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BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

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  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    There is no maintenance to speak of. You can clean them with Lexol if they get dirty I guess but mine is black, so I've never had to clean it. I would not say it is odorless - it actually smells like a new car and I like that smell. Of course, leather smells better, it still feels marginally better and probably breathes better too. Just not $1,400 better IMO.

    P.S. 'ette would also be strongly preferred if you're planning on having small kids as passengers.
  • ccotenjccotenj Member Posts: 610
    translated "as long as everyone agrees with me, and doesn't take the nasty dealer's side, i'll participate"... you weren't "attacked"... you were presented the other side of the story, which surprise, surprise, you don't like.

    the scenario you point out in your last paragraph is NOT the scenario that you have, is it? you CHOSE to buy your car somewhere other than your local dealer. you didn't "relocate". you shopped on price. apparently, the cheaper price did not include little niceties like programming and explaining to you what could be done to your car. you also said that the guy got rude AFTER the salesperson that you were dealing with talked to him, he didn't start out rude.

    you then expect your local dealer to do the "new car" stuff for you that you didn't get from the cheaper dealer. and then you "ding" them because they aren't really happy about doing that. but they DID do it, didn't they?

    what you did is like going to the butcher and buying a steak and then taking it to the steakhouse and having them cook it for you because "the steak was cheaper at the store". you want it both ways, and that's unfair. THAT'S my point.

    look, i don't want to fight or "attack" (to use your word). i just find it unfair when people pull the "the dealer did a bad thing to me" without looking at the other side of the story. apparently, you got what you paid for.

    -Chris
  • ls11ls11 Member Posts: 15
    DL7265 - My pricing from Temple TX was for ED, but they seem very willing to deal no matter what. Contact me off-list for pricing info. We pick the car up tomorrow morning!
    LS
  • rpadillarpadilla Member Posts: 53
    Thank you for your opinion and comments. I am not really sure what to say....so, I won't say anything more.

    You are the victor. I am clearly in the wrong...you are clearly in the right. Have a nice weekend.

    BTW, I GOT what I paid for -- a damn nice car.
  • ccotenjccotenj Member Posts: 610
    and quit hammering the guy who wouldn't sell it to you cheaper... you DO realize what those "dings" on those surveys does to his allocations and so on, right?

    hey, at least we all agree they are darn nice cars... that's a start...

    -Chris
  • rpadillarpadilla Member Posts: 53
    BTW, you ASSUMED that I bought on price alone...and you were wrong. The fact remains, you have NO idea WHY I bought this car, nor why I bought it at another dealer other than the local one. Playing devil's advocate is valuable, but you might want to start reading the posts BEFORE you react to them.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I liked the Friday hugs we used to have much better. Have a great weekend everyone. Peace.
  • ccotenjccotenj Member Posts: 610
    from your post...

    "So, buy your car at the best possible price...that's the smart thing to do."

    oh, i've got a pretty good idea why you bought the car... but perhaps you'd care to enlighten me as to why you bought it out of state... maybe then i'll "see the light"...

    i NEVER play devil's advocate. EVER. nothing annoys me more than people who do. i'm firm in my convictions and honest about them. if i make a statement, it's because i believe it, not to bait someone else.

    -Chris
  • rpadillarpadilla Member Posts: 53
    Thanks. But, no thanks. Believe what you want to believe...it's a free country. You know, with all due respect, from reading past posts, more and more it has occurred to me that you might be a car dealer, or at least work for one -- bravo. So, I am going to end this here and bid you a good weekend. Cheers.
  • kominskykominsky Member Posts: 850
    Sorry about the delay... I forgot. I just had my wife fax me the invoice, and unfortunately, there is no mention of a service bulletin. All it says is "Faulty Gas Pedal - Install New Gas Pedal". If it's any help, the part number for the new pedal is 35-40-6-753-519. There's also a Job Code - 22BMZ, but I think that's internal to my dealership. Good luck!
  • genie1genie1 Member Posts: 398
    brave:
    your capricious muse bids you bon weekend. :)

    dave:
    pain killers? Is that what you've had to resort to in my absence? ;)
  • ccotenjccotenj Member Posts: 610
    in all likelihood, the job code is referring to the "book labor" that's involved, if i had to guess, or something along those lines...

    oh-oh, i guess that's further evidence that i might be a car dealer... lol...

    -Chris
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
    .. my 3-year old has food allegies as well. I go to Trader Joe's every couple of weeks to stock up on Rice Dream instead of cow's milk. You are probably right to stick with US delivery.

    Unfortunately, the M5 is not available ED. Otherwise, I think I would have gotten it. At the nearly 15% under US MSRP that I could pick up a 530i at, the M5 would equate to $62k. If anything at that price point is worth it, it's the M5!

    Best wishes.
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    Ahh, if only that was the case. Had my 3rd root canal yesterday. Need to go in for my 4th in 2 weeks or so. What ever you do, try to avoid knocking your teeth out. ;)
  • lancerfixerlancerfixer Member Posts: 1,284
    ...but FWIW, the Volvo S80's equipped with a transversely mounted I6.
  • ccotenjccotenj Member Posts: 610
    lancer's right. can't think of any others who have spent the money to design a short transaxle...

    -Chris
  • MULAWYERMULAWYER Member Posts: 24
    But first, I have to find a job -- which is easier said than done! But, I hope to be in mine by this summer so we'll have to hit those back roads!

    Good Luck with the negotiations!
  • denrightdenright Member Posts: 285
    I was driving a friend home last night on Rock Creek Parkway, a twisty-turny highway in DC. As I was accelerating into a turn and maneuvering around a slow moving vehicle in the right lane in my 2001 330xi, my passenger said, "Holy [expletive] this car is fast."

    You GOTTA love that.
  • mschukarmschukar Member Posts: 351
    I closed the deal on my first BMW this morning. Just a review of the negotiating from Thursday night:

    325i sedan, steel blue, SP, cold weather package, moon roof, bi xenons, computer & HK upgrade (floor mats included).

    MSRP = $33,045
    Invoice = $29,960
    My offer = $31,000 (purposely low ball)
    Their counter = $32,045

    I left saying I might consider their offer if they included the arm rest (probably a mistake, I should have left saying the price was too high) . Upon review this morning, I noticed they added up the MSRP wrong. It's actually $33,345! Knowing this, I went in wanting an additional $150 off and I would install the arm rest (from reading this forum, it sounds quite easy to do). They accepted. Here is the final deal:

    MSRP = $33,345
    Invoice = $29,960
    Final Price = $31,895 + tax title and license with arm rest included, customer install.

    I feel I could have played it a bit better by dragging it out another week, etc., but I left feeling I got a decent price on the car I wanted. I wonder if they'll try to get the $300 back when they realize their mistake.

    I got to test drive the 2001 M3 on the lot. The ride was actually a bit rough for my taste, but Ohhh, the torque! I never did get to drive a 325 with the SP, but I did drive a 330, no SP which didn't feel nearly as rough as the M3. I hope my car is a bit softer than the M3.

    It's going to be a long winter while I wait for my new toy!

    -Murray
  • habitat1habitat1 Member Posts: 4,282
  • mschukarmschukar Member Posts: 351
    I guess I should have asked earlier, but what are the insurance rates like for a 325 sedan compared to other cars?

    -Murray
  • brislance1brislance1 Member Posts: 87
    I am probably the oldest Bimmer owner on the board (Korean War Vet) and I must confess that I got a big kick out of the "debate" carried on about taking your BMW for service to a dealer other than the one from whom you purchased the vehicle. I have owned numerous new cars in my life time and expect any dealer to give me courteous and excellent service. I have never had a problem having these expectations fulfilled.

    I have a home in the north and also one in Arizona. I purchased my BMW in the north and I have also had it serviced in Arizona. Just yesterday I was in the Arizona dealership where I received outstanding service. The service manager thanked me for my business and urged me to come back. This service was under my service warranty.

    A BMW dealer who is not courteous to you should be told so and further reported to BMW of North America. When you pay the price we all pay for the car we should expect no less than courteous, excellent service anywhere we go. If we all stood up and calmly, but firmly voiced our expectations, better service would result in all areas of our lives.
  • visordocvisordoc Member Posts: 48
    Having originally asked that question a few days ago, I'm quite surprised by the amount of exchanges it generated. I appreciate both rpadilla and ccotenj's responses, but being in a service industry myself, I can understand why someone (dealer) may not be overly ecstatic at providing a service that cannot be billed/charged to either the company or the client that really should have originally been done by the first service provider.

    However,if that service can be charged to BMW, then I would fully expect them to provide it beyond excellent.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I think your excellent experience would be common when you go to an out-of-state dealer that is NOT a direct competitor with the dealer where you originally bought it from. I have had my car serviced in Albany (170 miles from where I bought in the Boston area) and they were great!! But I agree with you that you should get good service anywhere you go, even if the dealerships are direct competitors. Differences should be limited to loaner cars and/or preferential service time tops.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    It sounds like a very reasonable deal. Did you get a production number? I would also make sure that you clear that $300 difference between your calculations and the dealers'. They are rarely wrong on the price and I'd make sure that they are optioning the car exactly the way you want it. Your order form should have all the options spelled out. Good luck! The time will go by fast and having something that exciting to look forward to should be nice.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I had the aux fan recall done back in August and since they put in another Siemens fan, I was supposed to bring it in again for the Bocsh fan. My mistake for putting it off for so long - I had it scheduled for Dec 18 thinking that since I'm already at 11,200 miles, it would not happen to me. Ahh, well. I noticed yesterday on my way home that the A/C was working louder than usual and there was some sort of different sound while decelerating with the A/C on. I drove it for about 70-80 miles today and as I was driving through Boston, I turned the A/C on and noticed that the humidity did not decrease and that it wasn't really blowing cold area. I thought it was weird and looked around the dash to see anything different. Baaam, the water temp arrow was in the red zone and pushing the max position. I immediately pulled over to the side and shut off the engine. I called Roadside Assistance and was able to get to a live person within two minutes. It took them about 15 min to locate a towing company that was available and they told me it would be 45 min to an hour before they showed up. I opened the hood so the engine would cool off faster and the water temp was down to exactly halfway (normal operating temp) in about half-hour. Since I was just about a mile from home, I figured I could get home OK so I did just that and called back the towing company to let them know. I got home safely and I was happy to see that the water temp needle was glued to the halfway point all the time. All things considered, I got lucky that it happened on the weekend and close to home and that I got home safely and especially that I noticed it on time before the radiator or a hose had blown up. I have Monday off so I'd be able to take care of it then and luckily, my wife's A4 is available for the weekend. My dealer is about half-hour from my home and I am wondering if I should have the car towed or drive it myself. Would be OK for me to drive as long as I monitor the water temp carefully or it's too risky? Please advice. Thank you.

    Oh, one more thing - Roadside Assistance would NOT tow the vehicle to any dealership whose service department is not open at that point. I thought it was weird and they were not able to tell me why. I am guessing it's some sort of liability?!? They told me that they would tow it to my home instead or to a secure storage location.
  • drcrdrcr Member Posts: 87
    Thanks for the part #.

    Brave. When I first got my car back in June, I had the Bosch put in b/4 any problems. A couple of weeks ago, my car ran hot and had it towed. This was on a Sunday and they brought it to the dealer which was closed? Oh well maybe it depends on the area. Im in Atl.

    The new fan (according to BMWNA) has been redesigned to move the switch outside of the housing? Whatever. It works now.

    drcr

    I had it serviced at Global (not where I purchased). They didn't offer loaner and wouldn't even pay for a rental until I said I would voice my complaint to NA. I felt like a second class citizen. NA said that rental reimbursment was up to the individual dealer.

    BMW should just offer a standardized level of service accross all dealerships. It seems to be a roll of the dice w/ service at BMW. Macon is amazing and Global was average to fair.
  • kekskeks Member Posts: 6
    I have a 3 month old bimmer and would like to know if mine had one done cause it's brand new. tried to look underneath but had difficulty. the only noticeble place i could see is where the wheels are, but it's not black. is this a concern for me or i could always ask the dealer if i had one done. i enjoy reading all the posting way back then, when we were still ordering our new car. now it's time for me to get some good advice from you guys. braveheart1 et. al. thanks!
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    drcr - I thought the problem was specific to Siemens fans only and did not know that any of the Bosch fans had the overheating problem. But hey, I've done the Payroll to General Ledger interface design for 5 of the Fortune 500 companies and I know enough not to argue with anyone who knows how to balance dr and cr. Thanks for the heads-up on your towing experience - it's a moot point for me right now as I will drive it or have it towed Monday morning when the service dept. is open but it's good to know for future reference.

    keks - in addition to being black, the Bosch fans' blades have the shape of a boomerang - you should be able to look through the kidney grill with the hood open for more light and determine which one you have. If you'd like, send me an e-mail and I will send you a front and back pictures of the Siemens and Bosch fans so you'd have a visual.
  • brucec35brucec35 Member Posts: 246
    I read some posts from a Canadian complaining about the BMW 3 series' lack of power. That may be. But I think that power is only part of the equation. I drive a '98 540i sport 6 speed and it has a lot more power. (0-60mph in 5.6-5.9 sec, depending on who you ask) But you know, as far as most of my "driving enjoyment" goes, it's the handling, not the pure power. In fact, the 6 speed transmission on the 540i is not as good as the 5 speed on even a "lowly" 325i. The 3 series was buttery smooth and felt great. I have to work a little more with the 540i to get smooth shifts, especially the 1st-2nd gear. And the surplus power only means that I don't get to run through the gears before I hit 70mph and have to slow down for safety reasons in traffic. I'm barely into 3rd gear by that speed. The only "fun" gears are 1st and 2nd in most situations. Sometimes that's not as fun as using a manual to really get the most out of a lesser engine. The 540i has so much torque that you don't really "need" to shift as much and it's not always as satisfying. So there's more to driving enjoyment than 0-60 times and HP ratings. I drove the altima and thought that while it's a good value for the price, it had way too much body roll, a harsher ride, and horrible torque steer powering out of driveways into traffic. And don't get me started on the shoddy interior materials. The leather felt paper thin, looked bad, and the hard plastics were more at home in a $15,000 car. It's a nice design, but even at that price, I'd enjoy owning a SLOWER VW Passat any day. I also drove a Maxima, and it felt more substantial than the Altima and handled better.

    The 540i type power is great, no complaints here, but I think a lot of guys own cars like that more for the compliments they get from the mechanics who work on it and bragging rights than for the fun of driving them. People we know make a lot bigger deal about our car than we do. We simply wanted a car that was 1. Safe 2. good looking and therefore fun to own 3. handled well 4. Was reasonably practical and comfortable 5. reasonably reliable

    We did NOT buy it for status and I'm married, so I can't use it to pick up chicks. I think there are a huge number of really great new cars around with much better performance and safety than 10 years ago. My "kick [non-permissible content removed]" '83 Toyota supra 5 speed got to 60mph in 8.1 seconds. The Porsche 944, the prototypical "sexy sports car" of the day, was about the same. Today's "slow" 325i will beat that number by a full second.

    Be happy we've got great choices now, and realize that "fast" is in the eye of the beholder. To tell the truth, my '83 supra was just as comfortable and fun to drive as the '98 BMW 540i, in its own way.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    Very sincere post - it must have been the late-Saturday night alcohol talking :o) It's nice to get the 5-series owner's perspective. I've read about the 540i manual snapping your head off from first to second - even the C&D pros have complained about it vocally. To add to your "horsepower debate", today I drove a T5 which will smoke my 325i (see Volvo write-up below) and I kept thinking to myself how lucky I am to have discovered the 3-series for myself. HP and anything else you could put on paper does not begin to describe the way BMW's drive. I am saying this even as my car overheated today, you know what I mean? the 325 delivers its power very smoothly and although 0-60 in 7 sec flat does not seem impressive by today's standards, the overall package is so incredible, it puts a smile on my face just thinking about it. There are a few cars (maybe even fast SUV's) that will run or even outrace the 325i manual in the first hundred yards, sure... The 325 delivers its power so relentlessly and so smoothly, it's addictive. In the 1.8T, you punch it and before you know it, you're at redline. In the 325, you feel like you have endless power on tap - you punch it at 3K and it keeps going and going and going... So it matters very little if a car with plenty of low-end torque might come out ahead in the first 100 yards - it's whoever has the most fun. Oh, and when you run the 325 at 6K RPM's, there are no vibrations whatsoever. Truly incredible!!!
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    Well, two friends of mine (a couple) are evaluating cars for their next purchase so they asked me for help with the test-drive. They are looking at the Jetta, A4, Volvo S40, S60, and Saab 9-3. Yeah, yeah, I know, no need to convince me that the 3-series is better - we're all different and I try to take that into consideration as much as I can. So we went to a Volvo dealership just to say they've done it - here's what I thought:
    - S40 - rattles, boring, rattles, pancake-syrup steering, cheap, did I say boring, basically, avoid it all cost. The Jetta 1.8T is built much better, is faster, and costs a lot less money.
    - T5 - this is a FAST car. However, you hit the gas, then yawn for a second, then the turbo kicks in, then hold yourself tight and there you go. It does not have the firm but refined and relatively supple ride of the 325 and 330 SP and it is light years away in terms of handling. No rattles at all, though - the S60 seems much better built than the S40. However, it is too expensive for the rice crowd, too ricy for the luxury crowd, i.e. not much future in its sales. Oh, same pancake syrup with the steering - completely detached from the road and VERY light - it's like playing a Nintendo game.
    - S60 197 HP AWD - by far the best one of the three we drove. There seems to be a good balance between power, lack of lag, and brakes. It also felt more sure-footed in turns because of the AWD and it has a more supple ride. At 36 grand, though, I can think of much better cars to buy.

    BTW, the salesperson told us they do business at 2% over cost, i.e. about $600 over invoice. That's a plus and much better than German luxury car dealers.

    So in the end, I am pretty sure that they ruled out Volvos and will stick with the A4 1.8T Q. Good choice, considering the 3-series was not in the running.
  • patpat Member Posts: 10,421
    It's against Town Hall policy - thanks.

    Pat
    Host
    Sedans Message Board
  • mschukarmschukar Member Posts: 351
    I checked over the order form several times to see if they left out an option. Even adding up the prices they put down, I came up with $300 more than the dealer did. I think they simply forgot to add the $300 for the OB computer, but it is listed.

    Any advice on what to tell them when they try to get back the $300? I figure I'll say I agreed on a purchase price, not a discount from MSRP.

    How are your insurance rates, brave? I figure they shouldn't be too bad because there aren't too many high risk drivers driving Bimmers. It was interesting, my '85 RX-7 had much higher insurance costs than my '95 Miata despite similar HP (actually lower in the RX-7) and similar driving characteristics.

    -Murray
  • kekskeks Member Posts: 6
    Braveheart,i think i was unclear about my question. i was referring to my undercoating of my new car if i have, not the FAN. many thanks!
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I should have read your question more carefully. My mistake.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I'd do exactly that - you guys agreed on a purchase price, not a discount from MSRP. If they sold themselves $300 short, then it's their problem, IMO. They should have paid more attention in class back in first grade :o) They probably won't notice at delivery time, though.

    Well, I get one speeding ticket a year average (that's one per 25K miles driven) and my insurance rates would be substantially higher than most other people's. In addition, I live right in Boston where insurance rates are about 25% higher than those in the nice suburbs. I'd be paying about $1,200 for good coverage with a perfect driving record. The A4 would be about 15% less. Also, at least here in Mass, the sedan is a little cheaper to insure than the coupe (the coupe historically attracts higher risk drivers), and according to my insurance company, both are almost as expensive to insure as the Mustang (other things equal).
  • riezriez Member Posts: 2,361
    Wife couldn't live without a BMW. So yesterday she got herself a 2000 323iA (black leather, Premium Pkg, heated seats, CD, silver metallic paint). Had a $34,960 MSRP. Was one of the dealer's service loaner cars. Put into service late into CY 2000. Has 18,000 miles but we are getting it as Certified Pre-owned, so she'll get remainder of 4/50 b-to-b warranty and the 2/50 CPO warranty extension. Got it for about $28,000 (though there was a trade in involved).

    Wife loved the looks and all it took was one nice long test drive. Only thing she didn't like was fact it doesn't have fog lights. Odd, at that price. But they do come with the Sport Pkg.

    She can't wait to pick it up Thursday. In meantime, the dealer gave her a 2001 Volvo S60 loaner car so they could take her trade on-the-spot and clean up the 323. We live about 145 miles away from them (but only 25 miles from another BMW dealer).
  • jhox85jhox85 Member Posts: 35
    I have seen the car & key settings for the 3-series on the BMWnation.com (under TECH) and I was wondering if anybody knows if the same things can be done on the 5-series. It has been a week since I placed the order for a 2002 530 and the dealer wanted me to tell him about the programming the car & the key.

    I have some questions and wanted the board's opinion on these configuration. (These questions may make more sense after seeing the options for car & key programming.)

    1.Does all the vent positions work if the AUTO is on? If you do not have the AUTO on, none of the vent positions work w/o your choosing the vents manually?

    2. On the "vents position during warm-up", is that mean that you are idling and not moving, or while driving and the engine is not warm yet? When it is active does that mean you may get the warm/cold outside air into the car while driving? Can you always choose to let outside air in regardless of what is active?

    3. What is the board's opinion on the settings for the vent positions, temp correction, A/C on, and the "Automatic blower on"? I think some of them can become annoying after a while?

    Has anybody programmed these options? I would appreciate your opinion and comments.

    I also read a while back about the alarm that would go off when the temp is freezing outside and how some people were annoyed by it. Is there any way to program the car so it would not operate? Also, how often the alarm would go off, if you can not disable it?
  • whitepenguinwhitepenguin Member Posts: 4
    I've been reading the forum for a while and I found some insightful opinions.
    I recently ordered a new 318 my 2002 "valvetronic" (I'm based in Europe and test drive is a wishful thinking!)and I would appreciate some feed-back about the debated issue sport suspension (within the SP), handling, comfort etc.
    I know that the US version of the 325 with SP comes with 205/45 r 17 tires, while my one will have 205/55 r 16 (with sport suspension), but nevertheless I'd like some info possibly in terms of comparison with other cars rather than personal feeling. I had an Infinity G20T and I wonder if it could be taken as reference to match the said characteristics (ride, comfort etc.)
    Thanks
  • topspin627topspin627 Member Posts: 67
    I too noticed that I had to "kick start" the rain sensing wipers to activate them. They have not turned on soon enough when the windshield gets wet. I'm not sure if I'm missing something or if this option is not really perfected yet.
    Also, I have the fog lights as part of the sp on my 330i and have been driving with them on in non foggy weather and find that they really light up the road better. Since no one has flashed me I figure it's ok to do. Is that right?
  • rjg96rjg96 Member Posts: 65
    Hi-

    I might be able to offer you some perspective. I lived in Germany for a year and rented several 318 and 320s (pre-Valvetronic) w/o sport package. I currently own a 2001 325i w/ sp in the US. Even on the rough pot-holed roads of the Northeast US, the ride is never jarring. Its a little rougher than the 318s w/o sp I rented- but barely. In Europe, with its smooth roads, there is absolutely no reason not to get the sport suspension. What little harshness I feel is mostly due to the 17" tires. If you'll be getting the 16" tires-- you really have nothing to worry about. The car takes corners much, much better than the non sp cars I rented.

    BTW, Why not rent a 3 series from Hertz or Sixt to try it out? If you live in the north of Italy, it might even be worth going to Munich to rent on (very easy there).
    Hope this helps.
  • dave330idave330i Member Posts: 893
    I've heard you can get ticketed fro driving around with the fog light on, but I'm not too sure. Might want to read the manual on it. When my sister was getting her Acura, the dealer mentioned fog lights act similar to hi-beams to on coming traffic.
  • whitepenguinwhitepenguin Member Posts: 4
    Thank you.
  • raavirraavir Member Posts: 64
    both costs more or less same with similer options and standard equipment etc.. both costs around CAD42000. One can get sport package on 320i and more horsepower on 325i. Not able to secide which is better with sportpack or without
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I own the 325i SP and if I were to choose between the 320 with SP and 325 w/o SP, I'd get the 320 with SP. The 320 has sufficient horsepower (164 or 168 is it?) and is a little lighter than the 325, so I would not be concerned about lack of power. The 6-cyl engine is smoother and the engine sound is music to my ears but the 320 would be just as free-revving and a lot of fun to drive in the high RPM's. In the end, the great handling would put more smiles on your face than the extra horse power of the 325. All IMO, of course, I hope this helps.
  • brave1heartbrave1heart Member Posts: 2,698
    I drove it to the dealer myself - the water temp needle stayed at the midpoint throughout the trip. I was glad to see that they'd be able to take care of it today, even though I had no appt. They also gave me a free loaner and although the Escort will help me truly appreciate (again) the Shtroumpf when I get him back, it is a lot easier to live with than the Saturn I had last time. They are too busy on Monday mornings to promise that purely cosmetic repairs will be done on the same day but they said they'd try to get to the couple of rattles that the car has. Not bad.
  • tcn2ktcn2k Member Posts: 277
    I was wondering if anyone know the answer to this question. I wanted to install the bmw alarm on my 01 325i and since i can't get the car in for several days to program and activate the alarm; will it be okay to drive without programming it for those days. I called bmw and no one at the local bmw know anything about this.

    Also, someone mention something about the sirin mount can vibrate, so they put something between the bracket and the firewall mount area. Can someone clarify this?
  • tcn2ktcn2k Member Posts: 277
    Sorry, I meant SIREN vibrating and someone put something between it's mounting plate and firewall.
  • raavirraavir Member Posts: 64
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