1997 BMW 3 Series from North America - Comments

The brakes have needed replaced twice in the last year. It has gone through two alternators as well. The car also consumes oil very quickly and it has horrible gas mileage. In addition, it needs a new muffler. The car sounds like a lawn mower. I just don't have any more money to put out on this car.

All my life, I have dreamed of owning a BMW. Now I dream of getting rid of this piece of junk. My old Toyota Corolla was super reliable. Getting rid of it was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. The dealer service is lousy. They never quote an accurate wait time. I dropped the car off at 9 am and was told it would be ready in 2 hours. I called back at 4 pm and they had not even started on it.

This is a nice looking car, but that's about it. I can't wait until I can trade it in. I think from now on, I am going to stick with Toyota.

Whenever you buy a used car you are buying somebody elses problems. Maybe you should've bought a brand new car and then see if it really is as bad as you say. I have never owned one, but this holds true with any brand of car you buy. You don't know how the other person maintained the car.

A good local foreign car mechanic is the way to go with a used BMW. I don't know of many bad dealers, but I know that they are out there and the frankly do not care as much about people with older cars.

This comment is irrelevant. Buying a used car, is not a good way to dictating if the car is reliable or not. He should had stuck with the Corolla, or asked more questions before purchasing an used car.

Sounds as if you wanted transportation; a commuter. That being the case, stick with Toyota or Honda because they'll always work. Hopefully you didn't want a BMW because it was a BMW (for the name) because while it's folks like that whom buy the cars, it was made for people who like to drive.

To the above post, kind of hard to drive a car that's in the shop, isn't it? With the price BMWs command, they should be reliable. If the reliability can't stand up to that of an inexpensive economy car like a Corolla, that's just pathetic. How good of a car could it really be? But I think this guy either got a lemon or bought it from someone who abused it. These 3-series generally sound like solid transportation.

I'm a current owner of a 328i E36 and while it's leaking oil and has other little quirks about it (ex. only one washer nozzle works, computer thinks taillight goes out every now and then, washer fluid leak, etc.), it's mechanically a sound car. I've put about 24k miles in 10 months so far and hasn't failed yet, but I do basic maintenance myself. I bought it used from a private seller and just knew what I was getting myself into, understood the risks, and just plain got lucky. Plus, dealerships look at E36s like they're Ford Pintos. Avoid at all costs.

For the guy that added the comment saying that this review was "irrelevant" because he bought the car second hand. Buying second hand is the BEST way to assess the integrity of a car, you can see how it's weathered over the years and see the faults that have arisen. Why assume that the fact that a window seal that has perished due to poor quality rubber is the previous owner's fault, or the fact that the gearbox has failed twice in your ownership??

etc...

I have an e36 purely because it's a great car to drive. It's never broke down on me.

I've had to replace suspension bushings, which appear to be like consumables on e36's. I've also had to replace the water pump and the fan because a blade snapped off somehow. Still the car is 14 years old so I can't really complain. Also I don't drive it for the badge, it's 14 years old and a 5 year old Corsa is worth more, so it's not a brilliant image, just a brilliant drive.

To add to that. How many cars are out there which you can pick up for £2k, which still look half decent today and will achieve upto 150mph, and near 40mpg on a run? There are a few around, but being realistic, not many.

The quality of BMW are the SAME as Fords, Chevys and Dodges. LOW!

Actually it depends where your BMW was built in many cases, as to its reliability. The south african ones are meant to be rather good.