[paddywac]

what could I buy in US for £29k, at current xchange rates that is $52.2k, how good a 3 series would that buy me?????

[ssam]

tax included or not ?

You have to add to all north american prices the tax amount

[paddywac]

List price inc tax???

[paddywac]

yes all purchase tax paid£££££

[stressdoc]

Well, one thing for sure that you could not get is a 320d M-pack.

But you could get a full-boat 330i (MSRP $36,600, 695 delivery, 8,000 for all reasonable options, 6% tax in most states) and maybe a K1100 if you drove a hard bargain on a Euro delivery. If you were sensible you could get a 3.0l 325i with sports package on ED for less than 30k.

[Tweak48]

Figuring Washington state sales tax of 8.5% on base units, you could have either a 530i or a M3 coupe for that kind of money. Mebbe a few options if you can grind a discount.

What kind of BMW does £29k get you in the UK?

[paddywac]

it gets u a 2.0 diesel should be 50 mpg but I get 42 mpg 163bhp 350 Nm M sport that looks like this below, however my job can take me to the US if I wish, so wondering what I may be able to get stateside assuming that the company car policy remains the same.....

[stressdoc]

Nice car. Replace it with a 335i when you come over. And make sure you get posted in central or northern California, Oregon, Washington, or one of the mountain states in order to fully enjoy the ride!

[Flyingdwarf]

paddywac, its funny your ask this because I was looking at what all our American cousins are getting for there money. Once again its rip-off Britain. The previous car I bought I imported from Belgium as I couldnt bare to pay full price, but didnt do it this time (although i didnt exactly pay list either!!). Think we could expect to be driving tasty 330i's with equivalent money in the US (and it would also be much higher spec). :mad:

Good ol' Blighty

[stressdoc]

If you think you get a raw deal on cars you should see our party scene. And petrol is relatively cheap too.

[paddywac]

honestly though flyingdwarf I am off to the US next year, but they do not know how to use a car, I had a race from London up the M1,0 from edgeware via junc 23A (M1) onto the A50 then thru stoke, up the M6 via Knutsford, etc etc and this race was against a 2.2 saab 9.3, a vauxhall 2.2 direct, 320 clk, and lost out to a ALPHINA 3.0 S (Z4) otherwise I retain my selfrespect

[Flyingdwarf]

Sounds like self respect well and trully intact. Diesel Power!

Tell me, when you go to the states will you get a stick shift? I dont know what one of these is as it doesnt seem to be an option over here!? . At least you wont need to worry about fuel costs if you go!

[paddywac]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

Nice car. Replace it with a 335i when you come over. And make sure you get posted in central or northern California, Oregon, Washington, or one of the mountain states in order to fully enjoy the ride!

the place where I took the pictures is in North Wales and is an ex British Naval Gunnery school from WWII. My motor is a 320d M sport (0-62 = 8.3) has 350Nm torque and the 330d M Sport (0-62 = 6.5) has 500Nm torque

I look forward to my trip state side

[akhbhaat]

You could buy an M coupe or E46 M3 for that here.

[paddywac]

Originally Posted by akhbhaat

You could buy an M coupe or E46 M3 for that here.

go on sunshine where is that then??????

[akhbhaat]

Originally Posted by paddywac

go on sunshine where is that then??????

Florida. US-spec M Roadster is listed at right around $51,000 USD. Coupe should be the same or less. Of course, that's without options, but what sort of options does the M roadster/coupe really need? Sport package, I'd imagine, and that's it.

You could also get a 530i (new), X5 3.0i or Z4 3.0si with a reasonable set of options. Or a very well equipped 330i.

[SRT]

Originally Posted by Tweak48

What kind of BMW does £29k get you in the UK?

You'd still need to find an extra £145 on top of £29,000 to get 330i SE Manual, which has about the same level of equipment as a pogo-stick, and that's just list price.

You'd manage to get a 325i Sport on the road for £29K, or a 325i SE with a bit more spec (leather, xenons, wood trim). Aside from that, if you want a nicely spec'd model - meaning: leather, auto box, i-drive, sport steering wheel, bigger alloys, xenons, wood trim - all for around £29K, your going to have to settle for a 320d or 320i SE

[paddywac]

your are o so right, my dilema was between a 325i se with nice specification or 320d m sport with barely a few little extras (oh and very good fuel economy), hope I made the right choice although something nags me at the back of my mind telling me it ain't a proper BMW without at least the straight 6 up front, beggers can't be choosers though

hopefully next time 330d now that would be fun.

Would that sell well stateside????? Are any diesels available over there or do the fuel costs not warrant it?????

[Tweak48]

I think petrol will have to stay firmly and substantially above $3.00 (£1.71) gallon before more people get serious about hybrid/diesel/alternative fuel vehicles. Right now I can fill my 330i up with 92 octane at Costco for $2.35 (£1.34) a gallon. With only 3 weeks of use (not broken in yet), I am getting 25 MPG on my daily commute, so greater fuel economy is not of much interest to me. Even if the fuel price goes above $3.00, I probably will carpool or telecommute before I settle for a Toyota Prius (hybrid).

Is the 320d turbocharged??

[paddywac]

yes it is and to be honest it is not a bad drive, clearly not as much fun as 325i or 330i but it is not much slower overall than an e46 325i probs the same performance as an e46 320i which over here was a 6 pot, the great thing about the diesel is the torque for joining motorways it can for a short period keep up with much more powerful petrol cars..it has real punch

the 330d is great and makes the 330i redundant IMHO it has almost identical performance easily creaming a 325i returning 37mpg (I know the manufacturer claims 42 mpg but who is gonna drive it miss daisy like)

oh dear man u have just equalised against wigan I hear in the background

[akhbhaat]

Current prices for 1 gallon of premium gasoline in most parts of the country are around $2.50 USD (1.43 GBP). Would cost around 23 pounds to fill the tank in an E90.

[paddywac]

that sounds a little conservative although not too far away.

It costs approx 56 gbp to fill the tank in my 320d, the average diesel price is 92.9p per litre so approx £4.18 per gallon


Your claimed US cost £1.43 per gallon would equate roughly to 31.7 pence per litre X 60 = £19

basically US petrol price is 1/3rd of UK diesel price, that is seriously crap considering both are developed western countries, and the UK has had a serious oil industry for the last 40 years

however the economy of the 320d comes into force to lessen the obvious disadvantage we in the UK experience with the tank holding 13.33 gallons it will cover 560 miles between fill ups.

Assuming that diesel and petrol e90's have the same size tanks a 330i returning a very conservative 32 mpg (with an angel driving) will cover 426 miles between fill ups the difference in cost per mile decreases

UK 320d cost per mile is £0.1
US 330i cost per mile is £0.05

I actually think the 330i will offer worse than 32 mpg more like 29 mpg for most drivers, obviously I have made assumptions on tank size, and given a rule of thumb for metric conversion to imperial units but basically the UK is crap and does not allow its citizens to enjoy their cars to the fullest

sorry if this bores anybody I have clearly got a wee bit carried wi me maths session, waiting for some smartalec to come and knock me off me perch on me calcs