BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

ddblue

Toll Free: (877) 859-3123
Direct: (732) 741-1184

Hope it helps.

dave330i

Other than the Audi driving the wrong wheels, can't think of anything else.

shipo

Welcome back to the boards. ;-)

As it turns out, Brave1heart (325i SP) and I (328i PP) swapped cars for a day and a half last December 6th, and each of us wrote some interesting comparitive reviews of each others cars. Given your interest in the differences between the 2.5L vs 2.8L versions of the E46, you might be well served by reading our posts from that time period.

To navigate to those posts, simply go to the top of this page and you will see a field with "Msg#" to the left of said field and a button labeled "Go To" to the right. Enter 11850 into the field, and click on the "Go To" button, and that will take you to the first post in our series that lasted most of the following weekend.

I hope this helps.

Best Regards,
Shipo

erickpl

Thanks to all who are liking this idea of a one-stop photo site.

I had thought about the forms, with text fields and the ability to post to a web page. Honestly, cgi bin stuff is something I'm not that familiar with, so it will take a little bit of time to figure out. So please be patient. I love learning new things (like how to find new features on my xi! <- on topic!) and want to do this for everybody.

I envision a page like you guys have described: a 'Statisitics sheet' with personal interests, similar to the Edmunds profile page, but then add stuff for car specs: yr/ model/ color (int/ext)/ packages, extras, mods, pros and cons, ED, etc, then space for oh... 3 to 4 pictures. I'm limited to 10mb of space, so I have to kinda limit what I put up there (for now). For those with detailed info on the ED with pics (like Shipo), I could make an exception and show some additional pics of the trip, but I'm gonna have to play that by ear for the time being.

As for the AWD on the xi, thanks butmywife for the info. I'm really looking forward to playing in the snow with it. When I got my Jeep GC, it snowed two weeks later and I was out trying to get it out of control in a parking lot. I couldn't. I just hope the 325xi handles like that (with a lower cg). (Jeeps do not like doing donuts w/o tipping! )

ButMyWife, ever notice if you abbreviate your name, it is BMW? Probably already knew that and I'm just slow. hehe

erickpl

Okay, time for a real question:

When I get out of my xi, sometimes there is a click of some type coming from the trunk area. The car is already stopped and nothing is running. Could this be the fuel pump shutting off? I'm not sure if it is something that I should take to the dealer.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

-Paul

jbreez1

Thanx for the input and swift response.

wrjohnsonpghpa

Thanks for the response. I saw Circle's toll-free number after I posted; however, when I call it I get a message that I can't call that toll-free number from where I'm at (north of Pittsburgh). What gives? Looks like I'll have to go the 10-10-220 route?

JingleJill

Do you have an e-mail address?...I have a 330i; interested in selling.

jbreez1

My e-mail address is ozereb@aol.com I am currently in my office and have a restricted e-mail address that cannot be used, but I welcome you to e-mail on my personal PC. I'm very interested.

Include some specifics like:

Where do you live (I'll travel a good distance for the right deal.

Year and color of car

Transmission type

Add ons

Mileage

Audio

Interior type

Thanx,

Jbreez1

JingleJill

E-mail is on its way.

dl7265

What are you replacing the 330i with ?

JingleJill

I'm not sure if I'll replace the 330i...I'm looking into the possibility of it.

I do like the G35 a lot. I also like the TL-Type S. Even the A4 is a contender.

Where in TX are you? I'm in SA and the cars I like only have one dealership selling them. They like that one simple price crap. I like to negotiate. Oh well, I guess that is life...

Stacy

erickpl

Man, I miss Texas. Lived there a few years ago. Loved driving out in the sticks and just winding the engine up. But there just weren't enough twisties where I lived (DFW area) with light enough traffic to really enjoy it.

-Paul

tomtomtom

I heard those noise from all cars. My Japanese, American and German cars do that. I don't know the actual cause but I was thinking maybe the metal parts/exhaust are cooling down??

erickpl

I've heard people on here mention the production change in March for the power seats. Looking at Edmunds, I notice the SP now has the power seats and the tilting backup mirror. Since I got my car in March (ordered in January), what is the liklihood of having those power seats put in (the tilting mirror is not a big deal to me)? slim to none?

-Paul

dafreak

First let me start off by saying that I love the looks of the 3 series. Simply awesome! But I thought you should all know that the word on the street is that Motor Trend's July issue will have a G35 comparo article. Rumor has it the mighty G will whup some serious butt.

njdriver1

Hi
Does anyone remember the post where the different options for programming the remote were listed? My service tech claims there is NO WAY the remote will acknowledge locking & unlocking, but I recall an extensive list of options.
Thanks

erickpl

If there is a comparison between the two, it would be yet another comparison of the cars by another source.

I welcome the comparison so I can see how the G35 stacks up with the BMW (330 I suspect). But again, as has been said before in this forum and on the G35 vs BMW 330 forum, it will end up boiling down to personal preferences. While the BMW may well indeed have 'worse' numbers, the decision was more than that for me. I suspect others on the board feel similar to me.

It almost looks to me like people who tout one car over another read these comparison tests by the car mags as a sort of validation of their decision to buy the car they did.

I personally don't need that. For this point in my life, with my wants and needs, the 325xi I have works perfectly. In 2, 5, 10 years from now, those needs may change and BMW may or may not be able to satisfy those needs. At that time, I will investigate my options.

-Paul

1pierce

I haven't driven the A4, yet. I don't want to get caught up in a feature-for-feature comparo until I am sure that I can live without a BMW. I know that once I do, the Audi will win.

I agree that a 330i vs A4 3.0 is really not a contest. But, vs the 325i, with so much less torque, and so many less features....?

I can't do ED at this point in my life. Too much stress on my family, and you end up spending the extra money anyway, on the trip. Also, I am a leaser, and I can't use up 1,200 miles on my car in Europe (isn't that what you put on yours?), and then waste a month and a half of the lease while it is on the boat. I guess it isn't adding mileage while on the boat, though.

As for the FWD vs RWD, I'd like to have RWD, but I don't know if I'd notice it all that much. The Audi's have a reputation for very little understeer (or is that only w/Quattro?). Also, I probably drive hard only about 5% of the time.

I'll probably look hard at the A4, especially since two BMW dealers in Pgh also sell Audi. But, I think my heart still wants a BMW, no matter what my head says.

dave330i

"The Audi's have a reputation for very little understeer (or is that only w/Quattro?)."

I believe it's with the Quattro. Audi have been producing great cars for a while now, and A4 is a great choice. I believe the general consensus is that Audis are softer than BMWs, and depending on your needs, that's a good thing.

dave330i

Remote can be setup to acknowledge locking & unlocking (mine's setup so the turn signals blink). I can't remember the full command, but I believe it's done off the alarm option (been almost a year).

kominsky

I compared the A4 when I was shopping for my car. I only drove a '01 1.8tQ w/sport package and thought that it suffered from a pretty good deal of understeer on initial turn-in, but seemed to dig in really well when the throttle was applied. Is it possible that you were confusing Audis reputation for very little torque steer on their front wheel drive cars?

kominsky

If you were sitting in your car with the ignition turned off and got plowed into by another vehicle, would the airbags deploy? This almost happened to me this morning and I was just wondering what the outcome would've been.

nyccarguy

yes, I believe they would.

allano

I think you heard the flap closing in one of the exhaust pipes in the back. If you look at eye level with the twin exhausts, the one on the right has a flap that is opened (or closed) by a vacuum valve above pipe at that location. The flap closes with a click about two seconds after you shut off the car. The flap is part of the BMW magic for controlling air flow throught the engine for best torque over a wide engine speed range.

cnorthrup

Try this link:

http://www.bmwnation.com/tech/tech_3carkeycfg_01.html

530bmw

I do not know about the 3 series but I know you can program the 5 series to acknowledge locking/unlocking. May be your tech rep misunderstood you.

hpman

hpman

I always do that... get trigger happy and post early.

Catching up here. Welcome back from your trip and thanks for the write up! Hoping to pick your brain a bit since it sounds like you took almost the exact same route I have planned for my ED in June.

You mentioned staying in hotels with protected parking outside of towns. Did you have a specific guidebook you can recommend that lists information like this? Also, I've heard that driving to/and parking in Cinque Terre can be difficult. I'm trying to decide if this is true and it will be easier to park the car and take a train into Cinque Terre or not?

Sounds like you had an awesome time. It's good to hear about someone driving into Italy and not regretting it!

Thanks,
Josh

eug

I currently have about 14,500 miles on my 9 month old 325ci. The computer message on my dash says I have over 2,000 miles before my next service. Do I have to wait, or can I take it in for the 15,000 mile service now? Thanks.

eug

woobah

I am curious, does anybody get the Navigation system with their 3 Series Cars? Also, it is CD based, DVD Based? Any good?

bmw323is

eug, you will need to wait until the service counter gets near zero or you get to one year. I took my car in last week and I was ONE day less than one year. They did change the oil, but they mentioned that I was a day early (maybe just a joke?).

holeinone

Does any of you use pressure washer on your bimmer? I'm tempted to buy one but I'm also worried that it will very likely flush out the wax and even hurt the paint. Any comments?

dl7265

Im in the Dallas area. I dont know if its just me but when i heard of that G35 i though it sounded great, for one more competition allways brings improvements. But now it Bores me im afraid' i work right near a dealer and they are piling up on the new overflow lot, but i dont see that many on the streets.... if you want a deal im sure you can find one here, I expect deep discounts like all other Infiniti's soon . However no deals in Dallas are to be had on a BMW

DL

denk

The 325 can definitely be programmed to acknowledge locking and unlocking. Mine blinks twice when unlocking and once when locking.

denk

For those of you who may be new to this forum, the clown nose under the rear view mirror can be programed to blink when the car is locked whether or not you have the alarm system. I had it done on mine and it works just great as if I had the alarm. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll dig out the simple programming procedure.

holeinone

Does any of you use pressure washer on your bimmer? I'm tempted to buy one but I'm also worried that it will very likely flush out the wax and even hurt the paint. Any comments?

butmywife

We didn't use any guidebooks to find hotels. We just drove around a little and found places we wanted to stay. Most towns have a tourist office in which you can get info. on hotels, B&Bs and the like but they are often closed for siesta between 1:00 and 3:00. As you are driving into towns you will see signs for Agritourism B & Bs and hotels. Just drive up and inquire as to availability and price. We paid about $60-65 on average but were there before the season started.

We drove to Levanto (just north of Cinqueterre) and stayed in a B & B. We drove to the train station, parked our car and took the 20 minute ride to the southernmost town. From there you can train or walk back or do a combination. It is a beautiful place and worth the visit. We parked in paid public parking places (unguarded) often in Italy and didn't have any problems. [I never felt any worry in Austria, Switzerland or Germany when leaving the car in public parking.]

Conversely, we could have parked the car at the B&B and then bused into town but didn't feel we needed to. We did wonder often about the car's safety so either we were lucky or the problem is overstated.

If you have any questions at all just let me know and I'll be glad to try and answer them.

erickpl: Yes, I chose the name for that reason. Thanks for noticing.

holeinone

Does any of you use pressure washer on your bimmer? I'm tempted to buy one but I'm also worried that it will very likely flush out the wax and even hurt the paint. Any comments?

shipo

I have heard of one or two folks buying the NAV system on the 3-Series (and a few more on the 5-Series), and it is definitely CD based. That said, I think that most folks would rather have the In-Dash CD player than the NAV system (just in case you did not know, the two are mutually exclusive), I know that is how I feel at least.

If I decide that I suddenly NEED a NAV system, I would MUCH rather get a Garmin StreetPilot III GPS for $1,272, and then be able to take it with me whether I was in a car or not.

Best Regards,
Shipo

yalesom

Could someone recommend some dealers and sales persons that they've had success with in SoCal?

john01

I have NAV on my 530, which uses the same system in the 3 series. It is CD based and the software has a lot of room for improvement, but it is quite useful. When I was in the US and looking at the car, it was one that I was going to NOT get. However, after we moved to Germany, and test drove one with the NAV, we got hooked. We no longer had to rely on my wife's sub par navigating skills, and save us arguments that I can never win. Keep us both sane and enjoy the drive. I can look up gas stations anywhere I go (my company issues Shell card, so I only use Shell) without having to fumble for the map, etc.

I just upgraded the OS to newer version and it is a bit faster, but still can be improved. I am told Toyota/Lexus system is based on DVD and light years ahead of BMW or MB. I heard that due to the market pressure, BMW Japan offers DVD based NAV system in Japan.

I am not sure if I would get it in another car, probably not. I am considering Ipaq based NAV or the Garmin GPS III for my other car, but I am not sure how useful it would be since you have to download the data for your route on to the memory card each time.

JingleJill

Don,

I'm afraid to say the G35 isn't boring me yet. I agree that they are piling up on the lots. I just received an e-mail from the local Infiniti dealer. They received a few with sport-tuned suspensions. I plan on going in this evening or tomorrow to test drive and see if there is a difference. I'm in no hurry as I refuse to pay MSRP and that is what they are asking locally.

The one and only BMW dealer here also refuses to deal, however they are totally arrogant about it.

rfreda

I can't find the link someone provided to getting ED info. Can someone please repost it? Thanks.

jbreez1

Just to let you know that Texas does not have the exclusivity on arrogance. The lone dealer in Orlando as much as told me, "Here is the price, if you don't buy it, someone else will." (Fields BMW).

I know they have a great product and people are buying them as fast as they make them, but I don't believe they have to be arrogant because they have a good product. That is why I am searching outside of the dealerships.

seivwrig

I have the NAV system. Like Shipo and John01 mentioned, it is CD based. I have heard rumours that they might change to a DVD based unit next year. Check with the dealer. I enjoy having the NAV and it was excellent to have during my European Delivery. It is can be hard to figure out at first. I think what you need to ask yourself is, are you going to get $1800 of use out of it. I don't trust my wife's navigation skills. My family also sleep alot when we get on the road. I only have one long trip planned where I will take my car(Steamboat Springs, CO).

I also installed my CD changer yesterday. I works well. I have p/n 65 12 6 908 948. This model is available in Europe and will work on a US specs car. With tax it is 408 euros (I got mine tax free-so subtract 17.5%).

seivwrig

Anyone that has the NAV, how do I kill that annoying speed sensitive volume? I have the NAV with the big screen. I never realized this in Europe, probably because of the big grin that I had on my face. Please help? Nothing worse than fighting the volume on the car.

Kirstie_H

As we all know, the purchase price isn't all that's involved in the true cost of a vehicle. Check out the article and new tool at Edmunds.com:

True Cost to Own (TCO): Revealing the Hidden Costs of Car Ownership

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/specialreports/articles/59897/article.html

kirstie_h

Roving Host

Edmunds.com

twoof1

yalesom,
Depending on where you are, I would recommend the following:
Savage in Ontario (ask for Chris Johnson)
Crevier in Costa Mesa
Shelley in Buena Park (I believe this is where vkwheels bought)
Assael in Monrovia
Not to sure about the LA westside & northside.
Good luck, let us know what & where you decide

john01

There is a way to control the sensitivity of the speed sensitive volume control, but I don't think you can turn it off. However, with the settings change, you will lose your preset radio stations and addressbook entries in the NAV. If still interested, email me and I will send you the instruction.