Topic: Used Vehicle Review: BMW 3 Series, 2006-2011

[Triple Bob]

Fair enough, statement retracted on the "enthusiast" bit.  There are only limited true enthusiast that still exist, we should just get along.

Yes your right Volvo brought out the I6 transverse mounted so over 60% of the weight hangs on the front wheels.  Must be nice!

.....

Exactly ONE out of 18 BMW CPO sedans at Budds BMW Oakville is a stick...so glad you retracted the enthusiast bit.

Who cares how much weight hangs over the front wheels...or what wheels are driven.  Minis are a blast to drive.

Mini's are set up properly.  FWD can be immense fun, but too much weight too far forward can ruin any car.

[rrocket]

^^NOBODY'S shifter is as nice as Acura....

I'd put Mazda's up against them.

And they would lose.......

IIRC, the one in the TSX is a re-worked S2000 box...generally regarded as the best manual in all of autodom...

[Soram6275]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

Right on, right on, right on.   

And neither of you has probably ever owned one.  Hearsay.  So whatever.  Some people claim they're reliable, some don't.  Japanese cars, known for their ultra reliability have had more quality issues in recent years than anyone else, especially Honda.  Koreans did too, not to mention the Americans.  So it's all relative.  While not the biggest BMW fan, I have driven a 2008 328xi many times and it feels solid, a little too solid and stiff for me, but whatever, that's a personal preference - Audi is more me.  Otherwise, I wouldn't say they're any more unreliable than any other cars.  So no, you don't have to be very brave nor stupid, not even rich to own one - middle class to upper middle class is enough for the 3 series - the 5 or 7 series is another story.  I do agree with the run flats though.  I absolutely detest them on my CC and when I will eventually change them, you can trust that I'll be replacing them with regular tires.  They should be optional.  Most people don't like them so why are the manufacturers constantly pushing this unwanted product on us.

Have a great weekend all!!!

[Northernridge]

I was trying to think of other consumer products, besides FGCs, that receive so much criticism yet are so lusted after and hungrily consumed.

All I could come up with is crack cocaine. So I looked on howstuffworks and here's what they said about crack. So, just replace crack with FGCs and see for yourself:

While crack is creating a feeling of exhilaration in the user, it is also leaving a number of significant and potentially dangerous effects on the body. People who take it even a few times are at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, respiratory problems and severe mental disorders. As crack moves through the bloodstream, it first leaves the user feeling energized, more alert and more sensitive to sight, sound and touch. Heart rate increases, pupils dilate and blood pressure and temperature rise. The user may then start to feel restless, anxious and/or irritable. In large amounts, crack can make a person extremely aggressive, paranoid and/or delusional.

[sailor723]

I was trying to think of other consumer products, besides FGCs, that receive so much criticism yet are so lusted after and hungrily consumed.

All I could come up with is crack cocaine. So I looked on howstuffworks and here's what they said about crack. So, just replace crack with FGCs and see for yourself:

While crack is creating a feeling of exhilaration in the user, it is also leaving a number of significant and potentially dangerous effects on the body. People who take it even a few times are at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, respiratory problems and severe mental disorders. As crack moves through the bloodstream, it first leaves the user feeling energized, more alert and more sensitive to sight, sound and touch. Heart rate increases, pupils dilate and blood pressure and temperature rise. The user may then start to feel restless, anxious and/or irritable. In large amounts, crack can make a person extremely aggressive, paranoid and/or delusional.

    Finally...FGC syndrome explained in easy to understand layman's terms ...nice job Northernridge!

[aquadorhj]

uhmm...   iPod/iPhone/apple in general  users?

near psychotic snootiness, complete misunderstanding of technology and physics, utter disregard for other people's feelings..    you can say "apple(bmw) users(driver)" . 

oh, and 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I was trying to think of other consumer products, besides FGCs, that receive so much criticism yet are so lusted after and hungrily consumed.

All I could come up with is crack cocaine. So I looked on howstuffworks and here's what they said about crack. So, just replace crack with FGCs and see for yourself:

While crack is creating a feeling of exhilaration in the user, it is also leaving a number of significant and potentially dangerous effects on the body. People who take it even a few times are at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, respiratory problems and severe mental disorders. As crack moves through the bloodstream, it first leaves the user feeling energized, more alert and more sensitive to sight, sound and touch. Heart rate increases, pupils dilate and blood pressure and temperature rise. The user may then start to feel restless, anxious and/or irritable. In large amounts, crack can make a person extremely aggressive, paranoid and/or delusional.

[johngenx]

Not long ago, pretty much every MB, BMW, Volvo or Audi came with five wheels, meaning a full sized spare.  No mini spare, no inflate kit, and no run-flat BS tires.  You knew that a flat tire was easily dealt with.

When we bought the Forester, I noted that it had a full sized spare.  Yes!  Someone else gets it.  Well, Subaru's lost it now too.

Does the extra weight of the full size tire and wheel make that much difference in fuel economy?  Doubtful.

Maybe on a Corvette, which is a small-ish car with tires the size of an old fashioned steam roller, fitting a true spare is not feasible.  But on a typical four door sedan or SUV has the space...

[Car Guy]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

Some wrong, some right.

First the wrong.  I am not particularly brave, certainly not rich and not the stupidest bear in the woods, but I have owned a 2007 328xi coupe since new, so maybe just think before you start generalizing to that extent.  My car came with 4 year full warranty and 4 years scheduled maintenance. (not a dime spent in the first 4 years - I can't say the same about my 2001 Mustang) It is off warranty now and my regular maintenance costs are right in line with all the other vehicles I have owned or own.  Run-flats will last much longer than the 16,000 km that you claim.  As a matter of fact, I will be replacing my original Continental run-flats this spring after getting about 65,000 kms out of them.  And your statement "A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim" prompts me to ask you the following question back.  So the run flat shreds after 80 kms.............as opposed to the non run-flat that shreds immediately??  And there are several manufacturers that produce run-flat winter tires. (Nokian and Continental for sure - yes the list is not long, but it is not true to say that winter tires are unavailable)  And the cost of replacement run-flats is not 2 -5 times a normal tire.  Whoever told you that was smoking crack.  Oh, and yes, you can replace the run-flats with non run-flats without having to change the rims.

Now the right.  Some of what you said about the run-flats is true.  They do ride harder than a non run-flat, and yes, my car has no spare or jack.  They are also not as plentiful as non-run flats.  So yes, owning a car with run-flat tires does introduce some different wrinkles, but it is by no means as dire a proposition as you make it sound.  In fact, my run-flats saved my butt one time.  I ran through a construction site and got screws in both rear tires.  Yes, the tires did have to be replaced (not repairable) but the fact that they were run-flats, and that it was a slow leak meant that I could get myself home and keep enough air in them to get me to the tire shop to get them replaced.  Had I been in a traditional situation with only one spare and non run-flats, I would have been hooped.

So as you can see, I am not responding from a position of ignorance here.  My opinion is based on my real life ownership experience, which is what I think should be presented to the readers rather than non-fact based negative comments.

[philmcneal]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

Some wrong, some right.

First the wrong.  I am not particularly brave, certainly not rich and not the stupidest bear in the woods, but I have owned a 2007 328xi coupe since new, so maybe just think before you start generalizing to that extent.  My car came with 4 year full warranty and 4 years scheduled maintenance. (not a dime spent in the first 4 years - I can't say the same about my 2001 Mustang) It is off warranty now and my regular maintenance costs are right in line with all the other vehicles I have owned or own.  Run-flats will last much longer than the 16,000 km that you claim.  As a matter of fact, I will be replacing my original Continental run-flats this spring after getting about 65,000 kms out of them.  And your statement "A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim" prompts me to ask you the following question back.  So the run flat shreds after 80 kms.............as opposed to the non run-flat that shreds immediately??  And there are several manufacturers that produce run-flat winter tires. (Nokian and Continental for sure - yes the list is not long, but it is not true to say that winter tires are unavailable)  And the cost of replacement run-flats is not 2 -5 times a normal tire.  Whoever told you that was smoking crack.  Oh, and yes, you can replace the run-flats with non run-flats without having to change the rims.

Now the right.  Some of what you said about the run-flats is true.  They do ride harder than a non run-flat, and yes, my car has no spare or jack.  They are also not as plentiful as non-run flats.  So yes, owning a car with run-flat tires does introduce some different wrinkles, but it is by no means as dire a proposition as you make it sound.  In fact, my run-flats saved my butt one time.  I ran through a construction site and got screws in both rear tires.  Yes, the tires did have to be replaced (not repairable) but the fact that they were run-flats, and that it was a slow leak meant that I could get myself home and keep enough air in them to get me to the tire shop to get them replaced.  Had I been in a traditional situation with only one spare and non run-flats, I would have been hooped.

So as you can see, I am not responding from a position of ignorance here.  My opinion is based on my real life ownership experience, which is what I think should be presented to the readers rather than non-fact based negative comments.

awesome post!

Anyone has any experiences with buying a used bmw please share, im in the market for one

[Snowman]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

I don't have fun flats.....I get a compressor and a can of goop. FGC. FYI...not brave, stupid, or rich.

[aquadorhj]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

I don't have fun flats.....I get a compressor and a can of goop. FGC. FYI...not brave, stupid, or rich.

WUT?S>S>S>?  Snowy, we all thought you were all three when you bought the TTRS!

 

don't have non-flats neither.  got a can of goop and compressor in the trunk.   got roadside assistance package from CanTire.

As for

awesome post!

Anyone has any experiences with buying a used bmw please share, im in the market for one

I say do it!    just make sure to get one with Warranty!

[Snowman]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

I don't have fun flats.....I get a compressor and a can of goop. FGC. FYI...not brave, stupid, or rich.

WUT?S>S>S>?  Snowy, we all thought you were all three when you bought the TTRS!

 

don't have non-flats neither.  got a can of goop and compressor in the trunk.   got roadside assistance package from CanTire.

As for

awesome post!

Anyone has any experiences with buying a used bmw please share, im in the market for one

I say do it!    just make sure to get one with Warranty!

I did not put Audi Care on my speed dial. I have matches and a box of kindling 

[sailor723]

German cars are wonderful driving machines with handsome cabins, but you have to be very brave, rich or stupid to own one. Buggy electronics, miserable reliability and parts and labor prices halfway to the moon mean lots of time in the repair garage and gobs of money for non-warranty maintenance and fixing. For rational buyers one is way too many.

BMWs come equipped with run-flat tires, no spare tire and jack. Run-flats are short lived, 16,000 kilometers is about all you can expect, and two to five times more costly than standard tires which cannot be substituted. They are hard riding, unrepairable, and must be replaced in pairs. A punctured run-flat will shred after 80 kilometers often ruining the expensive special rim. Few tire stores stock them meaning ripoff car dealer prices, and you could be stranded far from help looking for somebody to deal with them. Winter tires are generally unavailable. Find a car from an alternate manufacturer who isn't foisting this miserly scheme on buyers.

I don't have fun flats.....I get a compressor and a can of goop. FGC. FYI...not brave, stupid, or rich.

WUT?S>S>S>?  Snowy, we all thought you were all three when you bought the TTRS!

 

don't have non-flats neither.  got a can of goop and compressor in the trunk.   got roadside assistance package from CanTire.

As for

awesome post!

Anyone has any experiences with buying a used bmw please share, im in the market for one

I say do it!    just make sure to get one with Warranty!

I did not put Audi Care on my speed dial. I have matches and a box of kindling 

Are Audi's easy to get going or do you need a lot of kindling?

[jt328i]

Here's my $0.02

If you're looking for a sporty-ish sedan with a manual transmission... the list is pretty short and mostly German. We recently looked at most of them, specifically 2013 models of the BMW 328i, Audi A4, Lexus IS, Acura TSX, Infiniti G. I bleed BMW blue-and-white but wanted to look at all the options cause things change a lot in a few years.

BMWs are slowly becoming more expensive than anything else (more than Audi and MB). Audi interiors are beautiful and they've added more content for the same price for the 2013 A4. Lexus only offers a manual in the IS250 and you can't even get electric seats with it (when did manual transmissions and electric seats become mutually exclusive) and for 2013 there's no manual at all. The TSX used to be fun, but it's way too soft now, clutch, steering, and shifter are all really light. The Infiniti interior is missing something for me.

As someone posted earlier, you just have to to look at the cars, sit in them, and drive them, not just once, but a few times and then decide from there. Throw any any preconceived notions and go with your gut.

btw, ended up with the A4.

Now if only you could put an inline-6 in an A4, then that would be the perfect car for me. There's nothing like the sound of a NA I6. Although the power of the TT I6 in the 335i is intoxicating, i'm not sure it sounds as good as the NA I6. However, the V8 in the M3 might do the trick, sounds totally different but it revs to 8000! It's all about the sound of the engine for me as it revs to redline. My benchmark is like an F1 engine or any Ferrari, the sound is like priority 1 for my future garage queen, any suggestions?

[aquadorhj]

Jt,  sound is highly subjective.

For me, as much as I enjoy my inline6,nothing beats the thrumming of a big displacement v8.
I also enjoy the shriek of flat planed v8(like in Ferrari).

In that respect, its hard to beat a coyote v8 in a mustang.