2000 BMW 3 Series Reviews - Page 9 of 10

A whining diff was replaced under warranty.

A dipped headlight bulb blew.

With the addition of a ECU tuning box this car can be increased to about 220BHP and 500NM of torque.

The economy gives me low 40MPG around town with 53MPG possible on a long run.

On a long run 600 miles between petrol stations is possible.

Rattles and creaks are in evidence in the cabin - mainly on the seats.

Original manual transmission over revving during gear changes. Dealer swapped for an automatic at no extra cost.

A car which carries a prestige value.

This coupe version with non-standard alloys always gets looks and admirers.

Incredible performance from the sports automatic gear-box means it can outrun all the boy racers!

Rear passenger leg-room slightly too small in the Coupe.

Back seats rattle.

Clutch sticks.

Moon roof is unpredictable.

Cheap materials. Poor craftsmanship.

Slow pickup. Slow car.

Thin paint. Thin leather.

BMW is incapable of customer service from the dealership to the headquarters.

Cheap service and a cheap car at a premium price.

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.