Faults:

Air Mass Sensor, EGR Valve controller, Rear Diff Bushes.

General Comments:

Fantastic handling, great comfort and drive within town and motorway, something for that person who wants a great all rounder, as expected from a BMW. The steering is sharp and responsive, though is a bit playful when braking hard over a bumpy road. Economy is probably the best I've ever seen. £10 BP Ultimate will give me 100+ miles. Since this is the 136bhp model the only thing I could complain about is the power, unlike other turbo diesels this turbo is slow and doesn't kick in straight away like normal turbo cars. Saying this though the turbo is integrated within the engine to simulate a petrol car. I have outrun 330ci's, 325ci's, honda Civic Jordan, the list goes on!! 0-60 isn't great, but once you've got the car moving the torque is immense. Watch out for little problems like Air Mass sensor (£200) from BMW. EGR Valve sticking and bushes. Make sure you do regular oil service as the Turbo on these cars are quite sensitive and a new turbo will cost you more than a thousand pounds. They can take quite a pounding. The manual version is better suited in my opinion as the auto transmission lacks the pure fun of driving the car. Brakes aren't the best and the car does chew through brake pads. Overall though, a fantastic car.

Faults:

Noise from brake pads on front, whistle from drivers door mirror.

General Comments:

A very good car, but there are a few things that annoyed me about it. The car was very fast, but did not give much of an impression if speed, so was slightly uninvolving to drive. the steering was also too low geared and numb. The pedals and steering wheel do not line up perfectly and gave me back ache. I also found the steering wheel too large.

The rest of the car was excellent though, but I do think they are a bit over priced (£32,000 in this spec) and slightly over rated as a drivers car. My previous Alfa 156 V6 was far better in this respect, and the build quality was not very far off. The Alfa was also significatly cheaper.

I now own a 540i on an R plate, and that is in a different league to the 330, though that's another story..

Faults:

Climate control changer became jammed at 11,000 miles.

Ashtray was easy to pull out and difficult to replace.

Brake pads wore very quickly and were replaced at 13,000 miles, then at 21,000 miles and finally at 29,000 miles.

General Comments:

Overall, the 318i was a very reliable and solid car.

The best thing about the car was its agile rear wheel drive handling.

Engine performance wasn't too strong, as it only had a 1.9 litre petrol engine.

Interior space was quite good.

Good value at £18,500 on cash from new.

Held its value well and retailed privately for £11,000 two years later.

Faults:

MPG was low.

Too expensive maintenance (parts)

Heavy Steering wheel.

Heavy Gas pedal.

Cooling pump blew at 100.000 -very common.

Too close to the ground, hit bottom often and rims were deforming quickly.

Very expensive tyres, worn off quickly.

Winter road hold weak, especially with sport tyres.

General Comments:

Actually I WAS very complainant when I was driving that baby. Above mentioned problems gave me nuts about the car, I was grumbling and writing complaint messages to BMW at the time. I felt like "it is an over pumped, ad boosted brand"

Now I am driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee and I definitely miss my baby. Seats, automatic transmition, road hold, ergonomics in the cabin, material quality, very little things, details in the console or functional equipment is no match for a BMW... the tool box integrated inside the trunk door, little orange colored cabin illuminating LEDs at night time is a sign of the value.

Don't trade your BMW for an American car.. never. Enjoy it without complaints.