USED BMW 3 Series Convertible (05 - )

My car

I read the hysterically positive motoring press reviews, admired the beautiful shape, and was impressed with the brakes and auto box but my 2008 320i convertible was a very poor buy.

Dynamically the ride is awful, the road noise deafening, the steering is strangely lifeless perhaps because the car sat on run flat tyres. The engine is not exactly raucous but neither does it sound great and the fuel consumption is very average, bordering on poor.

Inside there is simply no room. No room for rear passengers, no room to even store the car manual and the boot is minuscule. The thick A pillars obscure forward vision, there is no lumber support which makes journeys very uncomfortable, the centre armrest is too far back and unyielding, the back seat is as comfortable as sitting against plywood. Some of the detail work such as the useless small locker in the boot is poorly finished. The heater fan sounds as if it was bought in poundland; and don't expect an engine temperature gauge on a car which cost £35K new.

As for reliability, well I had an orange engine light come on after 6 months motoring which was hardly informative but turned out to be 2 corrupt sensors in the exhaust on a car less that 4 years old. The cost to repair was £700. I have thankfully sold the car and have gone back to VW.

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