Rep Power: 309

some 325 and 330 Cis caught my attention lately.... year 03-04. I been on e46forums.com about 3 hours a day reading info on them in terms of quality and reliability. Seems to be that BMWs are reliable and built well BUT this is coming from a site which tends to be biased.

I went to some local body shops/mechanic places to get some opinions from people who worked on the car and the reviews seem to be 50/50. Some say to stay the hell away from the car cuz its nothign but problems, complecated to work on ect. Other say its a fairly nice car, not many problems... not good as Honda/Toyota but close.

Now I want to hear some opinions from you guys.... maybe you've had some experience or know someone who had experience.

I'm mostly concerned on info about the e46 models.

Thanks

 
Rep Power: 349

i have a couple friends that drive the e46 series... mostly m3's but some 330s... my two friends with the 330's have had no problems at all however the guys with the m3's have had so many problems with them

 
Rep Power: 348

the newer 330's look soooo hot

sorry not sure about quality......but it is BMW

 
Rep Power: 309

it is BMW..... very complicated car. More complicated = more things can go wrong.

Question is, how is the build quality of all those complicated things?

 
Rep Power: 434

my cousin has a 328i and the quality is there. interior is excellent - everything is just about as easy to get to as a civic (panels pop in and out with ease). exterior - excellent. engine - excellent.

i think the only problem he had was with a common oil pressure bug that earlier e46's develop, but i'm not completely sure on that.

 
Rep Power: 348

thats what im saying

 
Rep Power: 0

a couple of my buddies drive 3 series, one is an 02, and the other the new gen 3 series.
Absolutly amazing. especially the 330. It has just enough power, its so smooth, so slick, handling is awsome.
I unno i'm in love with that car, i think now, if i didnt buy the 05 Sedan Si(EX), i would'be picked up a used 3 series..

 
Rep Power: 0

I dont know why you'd consider a BMW 3 when its direct competition, the IS300 is a far better car. Its sexier, way more reliable, cheaper to own, and well and I6 with more potential than the bimmer.

 
Rep Power: 309

the 3 series is in tight competition with the IS300. however i drove both cars and i must say, 3 series hands down wins.

i personally love the looks, feel and interior or the 3 series way more then the IS300 but the only thing thats stopping me is the reliability and maintence factor..... however i still cant figure out if BMW is reliable or not..

 
Rep Power: 0

well,..my dad had a 2001 328i, and it was a good car, but it had wiring problums and stuff,...windsheild wipers quit working 3 times,...radio quit working once,...window flips quit working a few time,.....other than that,...my dad said he liked it. However, my dad now has a 2004 Honda Accord EX (sedan-I4 DOHC V-Tech) and he said th only real advantage the Bimmer had over the Accord was rear wheel drive,...both have about the same h/p..and the bimmer was a 6 cylinder. But just my dads and my opinions....

 
Rep Power: 0

The impression I get with Bimmers is its hit or miss. You either have hardly any problems, or lots of nagging issues. My dad had a Z3 and never had problems with it.

 
Rep Power: 0

i work at bmw and the 3-series is a great car from what i have seen. i personally dont like the newer e90 design, but the e46 is a great buy for the money. if you get a used one that still has the warrenty, it is a great deal because for the 1st 50k miles bmw offers free oil changes and scheduled maintence along with free loaner cars when your car is in for service. from what i have seen, all the 3-series are build great and we havent had many problems with them at all.

 
Rep Power: 364

I know a few people who have late model Bimmers. One 3.28, one 3.25, one 3.30, and one M3. The guy with the 3.28 had some electrical problems with his warning systems (the car always thought it was low on windshield washer fluid) but aside from that, everybody else has had no problems with their car that fell outside regular wear & tear.

 
Rep Power: 0

two of my friends have beemers, one has the e46 and one has an x5. neither of them have problems. the one with the e46 has done a lot of work on it himself. but if you're going to add **** to it, you better have bank. the price for parts is no joke. i think what he spent for mods alone cost more than my civic stock. lol. i would def. get an e46, it's a hot car.

 
Rep Power: 0

2 of my bros have them
one of them is a 325: i dont recall him having any problems with the car (owned for about 2 years already)
the other has the m3: no problems as of yet (owned for 1 year)

 
Rep Power: 283

bmw is quality no matter which one you get. i'd say go for a 645.....only starts off at $70k

 
Rep Power: 0

pfff. just wait for the m6 and get that

 
Rep Power: 0

BMWs should be reliable. Maintenance is free for the first 4 years / 50,000 miles. Plus if the car is still under warranty, then dealer should fix the car with no charge. After the warranty has expired, better find another car.

 
Rep Power: 0

^^ Yeah, they even do your 30k scheduled maintenance for free

 
Rep Power: 320

the bimmers are nice cars. There more electronic then mechanical now. Just don't keep the car past its warranty.

My housemate has a 04 330ci, he got it aroudn the same time i got my 04 civic. He has about 15k on the car and had to go to the dealership four times. Once for a bad starter, second for a bad coil in the engine and three and fourth for the window regulator.

my 04 civic has 43k on it and i had no problems. BMW provide probably the best customer service though. All four times, the dealership paid for his towing and gave him a loaner bimmer.

There still nice cars. My housemate has a auto and it still pulls like mother fu.ker... I just dont like the wood trim for the interior.

 
Rep Power: 333

a friend of mine has a 1999 bmw m3 and bought it used with about 60k miles on it.
he said maintaining it is more difficult than the average vehicle. he had problems with it before such as tranny related and it costed him alot as hes just an store retail employee.

however, my fathers bmw 2000 5 series w/ 30k miles (bought when it was brand new) has given him only one problem... a dead battery after 5 years.

 
Rep Power: 0

brother has an 04 M3...no problems...car kicks *** and rips on the freeway