Any experience with a bmw 3 series?

[xokell2]

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[Deleted]

I drove a 2002 BMW3 series (328) for 13 years. I bought it in 2004 and sold it last year. When I bought it from the dealer, it was a loaner vehicle with about 22k miles on it. I was nervous about it (I know how I treat loaner vehicles...) but no issues.

I really loved the car - very minimal maintenance issues as well.

H drives a 2002 330 and it has 140,000 miles on it and still running strong. He brought his brand new.

The only reason I didn't buy one this time around (I bought the Kia Optima Limited Edition) was the price difference. After not having bought a car for 10+ years, I couldn't get over the expense of them. However, I have no doubt when H's BMW goes, we'll get another BMW for him.

[alleinesein]

I've got a 2001 BMW 325ci and I love it. Mine was 'used'; I bought it from a family friend who hardly drove it and took immaculate care of it.

Only one minor maintenance issue ever and that was when the window regulator went out last fall. My model has windows that lower/raise just a fraction of an inch when you open and close the doors. Other than that I got 13 years on the original battery and have only had to do general maintenance (60k/90k/105K services) on it. Tires can be expensive. I found maintenance costs to be the same or cheaper than my old Volvo.

What model year are you looking at? I know the newer ones get mixed reviews and the techs at my local BMW dealer love the 3 series prior to 2008.

[ECB]

We had a '98 BMW 3 series. Bought it in 2003 and owned it ourselves for 9 years. Loved that car and MISS it. Especially as it was a manual.

Anyhow- overall it was a good car. We didn't have a ton of issues for the most part (well, until the end) - but when we did have to take it in, it was $$$ every.single.time. I don't think we ever got out for less than $600. Often more.

When we needed a new car, we looked at a friend's 5-series. She was going to sell it to us for a great price. But the cost of repairs is what kept us from going with it.

We went from having a BMW and a VOlvo to a honda and a Hyundai. We spend a LOT less in upkeep now.

[xokell2]

Feb 29, 2016 20:12:11 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

I've got a 2001 BMW 325ci and I love it. Mine was 'used'; I bought it from a family friend who hardly drove it and took immaculate care of it.

Only one minor maintenance issue ever and that was when the window regulator went out last fall. My model has windows that lower/raise just a fraction of an inch when you open and close the doors. Other than that I got 13 years on the original battery and have only had to do general maintenance (60k/90k/105K services) on it. Tires can be expensive. I found maintenance costs to be the same or cheaper than my old Volvo.

What model year are you looking at? I know the newer ones get mixed reviews and the techs at my local BMW dealer love the 3 series prior to 2008.

2014

[alleinesein]

Feb 29, 2016 23:16:23 GMT -5 xokell2 said:

Feb 29, 2016 20:12:11 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

I've got a 2001 BMW 325ci and I love it. Mine was 'used'; I bought it from a family friend who hardly drove it and took immaculate care of it.

Only one minor maintenance issue ever and that was when the window regulator went out last fall. My model has windows that lower/raise just a fraction of an inch when you open and close the doors. Other than that I got 13 years on the original battery and have only had to do general maintenance (60k/90k/105K services) on it. Tires can be expensive. I found maintenance costs to be the same or cheaper than my old Volvo.

What model year are you looking at? I know the newer ones get mixed reviews and the techs at my local BMW dealer love the 3 series prior to 2008.

2014

I swear I'm not a $30K millionaire, I only became interested in them when researching sedans with awd. I'm pretty much limited to Subarus (which j have now and while it's a great car, boy are they getting pricey) or entry level luxury.

2014 320i: $24,500

Pros:

Low miles
Heated seats
Car fax, 1 owner
I love how it drives


Cons:

Leatherette interior (not sure why this bothers me as much as it does even though I couldn't tell it was not leather)

Not certified

Feels really low to the ground

Push button gear shifter/ engine turning off when stopped feels like too many gadgets with potential to give me problems down the road.

No backup camera or navi

They do sit low to the ground but I have never felt unsafe in mine.  I do get a bit concerned about rain and water on the rare occasion of rain out here because some of our surface streets can flood and you end up driving through 6-12 inches of water.  The BMW would definitely feel low to the ground after driving a Subaru.



 

[lishie]

We bought a certified preowned 3 series coupe in January 2013. It was 3 years old when we bought it. It still had all its warranties. We've had it a little over 3 years now. No issues at all. I absolutely love it. It's my commuting car.

When we started looking for cars, we wanted an AWD coupe. After researching, a lightly used Subaru was about the same price as the AWD BMW. You can get some really good deals on the used BMWs. There are so many leases around here that the prices are fairly good. We spent around 30K for ours. New with the options we have it would have been closer to 55K.

[UnderProtest]

We had a 2007 328 and I loved it. I hated to get rid of it when we moved, but it didn't make sense to store it for a couple years. I think we had the window regulator issue too but no other issues. Definitely less issues than the 2011 Volvo we had.

[protozoa]

I have a 2011 328i and really like it. I got in in 2013 with ~16K miles. It was not pre-certified; DH took the lead on the purchase and did not feel it was worth the premium. It came with 2 years of service at the BMW dealership. After that I think we've spent around $500 to fix a computer issue. 

[Deleted]

Feb 29, 2016 19:28:22 GMT -5 xokell2 said:

I'm looking to upgrade from my Subaru Legacy and the reviews seem pretty good.

Also how important is it to have a certified pre owned vs not certified? The dealership told me it's worth 4K.

Do you like the legacy?
We are choosing between $$$ 328 and legacy or outback.

[xokell2]

Mar 3, 2016 11:54:57 GMT -5 @hannymarren said:

Feb 29, 2016 19:28:22 GMT -5 xokell2 said:

I'm looking to upgrade from my Subaru Legacy and the reviews seem pretty good.

Also how important is it to have a certified pre owned vs not certified? The dealership told me it's worth 4K.

Do you like the legacy?
We are choosing between $$$ 328 and legacy or outback.

I like the legacy, it's just bare bones basic. I hate Subarus cloth interior. I have the beige and even water stains it.

I liked the outback but price is getting outrageous on those

[Deleted]

Mar 3, 2016 12:20:49 GMT -5 xokell2 said:

Mar 3, 2016 11:54:57 GMT -5 @hannymarren said:

Do you like the legacy?
We are choosing between $$$ 328 and legacy or outback.

I like the legacy, it's just bare bones basic. I hate Subarus cloth interior. I have the beige and even water stains it.

I liked the outback but price is getting outrageous on those

For me - I think the outback would be more cost effective than the bmw. But we are looking lease. And Canada. Lol