to buy or not to buy

[E46Fanatic]

And don't worry about getting into HP to purchase a car. There's nothing wrong with the economic concept of leveraging and asset rental. Any businessman worth his salt will never make money using his own if he can get financing from banks or the capital market. As for term, any finance man will tell you that the lower the cost (interest rate) the longer the term you should take, and vice versa. I won't go into a boring DCF calculation to show you why.

When I bought a Myvi for my parents, I still bought it on HP although I could have written a cheque for the 50k. Why? Because now that the income tax regime has changed to self-assessment, one of the triggers for the IRD to initiate an audit of a taxpayer is if he buys a car in cash. They do track car transactions because when I bought a Merc for my wife, within 2 months there was a letter from the IRD asking me for details of how I purchased it. Used car transactions may not fall into this net....but then again who knows? A wise man would not buy a car in cash if he wants to avoid appearing in the IRD radar.

Live the spirit of the UDM if you can Syahril!

There are differing methods and views of running a business. I know of many successful chinaman businessman who will not opt to take loans for their business or personal purchases. For personal enjoyment and purchases, if they can't afford it, they don't have a big issue not getting it. There are other folks in business who I know who spent the $$$ even before their business can take off. Once classic case was a well known IT company during the MSC heydays, when it got awarded a project by the govt, first thing they did was to take out a loan to buy a fleet of Mercs and Perdana V6's for the directors and snr mgrs. Not long after that, this company failed to pay their suppliers and subcontractors (millions of ringgit), and naturally went under.

Macam macam ada...

Also, if you can afford to buy the car cash through honest living and proper tax filing, you dont have to worry about IRD audits..... heh. So far there has been no issues with the IRB for the Jazz which we bought new upfront.

 

[theCROW]

eh mcm my previous co. aje hehe

 

[Schwepps]

E46Fanatic: Appreciate your comments, but the IT company had lousy management and it wasn't getting leveraged for the right reasons to begin with. Any business that wants to build scale needs leverage, or they stay as mom n pop/kampung/chinaman businessmen. As for tax audits, I would worry about the sheer inconvenience of an audit eventhough my returns are honest. Glad to know your jazz for cash didn't get the taxman knocking. I just didn't want to take that chance

Anyway, what do you guys think of the E36 deal that Syahril has found? Good deal or not? He's so dying to own a UDM!

 

[Schwepps]

Syahril,

Why don't you ask your friend to bring his car to the next TT session so that we all can have a look. You can come with him.

Now that's a great idea, Syahril! You won't go wrong if experienced fellow forumers give it a going over! A well-loved, well-kept E36 is a joy to drive and own

 

[initialM]

Bro,

300k km is too high. Try to get E36 wt lower mileage to avoid many wear n tear maintenance. If possible get from owner who keeps the maintenance record.
The market price for E36 328 should be lower than 318 due to high road tax.
Anyway price can be high if condition is mint with mods & accessories.
Last time I paid little bit higher for a good condition and I almost end up wt civic 2.0 too. Thank god I end up wt UDM. We r quite lucky here coz used UDM price quite low compare to merz. Now my installment is lower than my previous waja

 

[eddiefiola]

syahril, forget e46. worst car ever. get e39.........

 

[rezzy3181]

syahril, forget e46. worst car ever. get e39.........

Wah got new wife now say old wife lousy, sure the bigger it is the better it is.

 

[E46Fanatic]

E46Fanatic: Appreciate your comments, but the IT company had lousy management and it wasn't getting leveraged for the right reasons to begin with. Any business that wants to build scale needs leverage, or they stay as mom n pop/kampung/chinaman businessmen.

Ya, agree with you Schwepps esp on the part about rapid scale. I think the key for businessmen worth their salt is knowing when the right time or purpose for leverage is. Rarely its for indulgence or enjoyment (e.g. luxury cars), as they know they have added pressure on top of day to day business to meet. Unless $$ comes easy la... then such facilities are taken out with less consideration.

Reminds me of the crash of 98, where the bubble burst, and many of the highly geared companies got into hot soup and went under. Some needing bailouts by the govt, others just swallowed their pride and closed shop. Then there were those who were very conservative, with manageable or low debt, who just trudged along during that time, surviving to see a better day after all the consolidation.

 

[Schwepps]

syahril, forget e46. worst car ever. get e39.........

C'mon la guys! An E39 is great, but our friend is a newbie and needs to scratch his BMW itch before he resigns himself to a *gasp* safe but boring Civic. How is he going to find a good cond E39? Is his 60k E36 328 a good deal or is it on the high side? I know it depends on condition and mods, but what do you guys think?

BTW eddiefiola, why do you say the E46 is the worst car ever? Typo ke? Did you mean the E36? Even so, why would you say the E36 is the worst car ever?

 

[eddiefiola]

dear air schwepps,

not typo error. just my opinion. i mean e46, not e36. even a 10 year old e39 is much much much better than 1-day old e46. not talking about the cubic capacity. i'm talking about the the "feel" of e46. seriously, to me, it is the worst car ever. worst than waja. even if it is sold rm10.00, i will not buy e46 again.......

funfer n rezzy, again, i'm not talking about cc.
2.2 e39 is much much much better than 3.0 e46. in fact,all e46 lah......hahaha.......

sorry e46 owners, enjoy your car........at the end of the day, it's your money. jgn marah, nanti kena jual........

oh syahril, before aku lupa, get any bmw but not e46........ unless u are a kind of driver who never reach 140km/h, then can consider e46..... but wait, nak turunkan nasihat lagi, errr emmm...., e34 is also much much better than e46...... if money is your problem........

 

[dumeort]

i think e36 is reasonable to start off. Never make yourself to tight for paying the installment. Maybe BMW will boost your enthusiasm but you need to serve the installment for 7 years or 9 years.

 

[syahril]

hi ppl.. how's the weekend ?? so about the car.. is really E46 that bad ??? i elder bro test the car (E46 318i 5 speed 2.0).. he said he drove the car 160 to 180 all the way to JB with no prob.. but as eddiefiola said, it's just his opinion.. who knows..

asking the seller of the E36 to come for the TT... hheemmmm... i don't know laa... nanti he thinks i trying to squeeze him pulak... perhaps i borrow the car for a day... will see laa...

 

[syahril]

Wah got new wife now say old wife lousy, sure the bigger it is the better it is.

u're talking about woman or car here ??? ehehehehe....

 

[theCROW]

if I got moolah..E39 is the way to go fren!

 

[mohd_hafidzs]

E36 325 Natural Overheating problem?

Hai All;

I'm very new to this forum and to be honest this is my first question. DOes E36 325i has cooling circulation problem and this model was pulled back off from malaysian market during it days. Look forward to own one. Anybody can share their precious experience and opinion??

 

[syahril]

over heating ???

Hai All;

I'm very new to this forum and to be honest this is my first question. DOes E36 325i has cooling circulation problem and this model was pulled back off from malaysian market during it days. Look forward to own one. Anybody can share their precious experience and opinion??

yes.. i did heard about it too... the guy who's promoting me his 328 is saying the same thing.. coz 325 road tax is much lower then 328 (1600 man)... but if it's true about the overheating problem, than i don't mind paying a high road tax.. still batter than stranded in the middle of a highway or in the middle of bukit bintang during hot sunny day... you won't look cool even if u're driving an E90

 

[theCROW]

is it?
no wonder the owner always told me to look at temp. meter!

 

[mohd_hafidzs]

E46 Drivability

What do you mean that E39 is better than e46? handling? How do you compare the drive between E36 and E46?

 

[mohd_hafidzs]

Can anyone provide me the detail or link to the E36 325 technical detail? Hehe just being fussy

 

[syahril]

What do you mean that E39 is better than e46? handling? How do you compare the drive between E36 and E46?

hafidz...

i'm not a bmw pro but this is my personnel experience.. last time i drove an E39 525i from KL to Pasir Gudang (damn nice)... the ride was smooth but there's a body role.. quite strong also... so i won't take a high speed turning.. i don't feel that on an E46.. maybe a bit.. (not at all with my SIR 4 eheheh) ...both of this car are using oiginal absorber and spring.. maybe because of diff year model.. the newer the better i guess...