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Comments
Most of the back end of the system should be stainless steel, so even this surface veneer of rust doesn't happen.
I repeat: this may not look great, but it is harmless...
The next day, while I was enjoying a little drive, a gentleman in a big truck didn't see his red light while I was making a left turn on a green arrow. He hit me broadside (passenger side) in excess of 50 mph. It pushed my car across 3 lanes of traffic into another car sitting at the light. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and the car held up incredibly well. All the safety systems worked as advertised. Of course, the car was totaled.
Naturally, once the insurance stuff was settled, I had my dealership looking for another one just like the first. I was fortunate that they had one almost like the first, but with the addition of the Premium Package.
I would just like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences, which caused me to want the car in the first place. And now after the accident, I know that not only is it the "Ultimate Driving Machine", but also the Ultimate Safety Machine as well. It's a wonderful feeling to be driving such a car that handles so well, with the additional knowledge that if ever in an accident, the people inside will be protected like few other cars on the road.
Thanks again for all your insight. I look forward to posting in the future.
Thanks,
Greg
your comments are somewhat reassuring. I'm still not sure tho why the dealer is blaming the cosmolene. maybe it is both.
greg
glad to hear you're ok.
I'm also happy you decided to get another BMW! I've been telling my wife how incredibly safe these cars in an accident. I now have one more story to show her.
Now my car idles rough; I hear a high pitch whine. Meanwhile, I have also noticed regular "boom" sound when I press the clutch to change the gear, and similar sound when I release it. It is not always there; but more often than not you can hear it clearly. It sounds like your audio system coming on after warming.
My quandary is that is it my driving style that is causing the problem? Or is there something wrong with the car? I live in Baltimore; I would appreciate it very much if anyone in the DC/Baltimore area has a xi with manual transmission and would let me ride with them to see whether other cars have similar problem.
And I am thinking of asking BMW for a new car if the problem persists. Again, I can understand these problems in a Hundai, but not in a BMW. I love the car very much. But there is only so much I can tolerate. I would appreciate your comments/thoughts very much.
1) Exhaust header (cannot see without being on lift) probably made out of cast iron.
2) Header pipes (2) Jrct9454 is correct, these appear to be steel (high iron content) pipes.
3) Catalytic converter (appears to have a stainless case).
4) Muffler pipe (cannot see, behind plate).
5) Muffler (appears to be stainless).
6) Resonator pipe (appears to be stainless).
7) Resonator (appears to be stainless).
8) Tail pipe "Y" (appears to be stainless).
There is an ever so light covering of rust on the header pipes, said covering is so insignificant that all of the weld marks and normal surface discoloration of that type of metal can still be seen after three winters and two summers. I would say that this system is likely to last at least 100,000 miles (if not twice that).
As far as the Cosmolene, here is a link that shows the "Patina" that Cosmolene causes. I think that this should put your mind to rest.
http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com/finish/m3cp.htm
Best Regards,
Shipo
No 325i manual on the lot , so the steptronic had to do. What a ride!!!!!!! This car just begs to be driven and driven hard and this 325i did not have sport package (mine on order doesn't as well) I can only imagine the drive with sport!
It's very true that until you drive a BMW inline 6, you don't know what you are missing. The engine feels alot more powerful than 184hp.
Will I notice an even more powerful drive with the manual????
Thanks in advance
-eug
I have not found any such device that covers the folded rear seats from seat to back hatch. If you find anything, will you please post the info? That could be very useful!
http://www.zymol.com/strik2.htm
urge-- There's an old saying:"One person is a fanatic, two people are a conspiracy, but three people are a Movement". Power to the Wagonpeople!
In my opinion, we have the most civil and supportive group of folks here in the "BMW 3-Series" discussion that I have ever been fortunate enough to interact with, let us keep it that way. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
No 325i manual on the lot , so the steptronic had to do. What a ride!!!!!!! This car just begs to be driven and driven hard and this 325i did not have sport package (mine on order doesn't as well) I can only imagine the drive with sport!
It's very true that until you drive a BMW inline 6, you don't know what you are missing. The engine feels alot more powerful than 184hp.
Will I notice an even more powerful drive with the manual????
Thanks in advance
Especially, that silverlex guy...man what a piece of work. I guess he just loves his IS300...
Thanks Pat for closing it!
M3 Frank
Thanks,
Dave 323
silver/black 'ette
fold down seats
in dash CD player
I am having difficulty determining the steering rack version. I think that I will ask my neighbor for assistance. She has a '00 323i, prior to Nov. I expect that if I were to turn her wheel with the engine on and the car stationary, I could reasonably compare the two steering racks.
From the posts, the boosting is most pronounced when the car is either stationary or at a low speed.
I think that BMW may have increased the boost to facilitate one handed steering.
I had wanted to swap out the auxillary fan prior to accepting delivery of the car. I was able to determine that the fan is a Siemens but was unable to visualize the part number. However, several service managers in our area convinced me that the likelihood of a defective fan is low. Nevertheless, I do raise the hood every several days to manually turn the blades of the fan with the ignition off to confirm easy rotation, and I also inspect the housing for signs of corrosion.
The car far exceeds my expectations.
My daughter's 330xi, delivered in May 2001, does _not_ have the titanium headlight trim, even with HIDs. I know it is a matter of personal taste, but I like the way the headlight covers blend into the body rather than being visually separated with metal trim.
uge123 & wagonmaster
Thanks for feedback on the wagon mat. My daughter & I are sharing the BMW luggage mat (I particularly like the 1 inch lip on all sides) but was looking for something to cover the whole area. I'll look into the Honda Odyssey mat route. Keep the (wagon) tips coming, they are greater appreciated.
BTW, I purchased the BMW "base" supports for the roof rack. They are a really nice, precision piece of equipment. I enjoy the ease with which they install and remove (which I suspect is very similar to your base units). I use them for an occasional 12 ft piece of wood or mattress.
shipo,
Thanks also for the tip on steering wheel scan feature. So may 'hidden' features. I've read the manual thoroughly but will now take alpine's lead and start looking at the video tapes. Been too busy driving %-)
Alan
According to BMWNA, I am in status "182" which means that my car has been loaded on a train and is on its way to the port. Hopefully will be loaded on a ship and en route to the US by the end of the week.
Can't wait to give the forum my thoughts on driving this wonderful machine. Less than a month to go!
eug - it's left Germany, with an arrival into Oxnard of 7/21 so you'll be picking it up around the 28th.
cloth seats - I WILL post some good pics !! I've really been slammed these last few days, sales are rocking! I am thrilled with my cloth seats. It's really a wonderful quality woven cloth. Totally different than the material you'd see in a Camry or domestic car. A really nice material to sit in. It's in a kind of pattern, rather tough to describe so please bear with me while I get some pics done.
In fact, if anyone could have only 2 options for their 3er, what would they be and why?
CD in dash - with HK standard on 330, all you need is a CD.
Third? - I did get a sport package. But unless you really have to have the body kit, wheels or seats, remember all 330s have 17s as standard and sport suspension is also now standard so it's not quite as necessary as it may previously have been. I really think the car, for the average punter, may almost ride too firm now. I believe the car would likely have been better overall to live with with the "normal" suspension; not like a 330i with 17s and non-sport suspension would be a bad handler!
Of course, if someone picked the premium package as one of those two options, then for the same price you could have had all of my options (Incidently, I did order my car that way - cloth, no leather, and no moonroof!).
"Stripper" - That's what you'll find at the airport, we call it a "Strippy".
Tchoo--you might wanna check yours as well. Where are you located?
But it shall end soon and all will be well.
I've got a portable CD/MP3 player that I'd love to have tapped into the car's audio system. Has anyone done this, and what do I need to do?
I've got the in-dash CD, so I can't use the cheesy cassette adapter.
But it drives like a dream...I actually WANT to drive. I walked up to it in the parking lot yesterday and broke into the widest grin upon seeing it...This baby is beautiful and its all MINE!!!
Anyways, my 2 choices for a 325i are:
1) SP: I wouldn't had said this in the beginning, but now that I think about it, you really can't beat this deal for some 17 inchers and heftier rims, a tighter suspension, sportier seats and steering wheel....of course, it is a better deal for the 325s...
2) Xenons: As much as like leather in cars, I think the Xenons are an outright better deal for some tremendous visibility on some of the worst unlit roads in Dallas...that, and yes, they do grab your attention! As much as I'd like the CD player, I listen to the stations probably 75-80% of the time anyways....-
Anyway, my dealer said I might see it at the end of the week, guess he was right. This is great news! The anticipation is killing me. I'm located in MA, dealer is in Natick.
I'm getting black exterior, and I can decide on grey or black leather.
Which one would be harder to maintain?
Which one looks better?
Please help. I need opinions.
Thank you
Josh
Thanks
As for interior colors, I have a Jet Black exterior and chose to go with the Black leatherette. I'd actually prefer sand for the contrast, but my wife hates it.
COLORS - it seems to me that dark exteriors are best complemented by light interiors and vice versa. So, for a black exterior, I would probably vote for sand first, then grey. That's NOT to say black wouldn't also work. Here's my complete list of exteriors/favorite interiors:
Black / sand
White / red or black or sand about equal
Red / sand
Silver / red
Green / sand
Black Sapphire / sand
Grey / red (but BMW doesn't offer) so grey then black
Sienna / sand
Orient Blue / sand
Topaz Blue / black or sand
Steel Blue / red (I notice BMW doesn't even allow this combo so I must be wrong!)
I'm sure everyone feels the same way I do! LOL
Xenons - ever since USA Today did an article on these, I've been wavering. One thing that struck me was that auto stylists love Xenons (HIDs to be more correct) because they can reduce the size of the headlights and still get adequate light for driving. This tells me that the Xenons deliver more light THAN IS ACTUALLY NEEDED. I also am not seeing the mass migration to these headlights by all the automakers that everyone has been predicting.
Black/black is a love/hate combination though. I personally don't like the way the lighter interior colors contrast with the black dash and wheel. Grey will offer a "warmer" feel, while black is more sporty.
gbmw - you'll be picking it up at your dealer in the second week of July.
aaron330i - I've been musing over my next stereo system. With getting a new car each year, it's always fun to see how extreme I can go with each cars stereo. I've decided I'd like MP3 playback ability but I'm now thinking I'd like to stick with the OEM head unit rather than using an adapter and getting that new JVC CD radio that's CD-R/CD-RW compatible (the cool silver one!). I'd like to retain volume on steering wheel features. The only way I can see that I'll be able to do this would be to find an MP3 "changer" or in any event, it's going to necessitate going through the RF plug (the radio antennae). It's not possible to use the factory prewire CD changer set-up as they (Alpine) use a unique (non-industry standard) shape optical conector in the trunk (to stop you from buying the same CD changer at Circuit City instead of the BMW dealer). I think Rockford Fosgate makes an MP3 flash card player that works like the changer would. I should have done my research before making this post! I'll get back to you with info as I find it (in the next 24hours).
1) SP - for the tighter suspension more than anything else, but the added lower back support is also nice
2) Metallic Paint - I'm not satisfied with the basic colors, but could live with them if that's all there was.