Faults:

Cracked injection fuel line.

Rear suspension springs failed.

Alternator failed.

Handbrake shoes and hubs failed.

Steering control arms failed.

Reversing light switch failed.

Front suspension spring failed.

Intermittent fault on sound system.

General Comments:

Very nice car to drive.

Comfortable and fairly quiet.

Very good on long journeys.

Poor size of boot opening.

Disappointed in the number of fairly serious faults, the handbrake failure, which required the replacement of the rear wheel hubs, and suspension spring failures are due to poor design.

Quality of service support from dealer very good.

Faults:

Sunroof acts strangely. Sometimes the close direction will end up tilting the glass, open will close it, and when it does this it may cease to function for several minutes. Once I had to force it down. Dealer has no idea.

CD player failed to eject CDs. Replaced under warranty. New unit is doing the same thing after 6 months.

Headlights develop small, unsightly cracks in front of the low-beams, allowing moisture inside. Replaced under warranty. Problem has returned. Warranty has expired.

Fuel tank sensor went bad. Replaced by dealer.

Developing transmission problems in the form of rushing noises accellerating from zero, and brushing noises at any speed while on throttle. Noises getting louder as time goes by.

General Comments:

This car turns heads, but once inside is uninspiring and an ergonomic nightmare. There's a long list of complaints, but my review won't get posted with an exhaustive rant. Needless to say, it took them 30 years to finally put the window switches on the driver-side armrest.

Like all BMWs they feel solid. I think they took it a bit too far with with this one. It's ultra-heavy and slow - my 1993 318i handled much better and had better take-off with the 5-spd manual.

If you're reading this because you're considering a 3-Series, make sure you go for the 328i of this model year and get decent seats.

Faults:

Car bought with 12 months warranty

Chip in paint dealer refused to repair said had come from a stone in road (this was after 4 weeks of having the car). Didn't know where to go until the guy at the paint shop said he disagreed with sales manager and that the chip was an old one and they should fix it, of course this was said off the record!!

Finally the dealership decided to repair it.

AC didn't work properly on the drivers side, but did on the passengers side, my partner had taken the car back twice with this problem to be fobbed off both times. I then took the car back for a third time on a hot day and made the sales manager sit in the car until he agreed that the AC was not working. He finally gave in to the enevertable and agreed and the car was fixed, but not for another 3 weeks this of course in the middle of the summer!!

Passenger rear door developed a stick and had to be freed.

Central locking on driver's door failed and had to be replaced.

General Comments:

Car drives well and when working in pleasant to drive.

Gear change is a bit ropey and the change is long, but then is this not the same on all BMW's.

Good dash layout much better than the new 3 series.

Good on long drives motorways etc.

Good mph around 32-38 depending on how you drive.