Stereo: None

Stereo: Everything. No bass, tinny treble.

Just an update to my previous review. The factory stereo is pathetic. Spend the money on the Harmon Kardon or be prepared to upgrade it aftermarket if your an audiophile. The BMW employee in charge of the audio side should be fired. My Xterra has a better factory Stereo system. I guess the Germans don''t like music or something. It is sad for a car that retails for $42000. On yeah, the rear passenger speaker is blown. Probably wrecked by the previous owner. Hope BMW covers it under warranty or I''m going aftermarket. I probably will go aftermarket very soon anyway and replace all these speakers. I''m not paying dealer prices to replace any factory POS speaker in it. I''m not an audiophile and usually I''m happy with premium factory stereos, but this is unacceptable for the price of the car. I''ll never buy another BMW with a factory stereo. I don''t listen to music in the car cause it is so bad I''d rather drive and listen to the engine. Maybe all the speakers go wrecked and I''m unjustly blaming BMW, but I don''t think so.

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I''ve been in lots of vehicles, and listened to many car stereos.

Beautiful, high quality interior with good ergonomics. Seats are the most comfortable of any car I''ve ever used. Classy exterior styling and nice well rounded engine which should be reliable vs the M3 engine with blows up literally. Don''t believe it, do a search on Google.

High Retail Price!! I couldn''t see myself spending $42k on a new one plus TTL. Can get a Mercedes or Lexus for a little more. Public opinion of BMW as a snobs/dumb ass driver/posers car. Seems everyone has one (i.e. not exclusive). High regular maintenace costs/premium fuel. Expensive insurance. Oh well, pay it or get the hell out as they say.

I bought this at a private dealer auction. The long and short of it is that my Aunt is very rich, knows dealer, nuff said. Best car at the auction in my opinion, and is why I bought it, not becuase it was BMW. Got it with 11,000 miles. Someone traded it after 11k miles. Guess it didn''t do it for them. The NADA book said it should have gone for $37+k. I believe it so I felt I got a good deal on it. Nice thing about an auction is no sales tax, unless you keep it for longer than 6 months. I probably will sell it and I would hopefully make some money and get another car from auction. Maybe try an s2000 at that time. The car was mint, no scratches, dings etc.. Looked new. Only neg of car was no owners manual and only one key!! :( I couldn''t believe it when people stopped bidding at 33k. :) Wonderful car. Not too harsh on the road, not too soft either. Excellent response and feel. After driving it I can see why so many people buy BMW. I don''t like being associated in the BMW driver group as most are snobs/posers. But, the car itself is great. I think the others who put down this car have never owned one. Its a very well rounded performer. The interior is very nice and although Audi is considered to have very good interiors too, they don''t seem to hold us as well under use as the bmw. I''ve looked at 20-30 used Audis at the auction and the interiors don''t hold up well at all. I really wanted an Audi, but sost had something broken or scratched up badly. BMWs were in much better shape even at 70,000 miles. Lexus interiors hold up well, but they seem kind of boring to me, but I wouldn''t mind having a Lexus. I might pay the taxes and keep it. We''ll see how it goes. Definitely can do a lot worse than the 330ci. If you really like the look, style of a BMW and are willing to get less bang for the buck, go for it. I think you can get more for you money with Lexus, with more reliablity. But, I''m really enjoying the 330ci whereas Lexus styling leaves me cold. Lexus is a very competant car yes, exciting, no! (my opinion) Unless you count the 430 which is kinda interesting cool/ugly depending on how you look at it.

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Never used any similar products for extended times. Unless you consider a Nissan Maxima which I don''t. BMW is several notches above Maximas.

BMW- (that is enough of a strength to know that you can not go wrong with one

PRICE!!!! everybody has one... if you do not have to think about money then just get the M3 and go for the gusto. if you do have to worry about money, there are other things out there!

Buyer Beware! BMW 3-series are among the toughest rides around. I am a car fanatic, especially sports sedans with manual transmissions on the floor. For a long time I have felt the BMW''s to be the best around. If I won powerball tonight I would order my M5 tomorrow. They are awesome, tight, refined and classy. BUT!!! I am not a millionaire. I can afford a 3-series but i have to work to do it? I recently test drove one, loved it but the way prices can add up in them is crazy!!! I have driven the lexus IS 300 (too small and looks like a toyota), A4 (a little sluggish but very nice), S4 (an animal of a car that i feel is a little more value than the 330i because of the difference in pick-up) and the honda S2000 (not a consideration but an incredible drive with the best manual transmission I have ever delt with!)! There is a new player in town that might be the BMW slayer. Yesturday I test drove the infiniti g35 for close to an hour. Oh My God!! If you are in a BMW, and you come next to one of these, you''d better have an M badge on the back or I suggest you smile and pretend you are turning the radio station and don''t even think about it! This thing is 100% pure animal, and loaded it comes in at $35,000. This is not a BMW bashing like some of the punk IS writers have included on this page. The BMW would still be my first choice all things being equal. But they are not and the pure explosion of power the G35 possesses has an M feel to it. making it something I am now going to wait 6 months for, because the beast I drove yesturday had a tiptronic automatic in it. I don''t even want to think about what the 6-speed (a manual transmission that car and driver calls better than even the Honda S2000 manual) feel like. This car is crazy fast... take my word for it, if you are in the market you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

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2002 A4 (3.0) **** Lexus IS ** MB 230 coupe * Acura CL type S ** Infiniti G35 *****

BMW- (that is enough of a strength to know that you can not go wrong with one

PRICE!!!! everybody has one... if you do not have to think about money then just get the M3 and go for the gusto. if you do have to worry about money, there are other things out there!

Buyer Beware! BMW 3-series are among the toughest rides around. I am a car fanatic, especially sports sedans with manual transmissions on the floor. For a long time I have felt the BMW''s to be the best around. If I won powerball tonight I would order my M5 tomorrow. They are awesome, tight, refined and classy. BUT!!! I am not a millionaire. I can afford a 3-series but i have to work to do it? I recently test drove one, loved it but the way prices can add up in them is crazy!!! I have driven the lexus IS 300 (too small and looks like a toyota), A4 (a little sluggish but very nice), S4 (an animal of a car that i feel is a little more value than the 330i because of the difference in pick-up) and the honda S2000 (not a consideration but an incredible drive with the best manual transmission I have ever delt with!)! There is a new player in town that might be the BMW slayer. Yesturday I test drove the infiniti g35 for close to an hour. Oh My God!! If you are in a BMW, and you come next to one of these, you''d better have an M badge on the back or I suggest you smile and pretend you are turning the radio station and don''t even think about it! This thing is 100% pure animal, and loaded it comes in at $35,000. This is not a BMW bashing like some of the punk IS writers have included on this page. The BMW would still be my first choice all things being equal. But they are not and the pure explosion of power the G35 possesses has an M feel to it. making it something I am now going to wait 6 months for, because the beast I drove yesturday had a tiptronic automatic in it. I don''t even want to think about what the 6-speed (a manual transmission that car and driver calls better than even the Honda S2000 manual) feel like. This car is crazy fast... take my word for it, if you are in the market you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

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2002 A4 (3.0) **** Lexus IS ** MB 230 coupe * Acura CL type S ** Infiniti G35 *****

Good handling, power (not great). Nice looking car.

Punks who want to race you everyday. Lot of "options" add to cost of car.

very nice looking car. Excellent performance, handling with awd for my needs. No mechanical problems yet.

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Honda Prelude-excellent car, will miss it Honday Accord V6-reliable, not exciting Audi a4 02-nice but too much like a6 Lexus is300-embarassing to be seen with MB Coupe-v. nice but no AWD.

Broad power Band. Very compliant chasis. Steering excellent. Smokes imports all day. NOTE - my ratings are for the 1998 M3 3 door.

Small back seat (3 door) Rear tire wear (driven hard, so what can you say!)

Who on here compared the 3 series (not including the MIGHTY M3) with the Audi S4 and said the Bimmer kicks its butt??? HELLO! Have you actually driven a S4? My bro has an Imola Yeloow 2001 Audi S4, while i drive a 1998 M3 - I can tell you that the S4 and M3 are equals, perhaps the edge going to the S4 cos of the AWD. A 325is eats my tail lights (and my Dads 2000 REGAL GS) so please get your story straight. By the way, my M3 is the older 240hp version with a few DINAN upgrades. Runs very strong.

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Wife drives my 1997.5 Regal GS (lots of mods and VERY quick) 1995 Taurus SHO 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T Turbo Regal and Grand National (both stolen)

ride quality, handling and performance (considering engine size) are all superb.

power steering pump is noisy and the rear deck is a nightmare for decent speaker installation. (back to design school for you)

i bought this as a little used (28K) little loved car. previous owner gave it to their bm garage every year and thought that was that. i have had to clean every last square inch twice to make it look good and feel ''mine''. other than that the car is great and has been ultra reliable for the first two months/2K miles. i do 60 to work every day and it returns 35 mpg every week. the factory conversion to right hand drive leaves a lot to be desired - the brake bar can be heard every time its applied, the handbrake is too far away and the fan control is obscured and the wrong way round. the forward hinging bonnet is a pain for engine access. well engineered but not so well designed - especially the rhd conversion - go visit nissan and check out their design department for many good lessons bmw.

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ford, nissan, rover, vauxhall etc

Very fast! Great engine, brakes, chassis. Comfortable cruising at high speed or in the city. Fit and finish is superb. Love my silver exterior with the gray interior. The new traction control is great...yaw sensors have saved me many times in the winter (ask the dealer if you don''t know what I''m talking about.) Mileage is excellent ~23MPG overall, 27 highway.

Steering is too light. The car is too expensive. The car gathers speed too easily. Sound system is only fair. Headlights cast a harsh edge of light which is fairly distracting. The car is way too fast (I think I said that already.)

Phenomenal road car for those who appreciate nice things. Is as solid as a brick, no chassis flex. Ultra quiet and smooth. No road noise over expansion joints. Silent climate control that heats or cools the interior without any draft. Very very fast and smooth acceleration. Believe it or not, my last car was a M3. I got tired of rowing through the gears. I spend alot of time in traffic and the shifting got old. So I got the automatic which is fantastic. The sport mode keeps you in the power whenever you need it. I don''t miss shifting and the power is there. Handling is good, I didn''t get the sport suspension because they didn''t have one to try. Perhaps I would have gotten it but I do get around very well in the winter on the skinnier all weather Continentals. By the way, this car is very driveable in the winter with some added weight in the trunk. If you love driving and can afford the 330, get it!

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BMW M3, 325i, 540i, many others

Very reliable, fast having 190 hp stock. New transmission hasn''t had a glitch yet. Looks exellent. Very smooth ride. Stops well. Good stereo system. Chics love it. Has a better engine than a standard 325i. A 325is has more power and is more reliable. And I LOVE THE COLOR, HELLROT as the germans call it. Handles well for the most part.

Could use some more low end power, body roll in corners at speed. Only avalable in 2 Door model which some people may or may not like. Personally I love 2 door cars. The fun you can have with this car could get you a few tickets.

I absolutly love my car. I''ve kept it stock for the most part up until recently. I''ve added a rear spoiler and clear turn signals to it. Its pretty fast I think. I''ve beaten many cars I thought I couldn''t off the line, even slightly tuned ones. It handles extreamly well except for some body roll into corners at speed. It came to me with a blown transmission that I had to have repleaced. The BMW dealer who installed it thinks the previous owner got stuck in a snowbank and rocked the car to death to get out. The only problem I''ve had other than that is a switch in the origonal turn signals went bad. It was a cheap part so it wasn''t a big deal. The black plastic trim along the bottom of the car was painted red to match the rest of the car before I got it, so it looks much newer than a ''94. Comming from a family of car lovers and having my head under the hood of many cars, I would reccomend this car to anyone and everyone. If you keep one of these in good condition its often mistaken for a brand new 3 series.

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None

love the new steering and handling (back to the 2000 model), CD and stereo are great and the electronic memory seats (plus the heated seats aren''t bad!)

minor problems with the wiring for the rear brakes (fixed in 5 minutes), Stability Control does not completely turn off (awaiting info from BMW on how to fix this)and interior "goodies" not as luxurious as Audi.

I LOVE this car. After reviewing what''s out there for vehicles, we chose the BMW 325i. This was no light decision. It took us over a year to decide what we want and I am absolutely thrilled with our decision.

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Ford SVT Contour, Mustang 5.0 GT