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Tried the 10 GTI, TDI and Mazda3. G37/G35. X3 and 525/528. I like the 3 with ZSP the most. I drove one tonight and I really find the balance of the car ideal compared to the 335i. Can't explain it except that the 335i does weigh a couple hundred more and I can never seem to get the car set for a corner the way I can a 328. I've found two in irvine and I'm waiting to hear back on my offers (also found two locals in non-black but the dealers are fairly inflexible on pricing here and sadly one is a pretty stripped red one).
I trust you are happy with the settlement.
The 328 is a sweet car. It doesn't have the cajones of the 335i, but it is a great motor that you just have to push to get to the sweet spot. I'm sure it is great with the 6 speed manual/sports package that you'll get. My Mom has an '08 328xiA that I think is a blast to drive, even saddled with the slushbox & extra weight of AWD.
Good luck my friend & please keep us posted.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Most of the time, it's just a bad sensor.
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Which one would you think is more accurate? My plan is to find a measured mile, ideally somewhere in the Metrowest Boston area, and clock the speed on repeated time trials. If I lived in Utah, I'd try the Bonneville Salt Flats. Now, THAT would really be a lot of fun.
Any thoughts?
I recently sold my 2007 328i and experienced the same results when compared to my Garmin. Makes no sense to me.
BMWs are known for having dead-accurate odometers & speedometers that read high.
It must be a feature.
I suppose I should be grateful - I've not had a single speeding ticket since I've owned the car!
By the way, should any MA, NH, NY, CT or VT troopers be reading this, my car is painted bright green with large yellow polka dots.
GPS has a margin of error as well, it depends on the sampling rate of the signal if the tracking is not constant from at least 3 satellites. I am not sure if the current GPS technology is as accurate as military GPS. It definitely wasn't as good, intentionally, only a year or two ago.
Based on the number of consistent replies regarding the 3 mph under measurement on the BMW 3 Series, I am led to believe that the speed could be accurate, but is intentionally set this way. Maybe it's BMW's attempt to help their customers from getting nailed slightly less than otherwise?
Once I find my measured mile and can validate which measurement is the more accurate, I'll report back and eat my words if the GPS proves out.
What that tells me is:
a. The computerized system check is not reliable
b. BMW established the "free maintenance" marketing program based upon their conviction that the car was so well engineered and fabricated that they could "gamble" on this conviction.
c. The result is that BMW dealers perform the very least work in order to generate the most profit out of the least time.
d. The company commits a subterfuge in imputing great value to not paying any maintenance costs during the lease or period of ownership. In fact, based upon my owning or leasing at least 12 cars, the only time my annual service costs exceeded $ 500 were with older models of Mercedes and a lemon Toyota Supra, which had a valve job at 18,000 miles, and I received factory accomodation for that.
Since the major exposure to mechanical disaster is alleviated during the first four years through a warranty, the scheduled maintenance isn't worth more than $ 400-600/yr., tops, at least in Los Angeles. So what is the basis for charging $ 10k for a 3-series over a comparable Infiniti or Acura, or Lexus IS 250, 350? Purists will insist the handling, acceleration and braking are sufficient justification, and I would affirm that my expecations of performance have more than been met. However, the prospect of unreliablitiy and possible undetected problems, with limited scheduled regular maintenance more than offsets the performance edge. I conclude that the car is overpriced, notwithstanding the subjective superior driver experience. How much time do you lose when major parts fail or diagostic lights appear much too often? Why experience anxiety approaching a long road trip, especially in climactic extremes, when a major "organ," like an HPFP fails? What happens when you're doing 80 on the Interstate and the "engine malfunction" light appears, and your vehicle quickly "chokes" and reduces its speed drastically? What are the chances of a major rear-end collision or dangerous experience in trying to move to the next off-ramp or the shoulder of a freeway when the throttle doesn't engage?
This first-time BMW owner needs to know.
BTW, the selective availability "feature", which deliberately degraded the publicly available accuracy, was turned off in 2000.
The dealer should provide you with a loner car or reimburse you for your rental when this known problem happens.
The "free maintenance" isn't free - we're all intelligent enough to realize that. It is built in to the price of the car. So many BMWs are leased (less now than before due to the fact that they pumped up residuals during the past 10 years or so) that it really is a good deal. Our '07 X3 has cost us nothing besides gas & insurance. It has also proven to be a dead-on reliable truck. My best friend for example has an '09 MB E350 4matic that he just brought in for the first "A service" & got a bill for $450 (and they gave him a hard time about giving him a loaner car).
BMW did specify for frequent maintenance when it was not included. Some complain that they'd rather not have "free maintenance" & have the car be $2000 cheaper (or whatever the dollar amount is).
Good luck!
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
"Please be assured that we at BMW are totally committed to the highest standards of product excellence and owner experience, and are determined to maintain a level of service that exceeds your expectations."
I think the least BMW of NA could do is acknowledge the extent of the problem in an honest fashion (how many units have failed), and explain what has been done and is being done to eliminate the HPFP failures, not just replace them. And they should certainly cause each and every dealer to reimburse every owner/lessee affected for our-of-pocket costs, such as car rental, when this problem occurs.
NHTSA usually only gets involved when the issue is one of safety - not just a problem/defect with a product. Have there been any deaths associated with the failure of a HPFP? Any really bad accidents directly attributable to the fuel pump? If not, the NHTSA is not concerned.
I have confirmed that the speedo on my '09 328ix reads 4 mph faster than the actual speed using 3 methods: My garmin nuvi, GPS radar detector and my Bushnell radar gun.
I had my 335i lemoned (engine problems). 30+ days in the shop over less than a year. I couldn't take the idea of that car leaving warranty and turning into a financial nightmare.
Over the course of a few months the car had the ecu flashed, injectors changed, HPFP replaced, turbo replaced, manifold replaced. Some research turned up that the previous owner had 3 HPFPs replaced by 28k miles.
Happy New Year my friend
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Indeed, I know the road well, and you make an excellent point -- applies to RFT tires as well. Bishop is as good as it gets, and I'll wager there isn't an RFT tire anywhere in the town, especially outside of normal business hours. 395 at 3 in the morning is a great drive, but not in a car that can't either be depended on or repaired quickly & easily.
Sorry I ever bought the pos bmw. Worst automotive investment I ever made.
BMW dealerships, worst service I've ever had.
I thought it was just the N54 engine that has this problem?
I have 2006 325i bought in August 2005, still very little miles-5000. Last winter I did not drive the car for a month.
It started only on the second attempt and I saw lots of signals that everything was wrong with the car. The dealer told me that the battery is low and recommended to idle the engine for two hours to charge the battery. It worked and all wrong signals disappeared. Later I checked the battery and it was OK. Now I use the battery tender (a small charger to keep the battery charged) when I do not drive the car for several weeks. It works beautifully. But now I am in the fifth year and plan to replace the battery in the fall of 2010.
Lehrer 1