. She on the other hand likes the exterior aesthetics of the C300 more than either of the other cars.

I know that women are fickle creatures so ultimately I shouldn't play puppet master and try and sway her decision, since it's her money [thank God again ] and I'm the one that's got to live with her if she's unhappy.

Please convince me one way or another, all else being equal [since there are 144 options between $25k and $30k within 300 miles in just Black/White/Blue ]

And before anyone suggests it, 1 E55 is enough, for now.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

glad to hear she is ok, it could have been a lot worse

shardul

iTrader: (1)

i think a low mileage c300 with the AMG appearence package will look good.

BenzoDoc

I think they look good on the outside, a buddy in undergrad had a slammed C300 and it was sexy as hell.

But going from the E55 or a 335xi to the C300 loaners from the dealership is pretty depressing interior-wise.

She's making $40k a year, I'm not sure she wants to deal with the incidentals inherent with owning an MB either, which was going to be my angle if I really wanted to sway her from purchasing one.

Will the cost of ownership on a C300 be comparable to an E55 or am I loony? There's got to be a reason that 70% of MB's in Houston are LEASED.

Faast

Glad she's fine... If her driving invloves highways then definately look into something bigger than a 3/C class..
My wife drives on US 65 with lots of big/heavy traffic and i bought her a CPO 530i... The power is the same and it only weighs 45lbs more then a 330i not to mention all the luxury features..
Bottom line is,a bigger car is always safer no mater what the driving conditions are...

Happy

BenzoDoc

And to rephrase, I don't want to deal with the incidentals down the road

TTMotorsports

Glad she wasn't hurt Michael.

GL with finding her next ride!

BenzoDoc

She'll be commuting a couple of miles each day, most of her driving will be city [she is moving to Houston in 3 weeks]. I had no clue that the 5 series was so close in weight!

Her first inclination was a RR Sport when she found out her car was totaled...sexy girlfriend car, not easy on the wallet.

BenzoDoc

Thanks Bruce!

tbal

****! As long as she's okay car can be replaced.

BenzoDoc

She was badly shaken up and didn't sleep much last night, as she couldn't really articulate what had happened other than she felt a blowout, seemed to her like a "huge gust of wind hit the car and drove her off the road," and she didn't want to talk much about details as it was all a blur to her.

I had my right rear tire blowout at 60mph in the E63 and that was no fun, I can only imagine what a front blowout [which is what happened to her] would be like trying to control. She's never driven at any of my PCA events so the idea of countersteering might be foreign to her. That's my fault Not even sure if there's anything she could have done!

elucidate

If she can drive, and I mean actually drive, not just drive like a Houstonian (I have seen better drivers in Mumbai than in Houston) then the 335i is by far the best driving car of those posted.
That and the interior, although not quite AMG quality is very good, certainly above that of a Lexus.

Jakpro1

Glad she is okay Doc! Scary stuff!

Tell her all the guys over here are wishing her the best!

She'll be up and shooting heavy firearms before she knows it!

wsybert

You are correct in letting her make the ultimate decision... just put the options in front of her.

I just got out of a 335i a year ago. Great car, and with the extended warranty, shouldn't be an issue. Some things to look out for... waste gate issue (chatter) and fuel pump issues. The fuel pump is warrantied for 10yrs or 120k miles. Wastegate is only a noise issue at first, but will get worse and require new turbos later on. Both of mine were replaced under warranty. The 330i would be a good alternative, if she doesn't need / want the HP. It's no slouch, and good reliability.

Good luck.
Bill

HighEndOne

Have her try one of these.

My Mrs. has one and it's a very nice car. A great all around driver. Fast enough to get out of the way, stops just as well, planted on the road (x-drive in action) and safe if something bad happens. And I think all the maintenance is still included for the 4 years/mileage.

They have a good CPO porgram as well... If a pre-owned is in the cards (what we did)...

Just make sure that the HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) has been replaced with the newest version. That part fails a lot in the field. It happened to us.

BenzoDoc

Will look into CPO's. I sold my Porsche in May and didn't pick up my E55 until October because I was looking for a CPO'd black on black with low miles, so I know what you mean.

My mother's got a 335xi which has me hellbent on getting Katie into one as well. HPFP did go out which left her stranded, but roadside assist/AAA will always have her covered.

BenzoDoc

Looks like a cable or wire got up into the windshield...glad the pillar and windshield held!

AUS-E55

Dayum, Glad she's ok Doc !!

BenzoDoc

I originally told her to put the insurance payout into savings and that she could just daily the E55 for awhile since she's moving in in a couple of weeks. It would be easy enough to just drop me at Hermann. But luckily she's eager to get into her next vehicle.

SterlingE55

Glad she's ok. The 335i gets nice gains with a tune only and is quite mod-friendly... so I've heard. And you're right on with the 6yr/100k warranty. My girl recently picked up a 2008 G37S coupe 6-speed with <10k miles and 6yr/100k warranty for right at 30k. Car is gobs of fun to drive, handles well and has a killer sound and with the warranty it's quite worry free. I don't mind issues on my cars so much, but I want her to always be covered especially if she takes a trip is nice for her to take it to any dealership to have it worked on for just the deductible.

novae500

Sorry to hear about that. Good thing she is okay. What about an M3 instead of a 335xi. Does she need awd? Heck if she likes your car, then she could pick up one of the E55s thats already modded out on the classifieds here.

My wife is driving the E55 that i got last Christmas and me the E500 since i got that 2008 and started modding it. Both are safe vehicles for our 18mo son.

grantwoodtx

Michael

So glad she's OK after the wreck! Cars can always be replaced. Let us know if you need anything.

HeissRod

As others have said, good to hear she came away unscathed.

As far as the replacement car, I cry a little on the inside when I get into a C300 loaner because it's just such a dog. However, if that is what she wants and doesn't care about power, then....

BenzoBoi

+1

220S

fwiw, the 2012 C Class will be on sale in the fall if she could swing a lease on that. The interior is waaaaay better than the current version. It actually looks really nice inside now (and nice changes on the exterior, too.) And there will be a coupe available.

Apparently the TCO of the C Class is comparable to the BMW 328i. The 335i has a higher TCO. And if you want to go eco, the new C Class will have an inline 4 banger with a turbo You can also option a manual transmission....

The V6 in the C Class has decent enough power for the car's weight.

As you know the 335i still has the HPFP issues (despite the extended warranty on it, it can still leave you stranded and is time consuming going to the dealership, etc..) And the waste gate issue, too. Plus the x drive is not exactly the same light and nimble handling as the RWD version. I'd take an E46 330i over the E90 335i, however. Maybe look for a decent used E46 (?)

I think the lease rate of MBs is high everywhere. People with no money just want that 3 pointed star logo

Glad she walked away and everything's okay.....