I feel sorry for anyone owning a 3 series BMW these days
Discussion
Here's the list of BMWs currently in my family:
E46 330Ci (M54) ///M Clubsport - MINE
E46 328i (M52TU) Saloon - MINE
E46 325i (M54) ///M Sport Touring - Mom's
E36 320i (M50) - Fiancee's
E36 318i (M43) - Sister's
E36 318i (M40) - MINE until 2yrs ago.
All of these cars provide nothing but pleasure. I love driving them, but most of my pleasure is derived from working on them. They do not require much work to 'keep them going', but I am a perfectionist. My cars must be as good as the day they came out of the factory, and it is quite possible to achieve. BMWs are built well! You can take them apart knowing you'll be able to put them back together again, because things aren't just glued together like so many other manufacturers these days! Yes there are plastic clips, but they seldom break and if they do they are cheap and easy to get. BMW have designed these cars so that they can last forever. Everything is modular, so if a component wears out you can easily replace it, and the parts are incredibly cheap in comparison to other brands.
I believe that what lets BMW down in the UK is their dealership network. Yes there are some good dealers, but the majority of them are terrible! I only use the Parts Desk at my local dealership. I definitely wouldn't trust the mechanics with my car. On a couple of occasions, when I have been in the process of solving a problem, I thought "I'll ask the BMW technicians what they think".... utter waste of time!
You can easily do the maintenance yourself. All you need is a Haynes Manual, but one step better would be the Bentley Manual. I however have got the full range of BMW software: ETK (Electronic Parts Catalogue), TIS (Technical Information System - Workshop Manual), EBA (Accessories Retrofit Instructions), and CarSoft to (stand in for DISplus - Onboard Diagnostics and Vehicle coding). This basically means I can do anything the BMW UK technicians can do... and in my experience a whole lot more! If you can, get hold of the software!
So in summary (because I know I've rambled a bit), I think that the Germans know what they're doing. They build good cars, but the UK networks are letting them down.
E46 330Ci (M54) ///M Clubsport - MINE
E46 328i (M52TU) Saloon - MINE
E46 325i (M54) ///M Sport Touring - Mom's
E36 320i (M50) - Fiancee's
E36 318i (M43) - Sister's
E36 318i (M40) - MINE until 2yrs ago.
All of these cars provide nothing but pleasure. I love driving them, but most of my pleasure is derived from working on them. They do not require much work to 'keep them going', but I am a perfectionist. My cars must be as good as the day they came out of the factory, and it is quite possible to achieve. BMWs are built well! You can take them apart knowing you'll be able to put them back together again, because things aren't just glued together like so many other manufacturers these days! Yes there are plastic clips, but they seldom break and if they do they are cheap and easy to get. BMW have designed these cars so that they can last forever. Everything is modular, so if a component wears out you can easily replace it, and the parts are incredibly cheap in comparison to other brands.
I believe that what lets BMW down in the UK is their dealership network. Yes there are some good dealers, but the majority of them are terrible! I only use the Parts Desk at my local dealership. I definitely wouldn't trust the mechanics with my car. On a couple of occasions, when I have been in the process of solving a problem, I thought "I'll ask the BMW technicians what they think".... utter waste of time!
You can easily do the maintenance yourself. All you need is a Haynes Manual, but one step better would be the Bentley Manual. I however have got the full range of BMW software: ETK (Electronic Parts Catalogue), TIS (Technical Information System - Workshop Manual), EBA (Accessories Retrofit Instructions), and CarSoft to (stand in for DISplus - Onboard Diagnostics and Vehicle coding). This basically means I can do anything the BMW UK technicians can do... and in my experience a whole lot more! If you can, get hold of the software!
So in summary (because I know I've rambled a bit), I think that the Germans know what they're doing. They build good cars, but the UK networks are letting them down.
xm5er said:
Shelbysteve you are Saxondale and I claim my £5.
No this is shelbysteve
[URL=www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=2600513]
[/URL] Lighten guys theres nothing wrong with having sex with you own cars either!
shelbysteve said:
spokey said:
I have an E21 323i ... it always puts a smile on my face.
Yes agreed I drove them too! i drove a rare Alpina one once These cars invented the new colt of drift racing
These are REALLY picking up now.
I've owned my E21 323i since 1990-first car I ever bought and I fitted a 2.7 litre engine in it.
I'm currently refurbishing the whole lot and looking into plans for stretching the engine still further.
The new BMWs don't interest me or excite me- although as a professional engineer I am very interested in the engineering and keep abreast of their developments. However as I've written in another post-
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&skin=phclassic&f=23&t=361994&i=40&hm=
BMW had to move with the times- where cars have become "lifestyle" accessories...
That said, it is a bit off to come to a BMW forum and start vociferously slagging off folks choice of motors. All cars have become heavier and perhaps more "mundane" ( and no I don't need an example of how fast a modern Mk2 is compared to its predessor and how a Porsche was whipped- that would be missing the point). When all's said and done- if I didn't live so far from work and didn't have to contend with the snow I WOULD consider a nice 328i E36 coupe as an everyday hack- a they're so cheap here. It would be a little unfair perhaps to compare it to my E21- which would be no where near as relaxed or as comfy.
Edited by Marquis_Rex on Thursday 26th April 12:16
bmwdrivernigel said:
I have driven almost every model of BMW that has been manufactured over the last 20 years (I can remember taking delivery of a brand new 1987 E24 635csi) and currently run 50+ BMWs, over the years they have suffered problems but then what car maker hasn't ? My BMW fleet average 3 million miles a year and I would guess that if I calculated the days off road due to failures it would be less than 5 per vehicle.
My drivers have always commented on how good the new 7 is, and they spend their life behind a wheel so can give a realistic idea of the product rather than a slightly 'biased' version from some one who has driven 20 odd miles.
If you drove one for more than 24 miles, oh sorry 25 miles you might get to realise that they actually do what they are meant to do.
BMW is a premium brand, an aspirational marque that most 'normal' people would want to own.......and is the most successful privately owned car maker in the world.
And no I don't work for BMW.
My drivers have always commented on how good the new 7 is, and they spend their life behind a wheel so can give a realistic idea of the product rather than a slightly 'biased' version from some one who has driven 20 odd miles.
If you drove one for more than 24 miles, oh sorry 25 miles you might get to realise that they actually do what they are meant to do.
BMW is a premium brand, an aspirational marque that most 'normal' people would want to own.......and is the most successful privately owned car maker in the world.
And no I don't work for BMW.
Edited by bmwdrivernigel on Saturday 14th April 01:08
What he said ^^^^^^ & I do work for BMW.
Biggest pile of junk ive ever read that is!
The 330ci is a superb car and is 1000 times better than any rattling,creaking rusty old E30 cab.
The brakes are very good on any E46 and even stand up to some track abuse,the hifi is quite poor but can be upgraded,the clutches can last 100k miles no problem.The M54 engine,is a million times sweeter than the old ticking M20 with a cracked head.
The 330ci is a superb car and is 1000 times better than any rattling,creaking rusty old E30 cab.
The brakes are very good on any E46 and even stand up to some track abuse,the hifi is quite poor but can be upgraded,the clutches can last 100k miles no problem.The M54 engine,is a million times sweeter than the old ticking M20 with a cracked head.
shelbysteve said:
No this is shelbysteve
[URL=www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=2600513]
[/URL] Lighten guys theres nothing wrong with having sex with you own cars either!
Can we not just lock the thread on this note.....
trackdemon said:
shelbysteve said:
No this is shelbysteve
[URL=www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=2600513]
[/URL] Lighten guys theres nothing wrong with having sex with you own cars either!
Can we not just lock the thread on this note.....
Not until the Cobra cites him for adultery
Not keen on Audis boring cars full stop in my opinion. I owned a 320CD sport convertible superchipped last year, the plus points were that it really was a lovely looking car and very comfortable etc but the handling was terrible on twisty b roads the car flexed and rattled and it was only a year old. which i was very suprised about. A BMW technician came out with me once for a drive in it and said the best handling BMW convertible away from an M3 obviously was the 318 hahaha he said the bigger and heavier the car the worse the handling. I followed a 330CI Convertible in my Boxster recently and it stood no chance of keeping up or matching me for handling not that i expected it to...imho if you want a performance BMW 3 series Convertible buy an M3 or if you want a standard 3 series buy the coupe or saloon, much better handling cars over the convertible.
Edited by toenheel on Monday 30th April 14:52
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