1998 BMW 3 Series 328i from North America - Comments

Nothing major has gone wrong, just a lot of little things.

Alarm does not work, panel gaps, fog light switch stuck, random error codes that go away in the check control box, door trim feel off, air con had to be fixed, and some other minor things.

I was born and raised on General Motors and American cars. They never let me down, and I never had considered a German car. But this one came up for sale and I have never looked back.

Even though a bunch of little things have gone wrong, I love this car to death!!!

The handling is great, it under-steers, but you can get the back out and easily correct it, extremely stable and controllable.

Acceleration is great, there are faster cars, but this can hold its own. 2nd gear from 35-65 is great, the power only begins to fade at 110+.

The seats are very supportive and the car is well finished.

The clutch was a pair at first, very light, and I would stall a lot, not my first stick by the way. But over time I am used to it now and no complaints.

The gearbox is a bit balky when it is moist out, but generally is smooth and direct, 1st-2nd gear is a quick change.

The only real complaint, being a car enthusiast, is that it is a little too quiet. I would like to hear the engine more, and the car is quick, but there is not a lot of torque, so I would like to feel it more.

BMW's are nice cars. I owned a 528 and was impressed, but have gone back to buying strictly American, both for patriotic reasons, and the fact that BMW parts are ridiculously expensive. I hope you do not have any problems with yours, but if you do, you might see what I am talking about. Incidentally, I had very little problems with the BMW and all my American cars, but even the maintenance items are a killer on BMW's. It just got to be crazy.

Good luck.

"The only real complaint, being a car enthusiast, is that it is a little too quiet. I would like to hear the engine more, and the car is quick, but there is not a lot of torque, so I would like to feel it more."

Sounds like you would like the new 335i twin turbo. It's got about 300 lb-ft of torque at only 1500 RPM. Your still probably not going to hear much engine noise though since BMW's engines in general have a turbine like feel and smoothness to them, but if you become a BMW fan you'll come to appreciate that too. Any powerful engine can be loud and rumbly, but to have a powerful engine that's turbine smooth and fairly quiet has a different and special feeling to it.

<<BMW's are nice cars. I owned a 528 and was impressed, but have gone back to buying strictly American, both for patriotic reasons, and the fact that BMW parts are ridiculously expensive>

What possible patriotic reason could you have for buying American? Most of the parts and a lot of the actual cars/trucks aren't even made by AMERICANS. And a lot of BMW models are made here.

Throw on a cold air intake if you want to hear the engine. rpm's past 3K and on sound amazing.

I own a BMW 328I and I love it; no probs yet.

I wrote the original review, and apart from a few more annoying failures like my thermometer reading -35' all the time, and random error messages that disappear, I'm still in love.

My car now has a AFE cold air intake and Jim Conforti shark software installed; it's a lot louder, and little quicker, and burns more gas, but it was totally worth it.

My car now has 83,000 miles on it.

Your temp sensor is bad. The temp box is underneath the car on the drivers side b/w the wheel well and the front spoiler. All of that is plastic down there and it can fall victim to road debri or just age. Some times the boxes will actually fall out if certain parts have come undone. Then you lose the sensor. BUT all of these can be replaced for around 150 dollar, that is if you do it yourself. It is NOT hard to do. Invest in a Bentley manual, and hope on the BMW web forums.

I have a 328 and I love the car. 98 was the best year to buy it as it was the last year they made the 328i in the e36 body. Parts are not expensive, IF you know where to look. You can find many of them online at Bavarian Auto, BMP, RealOEM Bimmer parts etc. Just do a google search and check it out.