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Used 2011 BMW 3 Series Sedan Consumer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
80 reviews

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Pros
Cons
5 out of 5 stars

Solid top to bottom mechanically

David , 10/30/2021
2011 BMW 3 Series 328i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl 6M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

The key to longevity in the 3 series is routine maintenance. A little more obvious maintenance than a domestic car obviously. Having owned the car now for 4 years. I had to replace both fuel pumps under the rear seat due to the plastic cracking on the tanks. I Replaced all plugs , ignition coils, and filters inside the engine bay. Routine synthetic blend 5/30 oil changes every 5K miles, a new radiator hose, and new oil cap with seal as these Seals tend to leak then the cap cracks due to heat. I have only invested 2K in total maintenance. I have now been driving the car for 3 years with zero issues. Now for the negatives. BMW never emphasized their vehicles on cosmetic interior design. Plastics inside are plain and mundane to the eye. Cup holders, rear inside window brake light assembly, leather, and knobs on dash all tend to fade, break, Crack or fall out. BMW focused more on engine performance, suspension, steering, and overall handling in the 06-11 model 3 series. After 2012 it was just the opposite. BMW decided to upgrade its interior quality and design while shifting its exterior to a more modern design which is less convincing than it's earlier pretocessor models. While the engine performance gained more emissions and less power with more computer sensors causing less reliability more out pocket costs. I am very content with my 2011 328i standard model. It currently has 113K miles and runs and drives solid. The bonus too is the exterior design. Ive found no later model BMW 3 series that compares. Just make sure your always running 91 octane , change oil every 5K with castrol gtx synthetic blend. I Do not recommend running full synthetic on any car that already has over 75K miles.I paid 11K for mine in 2017 with 94K miles on it. So I've also babied the car putting only 19K miles on it over almost 4 years. Also I did the maintenance all myself and bought all OEM parts off Ebay saved me alot of $$$

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

90,000 mile update for cool M Sport Package 328i

Zoolander090, 01/22/2018
2011 BMW 3 Series 328i 4dr Sedan (3.0L 6cyl 6M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

I have owned this vehicle for 2.5 years and have driven it 31,000 miles. So far so good. Feel free to look up my past reviews on the same vehicle. I bought it with 59k miles and my wife is the main driver. It has the M Sport package, the upgraded audio system, navi, etc. Most options minus the HID lights. Everything has held up pretty good. Nothing has broken and/or stopped working properly. Maintenance issues have only been: replaced spark plugs at 70k miles, and at the 90k mile service I got done last week they replaced the radiator, the oil filter housing gasket, re surfaced the front rotors, replaced the pads, transmission service, cabin filter, air filter and I can't remember what else for about $2000 labor included. So far I have gone through 2 sets of front tires to you get about 18k miles per set with conservative driving. Overall I'm satisfied with the quality and reliability of the vehicle. Not impressed with the leaky radiator, it was a small leak but decided to replace it in order to avoid future issues. I originally planned to keep this vehicle for 2 or 3 years depending on experience. I think I will keep this vehicle for longer as it has held up pretty good. Still looks awesome and I plan to rather buy an SUV for my wife and start driving this car as a daily driver.

Performance
4 out of 5 stars
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4 out of 5 stars

Acceleration

Damoment, 12/30/2018
2011 BMW 3 Series 328i xDrive 4dr Sedan AWD (3.0L 6cyl 6M)
11 of 13 people found this review helpful

This is an excellent vehicle. But there is something about the delayed acceleration. It's like a stall. Other reviews have stated the same. Vehicle is comfy, attractive and holds the road. Maintenance a little high but it purrs like a kitten. Besides the delay at times from a stand still it's a great car!

Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
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1 out of 5 stars

Utter Garbage

CJ, 12/18/2019
2011 BMW 3 Series 328i xDrive 4dr Sedan AWD (3.0L 6cyl 6M)
28 of 36 people found this review helpful

I purchased a used 2011 328i several years ago. It had 73k on it when I bought it. I've had NOTHING but problems with it ever since. I've had leaky oil gaskets replaced twice and the car still spits oil everywhere. Usually it gets so bad that the belt just slips off and it needs to be towed. I've done all scheduled maintenance, yet it still doesn't matter. There are more electrical and computer-related gremlins in this car to list. It is a complete and utter pile of crap, and the moment I'm right side up on the loan I'm trading it. Don't buy one of these. You'll regret it. Even if money isn't an issue, you'll wind up stranded more often than not. I'm serious. These cars are dangerously unreliable.

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4.38 out of 5 stars

Good but not impressed

mihabt, 08/29/2010
2011 BMW 3 Series 328i xDrive 4dr Sedan AWD (3.0L 6cyl 6M)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

I used to lease a 328i 2008, and just bought a 328xi 2011. The front and back style updates are nice, and the iDrive interface and navigation system is Awesome, finally you can search effectively. The performance is as impressive as the previous one, can't complain but I was pretty disappointed by missing the following in the 2011 model compared to 2008 one!!: 1) Head rest is fixed, can't adjust back and forth 2) missing ashtray in back 3) Missing net on back of front seats 4) Slower sync with phone contacts 5) Missing soft cover on trunk covered area 6) Very annoying missing cargo net mounting hooks in back 'only 2!' can't use my old cargo net.

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