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Comments
As for wiper blades, do you guys use BMW blades or some other make? My BMW blades worked great when they were new, but that was almost 2 years, a cold winter, and 120 degree summers with 100% sun ago.
-Paul
http://www.bmw325i.net/maint_oil_extractor.shtml
I would love to hear what you like about and dislike about it. Do you keep it in "auto" mode mostly and if so how does it perform? Or are you more likely to "shift" yourself.
And finally, would you order it again if given the chance.
Thanks
Also..I see on this site that satellite radio is an optional accessory. Does anyone have this in a new BMW? If so, how is it?
Silver gray: it's down to personal choice but I would not get any car in silver/gray. Over 25% of ALL cars sold in the U.S. are silver. Another quarter is black. Blue is a very good alternative.
Dinan: only get it if you like and own Rolex watches. Most of what they sell has an equivalent product from another shop that is cheaper and usually works at least as well. Their honored by BMW warranty is great for marketing Dinan products but not worth it and good luck figuring out who's reposnisble for what.
Oil change - I thought it was whatever the OBC determines or 1 year, whichever comes first. I am not entirely sure, although oil does get old over time even if you don't drive too many miles. FWIW, all the OBC uses is strictly fuel consumption, not time...
Leather: I was planning on getting it until the night before I put in the order. I couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money on such a small difference in feel and looks, so I passed on it. I'm glad I did. After 57K miles, the vinyl still looks great and smells neutral at worst.
there are about 500 million colors that the human eye can see with about 96 prominent segregates... can we not have some more cars that are not in the boring mainstream?
BTW, I'd have gone leatherette on my car had it been an option. Unfortunately, BMW insisted either leather or that crummy Alcantra stuff. Oh well, at least it's not cloth.
Leatherette is easier to keep clean than leather. Leather isn't worth it.
honestly, you can't tell the difference. the 3-series (i think the M3 is different) leather is pretty average. i think the leather in infiniti and lexus is light years better, and if i could have ordered a car--instead of buying one off the lot--i would have gotten the leatherette. the leather isn't worth the upcharge.
Honestly, you must have a really poor sense of touch then. I wish I had the leatherette (and an extra 1400 bones) but I can tell a marked difference between my leather and my bro-in-law and friends' Bimmers with the leatherette.
I still wish I had that but it definitely feels different. The material just feels rougher and also it's softer than my leather seats.
-Paul
I read your posts, Tire Rack and CR, and just ordered a set of Dunlop Winter Sport M3's. Here's hoping I have good luck with them!
One of the things which helped me to decide was a recent test drive. I have a friend who just mounted some Blizzak WS-50's on his '03 325i. I did not have the benefit of driving in the snow or on the ice, but I have to say the the dry road performance was an eye-opener. During modest or agressive cornering, the tires would "wander" on the road - considerably. Any quick movement of the steering wheel (even slight ones) would result in the same.
I've had winter tires before, and do not recall having that much of an "issue".
I'll be throwing on the Winter Sport M3's before you know it. It'll be interesting to get a good side-by-side comparison between the Blizzak and the M3's, since both are class leaders, but never tested against each other. Apples and oranges, as they say.
Who knows, I might even order the Dunlops for the wife's Odessey.
Also, how does that impact the warranty? My car is only a few months old and it's probably even less of an option for me since I am leasing (though I may buy it out at the end).
Also, anyone here feel that their '03 330 6-speed is a little notchy as compared to the 5-speeds? I have a friend whose 325 has the 5-speed, and that is much more smooth than my 6-speed... especially for 1st and 2nd gears.
Thanks!
No matter how cold the weather or my engine is, my car always idles the same (low) when I start-it. Is that normal with these engines? (This is my first BMW.) It’s an ’03 330i.
Thanks!
I find all BMW manuals atrocious (yet own one...go figure) but most definitely the 6 speed manny is notchy and more mercurial than the 5. All told, that's the one thing BMW does poorly. If only they had honda manuals...ahh
maybe i'm no leather connoisseur, but i'm not the first guy to say this.
in the past i had an acura integra and a toyota corolla (both sticks), and i have the BMW and a scion xB now (both sticks). the BMW stick is very smooth and very forgiving--you'd really have to not know how to drive stick to screw up on this one. the clutch has a fair amount of travel and doesn't engage until the end of its release.
i'd say it's as forgiving as the clutch in my acura. it just has a different action.
i dunno...maybe all the car magazines that love the bimmer sticks are wrong.
Out on a big limb as I've been driving stick since I was 10.
in the past i had an acura integra and a toyota corolla (both sticks), and i have the BMW and a scion xB now (both sticks). the BMW stick is very smooth and very forgiving--you'd really have to not know how to drive stick to screw up on this one. the clutch has a fair amount of travel and doesn't engage until the end of its release.
i'd say it's as forgiving as the clutch in my acura. it just has a different action.
I'm not talking about forgiving. I'm talking about sloppy linkage, bad clutches, notchy feel, vague gates and an all around feeling of garbage. My 6 speed binds when pushed and so does my bro-in-law's five speed. I've not driven a bimmer yet with a good stickshift.
i dunno...maybe all the car magazines that love the bimmer sticks are wrong.
To each their own. I feel honda sticks are lightyears beyond BMW. The miata too has a stick that's sublime. The BMW...ford-like junk that detracts from my driving pleasure.
That said, I wouldn't say that BMW is categorically bad in this department, but there is a very noticable gap between how my car's stick operates (which I wouldn't trade) and that S2000.
i just visited the consumer reports site and noticed bmw 3 series is back on there recommended list. stating reliability has improved recently. not that i place to much weight on there ratings, but thought some people may like to know
Some advice would be nice. I see how most of you enthusiasts opt for the stick but the universal consensus seems to be that bmw's stick is not the best. This is surprising to me. I probably will go with a step anyway since my wife will sometimes drive it.
So my choices as of today
330 i same as I have now- I love it!
330 i with ZHP- just for something different- I like the touches in and out and it would actually be less $ than the set up I have now. And it now comes with (ouch!) step. I would have to see, however, how intrusive the exhaust sound is.
330 cic.- I have never had a rag top. I live in the northeast and wonder if I would love it enough for 6 mos to make up for any inconveniences for the other 6. Any input on how different the car is with top on, (blind spots, drafty?) would be helpful. Also, the joy of "open air" driving... does it get tiresome?
Thanks
I'm ordering the 5-speed 325ci, I hope it's as good or better than the one I drove.
as for your allegation that you've been driving stick since you were 10...i dunno. are you counting go karts and farm equipment?
to each his own, but i'm guessing that if you like the honda stick more than the BMW stick, you probably wouldn't like a porsche or something more performance-oriented. i've never heard a ferrari driver (my uncle has five of them) say that he liked a honda stick more than a BMW stick.
-Paul
Allegation? Um, if it's my experience then it'd be a fact. The first stick I drove was a 1983 Nissan Pulsar NX. It was in a college parking lot. From that point on I drove sticks pretty consistently around the neighborhood, in parking lots and at my friend's grandparent's farm. There's not much that's more exciting for a 12 year old than doing e-brake 360s on dirt roads with nothing to hit for miles. Well maybe cows.
i dunno. are you counting go karts and farm equipment?
I've never driven a gocart or any farm equipment unless you count ATCs and ATVs as farm tools.
to each his own, but i'm guessing that if you like the honda stick more than the BMW stick, you probably wouldn't like a porsche or something more performance-oriented. i've never heard a ferrari driver (my uncle has five of them) say that he liked a honda stick more than a BMW stick.
I've never heard anyone say Porsche or Ferrari have good manuals. In fact just the opposite. i've read many, many complaints about the manuals in those cars. Prior to the Tiptronic there wasn an old joke about being able to tell a Porsche owner in So Cal by the fact that his left thigh was twice the size of his right.
BMW manuals are not rubbery. Never said so. I said notchy, binding, sloppy, poorly engineer. I know rubbery - I owned a VW. It's not like that. A bimmer tranny is more like stirring cold spaghetti with a wooden spoon.
Actually, born and raised a Niners fan. Even if they are a lousy team and have been for nearly a decade, I still support them.
gotcha.
as far as the ferrari sticks...well, if you like the honda, you're not gonna like the ferrari. and the porsche clutches are heavy as hell--it's a driver's car, not a comfort car.
What a copout. There's no reason a performance car should have a substandard tranny.
Driver's car...if that were so then the tranny action would be short, precise and unwavering.
This is like saying an action movie shouldn't have full characters and good dialogue because afterall it's all about things that go boom.
I think that experience might put a positive spin on what (I think) blueguydotcom is trying to say.
In fact, if I recall correctly, Edmunds and/or some of the car rags have lauded Honda for that particular tranny, which is unlike its others.
Yes, I have had the good fortune driving 911's too. I still "stick" to my opinion here.
Does anyone think that Honda's better stick is partially attributable to the fact that they are mating them with low-torque engines (rather, low-torque at low rpm). Whereas, BMWs have much higher torque available at lower rpm.
Thank you.
Howard