The funny part is that it doesn't feel that much bigger on the interior for the driver.
Any chances of that happen with the current generation car?
I was told the O2 sensors needed to be replaced at 100K. However, I was also told that it is OK to drive until they actually fail. The warning lights would just throw up a "maintenance required". Does anyone know if that is true (i.e. OK to keep driving till the sensors actually fail)?
Mine will cost quite a bit less than that because I don't load it up as much. I bought my E46 (2003 325i) for ~31K (including CA sales tax). The only option I paid for is the sunroof. But I hear ya...it's still a lot. The car has lost about ~23K since I bought it in Dec 2002. Plus I paid for the extended warranty and service plan, so add another 3.5K, or 26.5K over 6 years. Assuming depreciation is significantly lower from now on, if I spend more than ~5K per year on maintenance, then I would be probably be better of buying a new car. Hopefully I won't have to spend anywhere near that. Keeping my fingers crossed. But the thing I'm worried about most is the failure of the electronics. I had a friend who decided to move away from BMW just because of expenses encountered on the electrical system, specifically the odometer area.
BTW, here's what the 2012 3-series might look like.