BMW 3-Series 2006

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Comments

  • davidd3davidd3 Member Posts: 582
    Maybe the difference in your monthly payments is rather small because you are optioning up your 325xi to include things which are standard on the 330xi. In that case, the MSRP difference in the two cars as-equipped is much less than the 6K MSRP difference in the base price of the two cars.
  • dfosherdfosher Member Posts: 26
    I have the Motorola E815 (recommended by BMW) with Verizon Wireless. I have successfully paired the phone with my car. The problem is that sometimes it doesn’t pair up when I get into the car. It may do it right off, or during the trip or sometimes not at all. The “Automatic” Feature on my phone doesn’t appear to be working. I have to set it to “Ask” and accept the request every time. Maybe my phone is not configured properly? Here are my settings:

    Settings – Connections – Device History – Access (Ask)
  • novalaurennovalauren Member Posts: 16
    thank you for your comments on the financing, yet again, HOWEVER...I am well versed in the financing aspect and that is not the issue nor my question.....is the 330 engine REALLY worth the upgrade? :D
  • bdr127bdr127 Member Posts: 950
    is the 330 engine REALLY worth the upgrade?

    That's for you to decide.... Some people adamantly say yes, some adamantly say no, and some can't even tell the difference.

    Drive both and decide for yourself.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    "...is the 330 engine REALLY worth the upgrade?"

    It isn't just the engine. So, equipped like equipment for like (ie. both cars with Premium Package, Xenon Headlights and Premium Audio), the price difference is $3,300. For that extra money you get a car with a more powerful engine, larger wheels shod with better tires (marginally), larger and more capable brakes and a more robust transmission.

    The question really should be, "Do I care about having the faster and better handling car of the two?"

    Best Regards,
    Shipo
  • davidd3davidd3 Member Posts: 582
    "is the 330 engine REALLY worth the upgrade?"

    Absolutely! But don't take my word for it. You should test drive both cars and see for yourself the difference. Before getting the 330i, I debated, on paper that is, between an optioned-up 325i and a 330i. I went to the dealer inclined to get the 325i, based on cost. Then I test drove both cars. I knew immediately that I had to have the 330i, money be damned. To me, the "upgrade" was the difference between a very nice ride and an exciting ride. I need a good acceleration rush to start my day. Aside from the obvious (40 more hp), you also get, among other things, larger wheels/tires and larger more capable brakes. And strangely enough you don't pay for that extra power at the gas pump. The 330i actually gets the same gas mileage as the 325i.
  • tturedraidertturedraider Member Posts: 159
    I think you have your settings wrong. I don't have a 330i yet, but I do have a bluetooth earpiece.

    On my settings, at Device History my phone gives me the name of my earpiece. Then under Device Details it shows Name: device name, Access: Automatic. When I select Automatic details it gives me the choice of Ask or Automatic. I have Automatic checked. My phone pairs with my earpiece automatically without fail everytime I turn on the earpiece.

    Hope that helps.
  • ivan_99ivan_99 Member Posts: 1,681
    I think that you also gain the savings going with ED as the "standard" options in the 330 gain the benefit of the discount; whereas added option are not discounted.
  • max63max63 Member Posts: 76
    Just got my new 330i last Friday. I have the same phone and my dealer programed it. Next time I was in the car it did not read the phone. Took my phone back to the dealer and he changed a setting on my phone to 'Bluetooth' - ON - Not sure how to get there but check out the phone manual. Now I have no problems. I also have a the I-Drive and can't believe how easy it is to use. My phone book is in the car which makes calling easy. So glad I got all the options - sport, prem., comfort access and park distant control. Love this car, and glad I did not get the IS350.
  • dl7265dl7265 Member Posts: 1,381
    Has any one got the new Video Ipod ? I was told that you use a rca (headphone out jack) to rca in the input. Just curious what the quality of that is going to be ? with a $3 cord.

    DL
  • dfosherdfosher Member Posts: 26
    Thanks tturedraider and max63. I changed the setting to Automatic and verifed bluetooth was on. It appears to be working better, but still doesn't pair up all the time. Like this morning, I stopped at a store and got back in the car and it didn't pair up again. Its really hit or miss. I may need to have BMW Service look into it.
  • karlzunikarlzuni Member Posts: 20
    My apologies if this has already been discussed.
    Run flat tires means no spare?
    Must be replaced with runflat tires when worn out?
    Any idea how much these cost?
    Thanks :confuse:
  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    They don't "have" to be replaced with run flats. You can replace them with whatever you like, just know that you don't have a spare. Some cars are coming with a repair kit instead of a spare. The previous Corvette Z06 came like that instead of run flats or a spare.
  • davidd3davidd3 Member Posts: 582
    "Run flat tires means no spare?"
    That's correct.

    "Must be replaced with runflat tires when worn out?"
    Not necessarily. However, since there is no spare and the car was specifically designed to run on run-flat tires, as a practical matter, it seems best to replace worn out run-flat tires with new run-flat tires.

    "Any idea how much these cost?"
    $200 to $300, depending on size and who you buy from.
    I recently purchased winter tires. I paid only $14 more per tire for the run-flat version. That's just $56 more for the whole set.
  • nearlydadnearlydad Member Posts: 9
    Dfosher
    Your situation is totally same with me. I went to a delar in San Diego after wating for one month but they did not improve. That is normal they said. So then I e-mailed to BMW USA but they did not improve the situation. I would say they did not going to see in detail. Once phone is parid, they think it is perfect and done. If you got any improvement, please let me know how you did that. Bluetooth function on my 325i is lemon, does not meet to the price of the car.
    Thank you
  • ommdbmwommdbmw Member Posts: 6
    Don't have a video Ipod. But I recently tried to connect my regular audio ipod to my Aux input inside the armrest of my new '06 3 series. I bought a cord at Radio Shack with 1/8 inch inputs on both sides of the cord for about $5. I stuck the cord in the ipod and in the aux input and the sound BARELY came in at all over my sound system. Which to me means that I don't have the right cord. Any suggestions help folks? Does Monster or Ipod make anything to handle this?

    E :confuse:
  • snsnsnsn Member Posts: 56
    No one else having this issue? I posed my question on the BMWUSA website the same day I posted in this forum. As of today, I have not received a response from BMW.
  • dl7265dl7265 Member Posts: 1,381
    I "think" i read you have to have the gain on the Ipod All the way up. Did you try this allready ?

    DL
  • concerneddadconcerneddad Member Posts: 1
    Last Saturday, I purchased a new 2006 3 series BMW for my daughter. We purchased it from a dealer in San Diego. My daughter lives in LA. On the freeway going back to LA, the car downshifted on it's own and the displays all went blank. She pulled off the road and called me. We determined she should restart the car and see if the problem persisted. She did and everything seemed ok. We contacted our BMW dealer about the issue and they had no explaination. They thought the problem was the "computer adjusting itself." On Wednesday of this week, the problem re-ocurred, only worse. The car would brake on it's own, and was difficult to control. Again this happened on the freeway. Fortunately my daughter was able to pull off the freeway and call BMW Roadside assistance. They towed the car to a dealer in LA. No one seems to understand this problem. Any one have a similar experience?
  • davidd3davidd3 Member Posts: 582
    I have the same setup and it works rather well, in fact well enough that I would not spend hundreds of dollars for full integration in the future. I can make it go as loud as I want. I think the key is that you have to have the volume all the way up on the iPod. Just select and start a Playlist on your iPod, crank up the volume on your iPod, put the stereo on Aux, put your iPod in the armrest storage and forget about it. The only drawbacks, as far as I can tell, is that you don't have the functionality to use your stereo controls to jump around from song to song, and you cannot see on your stereo display what song is playing.
  • wstevecwstevec Member Posts: 126
    I bought the same cord from Radio Shack and it works fine with my Dell mp3 player. The secret is to adjust the Aux volume control to the max. You need to have the Aux activated to do this and its adjustable, you use one of the preset buttons on your car stereo to adjust it. The other option would be to get one of the I-Pod FM transmitters, but I think the cable should work fine. Good Luck!
  • tayl0rdtayl0rd Member Posts: 1,926
    Sounds like your daughter is having to much fun driving the car. The first incident was caused by her prodigious use of the throttle which caused it to downshift. The resulting G forces from the acceleration caused her to have a momentary blackout and it appeared to her that all the displays went blank.

    The second occurrence was from her barrelling through a curve too fast and the stability control took over and slowed the car down. She had forgotten to turn the system off and was expecting a nice, wide drift through the corner. She was prepared to throttle and steer for this, but the stability control system caught her off guard which meant she had to make some quick corrections to her steering in order not to plow into the other lane. That gave her the impression of it being difficult to drive.

    :P

    Meanwhile, back in the real world...

    I honestly don't know. Just having some fun at your daughter's expense. Forgive me. ;) It's probably just the "first year blues" with the new model. Most everything is all-new with the 2006 3-series, and you know what they say about the first model year. I suspect once they clear the trouble codes and reset the computer, it will never happen again.
  • odessitodessit Member Posts: 140
    Ok guys. Let me answer all you iPod question here. I’ll try to be not too technical.
    IPod has to ways to be connected to the AUX input of the car.

    It seems you all try first way – connecting headphone output on the iPod to the AUX input of the car with the RadioShack cable. In this scenario the level of output sound WILL depend on the volume you set on the iPod itself. Not really convenient because like others said before you just have to make it as loud as possible on the iPod in order to be hearable through you car speakers. And then, if, lets say you want to take it out of the car and listen to it while you walk for instants your volume is all the way up and you probably forget about it and it makes you really uncomfortable the first second you put your headphones on :)

    Second way to connect the iPod. There is so called dock connector on the iPod – thin long connector I believe at the bottom of the iPod (depending on the model). The one you use to connect it to the computer. Sound (signal) that is coming out from that conector is universal in term of level and WILL NOT depend on the volume you set on your iPod. But how the hell do you connect this dock output to AUX? There are some adapters on market. I am not sure if I can post link to another commercial website but I’ll try. This is what I personally use in my car: http://www.sik.com/imp.php
    The product is called IMP (have no idea what it means:)) But basically it serves two purposes – charger and adapter between iPod dock connector and AUX input in the car. The set up is as follows: iPod dock connector > IMP adapter > RadioShack $5 cable >AUX input of the car. And of course charger is in there and it perfectly fits in the armrest compartment. I use it for about 2 months now and the quality is good.
    I personally do not like those FM transmitters so I opted out for more cables in my armrest compartment but at least I have good quality and it is reliable. Signal (sound) coming out this way – through the dock connector – is the best you can get from an audio device. What you have from the headphone jack is so-so quality.

    If anyone is interested I can make some photos of the setup.
    mike
  • e90sede90sed Member Posts: 15
    Haven't had your problem but the dealer applied a bunch of program patches to my 325 last week and they are tweaking them this week!!!!.
  • ommdbmwommdbmw Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for the responses everyone. Maybe I bought the wrong $5 cord, but I'll check again later today with the cord I have. I set the level all the way up on both the "aux" and on the ipod. THe sound coming out was still very very faint and sounded like it was only on one side. I can't live with that sound!!

    Or, I can try the other arrangement that was just posted with the IMP adapter, but it seems like I still would need the right cord - so if I have a bad one or something, that could explain it. The one I have is 6 feet (they had nothing shorter) and it did say "audio cable" on the packaging, but I remember reading something about "mono" as well on the labeling. So maybe that's my issue. Who knows?!!
  • odessitodessit Member Posts: 140
    6 feet cable, in Radio Shack, around 4 or 5 dollars – you have the right cable assuming it is Stereo. You don’t need mono:). Yes, they don’t have anything shorter and it sucks. And it is black color, which is not the most esthetically pleasant. But the sound quality should be ok assuming you have stereo cable. Try to adjust balance on the radio itself and see if it helps. If not and you still hear sound mostly on one side – yes, you have mono cable. Exchange it.
    The only other recommendation or suggestion – I also bought remote radio transmitter to control the playback of the iPod otherwise I am forced to always open the handrest lead, take iPod out, etc. Not the most safest thing to do while driving a car.
  • dl7265dl7265 Member Posts: 1,381
    Hmm too bad they dont have the correct aux jack on the end, then you could skip the additional step of that 6" cord....

    Thanks,
    DL
  • davidd3davidd3 Member Posts: 582
    "6 feet cable, in Radio Shack, around 4 or 5 dollars – you have the right cable assuming it is Stereo. You don’t need mono:). Yes, they don’t have anything shorter and it sucks. And it is black color, which is not the most esthetically pleasant."

    I also got my cheapo connector cable at Radio Shack. When they tried to sell me the 6-footer, I asked if they had something smaller. And they did. I have a 2 or 3 footer, which is gray, not black. This purchase was made a couple of months ago. Before you get jealous and rush out to buy one, consider this. The smaller cable is not long enough for you to hold your connected iPod in front of you while you are driving in order to change a Playlist or whatever. Instead, you have to lean over to the center armrest, taking your eyes off the road momentarily.
  • odessitodessit Member Posts: 140
    Yes, that’s unfortunate they don’t have the male plug on the end. But I saw some nice, white color, short male-to-male 3.5mm cords in CompUSA that would be perfect for this purpose. The do cost three times more than the black long RadioShack cords though.
  • ommdbmwommdbmw Member Posts: 6
    Hey all, it was dumb me. I got an audio, not stereo, cord that 1/8 inch MONO plugs. They were out of the cheap $5 stereo one, so I spent $14 to get a nicer gold plated 6ft cord (supposedly better connection) because I am impatient! lol
  • corvettecorvette Member Posts: 11,402
    Wal-Mart had a 3-foot cord. I find that if I turn the AUX level on the radio up all the way, and the iPod up about 80% of the way, it's at approximately the same level as my CD player or radio.
  • e90sede90sed Member Posts: 15
    Prior to the dealer applying the latest program patches(updates) the AUTO setting worked fine. Now the lights are on all the time.

    Dealer says that is the way it is and the patches cannot be removed.

    Has anyone had the same problem and if it was resolved, is there a service bulletin that corrected it?
    Thanks
  • ckm1515ckm1515 Member Posts: 52
    What do you think of this deal?

    2006 330xi
    SG
    Terra Int
    Alum Trim
    Automatic Tran
    Prem Pack
    Cold Weather
    Comfort Access
    MSRP $44,495
    Initial Cap Cost $43,295
    3 years/45K
    LRF .0024 (buy rate was .0022, dealer wanted .00265, split diff)
    $0 down monthly payment $647.36
  • snsnsnsn Member Posts: 56
    Can you tell me when your car was built? I just talked with my service advisor and he states that cars built before 9/05 do not have the software upgrades available (auto door lock, etc). On cars built after 9/05, owners can program this on their own.
  • dfosherdfosher Member Posts: 26
    Excellent information. Thank you. I noticed on the Sik web site they offer a cable called a RAM DIN. Which eliminates the Radio Shack cable and is a direct connection to the AUX jack in the car. Its $21.95 and doesn't have a charger but eliminates a bunch of cables in the armrest compartment.
  • dfosherdfosher Member Posts: 26
    Radio Shack sells a 1 foot cord for around $4. Works perfect but I'm getting the ram din form slk.com.
  • rs1157rs1157 Member Posts: 41
    Does anyone know a dealer that offers this plan, and a sales man who would be willing to deal over the phone, easy cash for a dealer.

    My dealer is offering me 3k for the extended warranty from a third party company, I know thats going to be a head ache!
  • jeffhoujeffhou Member Posts: 23
    Not a big deal, but when I first start the car, the engine has a somewhat rough idle - like when I'm just backing out of the driveway with no gas on the accelerator. As soon as I start driving, by the time I get to the end of my street - less than 1/4 mile, everything smoothes out. My 2003 was smooth upon startup and curious if this car should be just as good.

    Anyone had similar experience? If so, I'm not going to mention it to the dealer - I don't want them to screw something up! Otherwise, if other comments make my car sound unusual, I may or may not take the car back and complain.

    Any input would be great!

    Jeff
  • arods83arods83 Member Posts: 4
    I just want to get people's input on some of these cars as I am looking into buying one of these with a 2 year lease. I have a link below where it shows all the comparisons of the cars I am looking into. If you have other ideas, don't be shy to reply.

    http://www.carsdirect.com/research/compareresults?acodes=USB60BMC222A0,USB60MBC722A0,USB60- - ACC021A0,USB60AUC017B0,USB60INC101A0,USB60LEC131A0,USB60CAC111C0 (this info doesn't show 0-60 and ect.)

    I've been doing research and the 330XI and the Lexus IS350 is always on top.

    Any input or advice about these cars and how would you rank them would be appreciated and what kind of lease should I look at.
  • arods83arods83 Member Posts: 4
    I heard alot about connecting the Ipod to the car but does anyone know out there if we can do it to the creative zen micro? I know we can use the aux but any websites out there like the Sik.com Ram dim?
  • blueguydotcomblueguydotcom Member Posts: 6,249
    Can't compare a 330xi to an IS350. the xi is all wheel drive. the is350 only comes as a rwd luxury cruiser with automatic. different kinds of cars with very different missions.
  • dl7265dl7265 Member Posts: 1,381
    There ya go, comes in black or white and its only 7" of wire. So the New Ipod takes the Ram not a Firewire im guessing ?

    DL
  • corvettecorvette Member Posts: 11,402
    I think you may have to call around. It can be done over the phone. There was a dealer or two on another BMW board offering a discount on the extended warranty/maintenance plans.
  • rs1157rs1157 Member Posts: 41
    Hey Guys,

    U went to the dealer and found out that the car is built in 2 different plants.

    1) Munic, Germany
    2) Rogenberg, Germany
    3) South Africa!

    Where is your BMW built, can you beleive that some of them are built in South Africa, I was wondering if you had a choice which factory would you want?
  • peakpropeakpro Member Posts: 65
    For your info...

    the South Africa plant actually rates highest on BMW internal reliability audits...
  • rs1157rs1157 Member Posts: 41
    2 Things,

    Thats what I though, I actually was hoping my car was built in Sout Africa cause Im shore BMW QC is 10 time higher there.

    On to business, so I want everyone to go out and check there rims, especially the lip, how many of you guys have nicked it, i got a 3 inch knick on mine, Im crazy so I wet sanded it smooth, its really hard to tell now, and not rough, but oh well. What are you supposed to do when you hit a curb, ( I hit a curn while parking),

    Also whats the best deal anyone's got, I got $1750 off MSRP, is that as low as you can go?

    Rahul
  • dfosherdfosher Member Posts: 26
    Hey Jeff my car does the same thing. I've had it for almost a month and no matter the temperature it runs rough when I first start it. It also goes away after a minute or so. Let me know what you find out.
  • dfosherdfosher Member Posts: 26
    I have an iPod mini and it takes the RAM connector.
  • davidd3davidd3 Member Posts: 582
    I'd appreciate it if someone would take the time to walk a first-time do it yourselfer through the procedure for changing over from OEM wheels/tires to winter wheels/tires. I got a winter package from tirerack.com. The tires came mounted and balanced on the wheels.

    Not only does the car not come with a spare, but there no tools for changing tires. Can I simply use the tools that came with my Honda Odyssey, or are jacks/wrenches not necessarily universal? Are there any tire changing tools that I should purchase especially for my BMW?

    It's been 25 years since I last changed a tire by myself - a blowout on the side of the road.

    I'm planning on attempting the changeover Thanksgiving weekend. I want to make sure I have everything I will need.

    Thanks.

    David D
  • dl7265dl7265 Member Posts: 1,381
    Well, your Honda has lug NUTS , your BMW has lug BOLTS. The size right now escapes me, I was thinking 17mm off the top of my head. And I would recommend a torque wrench.

    DL
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