BMW 3 Series saloon (2005-2011) | owner reviews: MPG, Problems & Reliability

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Been a fantasic car and given the age still looks as good as new and feels like new. Usual wear and tear issues have arisen from seized rear calipers to issues with the suspension bushes.

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I bought this E90 320D with just 69k miles on the clock (verified) and with full BMW Service History, so I thought that I was getting a good car, and being a newer model than my previous E46, I thought that I would at least be getting the same quality, comfort and reliability as the E46, and perhaps even some improvements but how wrong I was, especially in relation to its reliability. First of all, after just four months of ownership and 2000 miles, the car developed a sudden severe vibration through the clutch pedal and a judder, this was diagnosed as being caused by a worn dual mass flywheel which required replacing along with a new clutch. A quick search on the internet revealed lots of owners experiencing exactly the same issues and at a similar mileage on both the 3 and 1 series diesels. The repair cost, at a local independent specialist was £1050 using LUK parts. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and thought that its problems couldn't get any worse and with just 71k on the clock I would get several more years' use out of the car, however BMW's poor build quality hadn't finished haunting me yet or emptying my Bank account Just two months after having the DMF replaced, the front and rear heater vents began blowing out tiny white flakes which looked like talcum powder and smeared in the same way, at first I thought it was just something which had been blown in from outside, and so I had the pollen filter replaced, however it steadily got worse until the point where turning the heater fan on resulted in being sandblasted by a snowstorm of white flakes from every vent, which not only covered any occupants but also the entire car interior. Again, a quick Google Search found many pages of results with 3 and 1 series owners having exactly the same complaint, which was traced to being caused by a faulty batch of Denso manufactured Air Conditioning Evaporators fitted to some 2006 and 2007 built cars. BMW were well aware of this problem in 2007 and even raised a Service Bulletin to make their dealers aware of it (SI B 64 12 07) however BMW have chosen not to recall the affected cars and the dealers didn't routinely address the issue and replace the faulty part whilst they were under warranty, unless it was brought to their attention as a fault by the customer. The white powder flakes are "white rust" or aluminium oxide caused by severe surface corrosion of the faulty evaporators, Googling Aluminium Oxide shows it as being pretty nasty stuff and not something that you would want yourself or your family exposed to within the relatively sealed, confined space of a car interior especially when the fan essentially blasts you in the face with it. There is also the question of the corrosion eventually holing the evaporator and releasing the gas into the atmosphere. However despite these concerns being voiced, no goodwill has been extended and the dealers and BMW just don't want to know. Replacing an Evaporator is a huge job and costs around £1700, and its obvious from the Service Bulletin that BMW were well aware of the faulty part in 2007 and whilst age related problems and normal wear in tear is one thing, it could be reasonably deemed that with the fault the Evaporator was essentially not fit for purpose at the point it was taken from their stores and fitted to the car at the factory, and I really don't see why I should be £1700 out of pocket as a result of poor quality goods supplied by BMW's supply chain. BMW should really play a fair game with its customers and replace these parts out of goodwill where they are found to be from the faulty batch and have failed in respect of the details on the bulletin, regardless of the age of the car or better still issue a recall to the owners of all affected models. You really don't expect a luxury German car to blast you and your passengers with potentially noxious white powder from its internal components every time the heater or air conditioning is used. There are many other negatives to the car, including the ride quality which on run flat tyres is awful and can only be described as like bouncing along with square wheels fitted, and there is no option to store a spare either if traditional tyres are fitted, unless you want to use up boot space which in itself is in very short supply, the day to day fuel economy is around 15% worse than the earlier E46 on the same journeys, and the car sits far to low to the floor, which not only makes you feel every bump in the road but feels like you are riding in a go-cart, the low ride also makes getting in and exiting the car difficult for those with mobility problems or older drivers & passengers. There is also the absence of a coolant temperature gauge on the dashboard, which just looks like evidence of petty cost cutting to me, but it's absence isn't just cosmetic, its actually a problem considering the Coolant and EGR thermostats both seem to also be another weak spot on this model and seem to be reported to fail a lot, and yes those are two other components that i've had to replace. However these points pale into insignificance when you have taken into consideration the two major problems which i've highlighted above and which have happened on a car with just over 70k miles on it and both of these failures seem to be appear often enough on the various owners' forums enough to be, in my opinion, classed as "worryingly frequent". Would I recommend this car to a friend?. In all honesty I wouldn't wish this car on my worst enemy let alone a friend or the wider car buying public!, and so I award it with the accolade of being the worst car i've ever owned (including the £300 wreck I owned as a 17 year old). I'm not alone in having problems either, one other website lists the E90 as having 64 dated reported faults since 2011, which makes it their second worse car on record! - Enough said.

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This is the straight six 2993cc diesel without the turbo so badged 325D. Now 9.5 years old and 80k miles I have recently replaced a headlamp bulb!! Still with original Battery/brake pads etc. Superb drive, handling and performance (0-62 in 7.4 seconds is quick enough) and economy at 47.8mpg. Insurance is cheap too at £200 p.a. The Montego blue paintwork/chromed window trim with cream Dakota leather still looks virtually as it did when I purchased the car nearly new with 3,000 miles on the clock in 2007. This has been an amazing car and I am not ready to buy a new one yet.

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Excellent car. Looks fantastic & drives even better. Luxury & comfort on motorway, just as happy driving to shops. The best car you can buy. When I change it I will buy a newer one.

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When I bought the car the alloy wheel was cracked. A BMW dealer told me there was a nail in the tyre and charged me to replace it. Only after another tyre change did I take it to an independent tyre fitter who found the problem in 10 minutes. BMW dealer was clearly lying and BMW Customer Care refused to refund any of the money despite 10 months of trying. Very shoddy all round.

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Car has done 60k miles. Regularly serviced by main dealer not been abused well looked after. But just had timing chain, 3 separate oil leeks, rear diff done nearly cost 3k. For mileage of car this is shocking, not to mention lying BMW dealers. My Honda Accord is 3 years older and 87k miles and no problems. So much for ultimate driving machine.

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Only a minor problem of a loose connector.

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Difficult to tell as yet. Only owned for 6 weeks, but know of a few potential issues.

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Everything seems to work well, had a problem with traction control and was repaired under warranty.

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Not had a single day's inconvenience

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Had no problems so far

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Not had it long enough to reliably be able to comment on it, had it less than 6 months.

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Overall very good but few electrical gremlins have prevented me scoring higher

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As its only 20 months old nothing has gone wrong with it. Starts every day with no faults at all.

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Only had 1 oil seal go on the rear diff, and 2 headlight sidelamps and main lamps go in 98,000 miles. Never had to put oil in it between services either

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92000 miles - no problems. Run-flat tyres need replacing quite frequently

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Car very reliable but had problem with steering lock after guarantee expired

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car has been reliable until recently when steering lock malfunctioned costing nearly Ł900.

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No issues for at least 4 years

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The dash had an electrical fault which cost to fix, and a central locking fault appear, but after a search online was a simple fuse repair by myself.

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No costs apart from wear and tear in 20k miles of ownership.

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As a long standing BMW owner I know reliability is well proven

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Nothing has failed except consumables, tyres, brakes, etc

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Been very good so far.

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In nearly 6 years, it has never broken down or failed to start. The only problem arose when I filled it with petrol instead of diesel just after I got it!

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Never gone wrong, just a headlight bulb

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No issues at all in 53,000

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1 minor problem - fixed with a ECU sofware update

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Reliability has been first class, the car has never let me down or stranded.

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So far, perfect.

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ENGINE FAILED AND REQUIRED REPLACEMENT AT 25000 MILES

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Extemely reliable. No problems whatsoever.

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Apart from consumables (Tyres, fuel, oil etc) regular servicing is the only thing this car has cost me & has never failed to start or broken down

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Bought used and so far had no problems in 14 months driving

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Can't fault it so far! Awful in snow, but that's to be expected with rear wheel drive!

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Faultless

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never missed a beat and very solid

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Has never let me down and no mecanical problems ever. ( 4th BMW I've owned and they are all the same )

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There were a few things that needed rectifying that were an issue with the car when purchased.

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Generally pretty good although the 18" tires wear very quickly

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Generally happy but have had a couple of "issues"

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never had to replace anything other than tyres and brake pads

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Have now twice had a failure of coil packs. Both times it has been sorted quickly and on warranty but puts a cloud over what otherwise has been a very reliable car.

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Occasional minor issue - e.g. steering lock problem

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One fault shortly after purchase. ABS control unit failed. Replaced by Bavarian BMW Belfast as goodwill gesture and dealer paid for labour.

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75000 miles and the only things that has been replaced are the rear brake pads (once) and a couple of main beam bulbs and a central locking fuse

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Generally reliable for on eight year old car, but last year the dreaded 'sooting up' occurred, which diesel engines suffer due to low mileage and driving in traffic. This cost over Ł400 to repair. In a previous year the DSC system failed due to a production fault. The Ł1500 part was supplied free by BMW, but I had to pay the Ł234 fitting charge.

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I have never had any trouble concerning reliability

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almost nothing has gone wrong, just a tail LED panel

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ENGINE FAILURE AT 25000 MILES REQUIRED REPLACEMENT ENGINE FOR WHICH BMW CONTRIBUTED NOTHING AND WERE OF NO HELP WHATSOEVER

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Almost perfect but rear wheel drive not the best in heavy snow and boot space could do with more adaptability.

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.

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.

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It makes long journeys, particularly motorways, much more relaxing than in a lower class of vehicle. The engine is powerful and quiet, the autobox is superb, the seats comfortable, the climate control is so comforting, the xenon lights give rise to positive comments from passengers, and the sound system does not require a hearing aid. I have averaged 43 mpg over 24,000 miles, and insurance is £200 a year. Additionally, i know that if an incident manifests, i have superb brakes and stability systems. To sum up, this is the only car i have owned that i do not wish to change after five years, mainly because i would be jealous of the person that i sold it to (who would get a bargain, full of luxury).

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Good compromise performance ( acceleration) , power ( torque) , handling , fuel economy and practicability.

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.

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I am very happy with most aspects of my car ownership,perhaps a little more space in the boot would be helpful but other than that it does what it says on the tin!

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.

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Best car i have ever owned

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The car made metallic noises driving over bumps - weld had either come away or never been done on the a pillar. After countless attempts and 1000's of miles in courtesy cars, finally after 12mths it was accurately diagnosed re-welded and resolved, but in doing so suffered broken windscreen and scuffed bumper requiring full bumper respray. This and poor service really blighted ownership. Shame because after replacing the jarring, tram lining runflats, it almost lives up to the hype!!!

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Overall very good

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Excellent, unless it snows or the ground is muddy in which case it gets stuck too easiliy. Two separate warranty fixes in the first 14 months

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Overated!

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Very practical and very tough wearing, run flat tyres can be very loud on some road conditions will be changing to non runflat tyres soon.

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Best car for miles traveled, get 750+ miles per tank with 1/2 hour london driving min every day and motorway driving north edge of legal speed, still doing 50+mpg Did 20,000 miles in 7 months, 1 service, tyres still legal and once needed small top up of water, otherwise started first time every time and not a single issue (except vandilism)

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.

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Quality product that is very satisfying to drive and economical to fuel and tax/insure

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Very good to drive, however running costs are astonishingly high and repair bills go off the roof! (eg a check for a(any) fault costs £130 from dealer) Mpg rates are very poor considering official figures state 46 mpg around town, im getting around 32(just having it serviced)

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Good package, slightly disappointing performance, excellent handling & road holding.

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Good car but hate runflat tyres. Dsc went after 30 days of being out of warranty. Bmw offered to pay half of the part cost but worked out cheaper to goto local specialist! Bmw main dealers were cowboys.

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Excellent

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Very good blend of performance and economy and auto box is very smooth. An excellent motorway cruiser with reasonable running costs but main dealers are best avoided

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Overall very pleased with the car Positives are: Very good to drive Easy to live with day to day. The car has good performance The car has goo economy - although this has deteriorated with time. 5 year service package purchased with car has been very good value. Negatives: Rear seat space could be bigger - my parents struggle Some people find it hard to get into the car without banging their heads The boot isn't as big as you would expect given the size of the car Nagging doubt that the dealers take you for granted

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Best car i have owned.

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So far - so good

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Harsh ride, unreliable.

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Appart from a sensor on the air-con, the car has had perfect reliability, decent performance with excelent economy (45+ mpg), a joy to drive with precice steering & good brakes, the perfect car for me!

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A very reliable, well built, car with lots of "umph" when you need it. Well finished inside and out. Fairly economical to run considering the power. Good roadhandling. As it's rear wheel drive, it is tricky to control in snow/ice conditions. However advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

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Great value for money. Good build quality. Good german emgineering and reliability

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.

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It was the most powerfull, most fuel efficient and most tax efficient 2 litre diesel car on the market when i chose the car

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Very good in most areas but run flat tyres spoil the ride, petrol engine too expensive to run and no performance benefit compared with diesel, useless on snow.

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Excellent drive, very easy to di business miles in, downgrading to take advantage of company car tax breaks

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Too many faults - may be before its time with unproven technology (stop/start) and poor ignition coil supply

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Excellent car for summer driving. Needs and does get parked up during winter months.

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Generally good. Kick down on automatic can be sluggish. Seat/pedalssteering wheel relationship adjustment poor.

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Reliable and a pleasure to drive but uses to much petrol

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Good on everyday drive, solidly built, instructions are easy to reach. However really really bad when there is snow even a few mm snow bmw can lose it tail easily.

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Excellent

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Love it, definitely going to go for the same brand again, i've owned two cars, both have been 3 series bmw's and have had no major complaints

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Good to drive but not to look at. Run flat tyres

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It does everything i nee it to do. Has great performance, but only costs £90 a year to tax and returned 48 mpg over the last 6 months.

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A very satisfying car to own, but requires too many expensive options. Manual seat adjustment is too fiddly. Keyless entry is more trouble than its worth & has failed twice.

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The car is great, the stle, build quality (feel) however electric window mechanism has had 2 faults with parts being needed and rear external door handles stick when pulled to open - garage (bmw) recommends i replace them as its an on going problem (car only done 50k) at a cost of £160.00.

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Should be awarded best car of the year

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Very, very overrated! It gets a good press because the areas that it actually is strong in (performance & handling) are the ones that motoring journalists (who are enthusiasts in the main) rate most highly. However, for day-to-day living the car is a big let down, with poor ride comfort, poor practicality in terms of luggage and cubby space, and expensive to service both in time and money. "condition based servicing" is a curse on the higher-mileage motorist.

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Does everything i want out of a car. Ride would be better without run flat tyres.Run Flat tyres should also be able to be repaired ie car computer tells you you have a puncture. I arrive at the garage and the tyre still has 25 psi in it and it has suffered no damage at all. Yet it has to be replaced. Good old rip off britain.

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Not the most exciting looking compact exec, but a great blend of performance, handling and fuel economy that in my opinion can't be bettered by any other at the price point. Only one niggle in the 3 and bit years of driving it which was fixed promptly under warranty. Bmw smart servicing with intervals every 2 years helps to keep costs down. Rear wheel drive is causing problems in the harsher winters especially where we live, causing me with regret, to switch to another manufacturer.

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No Red thumbs down