2000 BMW 3 Series 328Ci review from Luxembourg

Radio and CD had a persistent cracking noise, dealer denied fault, acknowledged and changed the equipment after the 4th visit only. A pain.

Left front window makes a cracking noise when driving over not-perfect roads.

Fine, smooth engine, which would be great in a smaller car.

Fine handling (I bought it because of the rear wheel drive) for such a heavy car.

Car is about 300kg too heavy for this engine (must be tedious to drive the ones with smaller engines, maybe that's why they call the diesel models 'TDS'... ).

Build quality is about average, outclassed in this price range by i.e. Audi. Optional leather is average quality too.

Original equipment radio (top-of-the-line option) is an INSULT. A fifth of the price buys an equivalent piece of equipment at the local supermarket. They should make the car a bit more expensive if they do not earn enough instead of fooling the client.

Both for performance and comfort alone there are better options in the market. Although it is a good car for longer distances on the highway, the much advertised 'driving pleasure' is somewhere else.

As for dealer service, general stages are: deny fault - client must be source of problem - client can get lost. I experienced this both in Luxembourg and in Switzerland. The company must be desperate to save money after the Rover episode. Heavy cars may be accepted in the US target market, the European level of service certainly is not.