The BMW 325i - Everything I Could Want in a Car!

Just a forewarning, this review is not going to be technical and talking about horsepower, torque and all of that. I am a female who loves nice cars, but I love them for their style and comfort, not necessarily what lies under the hood (with a few exceptions perhaps).

BACKGROUND
I ordered my 2003 BMW 325i brand new in December of 2002 and took delivery in February of 2003. I ordered the steel gray metallic with black leather interior. I upgraded to both the Sport and Premium Packages as well as the bi-xenon headlights. I have been so incredibly happy with this car in the last nine months! I upgraded from a Honda Accord Coupe that I also loved (see my review), but this car just makes me feel like royalty :-)

STYLING
Let me start off by saying how thankful I am that they haven't changed the styling of the 3-series, YET. Though the new 7-series and 5-series style is starting to grow on me, I just love the traditional BMW look of my 325 so much more! To me, my car looks elegant and refined, whereas the new styling is more toward the modern and sporty side. With the sport package, I did receive the 17" alloy wheels, so the car does have a hint of sportiness. The steel gray color that I got is a great looking color, and you can't tell quite as quickly when the car needs a washing. It also isn't a very common color, though I have started to see it pop up a lot more in my neighborhood.

The interior is also great looking, it is obvious just by looking at the seats that they are very comfortable. With the upgraded packages, I got the sport seats, which seem to wrap around the sides of your torso when you sit down. They are so comfortable for long drives! I have had several people comment on how cozy my car is, the seats in particular. I've also been able to ride in the back seat of my own car a few times (when my father-in-law was in town), and it's pretty nice back there too! The leather is extremely soft and I've noticed it adjusts to the temperature of the car rather quickly (i.e if the seats warm up in the sun, they cool down fast once the AC is turned on.) The myrtle wood trim also adds a nice touch to the car and it's very easily cleaned.

CONVENIENCES
I think the thing that I love most about this car are the little conveniences that it provides that I didn't have in my Honda Accord. For instance, the automatic seats are just great, especially the fact that you can program them. My husband tends to drive whenever the two of us go anywhere together, sometimes we take his Boxster and sometimes we prefer the smoother ride in the BMW. His seat is programmed into #2 and mine into #1, and they are also programmed into our respective keys. If he uses his key to disalarm and unlock the car, the seat and the left side mirror automatically adjust to where he last had them when he drove. The same will happen when I get into my car the next day. This is especially convenient when, like us, 2 different people drive the car almost equally.

Another convenience that I have grown to love (but took some getting used to) are the radio controls on the steering wheel. There are volume up/down buttons as well as up/down buttons to change channels on the radio or tracks on a CD. Once you get used to using these, it makes the music experience a lot simpler when you're on the road since you don't have to lean over to the main controls very much. The one thing that I would change about the steering wheel controls are the other buttons on it which are supposedly there for a car phone. Does anybody still use those things? I thought everyone had a cell phone these days. Well, I've never been to Germany so who knows :-) It would have been nice though to have the option of either eliminating those extra buttons altogether, or programming them in another more useful manner. For instance, I would have liked them to be used for climate control.

A couple of other nice little conveniences lie within the mirrors on the car. The rear-view mirror automatically dims when it starts to get dark outside and people are turning their headlights on. This way, you don't have to mess with tilting the mirror on your own and then putting it back the next day. I know, completely unnecessary, but nice to have! Also, the right side mirror automatically tips down when the car is put in reverse. That was kinda weird at first, but its nice to be able to see if you're about to scrape on the curb or anything and I would never take the time to manually tilt the mirror down that far.

The last little convenience that I've taken notice to are the rain-sensing windshield wipers. Now, we don't get much rain in Southern California, but I've had a few chances to see this mechanism in action and it's pretty cool. If you have the wipers on low, let's say its drizzling lightly, and all of a sudden you get a downpour, the wipers automatically adjust to a higher speed so that you can focus on your driving. When the rain calms down, so do the wipers. I think this is especially nice for us rain-deprived people out West as we already tend to have issues driving in the rain. Taking away one task may help us out quite a bit :-)

SPEED/MANEUVERABILITY
Again, I'm not going to get technical about this car, but it can definitely get going pretty fast. I've only taken it to just over 100, but my husband got it to 115 or so, and it is amazing how comfortable the ride is at those speeds. In fact, nothing really changes at high speeds. I haven't noticed any rattles or shaking, and the ride is still extremely smooth. Not that it is recommended, but changing lanes at high speeds is also very smooth, no jerkiness or anything. This car is also a great one for avoiding road hazards at the last second, it has happened to me several times, and it is so effective at swerving out of the way. The suspension is great, you don't feel the car lean to one side as you swerve, just as you also don't feel it lean forward when slamming on the brakes. I would love to get this car out on a course, I think that would be a ton of fun with the superb handling that it has!

SERVICE/WARRANTY
One of the reasons I rationalized buying this car, which is a bit more expensive than my Accord was, is because of the fact that I won't have to spend a dime on maintenance or repairs for the first 4 years/50,000 miles with the exception of new tires or repair of dings and dents. With the synthetic oil that BMW uses, oil changes are only necessary every 12-15,000 miles, which is much more convenient that every 3-5,000. These oil changes would cost over $100 (because of the synthetic oil) were I not covered under the maintenance program, but they are all free of charge for 4 years/50,000 miles. I haven't had my first oil change yet, but I did have to take the car once to have a minor scratch repaired and I was given a 330 as a loaner car. Now, I think typically they just give you a crappy little rental, but I've learned that asking for another BMW will likely get you one. In addition to the Full Maintenance Program and Warranty, there is also a BMW Roadside Assistance Program, which covers the same time period. So, just like AAA, if your battery dies, you need a tow for some reason, or you get locked out, they give you a card with an 800 number on it that you can call anytime for assistance. The number is also on a sticker inside of the trunk.

THE BRAKE DUST ISSUE
Like several others have written in their reviews, I am also annoyed by the brake dust. Literally within a day of washing the car, you can see quite a bit of dust. Within 2 or 3 days, the wheels are almost black. My husband tends to wash my car for me, and he does it about once a week, yet he cleans the wheels an additional one or two times every week as well. It's not something you can just squirt off with the hose, you actually need to scrub that stuff away. I would think that all of those smart people at BMW could develop a way to eliminate this problem as just about every BMW owner complains about it. For now, I guess I must deal with it. At least that is the worst thing that people have to complain about with this car!