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There is a hell of a difference between an E39 or E46 generation BMW and a E63.

My friend's car was the 4:3 screen navigation in a E39 540i so even the generation jump to E46 may render his experience irrelevant to you.

My advice to help you sleep better would be to buy a car without navigation.

Hey Lorry, that may be true but id still like to ask your bud if thats cool. I know the E46 has a 4:3 screen navi so it may very well be possible. I dont want to get one without navi because with more options, the car will hold its value. On the other hand, more stuff to fix or replace.

Can you drop me a linkey poo when you get back>?

If its anything like this i think ill be alright...

nav1.jpg

Edited by m3gtr
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Whats he said ;)

I have IDrive!

Actually, I havent really looked to far into that. Worst case scenario, Ill change it. It doesnt bother me much as I personally like the car.

But if it came down between a BMW or a MB, my advice would be to go with the BMW because;

1.Stronger resale value in Aus.

2.Younger target market.

If I may ask, what is your actual budget. Remembering it would have to be purchased in cash without a loan.

Spoke to a friend in Aus who actually has one. He bought it new and it has 20,000kms on it now. Says he only expects aroudn 90K for it today.

Also think about the maintainance on the car. My family has a E60 5 Series and just the wiper alone was $500 from the dealer!! :pwned:

Also, I wouldnt worry about cars with no shaken. Doesnt mean anything. They just put it on when you buy it. Just means an extra 150~200,000.

Ahh yes..iDrive..i forgot about that. Completely different kettle of fish.

We dont want to spend any more than 5 million, the wife and I ofcourse. Weve got half of that in cash but we also have financing available. Weve looked into it and we qualify. The best part is My wifes hospital has a connection with that loan company. Dont ask me how...just relaying what she looked into...

Take the loan out long term and then kill it as soon as the car sells...could be anywhere from 16 to 20 months i imagine...

Servicing is a bitch..i know the parts are expensive but 500 for a wiper blade? Thats insane. Drive it less, fix it less.

Your mate with the M3, what year is it?

Speaking of BMWs and Ferraris....

Can anyone name the 2 Ferraris next to my 6? :pwned:

post-5116-1206600361_thumb.jpg

whoa, 360 and 430 spiders.... Thats a lot of money in that shot.

Is yours an M? Looks like it going by the kidney grills...

Edited by m3gtr

Yep 2 blades. And then there is the Run Flats. Remebering, you cant cut corners and put aftermarket stuff on the car.

I changed the suspension hoping it would be as cheap as Japanese ones... Nope.. Parts are <¥300,000. Labour to change, ¥60,000

Dont know what year it is. Just know its SMGII in that funny yellow.

Why worry about financing. Buy what you can afford in cash. If it means a different car, so be it. I know alot of cars in that price range that will make a nice profit. And looking at the % of return, its probably better in return.

Edited by N/A®
Yep 2 blades. And then there is the Run Flats. Remebering, you cant cut corners and put aftermarket stuff on the car.

I changed the suspension hoping it would be as cheap as Japanese ones... Nope.. Parts are <¥300,000. Labour to change, ¥60,000

Dont know what year it is. Just know its SMGII in that funny yellow.

Thats cool. Phoenix yellow. I dont like that colour personally... colours dont look right on BM's... the Imola red, Phoenix yellow and Laguna blue paintjobs dont look half as good as black, silver, grey or even white.

You have SMGIII right? Im not decided on what trans i would prefer...

Whats wrong with aftermarket gear anyways?

Edited by m3gtr
Yep 2 blades. And then there is the Run Flats. Remebering, you cant cut corners and put aftermarket stuff on the car.

I changed the suspension hoping it would be as cheap as Japanese ones... Nope.. Parts are <¥300,000. Labour to change, ¥60,000

Dont know what year it is. Just know its SMGII in that funny yellow.

Why worry about financing. Buy what you can afford in cash. If it means a different car, so be it. I know alot of cars in that price range that will make a nice profit. And looking at the % of return, its probably better in return.

true,...but youll need to be more specific. You mean in the 5 million price range? Our rationale is that we "negative gear" or lever our cash against the loan and use the cash for emergencies should anything go wrong. As long as both of us are working and dont fall ill or die, therell always be more than enough to pay the installments..and its only going to be for a year or slightly longer plus once the loan is killed, our credit rating will receive a big boost and thats going to be important for much bigger things if you know what i mean! ;)

Now, cmon Ken, what cars are on the list? :pwned:

Buy what you can with the cold hard cash you actually have.

You probably dont know this, but the 1st month I got here, I got a GDB STi. Didnt really like it but needed something to learn the 'ins & outs' of owning a car in Tokyo. Sold it 6 months later and still made a 40% profit.

Only JP, this is my 3rd car owning and Im still learning... you havent even bought a car from Japan.

Something to consider before taking out a loan..

Buy what you can with the cold hard cash you actually have.

You probably dont know this, but the 1st month I got here, I got a GDB STi. Didnt really like it but needed something to learn the 'ins & outs' of owning a car in Tokyo. Sold it 6 months later and still made a 40% profit.

Only JP, this is my 3rd car owning and Im still learning... you havent even bought a car from Japan.

Something to consider before taking out a loan..

Yeah...i have thought about the magnitude of this many times considering its the first one and at the price it is...quite the risk.

In any case ive already had a thorough education thanks to you and all those that have contributed to this thread. Its all very important information. I remember in another thread you commented on what it would take to get the car on the road here and that has been pretty useful.

Im considering everything.

A bugeye? No i didnt know that. How on earth did you profit from the car when it was still here? I suppose its even possible to get a car here and still make money off it...

Bugeye to 350 to a 6..pretty big jumps. Not as big as a jump from a colt to an M3 though. :pwned:

I had a headache, it is now getting worse.

What happened to the CLK? Just buy something so this thread can end!!!!

Japan's property market is just starting to go up again, so if your bigger things means a house, then don't f**k around, do it now. You will save yourself more than you make from the car. Money is still cheap in Japan and if your wife's family is willing to support the decision then it is all good. Think about how much money you are throwing away as rent and parking then do the numbers and it will probably make sense.

So yes, screw the car, buy a house.

p.s. I will let you know about the navigation for the E39 when I get back on April 4th

I had a headache, it is now getting worse.

What happened to the CLK? Just buy something so this thread can end!!!!

Japan's property market is just starting to go up again, so if your bigger things means a house, then don't f**k around, do it now. You will save yourself more than you make from the car. Money is still cheap in Japan and if your wife's family is willing to support the decision then it is all good. Think about how much money you are throwing away as rent and parking then do the numbers and it will probably make sense.

So yes, screw the car, buy a house.

p.s. I will let you know about the navigation for the E39 when I get back on April 4th

*hands laurence a painkiller*

Money cheap in japan? compared to what?

I hate paying rent. I should be paying off my own apartment..not giving it to the landlord.

Nope...ive been without a car too long. One year isnt going to kill us and besides i havent had my own car for over 3 years and its starting to piss me off. Yep...maybe im just being a dumbass. But ill be a dumbass with an M3. ;)

I killed the CLK idea..too much of a headache.. Merc is having some serious brand issues..( world wide recall of all E class mercs??!! no thanks. ) Steer clear! * gives himself a painkiller* :pwned:

Edited by m3gtr
I had a headache, it is now getting worse.

What happened to the CLK? Just buy something so this thread can end!!!!

Japan's property market is just starting to go up again, so if your bigger things means a house, then don't f**k around, do it now. You will save yourself more than you make from the car. Money is still cheap in Japan and if your wife's family is willing to support the decision then it is all good. Think about how much money you are throwing away as rent and parking then do the numbers and it will probably make sense.

So yes, screw the car, buy a house.

p.s. I will let you know about the navigation for the E39 when I get back on April 4th

Yep what he said again minus the headache and house in JP. :laugh:

I think what everyone wants to know is when this is all going to move forward....

Just took some panadol. :P

Money cheap in japan? compared to what?

Compared to Australia... have you had a look at interest rates. They basically give money away in Japan. Get a pile of cheap money and do something with it and you can be the guy in the F430 next to N/A®'s car. :laugh:

Buy a JZX110 Mark II iR-V or something cool like that you can have fun driving and trick the family into thinking you have a sensible car. Also you will have a car that is desirable in both Japan and Australia (make sure it is black or white though).

Be careful of looking at people like N/A® who has pretty substantial means, what works for him is probably not right for you and definitely not right for me. I presume by your username you have liked M3s for a long time so I can fully understand wanting to get one, but if you need a loan to buy it you can't risk/afford to take it to the track or anything like that.

You must be on SAU for a reason, if you liked a particular Skyline in the past then buy that. You will have your affordable dream car which you will be able to use, maybe take it to Tsukuba or something and you will have something you can export to Australia or England or wherever at the end.

The thing I would hate to see is your dream car becoming your nightmare, I have seen it happen before with a number of friends.

Do you know about M3's killing big end bearings? You might want to check if the engine has been rebuilt on any car you are looking at. I am not sure when the problem was fixed. Also if you look at an M5 there are oil consumption problems with those... etc, etc... they are just machines, they all have problems and they are starting to get old.

Yep what he said again minus the headache and house in JP. :laugh:

I think what everyone wants to know is when this is all going to move forward....

Hm, as soon as i find the right one, thats when!

Wouldnt know the first thing about housing in Japan..and i dont think SAU is the right forum for that..or is it?

Ill let you all know what i end up getting.

The main reason i started this thread was because i want to know EVERY little single detail involved in this and leave no stone unturned. I can appreciate the constructive criticsm but the poit is clear. I want to know " the ins and outs of owning cars here"..couldnt give a stuff about a house at this point. I need a capable car and a twisting mountain road...preferably Iro zaka in Nikko.

I want to know " the ins and outs of owning cars here... I need a capable car and a twisting mountain road...preferably Iro zaka in Nikko.

Oh well that is easy...

1. Buy Car

2. Insert Petrol

3. Pay Taxes

4. Buy Tyres

5. Pay Parking

6. Repeat steps 1-5 for one year

7. Deregister car

8. Export car

Any car you buy is fine, really. Anything is fine, as long as the car is not damaged badly and runs well it really is fine. Sometimes you will do well like N/A® did with this Subaru, sometimes you won't. Don't be afraid to pass on a bad car. But if you had bought your CLK you would have been well on the way to steps 7 and 8 and whatever potential profit there was there.

When you had your Colt you had a car which you could drive, all we have now is a very long thread, and you can't drive that.

You just need a push! We are here to help you!!!

can you get RHD corvette in japan?

late model (c6) corvette are extremmely rare and well over priced in Australia, maybe something to look at.

Also with LHD cars the only state that allows you to have them in Australia is W.A and the car needs to be 15years or older for it to be ok. not sure the different between a brand new lhd car and a 15yr old one but that is the rule

cheers michael

Seriously, the boys here have been giving great advice. I suppose you want to hear what you want to hear....

Ill say it again, if you have 1 million, spend 1 million on a car. I wouldnt get a loan just to buy a car that is meant to be an investment.

Edited by N/A®
Seriously, the boys here have been giving great advice. I suppose you want to hear what you want to hear....

Ill say it again, if you have 1 million, spend 1 million on a car. I wouldnt get a loan just to buy a car that is meant to be an investment.

lol, nice book. Still up at 3 am and thinking of me Ken? Aww, thats sweet of you.

I know they have! What i want to hear is exactly what everyone has been saying and ive taken it all into account. Actually, ive read this whole thread a couple of times through and its cleared up a lot of niggling questions for me.

Cheers to everyone who contributed, very much appreciated.

Ill let you know what I end up doing!

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