Car Shopping - a Rare Bird
May. 25th, 2021 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerHawk and I continue car shopping. It's become nearly an imperative since our old, 2008 model year car was given the automobile equivalent of "Get your affairs in order" by the car doc a few weeks ago. We got a second opinion from an independent mechanic, who concurred. It seems too expensive to keep fixing the old car relative to the cost of buying a newer one.
We really like our current car, a 2008 BMW 135i convertible we bought used in 2012. We named her "Hawkgirl". Now that she's near the end of her useful life we'd like to replace her with something as similar as possible. The challenge is, Hawkgirl is a rare bird.
![2020 BMW 230i convertible [stock photo]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/725469/725469_original.jpg "2020 BMW 230i convertible [stock photo]")
The successor to BWM's older 1-series is the newer 2-series (shown above). The change in the number is mostly a marketing choice, not a mechanical difference. The car is pretty much the same size: a 2+2 convertible, which works great for us. We only ever use the small back seat for carrying extra stuff. And it looks beautiful, and has great comfort, features, and performance.
While the 240i is the most direct replacement for our 135i (similar engine configuration) we're finding we actually prefer the smaller engine of the 230i. The smaller engine has gotten better over the years; it now delivers punchy acceleration that meets our needs. And it costs thousands less.
But like I said, Hawkgirl is a rare bird. BMW's 1- and 2-series cars never sold in huge volumes, and the convertible sold fewer copies than the coupe. BWM has already ended production of 230i/240i convertibles for the 2021 model year and is discontinuing them. There are literally only a handful or two of new 2021 models at dealers in the US right now.
Fortunately we'd prefer a gently used car to a brand-new one, so we're not limited to shopping the last dozen or so cars nationwide. But unfortunately there aren't exactly a lot of used vehicles either. Not only has it long been a low volume seller but right now the used car market is really hot. Used cars are getting snapped up quickly, at prices noticeably higher than in the past.
To put some numbers to this: in the whole metro Bay Area this weekend there were fewer than 8 cars matching our basic search criteria. None of them matched our pickier preferences. Because finding the car we want is hard we're starting to cast a wider net. Yesterday and today we've called down to dealers in Los Angeles, 350-400 miles away. We might be doing a weekend road trip to buy a new car in the near future!
We really like our current car, a 2008 BMW 135i convertible we bought used in 2012. We named her "Hawkgirl". Now that she's near the end of her useful life we'd like to replace her with something as similar as possible. The challenge is, Hawkgirl is a rare bird.
The successor to BWM's older 1-series is the newer 2-series (shown above). The change in the number is mostly a marketing choice, not a mechanical difference. The car is pretty much the same size: a 2+2 convertible, which works great for us. We only ever use the small back seat for carrying extra stuff. And it looks beautiful, and has great comfort, features, and performance.
While the 240i is the most direct replacement for our 135i (similar engine configuration) we're finding we actually prefer the smaller engine of the 230i. The smaller engine has gotten better over the years; it now delivers punchy acceleration that meets our needs. And it costs thousands less.
But like I said, Hawkgirl is a rare bird. BMW's 1- and 2-series cars never sold in huge volumes, and the convertible sold fewer copies than the coupe. BWM has already ended production of 230i/240i convertibles for the 2021 model year and is discontinuing them. There are literally only a handful or two of new 2021 models at dealers in the US right now.
Fortunately we'd prefer a gently used car to a brand-new one, so we're not limited to shopping the last dozen or so cars nationwide. But unfortunately there aren't exactly a lot of used vehicles either. Not only has it long been a low volume seller but right now the used car market is really hot. Used cars are getting snapped up quickly, at prices noticeably higher than in the past.
To put some numbers to this: in the whole metro Bay Area this weekend there were fewer than 8 cars matching our basic search criteria. None of them matched our pickier preferences. Because finding the car we want is hard we're starting to cast a wider net. Yesterday and today we've called down to dealers in Los Angeles, 350-400 miles away. We might be doing a weekend road trip to buy a new car in the near future!
