This would simply be a fantasy car type decision as me buying one of these cars is never going to happen. I could take a look and do some “magazine purchasing”. My inital feeling is the Diesel technology is more developed than the gasoline direct injection, for now.
Both the e-46 M3 (3 series) and the e-39 M5 (5 series) are my all time favorite BMW’s. I can’t see how you could use more power and as a personal preference I like the styling from those years better than todays.I think it has to do with a person liking a “style” from a paticular time period in their life, one they want to relive.
I remember when the first M3 came out (mid 80’s) and even then the car was over 35K, lots of money then (and even now) but 35K in 1986 wow.
I have a '98 Porsche Boxster that has an oil level indicator on the dash that measures the oil every time I start the car. I almost never use the dipstick to check the level, since I know the system is accurate, and has not failed in the 12 years the car has been rolling around the US.
My gf has a Chrysler Crossfire, which was built on the same assembly line as the Mercedes SLK 320, which it was based off of. It also has an oil level indicator on the dash, but you have to push the button a couple of different times to get the reading, which then says if the level is simply OK, or if its Low 1 quart, Low 1.5 quarts, low 2 quarts, or HI. It also has a dipstick, which gets read more often than the tricky button pushing deal on the dash.
Both cars haven’t had any troubles with the dash oil level indicators.
I’ve also had other cars with oil level indicators that only light up when the actual oil level is below a certain point (not to be confused with the oil pressure light). My '92 Buick Park Avenue Ultra was one of those cars. It also had an oil life monitor that would tell you to Change Oil Soon, that worked quite well.
So, I would have no problems buying a car without a dipstick.
But I would definitely keep an eye on how much oil comes out of the engine, and goes back into the engine, at every oil change. That would be the only way you would know if the level indicator device is having an issue.
I agree that it is very stupid practice. Considering oil is the life blood of the engine, why woudn’t a car company want people to check the oil manually?
Exactly right. At one time when performing PDI (pre-delivery inspections) on new VWs we noticed that every single car was 1/2 quart down on engine oil and it’s the dealer responsibility to top off that fluid if necessary.
It’s cheaper to eat the cost of that 1/2 quart of oil rather than process the paperwork for a claim.
The low oil not enough to hurt anything but when you see this same amount with every single car it raises the eyebrows a bit.
VW said it was an inadvertent error but the way we looked at it was 1/2 quart X a million cars = Serious Bucks.
The bean counters never stop.
I would want a dipstick to check if the proper amount of oil has been filled.
Also to periodically check the oilevel system.
Just as I manually check tire inflation with pressure sensors in the wheels.
Most of todays drivers, especially BMW drivers, don’t even know how to open the hood let alone check anything…BMW knows that…The idiot light or gauge will work just as well as a dipstick. They pray the German Synthetic Castrol will keep the engine alive until the warranty period is over. After that, they don’t care if it runs out of oil…After all, these are disposable consumer products…