2004 BMW 3 Series Reviews - Page 3 of 4

The idler pulley replaced due to squeaking noise.

This is a great car to own.

Granted, repairs are expensive, but my experience is you seldom have to undertake them if you keep up with the scheduled maintenance.

The car is a blast to drive and has tremendous acceleration for a car of 225hp; handling is even better.

On cruise control the car will return 31.6 mpg hwy, and city will range from 19 - 21 mpg.

The AWD - coupled with traction control - will get you through any winter circumstance as long as you have ground clearance (I live in Buffalo, NY.)

Any E46 will not disappoint, but the 330 is truly a great car. Manual highly-highly the transmission of choice.

Owned this car for past 3 years, and since I bought it, besides basic service, I never had any problems.

Outstanding performance, great comfort, unbeaten reliability.

Rear spring broke after 14000 miles at cost of £200.

The agent blamed English roads. I told them I handle the car with kid gloves, I am usually the only person in the car and it has never carried any heavy cargo. I said they'd been making cars for English roads long enough to design a decent spring. On a previous BMW compact both of the door locks went at about 30000 miles at a total cost of more than £200 including a bit of BMW "goodwill".

The car is sluggish (I was reluctant to pay another £1500 for the faster version having already paid £20000+)

I was once overtaken by someone on a Vesper scooter who now, I imagine, thinks a lot more of his scooter than I do about my BMW. Although designated a 1.6 the engine is actually a 1.8.

Very little has gone wrong with this vehicle:

-The shifting boot and the e-brake skirt had some small cracks in the leather when I bought the car. BMW replaced both items free under warranty. It was only an aesthetic issue and only noticeable to someone a bit too in love with their car.

-I managed to suck some leaves in the HVAC system. Just had to have it flushed out. This clearly wasn't the fault of the car or BMW.

This has been a fantastic vehicle. I look forward to my commute to and from work every day. The sport package makes for amazing handling and the manual transmission is extremely smooth. I have taken corners quicker in this car than I ever have before and still haven't managed to squeal the tires. The vehicle has a very solid, but comfortable feel on the road.

The sport seats are extremely ergonomic and do a great job of keeping one from sliding sideways during hard cornering. Other vehicles used to give me a sore back on long road trips, but such things are a thing of the past now.

What really surprised me was the winter handling. This was my first rear wheel drive and manual vehicle, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But the car is great in winter conditions. I feel more in control than I did in all of the 4x4's my familly has owned in the past. The traction control is effective and smooth at all speeds, although sometimes needs to be turned off if you want to have some fun, or get off the line faster in snow.

I have wanted to own one of these vehicles since my dad brought a 93' 320i home and more than a decade ago. The vehicle has lived up to and exceeded all of my expectations. It never fails to turn heads and has a lot of love to give!