At 3:08 on 11/07/2010 I became bored with BMW

No, I am not here to complain about the X6.

I drove a low mileage 2003 525i with a 5-speed manual yesterday. I was all excited thinking that this was going to be the perfect sedan for me. And as expected, it drove and handled well, steered well, etc.

But the experience was almost indistinguishable from that of the 1998 323 I sold a year or so ago. The 5 is slightly larger of course, but the steering, brakes, engine, (slightly rubbery) gearbox, clutch and everything else felt the same. The instruments look the same. The seats and console look pretty much the same. It even has the same failing pixels on the radio. Everything is just the same.

I liked the car but I am not motivated to buy it. It is too much of been there, done that with my two previous BMWs. I guess the old adage about German cars of "same sausage, different lengths" is correct.

You need something with some soul.

Something Italian always makes me feel better.

You are not alone. They have not made a car that stirs me since the E36 M3. My wife drives an '05 Touring and it really is a great car... its just... yeah, yawn. The really new ones, they don't appeal to me to look at them so it's that much harder to put up with any sort of crap inside the car.

You need another old 911. I am daily driving one shared with the tow vehicle when there is bad weather or a need to haul anything.

m4ff3w wrote: You need something with some soul. Something Italian always makes me feel better.

You're evil, but true. Nothing cures boredom like Italia...

In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:

If I get another 911, I want to go really old school. This means no crappy A/C or marginally trustworthy electronics like on my old Carrera. And I'd want it to be cheap. I'd probably be looking at 74-77 models for less than $10K.

I'd certainly agree that our E39 is a great car, but not an inspiring car. OP: test drive something with an ///M on it.

I understand you.. aside from the e46.. nothing newer than my E36 is something I really want to own or drive. Even the E46 is pushing things some.

Yep. I was bored with my e36 within a year or so. I was annoyed after monthly repairs totalling $7k over 2.5-3 years.

In 9 years of driving it, I am still overjoyed every time I get in my FD RX7.

In reply to amg_rx7:

I've always wanted an FD. How much does a decent one go for these days? Have all the early "issues" been ironed out enough that you can drive one reliably?

323? 525?

You know they make luxury sedans as well as sports cars right?

Get in a new M3, I'm pretty sure any dead pixels on the display won't be noticed while you're driving.

In reply to miatame:

In my defense, the 323 was a convertible with the sports package.

E36 M3s get me excited a little bit. I am sure a new one might also, but my self imposed price point is around $10K.

miatame wrote: Get in a new M3, I'm pretty sure any dead pixels on the display won't be noticed while you're driving.

Have you driven one? Neither will the road. It's like driving a Lexus but with better response and a beautiful engine. It sure does GLH, but it feels like nothing.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

miatame wrote: Get in a new M3, I'm pretty sure any dead pixels on the display won't be noticed while you're driving.

Have you driven one? Neither will the road. It's like driving a Lexus but with better response and a beautiful engine. It sure does GLH, but it feels like nothing.

I've driven several new M3's both on the street and at the track and respectfully disagree. While the amenities and fit and finish do echo Lexus, the handling does not, and neither does the paddle-shift transmission nor the sounds it makes. And then there's that engine...

m4ff3w wrote: You need something with some soul. Something Italian always makes me feel better.

I have an Italian made bicycle. So far no Italian cars. My german car has soul, but it is also 35 years old.

nderwater wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

miatame wrote: Get in a new M3, I'm pretty sure any dead pixels on the display won't be noticed while you're driving.

Have you driven one? Neither will the road. It's like driving a Lexus but with better response and a beautiful engine. It sure does GLH, but it feels like nothing.

I've driven several both on the street and at the track and respectfully disagree. While the amenities and fit and finish do echo Lexus, the handling does not, and neither does the paddle-shift transmission nor the sounds it makes.

I don't argue that it "works" superbly but drive one back-to-back with any of its predecessors and it feels completely numb. I drove one that was stock and another with suspension, exhaust and so on around the Glen - I really wanted to love it - and it was ridiculously fast but it was not tossable or "lively" or fun. I got out of the car wondering how BMW managed to take the excitement out of going 150 mph.

TJ wrote:

m4ff3w wrote: You need something with some soul. Something Italian always makes me feel better.

I have an Italian made bicycle. So far no Italian cars. My german car has soul, but it is also 35 years old.

I had an Italian made girlfriend once. She tried to kill me. I imagine the cars are a little like that too.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I don't argue that it "works" superbly but drive one back-to-back with any of its predecessors and it feels completely numb. I drove one that was stock and another with suspension, exhaust and so on around the Glen - I really wanted to love it - and it was ridiculously fast but it was not tossable or "lively" or fun. I got out of the car wondering how BMW managed to take the excitement out of going 150 mph.

My daily driver is an E36 M3, I have a turbo Miata in the garage, and have flogged my sister-in-law's E46 M3, so I'm familiar with what a lively handling car is and what the E92's predecessors feel like behind the wheel.

I kinda understand what you're saying, in that the car's limits are higher than you'll reach in street driving and the chassis is superbly competent when pushed. It's lightyears more refined than an E30 or E36. But does that make it an unworthy car? Not in my book. And if you really want more lively handling, put it on skinny Wal-Mart all-seasons and call it a day.

nderwater wrote: I kinda understand what you're saying, in that the car's limits are higher than you'll reach in street driving and the chassis is superbly competent when pushed. It's lightyears more refined than an E30 or E36. But does that make it an unworthy car? Not in my book. And if you really want more lively handling, put it on skinny Wal-Mart all-seasons and call it a day.

You know what it is... it has evolved from a lively fun family car with racing roots and serious sporting capability to a big, capable, heavy, very fast GT car. There is absolutely nothing "wrong" with the car itself. It isn't a track car in street clothes anymore. It's all grown up. It simply does not appeal to me.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: You know what it is... it has evolved from a lively fun family car with racing roots and serious sporting capability to a big, capable, heavy, very fast GT car. There is absolutely nothing "wrong" with the car itself. It isn't a track car in street clothes anymore. It's all grown up. It simply does not appeal to me.

You're spot on. The target market segment has matured, and the car has changed accordingly. It's next to impossible these days to find a new car which captures the raw fun of our favorites from the 80's and 90's.

Get an e28 instead.

My Dad has a 5 series a few years newer than that one. It drives well, but it is the Buick version of a BMW, and was designed to be just that. For what it is, it is ok. Their new X5 is very, very similar, except that it's tall and has a hatch! And much louder inside.

If I only wanted driving fun and a BMW, it would have to be an M Coupe in Z3 or Z4 guise.

I had the same experience when they were new. I bought a turbo Volvo instead.

I recent had the urge to get a new M3. It was very nice as long as you were flogging it. The motor sounds and the handling were very nice, but once you got off the loud pedal or quit hitting the corners at speed the car lost it's personality.

But that's not all bad!

When you are cruising around town or on the highway it's OK for the car to quit poking you in the eye and saying "look at me!"

It's like my S2000. I feel it has a Jeckyll and Hyde personality. It's a Miata for all practical purposes around town but once you get it up on VTEC the monster creeps in. That's quite OK.

Where the Bimmer excels over the Lexus is that the Lexus never has a personality no matter how hard you drive it.

In reply to carguy123:

My current daily driver is a Lexus GS400. It isn't as bad as most people would think. The engine is brilliant. Everything else is probably on par with a 5-series without a sports package, so pretty darn good.

Oddly, I had a similar sort of experience to the OP when I first drove my 2001 525i. It so reminded me of my old E28 that I felt instantly familiar with it. But rather than inspiring boredom, I was very happy that there was that much commonality over all those years. Sure, it is more refined and a bit less immediate than the E28, but after being away from BMW for 2.5 years, I was really pleased to come back to it and find that the two intervening generations of the 5 had not completely obliterated the character of my old one.

From my LIMITED experience, this "been there, done that" with some cars is bound to happen when you are looking at cars from a manufacturer that are close in vintage. I drove an Accord a few months ago that seemed like my Civic of nearly the same vintage. Yet, I also drove a CR-V of the near same vintage and it was a bit different, tho mostly because I was sitting a little higher than in the 2 cars.

I'll bet if you drove a 1600/2002, or a 1st gen 320 your attitude/feelings about BMW would change....at least a little bit.