1997 BMW 3 Series 328i review from North America

Things that broke:

Reclining gear in driver's seat

Various exterior bulbs.

Things I replaced under maintenance:

Valve Cover Gasket

Spark Plugs

Shocks

Bushings (Suspension-related)

Clutch

Brake Rotors

Brake Pads

Serpentine Belt

Transmission Mounts

Center Support bearing

Guibo (Flex-Disc)

Other than the seats which were worn when I received the car, everything runs great.

1.5 years and 50000 miles after I bought it, this car still runs strong and there's no reason for it to break down. Maintenance costs aren't that bad either, but I'd only recommend a BMW if you're willing to work on the car yourself, which is pretty easy to do compared to some other cars. My car never has nor ever will go to a shop, unless it's body-related.

Performance-wise, my car out-performs most of my friends while comfortably and quietly commuting me through LA traffic and getting 27 mpg in return (35 city/65 hwy). Plus, with clear-cased indicators, silver paint, and Contour (E36 M3) rims, some people still think it's brand-new!

I'll move on to an E39 530i for my next daily, but as a car-crazed college student who can only afford one car and loves to drive hard, this was the best car for me to buy under $10k (got it for $6K).