Amazing car overall
Went through 2 high pressure fuel pumps.
Amazing car for the price.
Amazing road feel and handling.
Super fast (not too many vehicles can out gun you at a light).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 21st October, 2010
Fun to drive with great performance marks
Nothing serious so far.
USB MP3 stick fails to initialize from time to time - either have to replug it or next driving it works again.
Gearshift reminder indicator on dashboard disappeared - need to figure out if controlled via iDrive or visit the dealer.
The car is fun to drive with good performance and fuel economy. I am really impressed by the diesel engine, which puts out 177hp and serious torque from 2 liters, while keeping consumption on average 6 l/100 km. Even urban driving hardly goes over 6.5 l/100. On German autobahns 200 km/h is easily maintainable and ride comfort is not degraded.
I'm really fond of adaptive xenon high beams - the car switches high beams on automatically when you drive outside cities and when there's no other drivers around to bother. The precision this system works is amazing.
On the other end are the automatic windscreen wipers. Their behaviour could be described as random, unpredictable and funny. Sometimes they wait till I cannot see any more in the rain, other times they continue scratching over dry glass for 1-2 minutes.
Run flats have their pros and cons. The car by design has no space in the trunk to put the spare tire. I recently drove about 1500 km through Europe, and the tire pressure monitor warned me for losing pressure. I stopped at a gas station and checked the tires, one of them was just below, so I pumped it, and in the next few days drove another 250 km until the next warning. Then after a bit more serious investigation I found there was a nail stuck. Replacing both rear tires 225/45/17 is painful for your pocket, but at least you have some confidence you won't have a serious accident if it happens on the motorway.
The trunk space is not the greatest that you would expect, but considering the rear wheel arches reside almost fully in the trunk it is good enough. Also the front wheels are on the very front of the car and this gives great stability curving.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th June, 2010
Fun little sport sedan, especially with the 6MT
Hydraulic valve adjuster ticking started at about 12,000 miles, and had the cylinder head replaced at about 16,000 miles. The head replacement took care of the issue.
CBS display for oil change kept increasing rather than decreasing. At one point, the CBS indicated 24,000 miles to next oil change after I had driver 6,000 miles since the last oil change (30,000 miles between oil changes per the CBS is ridiculous). Got a software update that took care of the issue.
Flat tire, but the replacement was covered by my wheel and tire package, and I am sticking with run-flats because it helped me get to the dealership on the flat tire!
I love the car, it is quite comfortable and great fun to drive.
BMW's claims that several fluids in the car are "lifetime fill", I think is BS. I plan on keeping the car for a few more years, and to help that I plan on getting most fluids changed more frequently than BMW advises.
The dealership gives me a free loaner almost always, but getting an appointment needs to be done at least 2 - 3 weeks in advance.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th December, 2009
Wow, that is horrible. I'm seeing a lot of problems with the newer BMWs. Makes me want to hold my e36 tight and never let go.
The 'lifetime fill' is truly BS. I have a '96 328IS 5 speed, & drained my differential fluid after 150k miles, and it was dark and sparkly. Trans fluid was dark too.
You should change the fluids at 100k miles at most, 50k if you're extra cautious like me.
As for the oil, I wouldn't trust the computer either. 12,000 miles for an oil change is ludicrous.
Good way to break your car and make you buy a new one.
I change my synthetic at 6k. Recommendation on my car was 7k.
Trust your oil/filter ratings, which can be anything from 3000 miles to 15,000 miles. Also consider that BMW generally hold more oil (7+ quarts) than other cars, so it does not get stressed as much. Take your driving style into consideration as well.
Changing your transmission fluid may loosen gunk and wreck your transmission. Unlike most other systems, this is a very real possibility. Many manufacturers do not recommend a transmission flush and will not do one for that reason. If you want to risk transmission flushes, do so very early on in the car's life, otherwise just top up.
Yeah, they don't recommend taking care of the transmission fluid at all. That way they they can just wait until the transmission goes out prematurely, and you have to buy a new one at the tune of a few thousand or more. More money for them. If people took care of the transmission, then the sales of transmissions would hit rock bottom.
4th Dec 2009, 15:26
You had to replace the head at 16K on a BMW? Wow that is pretty bad. Also, letting oil go to 6,000 miles is never a good idea unless you are driving with synthetic and mainly on the highway. Usually 3,000 to 4,500 is a good rule of thumb. Don't go by the manufacturers computer to tell you when to change the oil. I made that mistake on my last Honda. It was reading 40% oil life left at 7,000 miles and the oil was down over a quart and looked like black mud. I trusted the service department and went with their computer... that one time. After that it was every 3,000 miles. Oil breaks down in ANY engine, and BMW's aren't any better on crappy old oil then any other car is. Plus they are much more expensive to fix than most.