This is my first post here,

I promise not to ask too many "dumb" questions.
My wife is looking into getting a new car to replace her car. She's not a car nut, but I am. I just want her to get a damn good car, not just a good car. She'd be happy with an Accord, but loves the styling of the 3 series. She's thinking about a 06 325xi(wagon maybe). She's looking for a car that is very dependable in all weather conditions, she babies her car, never ever races it, long term value, likes the idea of the factory maintenace program. Just being very pratical.
I have friends that are in car sales and are able to get me a 06 325xi with <10k miles for around 29k at wholesale auction. She wants to look into a CPO car so she can get the extended warranty, maintenace... but the cars cost around 34-35 range. Is it worth going CPO(thus able to buy the long factory warranties) vs just buying from auction(just the remainder of the factory warranty)? Are the Xi's really that much better in foul weather than just a rwd with proper tires?
Are the RFT as bad as what I'm reading and hearing?
Any options to avoid or really must have options.

Thanks

I'll cover the xi thing, like I always do when the question comes up. ;-) I've driven a 2WD car all my life, both fwd and rwd. There are times when the weather is horrible around here, but I've always managed.

I went for the xi this time around, because there are at least a few times during the winter where I'm either extremely nervous about the conditions or get stuck. For example slushy blizzard conditions on the freeway and only the right lane is plowed properly, or 30mph winds whiting out the road and blowing drifts on to the highway between home and work. It seems there are always accidents. I get stuck in the parking stall when it snows while I'm at work, and I have to roll back and forth a bit to get traction out of my parking spot, especially if they've plowed and left a bit of a bunker for me to climb over. On those days I'll also have a hard time going up my driveway, and either make a running start or have to park and shovel first.

If you experience what I have then I'd recommend the xi, but you should be able to use your current experience driving in your area to determine whether you'd prefer AWD or not. One thing I will mention is that it doesn't help at all with stopping, everyone has the same 4 wheel ABS for that, but may help you take a corner or avoid a situation where you would have otherwise had to brake.

I'm all for the xi for her piece of mind. She doesn't have much of a choice about not going to work when it's nasty outside.
I'm wondering more about the cost/benefit of buying cpo and paying x amt more for the same car vs just buying used without all of the extended warranties options available to cpo buyers. I say it's better to buy non-cpo and pocket the difference. Or is it better to pay the extra for that stuff now and not worry down the road?

but may help you take a corner or avoid a situation where you would have otherwise had to brake.
Doesn't help much taking corners either unless you plan to drift with full throttle (thus the extra awd traction), otherwise all 4 wheels will skid just the same. This AWD gives people a false sense of security and over confidence sometimes. Witness a time 2 years ago during the 1st snow fall, I was driving my son to school, I drop him off then on my way back on a 40km/hr road, I notice this idiot in a AWD Forrester taking the corner a bit too fast for the conditions (snow covered road) and my guts told me she/he will just skid so I started an evasive maneuver (mind you I still had my summer tires on) and ended climbing on the sidewalk and barely missing a tree and guess what, the idiot in the Forrester just missed my car by an inch at most and barely came to a stop 10 meters down the road. Had I not anticipated her idiocy and overconfidnece, I would have ended up taking her insurance info. Moral of the story, AWD doesn't help taking corners (unless as I said you plan to drift in which case AWD gives you traction at 4 wheels instead of 2).

You have to ask yourself if you are disciplined enough to put at least part of the difference of a CPO in the bank. You might even look into a good aftermarket warranty - you can get one for 2k and still save 3k. I say all of that, but I understand your dilemma. If you have it, split the difference, put 2.5k in the bank and use the rest to go on vacation. :D

It doesn't make up for stupidity, that's for sure. The dealer mentioned that he hates selling the xi because people come back in the winter and say "this thing isn't good in the snow at all", while their cars still have summer tires on.

The big SUVs/trucks bother me too, but that's more about their increased mass/inertia. They think they can get away with whatever maneuver they want simply because they've got four wheel drive but in reality they have twice the mass as a normal car so it doesn't help nearly as much, and not at all when trying to stop. It's simple Newtonian physics.

When you turn in the snow, though, having power to the front wheels helps dramatically. This is common knowledge, that front wheel drive cars are better in the snow than rear wheel drive, even with traction control schemes. It's better to pull something in the way you want it to go (FWD) than push it from behind (RWD) and hope the front has enough traction to turn you. With RWD, the front wheels are spinning simply because they're in contact with the ground. You're using up a portion of the friction between the snow and your front tires to keep the tires spinning since there's no power to them. When they're powered, the friction can be used entirely for changing the direction of the vehicle.

It doesn't make up for stupidity, that's for sure. The dealer mentioned that he hates selling the xi because people come back in the winter and say "this thing isn't good in the snow at all", while their cars still have summer tires on.

The big SUVs/trucks bother me too, but that's more about their increased mass/inertia. They think they can get away with whatever maneuver they want simply because they've got four wheel drive but in reality they have twice the mass as a normal car so it doesn't help nearly as much, and not at all when trying to stop. It's simple Newtonian physics.

When you turn in the snow, though, having power to the front wheels helps dramatically. This is common knowledge, that front wheel drive cars are better in the snow than rear wheel drive, even with traction control schemes. It's better to pull something in the way you want it to go (FWD) than push it from behind (RWD) and hope the front has enough traction to turn you. With RWD, the front wheels are spinning simply because they're in contact with the ground. You're using up a portion of the friction between the snow and your front tires to keep the tires spinning since there's no power to them. When they're powered, the friction can be used entirely for changing the direction of the vehicle.
+1, totally agree. However to get the advantage of AWD in a corner, you have to try and accelerate through it, which is counter intuitive to many who just slam the brakes. Otherwise, you are skidding through just the same as with RWD (maybe a bit worse due to heavier understeer?!).