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Am I the only person in the world terminally disappointed in their new BMW? It's a 325i, nothing fancy, but I'm at the point I hate to drive it. The basic car itself is great, but it's just not "user friendly", and not fun to drive. It seems they're aiming at the Rodeo Drive crowd? I guess I could answer my own question and say "They're the ones with the money". And that leaves us car guys screwed....
sorry to hear you're disappointed - 325's sold very well and are a reliable unit so when you trade it for what you want, you'll get out of it ok...good luck.....
It's not lack of hp, but confusing controls, mediocre brake feel, worthless AST/DSC that can't be overridden, even with the button pushed (cruise control won't work). The frustrating problem problem is my wife likes it, so I'm stuck ('course she's been married to me for 30 years, obviously easy to please...). The 3 series is one of BMW's more successful designs historically, but I guess I'm just pissed at myself for falling for the advertising and ASSUMING they were equal to the cars of the past. And I guess I'm pissed at BMW for hiding a great car under a pile of useless electronics. I know I'll get out of it ok, there's a sucker born every minute..and one sucker will sell to another sucker.
I don't love the 325 either(my friend has one),but for me it's a lack of power.I don't find the controls difficult,but maybe stupid.To "fine tune" anything,you need to get into idrive ,and it's just sort of useless to me anyways.I drive the 6 ,and love the car crazy controls included.BMW makes an awesome car,maybe you should try a differant model.
I owned a 325e back in 1992 and now own a 330xi. The xi is obviously more advanced than the 325e was but despite all the electronics the vehicles feel the same behind the wheel offering the heavy steering, feel the road and incredible cornering. Only difference I see is the 330xi will not let you whip the tail end around like the 325e could but this is a good thing. To me the 3 series has changed very little over the years.
As I have said many times, the Germans can take a piece of cast iron and beat it into a work of art. But they still don't understand electricity. On my second Mercedes and it, too, is a piece of crap as far as electronics go.
Talk to any good auto mechanic,You will never own another german car. Good thing they have warranties. I have owned Mercedes and BMW do yourself a favor and buy an Infiniti or Lexus. They also have good resale unlike the german companies.
my mom just picked up a Caddy STS, this is her 5th caddy, and by far the most impressive. I test drove it on saturday, easily held a pretty tight turn on our road @ 85mph, and accelerated up to about 110 coming out of it with ease. This of course scared the living crap out of mom & my girl friend, but hey, you gotta see what it will do. The manual shift mode is basically useless, as are all manual shift automatics I have ever seen, none of them truely shift when you tell it to. IMO they should completely get rid of this feature, or make it sure enough instant, like a manual trans actually does. The auto does a fine job though, so this is minor. My only other complaint is the automatic seat adjustment BS, I get squished when I get in and use my mom's keys, shes right at 5'3", and I'm 6'.
Hey Auto , whats the only substute for cubic inches.
__________________ F350 4x4/ Dodge 2500HD 5.9L Cummins
Leaving the Picture of the Ford cuz I miss it
Pacific 2325 cc
Honda bf225
aluminumalloyboats.com
In this day and age any car maker can get a good car to roll off the assembly line and upon initial test drive many of them will perform the same. Take the same vehicles after 70k miles and you'll see a glaring difference in how they feel on the road. The lexus, caddy and infiniti will ride like an old car and will be loose but the benz, porsche and bmw will ride like they just rolled off the assembly line.
10 years ago the gap was quite large but I will give credit to lexus, caddy and infiniti for narrowing the gap.
I really have to disagree with the Lexus holding up,I have had many,and they hold up great.We have had so many Mercedes over the years,that I lost count,and yes they hold up well,but the Lexus does too.I will go out on a limb and say it's the best Luxury car in the world,in terms of reliability,ride,construction,etc... My sister had an S500 Benz,then after a number of problems with that car,bought an LS430,and that car is better than the Benz,if you ask me.In terms of fun to drive though,give me my Bimmer.
You are not the only person who thinks badly of BMW. I owned until this weekend the 525I with the sports package and this and that. I am the happiest person since Saturday that I got rid of it.
You are not the only person who thinks badly of BMW. I owned until this weekend the 525I with the sports package and this and that. I am the happiest person since Saturday that I got rid of it.
Can you elaborate on your hatred for the car? Also what year was the car?
We can't please everyone all the time but we've been in the top three for the last 8 years in US Sales, so we're trying. Everyone is making better cars now, especailly Cadillac. They are really in the game now. Infiniti and Acura are getting particualrly competitive in product. Lexus is a very good product with a superior dealer network. Their customer handling is the model we all shoot for. Saab and Audi are strong in some areas of the country, such as the Northeast.
In the past 3 years, the 3 series has received two major increases in power, as we felt
they needed it too. They now carry 230 and 300 hp engines - the twin turbo is amazing.
Here are the US sales figures for both cars and SUV units thru August 07 based on state registrations. Other not listed here are just not part of data set - we considier these to be our competitors:
Lexus 196,000
BMW 170,000
M-B 131,000
Acura 113,000
Volvo 69,000
Infiniti 65,000
Audi 43,000
Saab 21,000
All the independent repair guys that i know say that lexus is most reliable by a wide margin. I drive a MB 300 TD with 225k miles that, although it has a great powertrain, is constantly in the shop for electrical,pumps, etc. My wife drives an Infinity M that is awesome. I have driven 2 GMC envoys and and a Jimmie for the last 9 years for work and I don't think that i've ever done a thing to any of them except change the oil. I think that my next car will be a caddy.
Glen, don't take this thread personally. BMW is not for everyone. As you know, and do many others, the 3 is the best "driver" in its class. For those who prefer a sedate "riding" car -- get a Lex.
Glen, don't take this thread personally. BMW is not for everyone. As you know, and do many others, the 3 is the best "driver" in its class. For those who prefer a sedate "riding" car -- get a Lex.
I don't take any threads personally - there are a few BMW's I don't like!....every one has different tastes and experiences....I actually had a bad expereince with a Honda (mom's car) - and they are extremely reliable...except for mine!
As the originator of this thread, I didn't say it was junk, but that I am disappointed in the execution of the finished product. Years ago I drove a 5 series thru Switzerland/Germany. What a nice car. Relatively uncomplicated, but never put a foot wrong. As always, that great inline 6. I can tell that underneath all the superfluous fluff there's still a great car. I've had a Porsche, a Mercedes 6.3, a buncha Vw's, both air and water cooled, and gotta 560sl in the garage now...I understand German cars.
Quite frankly, I got stuck in the sand in the damn thing at St. Augustine beach. Stoopid "all season traction control" couldn't tell it was 90 degrees and dry, no need to keep the tires from spinning. So I'm sitting there, stuck, a/c frozen up and not cooling, seatbelt inertia reel not working, owners manual in the trunk, accelerator on the floor and not moving, and I'm thinking, "What the Hell has happened to the automotive industry??" Here's BMW, always a leader in really nice road burners, sitting stuck because of stupid programming and ergonomics. It didn't help when I let my wife reset the seat for herself, and the "automatic adjuster" wouldn't reset the seat for me when I returned. To top it off, the touchy "pretensioned" brakes grabbed as usual, percipitating a tirade from the spouse about my inability to brake smoothly.
I KNOW BMW can do better. I've seen it, driven it. Maybe there's simple software corrections, but BMW certainly doesn't want me to know it. That's why I'm frustrated, and disappointed!
Bill, I empathize with you. My first BMW was a 2002 tii. Great memories, but I enjoyed putting 500 miles on my M3 this weekend on a quick trip to Cape Cod. As an automotive purist, I dislike the current trend to overuse microprocessors and intrusive software to determine basic vehicle character... like electric power steering "feel" and "mapped" auto transmission shift points. Unfortunately, by consumer demand to protect us from ourselves, this is the path the industry is taking. Hell, the new '07 Lexus LS will even parallel park itself. However, If you want to drive something really fun, test drive a new Porsche -- they have actually improved through the smart use of electronics.
Disappointed BMW owner? 
