1999 Reliability questions.............

The wife and I found a mint 1999 323 sedan today and are considering buying it. The car has the "premium option package" with every gizmo under the sun. The car has only 35K miles on it, looks and drives like brand new, and is priced right! I've never owned a BMW and am wondering about repair concerns I'll face. Have these cars been the paragon of reliability, or should I jump on the '02 Jetta GTI we were considering? Am I getting nameplate fever? I'm putting the wife through Med School so money (and warranties) are a concern. Input please!!
:)

Get the bimmer. Both cars are perfectly reliable. The bimmer will be slightly more to repair (don't take it to a $tealer). But the real reason I say this is because:

A: The bimmer is 3 years old. It has already taken the majority of depreciation in value that it will take. The VW is going to dop in value 20% the second you drive it off the lot.

B: The bimmer is a luxury car which will hold it value better than the VW.

Rob's absolutely right. Buy the bimmer.
:greenchai

Thanks for the input guys, picked-up the Jetta GLI tonight. I loved the 3 but the VW had an awesome warranty package, cheaper price, and I got the new 200 hp V6 24V (brutal!). I appreciate the input!!:)