Deciding on new car, need advice

One thing I found with the 320i is that the steering is a bit heavy. I'm used to the Corolla and the steering is a lot lighter. The steering on the Auris was ridiculously easy, you could use your pinkie it was so light. Is it normal for the steering to be heavy in the BMW ? Or is that something I simply have to get used to ? Input from BMW drivers would be appreciated. : )
 
You get a lot of car for your money & it is good looking to.

114kw, abs & ebd, leather, climate control, cruise control, parking sensors, ipod & usb, electric windows, fogs, 6 airbags, 17" alloys (x5), 5 year service plan, 5 year warranty etc.
 
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Was looking on the Kia website and saw the Proceed. That looks nice. But I've never driven a Kia, don't know the brand, reliability, if the resale value will be good etc.
 
If you are looking for a hatch wait for the Cerato hatch which will be here by the end of the year.

KIA used to be one of the crappest car manufacturers around a few years ago but they have made massive changes in the last few years, including head hunting Audi's famous chief designer, Peter Schreyer.
ITO reliability Hyundai/Kia (same group) are very reliable, these days just about comparable to Toyota and the cars have good warranties and service plans standard.

Resale is a bit of an unknown as KIA as a brand has changed tremendously over the last few years. The older KIA's had bad resale value but these new cars should be much better.

Just think about it, 1.4 Auris with NOTHING or 2.0 Cerato fullhouse with service plan. Same price.

EDIT: Make that a 1.3 Auris with Nothing as they have taken the 1.4 off the market. LMAO.
 
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Hucklebury said:
One thing I found with the 320i is that the steering is a bit heavy. I'm used to the Corolla and the steering is a lot lighter. The steering on the Auris was ridiculously easy, you could use your pinkie it was so light. Is it normal for the steering to be heavy in the BMW ? Or is that something I simply have to get used to ? Input from BMW drivers would be appreciated. : )
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I've never driven a BMW, but that 'light' steering is the exact reason I dislike Toyotas. The ones I've driven give very little feedback, providing a very unsatisfying experience :/ They seem over-assisted, if that makes sense.

A RunX/Corolla was on my list of cars that I was considering to buy back in 2007, but the 160i RunX I took for a spin seemed dreadfully boring. I ended up with my current 170i Civic mainly because of the grin it gave me on the test drive. From a pure performance perspective they should be quite similar, but I found the Honda significantly more satisfying.
 
Hucklebury said:
One thing I found with the 320i is that the steering is a bit heavy. I'm used to the Corolla and the steering is a lot lighter. The steering on the Auris was ridiculously easy, you could use your pinkie it was so light. Is it normal for the steering to be heavy in the BMW ? Or is that something I simply have to get used to ? Input from BMW drivers would be appreciated. : )
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I actually like the heavier steering, gives you more of a sense of control and that the car is stuck to the ground. But just like any car, it does lose it's "heaviness" after a while. I've had my ride for just over a month now and I intentionally take it east with the steering because I want it to keep it's heavy feeling.

Personal preference I guess..
 
Well after some thought I've decided to go for either the 118i 2005/2006 or a 2005 320i E90. I've been looking on Gumtree and I saw an ad for a 2006 118i with 70000km for R120k and then found the guy sold it. I was so disappointed because that was a great price and it was accident-free ! I'm hoping to get a relatively low millage on either vehicle above in the region of 80000km and my budget at present is R130000. So if you guys come across a good deal please let me know, I would very appreciate it. In the meantime, I'll have to do some searching...
 
Hucklebury said:
Well after some thought I've decided to go for either the 118i 2005/2006 or a 2005 320i E90. I've been looking on Gumtree and I saw an ad for a 2006 118i with 70000km for R120k and then found the guy sold it. I was so disappointed because that was a great price and it was accident-free ! I'm hoping to get a relatively low millage on either vehicle above in the region of 80000km and my budget at present is R130000. So if you guys come across a good deal please let me know, I would very appreciate it. In the meantime, I'll have to do some searching...
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Do yourself a favour. If you are going the BMW route, don't go the Gumtree route. It is better to buy that sort of car from a reputable dealer, so you have some sort of guarantee/warranty with the car.
 
Fazda said:
Do yourself a favour. If you are going the BMW route, don't go the Gumtree route. It is better to buy that sort of car from a reputable dealer, so you have some sort of guarantee/warranty with the car.
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Excellent advice!! The approved used cars usually come with 1 yr 20k maintenance plan as well..
 
feo said:
(2010) 120i...
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sorry to hijack this a little, but which 120i do you have and how do you find it?
I am looking at the 120i/d/5 coupe/std. The extras seem pretty pricey to be honest, but i have been told they are a great drive
 
I've found a quite few ads on gumtree where there is a balance of motorplan still left. Isn't that fine ? Just asking.
 
Hucklebury said:
I've found a quite few ads on gumtree where there is a balance of motorplan still left. Isn't that fine ? Just asking.
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Possibly, but then why are they trying to sell privately and not trade in on a new BM?

Personally, if I am buying second hand, I prefer to buy from a dealer who has traded in a car on the same model...ie BMW for a new BMW...it usually gives you an idea that the original owner actually liked his car.
 
tau1z said:
sorry to hijack this a little, but which 120i do you have and how do you find it?
I am looking at the 120i/d/5 coupe/std. The extras seem pretty pricey to be honest, but i have been told they are a great drive
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Sorry for the late reply but only noticed your post now.

I have the 120i hatch, I would've like the coupe but it's outta my price range but the hatch is just as good.

It is definitely a great drive. Although, once you've driven it for a month, you just get so used to the engine, you want something more powerful. Right now, I'm a total BMW fan.

I would give you a simple piece of advice, go to a few dealerships and make friends with a salesperson. My timing was pretty good on the buy so basically they had a bunch of stock on the floor that HAD to be cleared and in order to do so, they were giving huge discounts. BMW's are not as inaccessible to the ordinary joe in the street, all you gotta do is keep your eyes peeled.
 
Hey Feo !

Sorry I haven't replied for some time, but I'm a proud new owner of a BMW 320i 2005 E90 ! It has 79000 km on the clock, motor plan extended until 2012. The car is in excellent condition, in white. I hate the grey and black finishes on the road, just way too common, but the white finish sticks out more IMO.

So far the car is amazing to drive. But man, you get in and I feel I'm so close to the road. Handling is excellent, about 10000000x better than my Corolla, which is to be expected. And the car is pretty quick, now granted, it's not super fast, but again, I'm going from a 140i Corolla and 115 kw is light years ahead of what I had. Only had the car for 2 days so far, but I'm still getting used to the whole experience. I'm finally in the BMW fold now and I finally have a car with air con. : )

One thing is for sure, I simply won't be able to go back to a standard Toyota, VW, Opel after this. Time to hit the manual and study the rest of the car......: )
 
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well done, bro....enjoy your ride!!

It is always best to drive what you always wanted to drive whether it makes sense or not! As long as it makes sense to you 'cause at the end of the day, its your money...!

Enjoy, bro, enjoy...
 
Thanks man ! Every time I get into the car I'm excited to drive it. My only nitpick which I'll put into a box and keep it for when I sell the car is to get a 323i or 325i for the next car. I mean, I'm not really complaining at all, it's way faster than anything I'm used to , but the 323i and 325i were just WAYYY out of my price range and have considerable more oomph.

But you know, it's not all about just speed, it's the smoothness of the delivery, and I've got run flats and its still very comfortable. I don't have a sports suspension, but the ride quality is very firm but not harsh. The steering is one of the best things about BMW 's. Very communicative. Steering in the Lexus IS250 was so incredibly light but I felt little communication between my input and the reaction on the road.

Thinking down the line, like, very down the line (4 years), I'm hoping I will be able to at least get R95000-R100k (paid R153000 including smash and grab tint and extended motor plan) for the car. Would that be reasonable ? It has Xenon lights and a bunch of extras not found on the standard model and since the millage is low already and I don't drive like a maniac, I figure the car will still have very low millage by the time I sell it.
 
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