Road Tests: Long-Term Test

For a vehicle with eight months left on a two-year lease, our 328i is showing plenty of wear and tear. That's good in the sense that it validates how popular the car is with our staff. The Bimmer crested the 30,000-mile mark in June, meaning we will have to conserve our driving time for the remainder of the 40,000-mile lease or risk paying excessive mileage charges when we turn it in next February.

That popularity, however, comes with a price beyond lease-end charges. The wheels, for instance, look battered and beaten, especially for a 16-month-old car. They've always collected an undue amount of brake dust that quickly tarnishes their pristine finish after being detailed. But closer inspection reveals that all four of them have had serious run-ins with curbs at one time or another. Many of them no doubt occurred during parallel parking maneuvers, but even the driver's side wheels show serious scuff marks. The Sport Package, 17-inch wheels are one of the most attractive features on our BMW, but only from a distance after they are freshly cleaned. Get close to them after some hard driving and they look hideous. Note to potential 3 Series Sport Package buyers: Park very carefully and be prepared to buy stock in a wheel cleaner company.

Wheels aren't the only items seeing wear on the 328i. Just as the rear tires were replaced in February, the front tires, (which are now the rear tires because the new rear tires were moved to the front and former front tires were moved to the rear-got it?) were replaced this month due to protruding wear bars and limited tread depth. After hearing so much about Tirerack's Web site, we pointed our browser over to tirerack.com to try and find some OEM replacement rubber. In a matter of minutes we had located the proper tires and were entering our credit card information. The tires were shipped from the Indiana warehouse because the closer Nevada warehouse was out of stock, but for $348.34, including $60 for overnight shipping, we had two new Continental ContiSport tires on our doorstep the following business day. Even with the additional $27 to mount and balance them, our total bill was about $50 less than the previous set cost. If we hadn't needed them overnight, we could have saved another $30. Not a bad alternative to traditional tire shopping, don't you think?

With new tires all around, only a 30,000-mile service and some minor repairs were needed to get the 328i in tip-top shape. Well, some new wheels would help too, but we're not ready to make that kind of investment. What we did do was call Beverly Hills BMW to schedule an appointment. We navigated through the Beverly Hills BMW phone system and eventually, after talking to multiple recorded voices, were told to leave a message regarding a service appointment. We did. Then we waited. About a week later we called Santa Monica BMW and got very much the same initial response in the form of computer phone systems and recorded messages asking for a recorded message from us regarding a service appointment. We left this message late on a Monday afternoon but, this time, we got a call back early Tuesday morning telling us to bring the car in on the following day.

Hmm. Apparently, just as the Beverly Hills BMW commercial shown in Los Angeles suggests, it really DOES matter where you buy your BMW. What the commercial fails to mention is that if you buy it from Beverly Hills BMW, you could be S.O.L. when it comes time for service.

We dropped the car off at Santa Monica BMW early Wednesday morning and were immediately met by a service advisor who checked the car in, offered us coffee, and asked if we needed a ride. We actually didn't need a ride, but we wondered if Santa Monica BMW gave classes on how to treat customers, because we know of some other dealerships, and not just Beverly Hills BMW, that could learn from their attentiveness. We left the 328i and a list of items that included a 30,000-mile service, a check of the erratic G.P.S. system, an inoperative taillight repair, and a buzzy speaker replacement. Our service advisor, Les, said the car might be ready at the end of the day, but with such a list of demands, we were skeptical. Sure enough, Les called at around 3 p.m. that afternoon and said the car wouldn't be ready until Friday. We were a little disappointed, but not at all surprised.

Les also informed us that both the front and rear brake pads needed replacement. The fronts were down to 3 percent and the rears were at 10 percent. Getting only 30,000 miles out of a set of brakes didn't make us happy, but it did jibe with the amount of dust we'd been seeing on the wheels. Les said the total cost would be around $400, but that no rotor damage had occurred and that no major component replacements would be involved. So, at $400 we were getting off cheap? With an audible groan from our wallet, we OK'd the work.

When Friday afternoon rolled around, we put a call in to Les and he told us, in a very apologetic tone, that the Harmon Kardon speaker was blown and the replacement was on back order. We could have the car back, but the door panel would have to be re-assembled and the new speaker should be in by the following Wednesday. We decided to leave the car at Santa Monica BMW rather than deal with multiple runs back and forth to the dealership.

The following Tuesday afternoon we got a call from Les telling us that the speaker still had not arrived. "It could be here tomorrow or it could take another week. I'd rather give the car back and just call you when it comes in," he stated in a very up front tone. We agreed and picked the car up at noon on the following day, one week after it had gone in for service. The service area of Santa Monica BMW appeared crowded when we got there, and it took almost 20 minutes for them to retrieve our car after we paid the cashier and showed the service advisor our receipt. We attribute at least part of this wait to the lunch hour pick-up time we had chosen because the staff was occupied with several people who were obviously dropping off BMWs during their lunch break. When the car arrived, it was relatively clean with a freshly reset service monitor showing 15,500 miles left before its next service visit. The 30,000-mile service, including seven quarts of 5W30 synthetic oil, an oil filter and air filter replacement, and inspection/refill of all fluids, was covered under warranty. Replacing the GPS computer chip was also done under warranty. However, the replacement of all brake pads, brake pad wear sensors, and disposal of the old parts, came to $372.89 including tax. Ouch!

With the 30,000-mile service performed, brake pads replaced, and the GPS unit repaired, we have only a few nits to pick with the 328i. The windows continue to creak when the body flexes, and the steering wheel controls are quite useless in terms of convenience. Instead of placing large buttons in easy-to-reach places on the wheel, the buttons are too close to the hub and require lifting your hand off the wheel to operate, basically negating the whole point of steering wheel controls. And certain buttons, like the two arrows which scroll through station presets, are tiny and have too much spring pressure. They are almost painful to use and their close proximity to each other makes it quite a challenge to hit one without hitting the other. Come on, BMW. If you can design this magical steering feel and response, you can certainly create functional steering wheel controls.

So the BMW, like all cars, is far from perfect. But it has shades of perfection (steering, braking, seat comfort, exterior lines) that make its flaws easy to forgive.

Total Odometer Reading: 28,850
Best Fuel Economy: 18.4 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 16.9 mpg
Body Damage: $0
Maintenance Costs: $721.23 ($372.89 for complete brake job, front and rear; $348.34 for tires)
Problems: Windows continue to creak, speaker blown (waiting for replacement part).