<E46 vs. E39> The purchase dilemma (Long)

["Sawwa, Christopher" <CSawwa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well... the time is quickly approaching for me to get out of my current
ride (end of the lease in March) and acquire a successor. I've been
setting myself up for a silver E46 328i with the sport pack etc. but
this time I am definitely going to buy. The thing is, that I don't
particularly like the 17" sport pack wheels that come with the E46 328i.
I am totally in love with the new Breyton Magic wheels (can be viewed in
Tire Rack's Wheel Rack). So on top of the $38k or so I will probably
have to splurge for the new set of wheels ($329,-/piece X 5 = $1645,-
total) pretty soon. Alternatively, I will have to learn to love the BMW
sport pack wheels. But if I got the dealer to "buy back" the brand new
sport pack wheels from me for some reasonable amount, which I hear is
not totally out of the question, I could get the new Breytons
effectively for less than the $1600 bucks. Also, the "sound" system, of
course, will have to get overhauled, so another ~$1900 or so down the
drain.

Everything was fine untill some time last week, I noticed that a well
equipped E39 528i would not necessarily be "that" much more expensive.
In fact, I have calculated that total price difference between E46 328i
and E39 528i with all options I want, is $5700,-. This translates into
eihter $100/month more in a 5 year loan scenario, or the same amount as
the 328i ($665/month) but the loan would have to be for 6 years. I must
add here that the sport pack wheels in the '99 E39 528i kick butt.

And here lies the problem... I drove both cars several times, E46 328i 5
speed, sport pack, and E39 528i 5 speed, sport pack. I will have to take
the E39 for a spin again though because it was a while since I drove it.
Both cars handle great. They are significantly different though. The 3
feels definitely more aggresive. It feels more torquey. You can
definitely oversteer it's but in the corners for nice 90 deg turns. The
E39 however, feels more majestic, much bigger, even though the weight
difference is only around 200lb if I am not mistaken. If I recall, it
was about 6 months or so since I drove the E39, there was no way to
oversteer, even in the corners. The car was just too heavy relative to
what I could do with the accelerator. I did notice that the gear rations
are different between the two, so maybe that's the difference...? Also,
it's possible that when I drove the 528 it still had the old 6 cylinder
engine, instead of the new (HP and torque improved one), as I assume the
'99 has. Anyway, the 5 is definitely much more of a car, but what to
do... what to do... ?

I would be very much interested in anybody's experiences with the 528i 5
speed, weather they feel like it's underpowered etc. Also, any comments
from the E46 328i owners would be appreciated. Any quality, or other
problems so far? I know it's only been several months since you've had
the car, but since it's the first year of a new model things crop up...

Chris,

'96 E36 328is Montreal Blue, Sport Pack, 5 Speed

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