1997 BMW 3 Series Consumer Discussions Page 5

Best vehicle for $40,000

Here's my list...

Written by: fedlawman on Dec 06, 2005 05:29 PM

1997 Porsche 911 Carrera (the kids will fit, really!) 2002 BMW M3 2004 Audi S4 2006 Subaru STi (and treat yourself to a '97 Miata with the change!) 2006 Volvo V70R (don't forget the 3rd row jumpseat option!) 2006 Pontiac GTO (see the STi note above) Read More...

BMW 3-series vs Lexus IS

Re: People, please [pat]

Written by: mikegiller on Oct 30, 2005 02:33 PM

"Thanks." No problem. :) 330i: Nice car. Haven't had a chance to drive the new 3 yet, but I am looking forward to it. Seeing as how dealerships here are closed on Sundays, tomorrow is a good day to do that. Exterior, meh. Interior, bleh. Well, it is not so much bleh, there are some good attributes in there, however when you combine it altogether, like the door panels ... Read More...

Re: C&D [mikegiller]

Written by: j0mamma on Oct 28, 2005 03:41 PM

That's an interesting write up... I feel both cars are in the same class but they're completely different cars, you know; the same but different. For bells, whistles, and luxury I would choose the Lexus hands down. For performance, roadfeel, and cornering the BMW hands down. You do put a spin on this whole discussion by taking a lot out of context too. Seems you ... Read More...

Re: C&D [j0mamma]

Written by: mikegiller on Oct 29, 2005 00:14 PM

Oh, I know you are not joking. Just last night me and my buddy went cruising in his 323ci, a 1997 I believe. Let me tell you, it is not a really fast car by any means but it is a fun car to drive and corner on. I got to drive his car and I had quite a blast driving it. BMWs are very, very fun to drive, espeically with the top down. He hasn't had any problems with the car. Older design ... Read More...

Good, Bad or Ugly - Current and Future styling trends of BMW

Modern BMWs....

Written by: merc1 on Aug 03, 2005 02:47 AM

While I've always liked BMWs they have slipped behind Audi in design, imo. My favorites of the past are the original 6-Series Coupe, 1989-1995 5-Series and the 1991-1997 8-Series, which I'm most likely in the minority on. The current models: 2006 3-Series - Not nearly as bad as the 2002 7-Series and about tied with the current 5-Series. Since I know a coupe and ... Read More...

BMW 3-series vs Lexus IS

Re: Reliability [g17]

Written by: lovemyclk on Oct 21, 2005 02:51 PM

SWTF?? What sort of warranty work in "your" '03 MB added up to $9K? What model was it? I've owned 4 MB's and 2 BMW's since 1997 and have NEVER experienced anything as you infer all MB/BMW owners experience. You may have noticed that the parent of Lexus - Toyota - has had several substantial recalls of late. If what you want is no hassles, just ride the bus :) I'm sure your ... Read More...

BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

hus6

Written by: div2 on Oct 08, 2005 06:48 AM

Will a BMW cost more to service and repair than a vanilla FWD family sedan? Probably. Significantly more? Depends. A lot of the so-called experts who claim to know about high BMW running costs base their comments on something they heard from the best friend of their second cousin's first wife's dermatologist's barber. The truth is that a BMW 3er is not all that ... Read More...

akajimbo

Written by: div2 on Aug 24, 2005 07:21 PM

The first thing I would do is clean the battery cables/terminals and then load test the battery. My money's on the battery. For what it's worth, BMW batteries are not truly maintenance free; the electrolyte level needs to be checked every six months. I've followed that regimen on my 1995 318ti and 1997 528i-and both still have their original BMW batteries. If ... Read More...

Good, Bad or Ugly - Current and Future styling trends of BMW

Re: BMW [beaming]

Written by: shipo on Jun 21, 2005 03:45 PM

The "E" numbers are BMWs internal codes to refer to a specific vehicle platform, so I guess I said it wrong before. Sorry about that. Anyway, the current E60 5-Series is a completely different platform from the ground up than was the previous generation E39 5-Series. The E60 5-Series has been/will be offered with a total of seven engines so far, and the E39 5-Series ... Read More...

Entry Level Luxury Performance Sedans

Re: Why people buy BMWs [frisconick]

Written by: odessit on Jun 18, 2005 11:21 AM

You can afford Bentley…. What do you do for living?!?!?!?!?! About reliability. I still don’t understandwhy people say that BMW and MB are not very reliable. I ma not familiar with official statistics but I tell you that before I drove Mitsubishi Galant. And I also heard a lot of “non reliable” comments about this brand of cars. At that ... Read More...