BMW 3 SERIES CONVERTIBLE REVIEW

My car

I saw Douglas Cameron's post Dated 30/01/2011 and just had to write a post. I Have an 07 320i convert. and to put it quite simply it is just a pile of rubbish the roof has leaked on more than one occassion most notably on the day of my mothers funerall, it has a constant miss since new which I complained about and it drove like a bag of bolts with power that would not pull you out of bed in the morning, and yes in 4 years and just 28000 miles it has had 2 sets of tyres, it just eats them for fun, it has come out of the dealer again today and had a load of work done, new coils again plugs so and so on, the stop start has not worked for 3 months and keep getting told to charge the battery!! BMW customer customer sevices is just a joke BMW and the customer service director should be ashamed of themselves, full stop. This car goes back in june and I for one cant wait. Robert Mair a soon to be ex BMW customer. (I have owned 4 new BMWS since 2003)

My car

The BMW 320d M Sport Convertible is a handsome car, we have ours finished in Alpine White and it definitely has presence on the roads. It's not unusual to get admiring glances from the public as you drive by!

Like most BMW's the steering is precise and beefy making it satisfying to drive. However the M Sport Suspension is really firm on rough and uneven surfaces, I live in an area that been battered by pot holes and speed bumps and it really unsettles the car. The Run Flats don't make it forgiving either and are very expensive should you need to replace them (1 tyre costed me £300!). Also by all means get the Auto Transmission for an easy life, the M Sport Manual box on our car needs a bit of work to get shifting and is tedious for city driving.

The 320d engine however works best on the open roads and has power in spades should you need it. It's economical too, tend to average 50+ MPG on the motorways. Servicing is a bit dear, but then again you probably expect it coming from a prestige brand anyway.

Fit and finish is superb in the car, refinement is top notch and on the move you barely hear the engine running despite being a diesel. Take note should you wish to bring the hood down be prepared to sacrifice a lot of boot space, you probably can just about fit one hand luggage with the roof down! Rear passenger space can be claustrophobic too.

It’s a good car, but I would recommend avoiding the M Sport Suspension for comfort, Auto is a must as well for everyday dri

My car

Run flat tyres, in two years I have replaced 5 tyres at £250 per tyre. Alloys I have cracked 3. Never cracked an alloy in 30 years driving. Thankfully Anne Robinson's Consumer Programme resulted in me successfully getting my money back for the alloys as BMW know fine well the have a design fault.

The ride is so rough and hitting a rut in the road almost results in a loss of control

Fuel consumption provides an impressive 20mpg and little more on motorway cruise at 70 mph

Front headlight washers have fallen off on both winters and after fighting BMW the replaced for free. Imagine driving a £40,000 car with gaping holes in the front bumper.

Winter and snow, OMG.... worse than I have ever experienced, had to buy snow socks for the four wheels just to get out of the driveway, that was another £120

Cant wait to get rid of this car back to BMW next month, looks great with the roof down...and thats about it.

My experience with BMW Customer Service simply results in frustration and ooops did I forget the loss of a customer.

Please be warned

My car

This is my first BMW, although my father is a fan of the brand. For a 2.0 litre diesel engine, performance in terms of acceleration is remarkable,considering the weight. I cannot comment on speed, as I have reached only 80 mph at most. The automatic gearbox is a godsend for city driving (I live in London, with a 40-min commute time), but under certain conditions you notice a certain lag in response time when trying to accelerate, even when doing kickdowns. My major problem so far has been that the car started handling poorly and showed two warning lights, this required a complete realignment of the wheels after only two months and 1600 miles. The dealership refused to honour the warranty and charged me £550 to fix the problem, stating that it was either due to "wear and tear" (!) or to "impact" (on a pothole or speed bump). When I countered that I had driven an old Fiat Stilo over the same roads for two years without ever needing a realignment, the technician shrugged that BMWs are "different", and "have more safety equipment". BMW Customer Service UK supported the dealership's position, so I am therefore left to assume that my BMW is more fragile than a Fiat Stilo and needs extra care when driving in the jungle streets of Central London (well, actually I drove once to Dover and three times to Stansted Airport).