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It's time to start looking for a car for me and hand over the 4x4 to the wife.

Dilemma for me at the moment - I've decided to get a sedan for the commute and the head says go for a new Honda Accord 3.0L with all the toys for around 100k (and there's even an attractive 2.99% finance deal at the moment).

However the heart wants a new BMW 530i.. which will be a good 80% more than the Honda... or a little less if I go for a 2 year old (I want the new shape..as I like the 'toys').

Help.

I've ruled out a Camry as every taxi seems to be a Camry and considered Volvos and Saabs - but a Honda Accord seems to have really good specs....

Any advice/consolation welcome - head or heart?

Stay with the head - Honda accord.

Lots of gadgets and looks stunning IMHO. Great engine, reliability second to none. I would say get the white, but seem to see a lot of them around.

Your heart may give you aches, but regrets will play long in your head after the pain. So follow your heart!

So, one for heart, one for head... grrrh

Maybe I'll get a warm glow of righteousness if I follow my head and won't miss the refinements of the beemer. That said, I haven't yet driven the Accord - on paper it looks so well speced and the reviews are good (but the Beemer is better!! aaargh).

It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact I had a beemer in the UK.

Anyway - philosophically, I am fortunate to have this dilemma when others are struggling with the bare necessities of life around the region.

[Nope, the philosophy didn't work... still want the 530... must resist... must resist... ]

cheers,
Shafique

Okay, lets break down your deciding factor further.

The person who has advised you to follow your head in fact has a Z as a weekend car and a CTR as an everyday driver. Do you really think he follows his own advice?!

Go with your heart and be at peace with your inner child.

Oi less of that. hahahahahahahahaha

I would still say Honda.

yorky500 wrote:Oi less of that. hahahahahahahahaha

I would still say Honda.

"do as I say not as I do" hehehehe.

I like the BM but the Honda's are nice. depending on your time length in Dubai a 2 year old BM would probably have a better resale value then a brand new honda after 1.5-2 years.

just to clarify the resale. comparing a brand new Accord to a 2 year old 530 should you decide to go that route.

Either way (old or new) the beemer is going to hold better resale over the plonker, oops, accord.

hmmm - resale value, let's see if I can convince the head that it makes sense to get a 2 year old Beemer..

I can't buy it cash, so finance rates is an issue - the Toyota with 2.99% vs a 2 year old 530i on about 5% interest..

The 2 yr old BMW will be around 160k? (I've rang a couple of 2nd hand dealers advertising on Gulf News, and they're opening price is around this mark)..

Anyway... if you guys see a nice BMW up for sale, let me know... meanwhile let me get my calculator out and keep thinking..

(Do you think women agonise over buying shoes like this? )

Suffice to say, Fayz and X have convinced me to look a bit closer at the 2nd hand market..

Cheers,
Shafique

Update - going to see a 2004 530i on Saturday, lady driver, low miles, selling quite cheap... will be going with chequebook in pocket..

i dont see why people see "lady driver" as an advantage.. i see it as a disadvantage

good luck shaf.. i know a friend of mine got a year old one for 130K if i remember correctly.

Thanks Maad - I'll bear that in mind when I negotiate - it's on for 140k, but its fully loaded and has 5 year servicing included and only done 38k..

What is the procedure for buying a used car privately here? Is it a hassle?

Cheers,
Shafique

Not too much of a hassle. U can still get a service shop to help you get all the registration etc done.

If you need a shop to go over the car I can suggest one as well.

shafique wrote:Thanks Maad - I'll bear that in mind when I negotiate - it's on for 140k, but its fully loaded and has 5 year servicing included and only done 38k..

What is the procedure for buying a used car privately here? Is it a hassle?

Cheers,
Shafique

Just some advice.. with a used BMW, NEVER buy it unless you have the car checked out at BMW. Trust me, a neglected or harshly driven used BMW will WIPE you out. Ive seen it happen to buddies, so trust me. Be safe and get it tested first. If the dealer wont let you do that, then he is hiding something, so just walk away...

Also, when you look at used cars, avoid used car dealers that sell on consignment (what that means is that a seller approaches them to sell his/her car minus the dealer's commission - so the dealer doesnt care if the car dies the day you buy it). Dealers that test the seller's vehicle properly, buy it, and then resell it are a better bet.

But always beware about used cars in this market... you can get burnt.

Good luck!

Thanks Jag - the one I'm looking at has the 5 yr service package from BMW and I will be checking for service..

Cheers,
Shafique

shafique wrote:Thanks Jag - the one I'm looking at has the 5 yr service package from BMW and I will be checking for service..

Cheers,
Shafique

No worries mate! Did you buy the car?? Im looking at a 318ci myself, getting it checked tommw. Fell in love with this car

Jag - sounds good. The new 3 series looks awesome.

No, I haven't been able to even view the car yet - a bizare situation which I may tell later on if things go well. Hopefully will be able to view it on Thursday.

Currently trying to line up financing - but will probably end up going with my bank HSBC again, even though they're not the cheapest....

Watch this space..

shafique wrote:Jag - sounds good. The new 3 series looks awesome.

No, I haven't been able to even view the car yet - a bizare situation which I may tell later on if things go well. Hopefully will be able to view it on Thursday.

Currently trying to line up financing - but will probably end up going with my bank HSBC again, even though they're not the cheapest....

Watch this space..

Aite cool, keep us posted

By the way, its a 2005 model, love that shape. Actually not that fond of the new shape, seems to have lost its soul and looks like a 7 series from behind...

sorry not to jack this thread but all your guys talk got me looking. I saw a wicked 2001 m3 yesterday but one thing I'm seeing is quite a disparity in prices, can anyone tell me what fair market value for a GCC spec (originally bought at AGMC in Dubai) is worth? ~50k kms, fully loaded manual gear, body kit, buying private.

Thanks in advance,

fayz wrote:sorry not to jack this thread but all your guys talk got me looking. I saw a wicked 2001 m3 yesterday but one thing I'm seeing is quite a disparity in prices, can anyone tell me what fair market value for a GCC spec (originally bought at AGMC in Dubai) is worth? ~50k kms, fully loaded manual gear, body kit, buying private.

Thanks in advance,

Hey Fayz, not sure what price the original was, but if you do know the approx original price, a general rule of thumb for BMWs is they retain about 60-70% resale value in 3 years and depreciate about 10% per year after. Of course this is just a general rule and really the final price depends on a variety of factors including the demand for the car, the condition, mileage to an extent, accidents etc.. too many factors thus the variable prices..

So using that formula, if the M3 was originally about 230,000 with the body kit and all, it shoudl be going for about 120-130K? But I could be way off... Are you considering one?

thanks for the info Jag, yeah I am, saw an awesome one at a fairly reasonable price but cars are an expense and I’m trying to play it smart and save while I’m in DXB, just too many temptations so we'll have to see which side of me wins in the end

Fayz, I'd stay away from an M powered vehicle older than 3 years - maintenance esculates at an undesired rate and is well reflected by the drop in vehicle value.

Also the SMG II box is much much nicer. The manual g/b in the older M3s are horrid stuff.

speaking of gear boxes, I test drove an s2k yesterday, my roomie is considering buying. Man all I can say is amazing, I've owned 3 Hondas and they've all rocked.

Thanks for the advice X, I also heard as soon as the new shape M comes out in less than 5 months there is going to be a drastic reduction in the current generation as well so a newer model may be within reach for me.

I love S2Ks - very slick cars. But personally the shift is not precise - imo. Short throw shift kit does wonders

Yeap, would pay to hold out and snap up a nice toy in 6 months time

XRW-147 wrote:Fayz, I'd stay away from an M powered vehicle older than 3 years - maintenance esculates at an undesired rate and is well reflected by the drop in vehicle value.

Also the SMG II box is much much nicer. The manual g/b in the older M3s are horrid stuff.

Well, I would agree with this advice. Getting a used high performace sports car in any market is not a good idea - more so in Dubai! You just dont know how it was driven or abused... and most sports cars are driven hard!! My mate in Canada has an M3 and they are EXPENSIVE to maintain!

I also agree about the new shape coming and all. I checked with the dealer and he said there will be a drop in prices but not a huge amount. The car I am looking at is gorgeous and I dont like the new 3 series shape (the 2007 3 series will start at 190,000 dhs btw!!! It will come in turbocharged 325 ci and 335 ci for coupes).

Combined with the fact that a nice coupe in good shape is very hard to come by, and since I need a car now, I have decided to go for this white coupe

I get her next week on Tuesday or Wednesday I think. I will post a few pics of her soon

The Honda S2000 is a nice ride, a little to bare inside for my tastes, but handles great! Its also weird that many Honda parts work out to be more exp than BMW!!! Go figure...

jag wrote:

shafique wrote:Thanks Maad - I'll bear that in mind when I negotiate - it's on for 140k, but its fully loaded and has 5 year servicing included and only done 38k..

What is the procedure for buying a used car privately here? Is it a hassle?

Cheers,
Shafique

Just some advice.. with a used BMW, NEVER buy it unless you have the car checked out at BMW. Trust me, a neglected or harshly driven used BMW will WIPE you out. Ive seen it happen to buddies, so trust me. Be safe and get it tested first. If the dealer wont let you do that, then he is hiding something, so just walk away...

Also, when you look at used cars, avoid used car dealers that sell on consignment (what that means is that a seller approaches them to sell his/her car minus the dealer's commission - so the dealer doesnt care if the car dies the day you buy it). Dealers that test the seller's vehicle properly, buy it, and then resell it are a better bet.

But always beware about used cars in this market... you can get burnt.

Good luck!

A BMW is a risk whether is is harshly driven or not. Of course it is worse if the previous driver used it to literally fly, but new computer-everything BMWs have been known to have electronics issues rather than mechanical ones. And no used car dealer is qualified enough to detect those, especially if the issues are intermittent. Just keep some cash aside for future issues.