1997 BMW 3 Series 318i Touring review from UK and Ireland
"Handles well, not bullett proof"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Climate control unit
Final stage unit (ie resistor pack the heater motor)
Fuel pump
Central locking solenoid
Front seats loose
Glove box not closing properly
Throttle stuck
Air-vent mechanism broken
Rear seat loose
High level brake light seems to blow bulps quite often
Odometer works only intermittently
Speedo stopped working couple of times.
General comments?
This was my wife's car and we sold it only because we moved from UK to Australia.
Nice to drive as you would expect. Steering precise and controls generally nice to use.
Not as comfortable as I would have expected (but I am a Citroen driver myself). Seats are too hard for my liking.
Not much space at rear. Boot space adequate (estate), but this car is not meant to be a load lugger anyway.
Engine not particularly powerful, but is reasonably economical. This is the M43 engine.
Digital climate control very good when it is working. Climate control units have a design fault that makes them to stop working after few years, apparently it is the soldering of the connections that is cracking. I managed to get the digital climate control unit reconditioned for only £30 - look from eBay!
Another design fault is the fuel pump. If you let the fuel tank go almost empty then the pump might overheat (as it is not submerged in petrol) and gets damaged. If the fuel pump fuses starts blowing after 15 mil, es of driving then it is time to get a new fuel pump. I got mine for about £70 and changed it myself - easy job.
Strange thing in our BMW was that all the seats were loose. The backseat would just lift off and I could not get it attached to the metal clips holding it on the fllor. I presume the alarm unit (under the rear seat) installed at BMW UK was sticking out too much stopping the seat to go down properly. Both fornt seats were looose as well. The flimsy plastic clips holding them to the seat frames were broken.
Even I have listed some problems with this car I would still consider buying another one, but just not expecting it to be a of a build quality of 80s BMW/Merc.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model Year | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 2003 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8 petrol Manual |
| Performance marks | 6/10 |
| Reliability marks | 6/10 |
| Comfort marks | 7/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 55000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 67000 miles |
| Previous car | Mercedes-Benz A-Class |
| Date of Entry | 5th October, 2005 |