Good morning! Today’s year of choice is 2001, and I’ve got two enticing German cars for your consideration. And if it wasn’t obvious from the title, today’s musical digression is the wonderfully noisy 2001 album White Blood Cells by The White Stripes.
Yesterday, we looked at two cars from 1983, set to the tunes of The Police’s album Synchronicity. Some of you took one look at the Sentra and thought “O My God,” while others thought that chasing down the Thunderbird’s fuel delivery problem would turn you into the King of Pain. In the end, however, it was the T-Bird that had you wrapped around its finger.
I have to say that, in this case, I’m Walking In Your Footsteps. The Sentra is an interesting curiosity, but there’s nothing compelling enough about it to make me want to own it. The T-Bird is at least a good blank slate for some fun, but don’t go too crazy, or every move you make, the cops will be watching you.
Let’s jump forward in time to 2001, and an album I love for a very specific reason. I am, as my friends know, a terrible guitar player. I’ve been playing since high school, but have never gotten serious enough to get any good, so I just bang out some chords when I feel like it and call it a day. I have discovered that, with my trusty MXR distortion pedal, I can kinda-sorta sound like I know what I’m doing when I play along with the right record.
So when I first heard the loud, distorted guitar intro to “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground,” I was hooked. I was already a White Stripes fan, but White Blood Cells was the album that really got me. (And then, of course, Elephant lost me again.) I love the energy of it. It sounds both way out on the ragged edge and completely in control at the same time. It’s deceptively simple, but I often catch some little nuance I didn’t hear before when listening to it. And if you agree, then I can tell that we are gonna be friends. Let’s look at some finicky, overpriced German cars together.
2001 BMW 325i Touring – $6,950
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter dual overhead cam inline 6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Odometer reading: 193,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
BMW enthusiasts as a group are a funny bunch. They’ll extol the virtues of their cars at any opportunity, singing the praises of the smooth engines and the finely balanced handling, claiming that nothing else is as good to drive. Ask them about reliability, and they bristle and equivocate: Yes, it’s reliable – if you do the maintenance you’re supposed to do. Ask for specifics on what this “maintenance” entails, and you’ll get a long list of items replaced at what sounds like shockingly low mileage, even to someone used to GM and Chrysler cars. Mention that this sounds like a lot, and the response is a haughty “Maybe this car isn’t for you.”
Well, in my case at least, they’re right: I have dealt with a BMW 325i of this generation before and was never so happy to see the taillights of any car disappearing after a sale. “Death by a thousand cuts” is the best way I can describe BMW upkeep. We only had it for three months, and I don’t think there was a weekend in that time I didn’t spend fixing something. Still, they are awfully nice cars to drive, and when I see a really clean one like this, in a great color, and a wagon, even, I start to think: Could it really be that bad?
This E46 wagon is claimed to be a one-owner car, and “very well maintained,” but it’s for sale at a dealer, so I’ll believe it when I see all the maintenance records. And at 193,000 miles, there should be a thick stack of them. It does look really clean, so if it checks out mechanically, it could be a safe bet.
And it’s a wagon, which is something you don’t see very often from BMW here in the US. That’s a shame, because wagons are incredibly useful vehicles, and BMW makes handsome ones.
2001 Mercedes-Benz CL 500 – $5,300
Engine/drivetrain: 5.0 liter overhead cam V8, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Santa Clarita, CA
Odometer reading: 88,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Now we turn our attention from a relatively simple and straightforward BMW to a nightmarishly complicated Mercedes. The CL-Class was the flagship two-door of the Mercedes-Benz lineup for a couple of decades, and during that time, the folks from Stuttgart threw every technological trick they had at this sleek coupe. This is the “entry-level” CL 500 model, and even it features Mercedes’s notorious ABC active suspension system and more tiny electric motors than a slot-car tournament.
It sure does make for a nice car, though. The CL takes the concept of “personal luxury coupe” and turns it up to 11, with enough gadgets to impress even the most jaded country club patrons in 2001. And sure, this one isn’t an AMG or a V12 version, but it’s still a slick-looking pillarless hardtop coupe with a powerful and reliable V8 and Mercedes’s excellent 5G-Tronic automatic.
This CL 500 is also a one-owner car and has a scant 88,000 miles on its odometer. The seller doesn’t offer a lot of information about its history beyond that, though they do say it has new tires. But since the seller is also the one owner, you should be able to ask the right questions, and hopefully receive that coveted stack of receipts in return.
Of course, although it’s in great shape now, future troubles and their associated repair bills could strip the bloom from the rose in short order. This is a shockingly complicated twenty-three-year-old German luxury car, after all – not a vehicle for the faint of heart.
Though it isn’t explicitly stated in either ad, I’m sure both of these cars have pretty good stereos in them. Back in 2001, I think you would have been hard-pressed to find anyone driving around in either one blasting “The Union Forever” (“What would I like to have been? Everything you hate”), but time and depreciation have leveled the playing field a bit, so either of these pricey Germans could be your personal Rosebud for a lot less than they cost new. You can choose between a private-school-ready wagon and a senior executive’s chariot. Which will it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I lived with a 2002 325is for 7 years. Not the estate version. I guess it wasn’t horrible mostly because I did all the work on it myself. One side of the fuel sender pair stopped working, leak at the sensor on the lower radiator, intake bellows cracked, recycler pump mounts cracked. This was over the course of 7 years. All were easy to replace except the recycler mounts. But before I could repair that I was t-boned in a construction zone by a driver who was ignoring the directions. I had 178,000 miles on it and it was still running strong. So, my vote goes to the BMW. It’s also in the same color as mine so nostalgia may be clouding my judgement.
This is key for both of these cars- being able to do the work yourself. If you can’t, these aren’t the cars for you. Too many people don’t understand that.
I’ll take the one-owner Mercedes.
You just know it’s been well taken care of.
CL. If I gotta pay the automatic tax, I’m paying it with a V8. Though when I looked at that rear end I thought, “What am I doing? I could just get a Lexus.”
The answer is always “the wagon.” I would absolutely prefer wagons over SUVs in every case except one…my old knees hate the squat thrusts to get into and out of cars. However, wagons are the superior mode of transportation (except for trains). Sorry, “estates” for my UK cousins…
I will take the Mercedes. Have some fun with the V8 and the lower miles will sound better when I resell it.
“I have dealt with a BMW 325i of this generation before and was never so happy to see the taillights of any car disappearing after a sale. “Death by a thousand cuts” is the best way I can describe BMW upkeep.”
Yup… I’ve told people many times that there is no such thing as a cheap BMW.
Anyway, my vote goes to the Mercedes… and it’s likely to be a far better bet than a nearly 200,000 mile BMW 3 series with a higher asking price.
With that Mercedes, it would be a fun weekend car and I think it could even become a future classic… unlike a 200,000 mile BMW 3 series wagon.
And that Mercedes is one of the pre-turbo ones… which is to say they’re not THAT complicated… by luxury Euro car standards. And I recall that Tavarish has some videos on fixing and maintaining these and owning one as a 2nd vehicle doesn’t seem to be that horrible as long as you’re willing/able to do a lot of the work yourself.
The BMWs mileage is a plus in my book. Not likely to live this long without keeping it up. The merc feels like it’s right around the time you can stop getting away with ignoring stuff, and there’s way more, and scarier, stuff to ignore.
B. M. W.
I know it’s going to break my heart, but I’m going with the BMW wagon.
Get the CL. Whenever a finicky little electric component gives up the ghost, ask yourself if you really need that particular feature. Let the small shit slide and you have a pretty nice cruiser for $5,300.
Obviously the smarter purchase is something like an LS430 that won’t nickle and dime you to death. But if the choice is between these aging German cars, I’ll take the Mercedes.
I have a friend who already went through 4 years of torment with an ’01 325i Touring (in black), so at least I’d have someone constantly reminding me of all the things that need to be done, and someone who can identify every horrible sound and electrical issue. So, reluctantly, that would be my choice. And hey it’s a wagon (a great, right-sized one), and it’s in a color.
The Merc scares the absolute shit out of me. And I’m not going to live in perpetual fear for the privilege of owning a beige car.
Ooooof.
The BMW seems overpriced despite the condition. High mileage and the mass-market model with an automatic, even though it’s a long-roof. It’s nice to see one in a color other than white, black, or silver/gray. Tan is the correct interior color, too, with that slate-like blue paint.
If it were a Mercedes wagon against a BMW coupe it’d easily be the Mercedes.
If it were a 5-series wagon versus the CL it’d be the BMW.
I appreciate the B-pillar-less coupe look (does that make the typical C-pillar the B-pillar?) of the CL. It has a nice camouflage color, the ABC system I believe can be replaced with traditional mechanical parts as a conversion, and it’s a nice grand tourer.
But I do really appreciate a wagon…
Ooooof.
Begrudgingly the Mercedes. It’s less expensive, much lower mileage, and could make for a fun weekend car for my winery runs and such.
I’m Earl Williams, when they pull him out of the roll-top desk in the press room at the courthouse-
“Just shoot me”.
BMW from a dealer with nearly 200k? No thanks. I love the Benz 5.0 V8 and that engine will go toe to toe with any other in terms of long term viability, if you can keep the electronics surrounding it happy.
This is a tough one. I like the CL, but I also love a wagon. The CL has a lot less miles, but is also a car with complex, expensive systems and components. The BMW is up there in miles, which means it will be needing a lot of expensive parts too – plus its asking price is higher. I guess I’ll leave it to colors: the BMW is blue, and I currently own three blue cars, where the CL is gold, one of my least-favorite car colors. BMW it is, though it could have been the Merc if it had been that sweet, sweet dark blue MB offered.
Mark,
Keep up the music references! Love to read about those and cars!
Bank account death by maintenance. Both of them. Rather have the Sentra from before. Not exciting but it won’t bankrupt me.
I’ll take the wagon.
And I don’t think there’s a CD I wore out more in 2001 than White Blood Cells. Sixteen tracks and only forty minutes long. Windows down and sunroof open and my Sony Xplod head unit on full blast. I’m with you on Elephant, it definitely wasn’t as good track for track, but there were still a few good ones.
I normally love a coupe with no b-pillar, but a champagne gold CL500 isn’t going to be worth the trouble.
I’ll go against the grain and put my hat in the ring for the CL500. It’s a V8, it has less than half the miles, it’s less money, and mechanically this era of Mercedes isn’t THAT bad. All the cutting edge technology they threw in these is a different story, but as far as the powertrain goes they’re pretty solid as far as old German luxobarges go.
I’m a card carrying 3 series enjoyer, and I like the E46 in particular. My aunt had this same car in red over beige and she loved it. Adolescent me loved riding in it and my uncle’s first gen X5 as well. I used to enjoy looking over at the fuel economy gauges bouncing around. I also have vivid memories going with my dad to test drive a manual E46 325i and riding along with him bombing down the highway while we listened to Meteora.
Good times. I do love BMWs despite the myriad flaws. But in this case I’d rather have the big V8 coupe. I’d put a little TLC into it, give it a proper exhaust that lets the V8 sing the song of its people, and enjoy spending my weekends flying down the highway in extreme comfort.
I’d buy the Merc, look like a baller for a few months, then move it along, hopefully before anything catastrophic broke. It’s not gonna be a forever car.
Oh man, that’s a tough one!
The Merc is likely to be the nicer place to be, and the 5L V8 more enjoyable (to me!) to listen to. But the BMW is a wagon and a better drive.
Plus the Beemer isn’t that god awful champagne/metallic hearing aid beige.
I’ll take the BMW. Styling is subjective, but I think the E46 cars are the best looking BMWs of all time. Like most of the peanut gallery who comments on car websites, I love that it is a wagon. This car also looks to be in excellent condition, and I like the color. As long as it sorta runs and is not currently on fire, it is clearly the winner of these two cars (the Benz is nice, though).
There aren’t a lot of circumstances in which I will pick the BMW in one of these. But you have stacked the deck. It’s a wagon, it’s blue, it has a light interior, and it’s up against a Benz that offers less utility and more potential issues. Also, it looks to be in great shape. BMW for sure.
Wagon, all day every day.
Gimme them wagoons. Bimmer today.