USED BMW 3 Series Saloon (05 - )

My car

Bought a september 2007 car from a BMW dealer in Jan 08. 5000 miles on the clock, ex demo. An absolutely amazing car to drive, pure fun. sticks to the road. Superb from that point of view

Those however were my single days. now married with kids and it certainly isn't a family car, only a drivers car. No boot room, or room for back seat passengers, even kids.

Running costs: run flat tyre's are expensive, as well as servicing.

The biggest problem though is reliability. i've serviced the car regularly in bmw garages, only 66000 miles on the clock and a fortnight ago the turbo went. went suddenly when driving and burnt all the oil out of the engine. now having the engine striped to see if that can be repaired. very costly, and out of warranty. Also two years ago, some ELA?? unit went (controls abs and electronic brake force distribution ect.), that was under warranty though....

I've heard since that these are very common problems

My advice; avoid outside warranty, or it will cost you big

My car

I own the 320D SE Saloon from new for the past two years. The handling is superb, firmer ride and it doesn't feel like a diesel. Its very good on diesel and excellent controls. The downside is that the DAKOTA beighe leather started to wear out on the drivers seat whithin the first year of owning the vehicle. The dealer replaced the leather. Then the beige plastic trim begins to wear out and you can see the white plastic behind it! What? I paid £30K with extras for this car? The dealer have replaced the worn out interior.

But once again, the driver's side bolster has began to wear out. The quality of the leather used is no good when one pays premium price for a good quality prestige mark. BMW HAVE CUT CORNERS.

My car

I bought a 2007 model 320d last month. It is the best car I have ever owned.

Only annoying part is the tramlining as almost everyone else on this site has talked about.

Althought it is not a very big issue for me it is still annoying therefore i went thru some research and found the following link very usefull. Please look at this web site below it looks like tramlining problem is deriving from Bridgestone Ponenza tyres not a car issue.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.efceb01/1640

And coincendently I have the same tyres.

This site talks about Bridgestone run-flat has the problem hence changing it with go-round tyres or other brands for the run-flat tyres.

Now my question is has any body done anything to solve such problem with his/her car if so, please I would like to know what brand tyres is used? Thank you.

My car

New shape 3 Series 320d ES Touring. I’ve driven the car for a year covering 52,000mls. The car drives well with a good comfortable ride and exceptional cornering. Acceleration is disappointing and no better on the road than many mid range cars. In fairness this car has major reliability problems and other 320d based cars maybe better. Regarding reliability the car has been back for repair many times for instance. Last week 1. The clutch and flywheel were replaced because of an oil leak 2. A heat shield had become loose causing a loud metallic rattling. 3. A large piece of rattling trim was secured inside the engine compartment 4. A rear door handle causing the door to open when moving was replaced. Next week 1. Steering lock to be replaced for a second time. 2. Low speed break judder to be investigated. 3. More rattles in back of car to be investigated. Most significant previous. 1. Total failure of handbrake bringing car to a juddering stop. On the up side the car has a 3yr unlimited mileage warranty.