Exceptional to drive!!! Handles like a dream-Indy cars have NOTHING on this!!

Everything has gone bad at some point, whether it's the window mechanism, the door handle cover, the computer, the brake sensors, the windshield wiper motor, water pump, thermostat, etc. Terribly expensive for such poor quality

I was so excited when I bought this car!! Loved it IMMEDIATELY until...about a month in I started having all sorts of problems, including replacing the thermastat 3 times in the last 5 years. I average at least $3000 a year in repairs and am only at 105000 miles. I have had most of the engine replaced in addition to the usual suspects-tires, brakes, brake sensors. I am so disappointed because I really had high expectations for this car after upgrading from a 1993 Saturn (that car is being driven by my brother-in-law and had 250000 miles on it with no major problems). I'm beginning to think I should have gone with something else. BMW hasn't been helpful which is even more discouraging. I even picked it up from service and they "forgot" to put antifreeze back in the radiator-the car was 1 month old and the engine nearly seized up!! Lemonade anyone?

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None-My first adventure into Luxury Car land

Great handling. Great power. Unique looks. Styling is very subjective, but BMW has done a good job of integrating everything.

Paint. My clear coat has peeled about 80% off and BMW refused to do anything about it ("out of warranty"). Most experts feel it was BMW's fault at factory. A/C control failed. $500 replacement. Stereo failed (weak lites, then no sound). $900 replacement (bought aftermarket) Plastic water pump. Radiator nozzle broke (not hose), giving me 2nd degree burns. $600 repair. Premium "wood" shift knob cracked. No service manual available from BMW. Dealer service expensive. Many repairs require BMW computer only. Brakes wear quickly, including rotors. Parts are expensive and hard to find. Driver's seat worn thru bolster in 6 months - "normal wear" Rear light circuit cheesy, using circuit board rather than wires. Repaired both with aluminum foil. About $200 each otherwise. Absolutely NO traction without traction control. No trailers! Ever! Not even to haul bicycles. Very few "standard" options, like fold-down rear seats or even a ski/passthru.

Basically, this car sucks. I wouldn't take a BMW car or motorcycle if it was offered to me free. While the car handles well and has plenty of power, the quality is the worst I have ever seen. Some repairs can only be done at a dealer and they charge HIGH prices. If you're not driving one of their "premium" cars, you're pretty much trash to most dealers.

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Porsche (944) Volvo (240, 244T, 760) Audi (4000, 5000S, A4) Saab (900T (three), 9000) Jaguar (XJS) Toyota (Celica, Supra) Datsun/Nissan (Z, B210) Pontiac (Bonneville) Mercury (Villager) VW (Beetles, Karmann-Ghia) Several other Ford, GM, Chrysler products

Road manners, handling, cornering, build quality, elegance, comfort, no-nonsense controls. Love the tilt-down passenger mirror when in reverse!

Could use more storage spaces. Second cup holder blocked by armrest - seems silly not to have fixed this ergonomic flaw. Armrest storage is lame.

I test drove the Acura TSX, TL, and Mini Cooper before settling on the incomparable 325, with premium package, leather, and 5-speed manual. The TL had more power, but not quite close on the overall road feel, and I preferred the smaller size of the 3 series. TL was too gadgety for me as well - and I love gadgets, but it was just a bit much with the DVD navigation system and its many screens. The 325 has elegant simplicity, class, refinement, and has the best road manners. The 184 HP feels like more when you step on it, and it has a beautiful growl that comes back to you in the cabin. Handling is superb, as to be expected. Acceleration is fine for my purposes, but some would probably wish for even more kick in the pants. For commuting around LA, though, there's only so much acceleration that you need. I've taken it up to about 100 MPH, and the car feels even more at home at those speeds than it does going around town. Compared to previous cars I've owned, it has the delicious feeling of wanting you to accelerate into corners rather then deccelerate - it wants you to push it. Overall just a great car. Build quality excellent. I've heard some whining about the BMW sound system, but the standard 10-speaker system in the 2004 is completely fine by me, and I'm a classical musician. Can't wait for the backordered I-Pod hookup for the glove compartment - access all my I-Tunes via steering wheel controls! Climate control excellent, and thank god there's no I-Drive nonsense in the 3-series (yet). I'd say it can't be beat for driving experience, and if you're really wanting that extra kick, go for the 330 and its 225 HP, but for me not worth the extra 4-5 thousand. This is a 3-year lease, so well within the warranty and BMW's everything-including-brakes-and-tires maintenance program. Once BMWs leave the warranty period, I know they're expensive to fix, so that's why I went for lease over purchase. To buy, I might go with the Acura.

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TSX, TL, Jetta 1.8T.

LCD screen huge, nice styling, soft top the best i got out of all my cars - the other cars that have soft tops are not that reliable

cupholders annoying, bit underpowered

Pretty good car. drives good, has alot of grunt for a 3 ltr, i like the m3 convertible alot more but didnt buy it because it had some problems with suspension so ichose the 330i instead. a little cramped in the rear but expect that from most coupes. the soft top is great. very good and sturdy soft top. hardtops are heaps better and apparently you can get them installed which is good. currently looking for a hardtop installer. the seats are very comfy and the screen is very big in the middle of the console (the lcd) its the biggest out of all my cars and i have 11 cars. all up a think its a bit of a girls car but anyway...but what am i to say its the least powerful car i got im used to driving cars that will do 1 - 100 km/h in 4 seconds +..

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merc clk 430

LCD screen huge, nice styling, soft top the best i got out of all my cars - the other cars that have soft tops are not that reliable

cupholders annoying, bit underpowered

Pretty good car. drives good, has alot of grunt for a 3 ltr, i like the m3 convertible alot more but didnt buy it because it had some problems with suspension so ichose the 330i instead. a little cramped in the rear but expect that from most coupes. the soft top is great. very good and sturdy soft top. hardtops are heaps better and apparently you can get them installed which is good. currently looking for a hardtop installer. the seats are very comfy and the screen is very big in the middle of the console (the lcd) its the biggest out of all my cars and i have 11 cars. all up a think its a bit of a girls car but anyway...but what am i to say its the least powerful car i got im used to driving cars that will do 1 - 100 km/h in 4 seconds +..

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merc clk 430

An absolutely amazing car to drive! It's fun and sporty and incredibly quick. I don't have a single complaint about the fit and finish and believe it is the nicest looking vehicle we have ever owned.

Reliability. Expensive to maintain once it is out of warranty - particularly if there are a lot of things wrong with it as in our case. Seems like BMW didn't put the care and quality into their "lower end" BMW's. We've had many things go wrong with this car and their doesn't seem to be any good reason for these problems. Cabin is small - particulary in the back seat. Works well for two people but a little small for a family. Dealership is not very helpful or knowledgeable.

This car was a great car for the first two years that we owned. We didn't have a single complaint and it only went to the shop for warranty maintenance (which began at 24 000km) Unfortunately, we are now getting rid of it because the warranty has run out (last summer) and there are so many things wrong with it...I am seriously disappointed! So far we have dealt with these issues: sunroof motor replaced; window motors and seals repaired or replaced; intermittent electrical problems (never found the reasons for them) headlight assemblies replaced; ball joints replaced (we moved to Ontario and the car failed a safety); left and right springs broken and replaced (I drive this car like the mother of two that I am - slowly and carefully); throttle control valve replaced; air control valve needs replacing; air bags need repair; tires need to be replaced due to alignment issues (this according to dealership the last time the car was in)and finally - the brakes just started to give us grief -car will be going back to the shop again. Please keep in mind that this car only has 34 000km on it! All of these problems started occurring around the 25 000km mark!!! We've had this car for 4 1/2 years and I am really reluctant to give it up. But, we really don't want to keep sinking money into it!

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Honda Accords; several SUV's.

overall great driving machine . good insulation . Long service interval ( in theory )

cramped rear. not so infrequent workshop visits in practice.

I have always aspired to own a compact executive sports saloon . After trying a number of cars like the Volvo S60, Alfa 156 I decided upon the bmw despite its priciness. The manufacturer's claims that it is the ultimate driving machine are not too far off the mark . The engine is smooth , powerful, whilst ride and handling is top notch .The autotrans is so seamless and good that I seldom have to recourse to using the steptronic even on the steepest slopes. The feeling that you are in a luxury car comes from the superb insulation and hence cocooned ambience rather than the cabin which is functional but hardly extravagant. Driver ergonomics are superb though rear space could be better but BMW buyers know that the above is not why you buy this car. I also like the lengthy 25000 service intervals. Alas this does not always work out in practice as the car has not proved supremely reliable. In under 2.5 years , 4 faults have surfaces. The power windows have spoilt twice ( the second time I could not be bothered to rectify the front passenger side one ) , the aircon went wonky and currently there is a loud and undesirable reverberation to the car when it is at idle. I am putting up with this till the next servicing as the noise can be reduced by slipping the transmission into "N" . Ok, so the car has not broken down on me yet but these niggling issues are off putting. I went in with my eyes open as BMW owners had warned me to expect such things. By comparison my previous car , a Mazda 626 coughed up only one minor fault over 5.5 years. I would not preclude buying another three series for my next car as it does drive very well but I would keep an open mind as well.One car I would certainly scout before another BMW purchase would be the Lexus IS200 which has a superb reputation for reliability and is cheaper too. I didn't buy it this time round because I thought the 2L engine was a bit underpowered . In Singapore we don't get the 3L version which is a bit of overkill perhaps. If Lexus want to tempt over continental buyers, they perhaps should consider copying Munich and introducing 2.2 L versions of their sports compact. In the meantime, BMW remains a strongly shortlisted option for the enthusiastic driver.

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none really. as my previous cars were Jap 1.6 to 2 litre jobs.

Handling, braking, steering Asthetics Beautiful interior The look on the faces of the sport utility drivers when you pass them in the snow. No maintenance cost for 4 years Such attention to detail...watch the DVD that comes with the car if REALLY want to know all the crazy convenience features it has.

Price Would be faster without AWD

After alot of painstaking research I bought this car new a couple months ago, and I believe it's best possible balance between everything I wanted in a car. It looks incredible inside and out. In the snow and ice it corners on rails. It's got great acceleration, not as fast as a sportscar, but it's good enough. It has 4 doors, but it outhandles many sports cars. The only thing I regret sometimes is whether I could have survived the winter with a 330i with snow tires...i'll never know now, but the added security of the AWD is unbeatable for the responsible side of me. The power is split mostly to the rear wheels so you get an AWD car that drives like RWD, this is what sets this car apart from, say, an Audi A4, and what gives it such a great overall feel. One of the most fun-to-drive AWD cars out there, period. Just wish it was cheaper.

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1998 Acura Integra

Reliablity, fuel economy 33 to 37 mpg even with the high milage. smooth on the highway at speed, easy to handle in traffic Its only on its 3rd set of tires and the same for the brakes

interior size, really not made for 4 adults, also trunk size is small.

I purchased this car new , it had 7 miles on at purchase. I was replacing a Volvo 240 DL that had over 300,000 miles on it. This car has been basically trouble free at 121,000 miles. i have it serviced regularly at the dealer and now by a private garage that specializes in BMW and Mercedes. I'm looking for a new car to replace the 318 and probably buy another BMW 5 series, I'm giving the old one to my son

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volvo 240 DL

overall driving performance, handling, reliability, styling- exterior and interior. Still get compliments on style. FUN TO DRIVE.

electrical probs; expensive to service. Get used to annual $1,000 repair jobs in addition to routine service. Don't particulary care for the "light system" indicating when oil service needs to be completed. Says adapts to drivers style. Sometimes will not tell me to change the oil for 11,000 miles. TOO LONG! The back seat legroom is a joke- especially behind this 6' 2" driver. But, this is a 2-door sports coupe not a station wagon.

I have driven this car for 5 years, and as I'm faced with having to replace my brakes , I feel the need to vent! Yes, replacing the brakes is an annual affair for this car. A pricey, annual affair at that. The brake dust only adds to my frustration. And, that's just the tip o' the iceberg for this BM-trouble-U". My gas gauge "trips" out at least annually. Doesn't register tank as being full. Keep having to replace the gas gauge sensor. Brake light bulbs burn out semi-annually. The automatic/manual button lights near the gear shifter burn out semi-annually. Usually have to lubricate the door handles at least annually so they'll work. All of these "issues" are totally unacceptable in my opinion for what was a $35,000 car. But, hey, this is the ultimate driving machine, right? BMW has offered no apology for the quirks my car has exhibited. The car drives like a dream. What BMW owner has ever complained about its driving performance? Not many. My car is equipped with the sports package/suspension. The ride is taut. Very responsive steering. Excellent grip. Corners with the best. Little body lean. Seats are very, very supportive / comfortable. 82,000 miles and the engine purrs. This car drives and drives, and then drives. It begs to get out on the road- any road. Loves S-curves! My car has NEVER broken down. By far the most reliable vehicle as far as driving performance. All BMW needs to do is figure out how to make the electrical components last. Doesn't seem hard to do. Ironically, the onboard computer has never failed. I use it regularly and I'm amazed it has never given me probs considering the other electrical probs. The heating/AC system is excellent. The Harmon Kardon stereo system (at 5 years) is among the best on the market. The sound is fantastic. I have cranked tunes on my stereo since the day I drove off the lot new, and the speakers have never faltered!