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I am joining this form for the first time. I purchased black saphire metalic, with premium package, cold weather package and navigation. I also noticed vibration after stopping which comes after 2-3 seconds. I am guessing this is probably linked to brakes.
325 06 has a pretty quiet ride. However I have noticed a rattling from the drivers side on bumby roads. You wouldn't notice it on slight bumps. Has any one noticed it ?
How did you attatch the front LP ? I saw a Mazda minata at cinemark that had euro style TX plates. I checked TXDOT and did not see it under their special plates.?
Home Depot has double stick tape (hold 5lbs) for about $5. I ordered TX plates with the same number as the EU. My main reason for doing this was to hide the ED drilled holes in the front.
Being from Quebec the first question I asked the salesman was "What about run flat snows?"
That was in june and he said to wait until the fall. This forum has answered my questions and after my wife said a 325xi was a too much for just a "car"(42,900 cdn), I was thrilled when I found out BMW Canada now has the e90 323i for 35,200. In Canada the 2005 tsx sells for 34,600! Too much for a honda, ACCORDing to my wife. Thanks to acura and there inflated price in Canada and great advice from edmunds.com we bought a 323i with the premium package.(2,200 sunroof, heated seats,auto dimming mirrors and cruise) Not bad since a sunroof is a 1500 option on the 325i(40,300) in canada. Also after signing my sales rep whispered "tirerack.com for snows"
2006 323i comes with 2.5l with 174 hp and 170 lb - ft of torque. Around the same as 2005 TSX something to do with real horsepower.(as far as the sale rep said.)Also with the price of gas in Quebec(1.19 L $4 gal us) it will sell well here.(acura EL's are everywhere!) Talk of the series one for 2007 for Canada since we love small cars.
I was trying to avoid the holes myself . Far as i know TX still requires a front LP.
Supposedly, when the low sulfer arrives BMW and Honda for that matter are said to bring Diesels over. Some people are paying way inflated prices for diesel jettas ect. At that price I dont see the savings.
If memory serves me right I remember reading about a TX HB that did away with the front LP, for vehicles sold September and later. I guess I read it here in one of these Edmunds boards. The catch was that it would only apply to new cars only.
You talking about the driver side window? Mine rattles on sideways bumps not up and down bumps. Haven't taken it in yet as it doesn't happen except on dirt roads.
hi i am planning to buy a 330i with Sport,Premium.Auto,Comfort access,mettalic paint.the invoice for this is $39760.and msrp is 43345.the dealer said he can only give me $1000. discount. but i am looking for $2200 discount. am i asking too much discount? please help
I opted for the SP is great, the sports seats and foldable rear seats made it a no brainer for me. As for looks, the tires are a plus. But realize the ride will be stiffer so make sure it suits your driving style. As for comfort access, my 325i didn’t come with it and its not an option you can retrofit. If I had to do it all over again, the $500 looks pretty cheap to just be able to walk up to your car and hit the start button. Good luck!
I ordered a 2006 BMW 325xi and want to use the 17” All season wheels / tires for the winter and performance wheels / tires for the summer. I want to stay with a BMW wheel. They have the wheels at wheelcollision.com but I want a wheel and tire package. Let me know.
I think the stiffer drive and feeling the road aspect of the SP may make the difference to me as I'm used to driving Japanese cars and this is my first BMW.
I think i'll probably drop SP, unless people feel that it really adds to the 'fun' value of the car.
Why do the RF tires make a difference? I think they are also more expensive to replace as well. With a 36 month lease, i'd rather not have to worry about the tires.
If you get the SP, the performance tires that come with it don't last as long.... The are a softer rubber and are made for greater performance. As a result, you'll be lucky to get 15k out of them.
All '06 3 series come with RF tires as there is no spare in the trunk. RF tires have stiif sidewalls to support the car for around 80 miles driving even with no air left in the tire. However it does make the handling a bit stiffer to begin with even without SP.
Can I replace my 330i style 159 wheels (8 x 17 225/45 R17) with the style 161 wheels using the same size (8 x 17 225/45 R17) all around for front and back? I know these wheels are staggered for the 325 sport package, but I would like to stick with the 17" all seasoned tires delivered with my 330i and just put them on these wheels. Is it possible?
Interesting I put 159 on my 325i and you want 161 on your 330i. In any event I did not "think" your rear rubber would fit 255/40/17 .Tirerack.com could confirm that.
I bought mine through BMW of Bakersfield. My salesman was great! I went to a few in LA, but all of them were quite condescending to me for whatever reason. Maybe I looked too young or I wasn't dressed right. I dunno. But I blew em off and bought right near my house (I used to live in Tehachapi). BMW of Bakersfield ALWAYS treated me great, and their service department... I can't speak highly enough about them!
It may be a bit of a drive for you, but it is worth checking into.
I don't think Munich distinguishes between States, as there are many States that don't require front plates. That's what you get for buying a $40k car in a country where it costs about $60k+. I can see it now-"take zat you cheap Amerikan." In all seriousness, many have tried to not get the front bumpers drilled. We ended up calling them battle scars.
I regret to report that I "celebrated" both my first and second week anniversaries as a new 330i owner by bringing my car in for service.
After having the car for only a few days, the adaptive headlights stopped working, and the two malfunction indicators came on every time I drove the car.
Last Friday I brought the car to the service center for troubleshooting. They worked on it, thought they'd fixed it, but they didn't. The malfunction indicators came on again on the ride home from the service center. How annoying was that!
I brought the car back to them today, a week later. This time the diagnosis is that the steering angle sensor needs to be replaced. Guess what? They don't have the part. The car is so new that they don't stock parts for it. They have to order the part and hope to have it on Monday. In the meantime, they are letting me use a loaner car, which is also a new 330i.
If I strain my brain enough, I can find a couple of silver linings or comic relief, as the case may be. While my car sits in the shop for a few days, I can enjoy driving the same kind of car without the miles counting against my lease. Also, since the loaner car has a few thousand miles on it whereas my car has only a few hundred miles on it, this is an opportunity for me to do a little hard driving. I've got a lot of driving to do this weekend (200 miles or so) and I'm going to enjoy it and try not to get too bummed out about my new car spending so much time in the shop.
Sorry to hear about your problem with the new 330i. I just picked up our new one a few days ago. I bought the car against the usual principle not to buy a first year model change car. C&D's recent comparison article didn't give me much assurance in that the BMW 330, while still rated # 1, presented quite a few serious problems (ABS malfunction and starting issues) during testing. I am holding my breath on this one. It drives magnificently and the warranty should take care of any problem.
Having had my 325 since early August, now with ~ 2700 mi, I drove in rain yesterday for first time. I sensed slipping while taking a 40 mph curve at about 45 ever so briefly and never saw it again. On the plus side, may be the traction control took control effectively and saved me a wipe out, on the minus side the original Turanza RF sucks on puddles of water. Watch out when it rains if you run on Turanzas.
Thanks, and good luck with yours. All of us new 3 owners hope that the magnificent ride is worth the risk we took by being first. I'm addicted to being first. Every 3 years I like to get something new and fresh. The new 3 fit the bill this time around. Last time it was the G35. By contrast, nothing went wrong with that car until the last month of my 39 month lease.
I'm nervous already about the miles. I probably won't be able to keep it under 50,000 miles in 3 years. So I may be out of warranty and exposed to repair expenses toward the end of my lease. But on the other hand, I will save a lot of money by not having to pay anything for maintenance for the first 50,000 miles.
Brave soul you are always wanting to be the first one!
If you want to avoid out of pocket expenses during the warranty period, you might want to consider buying the tire/rim insurance which costs between $400 to $500 covering for five years. RF tires are not repairable and must be replaced if punctured. It is very costly for around $300/tire. All BMW dealers sell the policy. Make sure to shop around. I didn't buy it from the dealer selling me the car. He wanted $100 more. I think it is worth it for my peace of mind. I wish BMW had offered regular tires and made RF the option.
It is drivers side I am not sure whether it is window or some lose part close to steering. You are right it does not rattle up and down bumps. I noticed it on my way to Virginia on an uneven pavement not on dirt road.
My dealer never even mentioned tire/rim insurance to me. Come to think of it, they never tried to sell any extras at all.
This is the first time for me to have RF tires. That said, of all the flats I've had before with non-RF tires, I can only think of one time when I was lucky enough for the tire to be repairable. All the other times I ended up having to spring for a new tire (or two depending on relative wear). So I don't look at RFs so differently. RFs cost a bit more to replace than non-RFs, but that is bound to change as RFs become more mainstream. I don't think a single RF costs as much as $300 in my case. I don't have the sports package. I think that my 17-inch all-season RF tires might be closer to the $200 range. I will have the car for only 3 years. The way I see it, if I purchased the tire insurance, I would have to have 3 or more flats in 3 years in order to come out ahead. That would be ahead of my usual pace. So I'm inclined to pay as I go (or hopefully not pay at all), rather than plunking down a sure thing $500 or so right now. I realize that my view is contrary to many a post in this forum. Maybe I will be proved wrong. Only time will tell. As you said, I am a brave soul.
I still have a new 330i in the garage, though sadly it is not my own. Tonight I got to see what I have been missing, since the adaptive headlights are working on the loaner car. It's a very cool feature. A vast increase in the field of vision when making turns and changing direction.
What you said makes a great deal of sense to me. You are "self-insured" so to speak. Indeed if you only have the car for 3 years, the insurance may not be for you. We tend to keep our cars for a much longer period of time, so we keep coverage longer, if the price seems to be right. We extended our "free maintenance" coverage for our '02 sport wagon in March to 6 years and 100,000miles (for '02 model the free maintenance covers only 3 years). Then the brake light came on last month, the dealer replaced the rotors and pads. I paid $1,300 for the coverage, this brake replacement alone has probably recouped at least $700 for me. Then the car will get coolan/brake fluid/oil change next March, so the whole cost will be totally paid back by then and I'll have two more years of free maintenance left. As a non-technically inclined person, I consider it a reasonable deal. Enjoy you driving, particularly you can really open it up now since the loaner is already broken in! Tell us about it. I still have 1000 miles to go before the 330 is broken in!
Maybe the conclusion is that the tire insurance is probably worthwhile for people who buy their cars (and will keep them for 5 years or more) but probably not worthwhile for people who lease their cars (and will keep them for only 3 years).
I am also non-technically inclined. I would have strongly considered an extended warranty, etc., if I purchased instead of leased.
My 330i has a soft ticking type sound that sounds like it is coming from the driver side opening for the seatbelt. Calling it a rattle is almost an overstatement. It is pretty quiet and it only happens when I go over bumps, but it is annoying. I plan to eventually bring it in. Is that something the dealer will try to fix under the warranty?
i think it's still a good idea to purchase it-even if you're leasing. Who knows what might happen in 3 years. You're already getting ur money worth even if you only have 1 flat tire. anythin after that will benefit you even more. but that's just my opinion...
also- is it normal for the car to smell after you drove it around? everytime i park my car in teh garage it smells. I thought maybe bcus it's new. But im worried that it might b burning too much oil. Please advice. THank you!
In my opinion, the look of this car is greatly impacted by the rims. The rim upgrade with the sport package really improves the look. If you want to drive to the limits the tighter suspension helps handling. I would get it again.
I believe your car is quite new. I think sometimes some metalic smell is generated from the new muffler or the brakes. It should go away afer a while. I don't think you can smell the burning oil even if your car is burning oil. It will only smell if it is spilled on the hot engine parts. Take a look under the hood, if you are worried. Concerning the RF tires, I don't really like them and I am not sure it is a safety factor for me since I do check my tire pressure at least once every week and the RF tire's availability is not great. Didn't you tell us that they had to locate and had to order the replacement tire ordered for you? Go to the Toyota Sienna site and read about the woes of the RF tires. Sienna was equipped with RF tires about two years ago and the owners seemed to have quite terrible experiences. This may not be one of BMW's brightest marketing decisions in my opinion.
i agree with you 100%. i am not a fan of RF tires either. On one hand it's more safe because you dont have to worry about blowouts. On the other, it's more of an inconvinience. THe cost of replacing one and the wait for it makes it not worth while. I think it would be better if they just equipped it with regular tires or at least put a sprace in the trunk. I've also heard about the Siennas and Odysseys as well. Those vans that come with RF tires are having a lot of problems. I didnt realize what it was like until i bought the 330. Also, thank you for the reply.
Is it possible to get Xenon without the adaptive part? Also what do you think of the adaptive Xenon.. is it worth the $800? I've already ordered but am scrambling to decide whether or not to add the Xenon's.
I get that soft ticking sound from the driver seat belt opening on the B frame whenever I twitch my left shoulder, which is all the time. I am trying to get used to it.
The other thing is sometimes after I have started the car, it is difficult to pull the seat belt out - it has tensioned itself before I could pull it out. I am trying to figure that out too.
But, overall, the car has been a blast. Not even close to the rattles I get from my wife's Accord right from the beginning. I can't believe why the German cars get knocked for quality when Honda gets such high marks for quality.
The adaptive Xenons come as standard for '06 330 and optional for 325. There is no none-adaptive available. Xenon is great at night and once you have it you won't want any other way because you can see so much better. I am not sure about the adaptive feature as it is new for the model with no reliability established yet.
you dont have to use the adaptive part if you dont want to. I think if you just turn on the headlights ( the symbol without the "A" in it), the beams will stay straight. It only curves when you put it in automatic ( the symbol with "A" in it).
I guess i am having a really bad luck. I just got my car for about 2 weeks and I just found out that there is a nail in my run flat tire. (the warning signal came on). I just called my dealer and they said that it is not possible to repair a run flat tire. Is that true? I only have 100 miles on the tire The nail is located around the middle of the thread. If it is not possible to repair, I guess I will have to spend around $250 to replace a new tire.
I just found out, after searching the forum, that BMW offers tire insurance. My dealer did not mention anything about this. How much is the insurance and how long does it cover? Just a thoght, is it possible that I can still go back to the dealer and purchase the insurance after I have a flat?
I am so sorry to hear your tire problem after only 100 miles! This is the very reason I decided to buy the tire/rim insurance when I picked up the car last week.
According to BMW, if you read the manual, the RF tires are not repairable. On top of that they mention the special equipment for even putting a new RF tire on the rim! So everything seems to lead to the dealer to do the work at at least $250 a pop! The salesman told me that Bridgestone tire people told him RF tire IS repairable and BMW saying "no" for legal liability reason. Go figure.
May be you should call Bridgestone dealers in your area and ask for their opinion and I am sure they will charge you a bit less even you need to replace the tire. The more important thing is whether these tires are readily available, if you need replacement. Hope you get this tire issue resolved soon to enjoy your new car. I believe this RF tire issue will become a growing problem once more '06 3 series are on the road. A bad corporate decision on BMW's part. That said, I really enjoy driving the car which is easily the best among all the 3 series I have driven.
Comments
I also noticed vibration after stopping which comes after 2-3 seconds. I am guessing this is probably linked to brakes.
SIT2
DL
A Miata with Euro style plates-now that's funny
That was in june and he said to wait until the fall. This forum has answered my questions and after my wife said a 325xi was a too much for just a "car"(42,900 cdn), I was thrilled when I found out BMW Canada now has the e90 323i for 35,200. In Canada the 2005 tsx sells for 34,600! Too much for a honda, ACCORDing to my wife. Thanks to acura and there inflated price in Canada and great advice from edmunds.com we bought a 323i with the premium package.(2,200 sunroof, heated seats,auto dimming mirrors and cruise)
Not bad since a sunroof is a 1500 option on the 325i(40,300) in canada. Also after signing my sales rep whispered "tirerack.com for snows"
Merci
What about the Sport Package?
I'm trying to keep the configuration in a lease 330i relatively cheap, but wouldn't mind adding one of these options.
Talk of the series one for 2007 for Canada since we love small cars.
Supposedly, when the low sulfer arrives BMW and Honda for that matter are said to bring Diesels over. Some people are paying way inflated prices for diesel jettas ect. At that price I dont see the savings.
DL
DL
amir, "BMW 3-Series: Prices Paid & Buying Experience" #5049, 14 Sep 2005 4:06 pm
I think i'll probably drop SP, unless people feel that it really adds to the 'fun' value of the car.
DL
It may be a bit of a drive for you, but it is worth checking into.
-Paul
After having the car for only a few days, the adaptive headlights stopped working, and the two malfunction indicators came on every time I drove the car.
Last Friday I brought the car to the service center for troubleshooting. They worked on it, thought they'd fixed it, but they didn't. The malfunction indicators came on again on the ride home from the service center. How annoying was that!
I brought the car back to them today, a week later. This time the diagnosis is that the steering angle sensor needs to be replaced. Guess what? They don't have the part. The car is so new that they don't stock parts for it. They have to order the part and hope to have it on Monday. In the meantime, they are letting me use a loaner car, which is also a new 330i.
If I strain my brain enough, I can find a couple of silver linings or comic relief, as the case may be. While my car sits in the shop for a few days, I can enjoy driving the same kind of car without the miles counting against my lease. Also, since the loaner car has a few thousand miles on it whereas my car has only a few hundred miles on it, this is an opportunity for me to do a little hard driving. I've got a lot of driving to do this weekend (200 miles or so) and I'm going to enjoy it and try not to get too bummed out about my new car spending so much time in the shop.
I am holding my breath on this one. It drives magnificently and the warranty should take care of any problem.
I'm nervous already about the miles. I probably won't be able to keep it under 50,000 miles in 3 years. So I may be out of warranty and exposed to repair expenses toward the end of my lease. But on the other hand, I will save a lot of money by not having to pay anything for maintenance for the first 50,000 miles.
If you want to avoid out of pocket expenses during the warranty period, you might want to consider buying the tire/rim insurance which costs between $400 to $500 covering for five years. RF tires are not repairable and must be replaced if punctured. It is very costly for around $300/tire. All BMW dealers sell the policy. Make sure to shop around. I didn't buy it from the dealer selling me the car. He wanted $100 more. I think it is worth it for my peace of mind. I wish BMW had offered regular tires and made RF the option.
This is the first time for me to have RF tires. That said, of all the flats I've had before with non-RF tires, I can only think of one time when I was lucky enough for the tire to be repairable. All the other times I ended up having to spring for a new tire (or two depending on relative wear). So I don't look at RFs so differently. RFs cost a bit more to replace than non-RFs, but that is bound to change as RFs become more mainstream. I don't think a single RF costs as much as $300 in my case. I don't have the sports package. I think that my 17-inch all-season RF tires might be closer to the $200 range. I will have the car for only 3 years. The way I see it, if I purchased the tire insurance, I would have to have 3 or more flats in 3 years in order to come out ahead. That would be ahead of my usual pace. So I'm inclined to pay as I go (or hopefully not pay at all), rather than plunking down a sure thing $500 or so right now. I realize that my view is contrary to many a post in this forum. Maybe I will be proved wrong. Only time will tell. As you said, I am a brave soul.
I still have a new 330i in the garage, though sadly it is not my own. Tonight I got to see what I have been missing, since the adaptive headlights are working on the loaner car. It's a very cool feature. A vast increase in the field of vision when making turns and changing direction.
Enjoy you driving, particularly you can really open it up now since the loaner is already broken in! Tell us about it. I still have 1000 miles to go before the 330 is broken in!
I am also non-technically inclined. I would have strongly considered an extended warranty, etc., if I purchased instead of leased.
also- is it normal for the car to smell after you drove it around? everytime i park my car in teh garage it smells. I thought maybe bcus it's new. But im worried that it might b burning too much oil. Please advice. THank you!
Concerning the RF tires, I don't really like them and I am not sure it is a safety factor for me since I do check my tire pressure at least once every week and the RF tire's availability is not great. Didn't you tell us that they had to locate and had to order the replacement tire ordered for you? Go to the Toyota Sienna site and read about the woes of the RF tires. Sienna was equipped with RF tires about two years ago and the owners seemed to have quite terrible experiences. This may not be one of BMW's brightest marketing decisions in my opinion.
:confuse:
The other thing is sometimes after I have started the car, it is difficult to pull the seat belt out - it has tensioned itself before I could pull it out. I am trying to figure that out too.
But, overall, the car has been a blast. Not even close to the rattles I get from my wife's Accord right from the beginning. I can't believe why the German cars get knocked for quality when Honda gets such high marks for quality.
If it is not possible to repair, I guess I will have to spend around $250 to replace a new tire.
Just a thoght, is it possible that I can still go back to the dealer and purchase the insurance after I have a flat?
Thanks for your suggestions.
According to BMW, if you read the manual, the RF tires are not repairable. On top of that they mention the special equipment for even putting a new RF tire on the rim! So everything seems to lead to the dealer to do the work at at least $250 a pop! The salesman told me that Bridgestone tire people told him RF tire IS repairable and BMW saying "no" for legal liability reason. Go figure.
May be you should call Bridgestone dealers in your area and ask for their opinion and I am sure they will charge you a bit less even you need to replace the tire. The more important thing is whether these tires are readily available, if you need replacement. Hope you get this tire issue resolved soon to enjoy your new car. I believe this RF tire issue will become a growing problem once more '06 3 series are on the road. A bad corporate decision on BMW's part. That said, I really enjoy driving the car which is easily the best among all the 3 series I have driven.