3-Series (E46, E90)Chat relating to the BMW 3-Series from 1999 to Current. Models include: BMW 316i, BMW 318i, BMW 318Ci, BMW 320i, BMW 323i, BMW 325i, BMW 330i, BMW 328 Ci, BMW 328i, BMW 325i/xi, BMW 330Ci, BMW 320d, BMW 330d, BMW 335d.
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Since you people have been through this before, I'm wondering if there are any unique questions I should ask the dealer (besides the "how do I turn on the radio" type of questions) when I pick up my 330xi later today.
I'm going to ask about the break-in period, and hear what they have to say.
Check EVERYTHING on the car...even the smallest scratch or nik etc
I think the the break in period is about 1000 miles..when you get the handbook its got shit loads of information on everything..also when my parents picked theirs up about a month ago the dealer in London gave us a 30 miniute intro to the car..he tolds us everthing from the radio to the engine maintancence..
Buy a radar detector.... lol. I just bought a 2002 330xi one week ago with 16000 Kilometres (around 10,000 miles) on the dial. I live in Vancouver and took it to the top of one of our local ski hills here (Mount Seymour) and it was snowing - about 6 inches. The snow here is wet and slippery and I had a blast in it. My salesman assured me you don't need snows on the car; he used to drive his to Whistler and back all the time. He picked up a 325xi as a demo last week as well for the winter period so he could drive to Whistler for the skiing season.
IF you have more than two drivers in the family, order an extra FOB or two, you'll regret passing off the FOB to other members of the family. The FOB remembers your seat position, external mirror positions and your internal cab temperature of the last person to use it; by rotating the FOB, you are forever adjusting the seats, etc unless you remember to use the buttons on your driver seat. We have three drivers in our family and I am still waiting on the extra FOB to arrive.
You might want the cd player you can get in the trunk, its more enjoyable since it can hold up to 6 cd's. If there is one short coming with the 3 series cars is the lack of storage space in the cab and the only location for cd's inside your car is in the glove compartment. A LITTLE KNOWN FACT: Depending on your dealer, you can get a "used" cd player that they have taken from a returned leased vehicle for around half price and have it installed. This is a good time of the year to do this as many lease backs are returning.
ANOTHER POINT OF TRIVIA: The 3 series is the most bought BMW car. The 5 series is the most leased car.
There IS IS IS a breakin period, the salesguy will tell you there isn't, but it's in your user manual and in the video they give you. If I remember correctly you shouldn't take it over 100mph or over 4500 RPM for the first 1200 miles. Have fun with the car, I love mine!
__________________ Titsilver metallic 2004 330 Xi 6speed manual
Originally posted by rsn48@Nov 2 2004, 12:39 PM Buy a radar detector.... lol. I just bought a 2002 330xi one week ago with 16000 Kilometres (around 10,000 miles) on the dial. I live in Vancouver and took it to the top of one of our local ski hills here (Mount Seymour) and it was snowing - about 6 inches. The snow here is wet and slippery and I had a blast in it. My salesman assured me you don't need snows on the car; he used to drive his to Whistler and back all the time. He picked up a 325xi as a demo last week as well for the winter period so he could drive to Whistler for the skiing season.
Thanks. Are radar detectors legal? Is it state by state? It's been so long...
Small world - I used to live in W Vancouver - Mount Hollyburn, on Bramwell drive.
Quote:
IF you have more than two drivers in the family, order an extra FOB or two, you'll regret passing off the FOB to other members of the family. The FOB remembers your seat position, external mirror positions and your internal cab temperature of the last person to use it; by rotating the FOB, you are forever adjusting the seats, etc unless you remember to use the buttons on your driver seat. We have three drivers in our family and I am still waiting on the extra FOB to arrive.
I'll remember that. It's only me right now (my wife doesn't drive), but I'll remember that when the time comes.
Quote:
You might want the cd player you can get in the trunk, its more enjoyable since it can hold up to 6 cd's. If there is one short coming with the 3 series cars is the lack of storage space in the cab and the only location for cd's inside your car is in the glove compartment. A LITTLE KNOWN FACT: Depending on your dealer, you can get a "used" cd player that they have taken from a returned leased vehicle for around half price and have it installed. This is a good time of the year to do this as many lease backs are returning.
ANOTHER POINT OF TRIVIA: The 3 series is the most bought BMW car. The 5 series is the most leased car.
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Yeah - I've got a newborn, and I figure that 1) I'll be driving something bigger in the next few years, 2) I'd pay cash for the car if I bought it, 3) if I leased, I get to get a new car in a few years, and I can invest the money I would've used to pay cash for the car. Although I may end up buying the car at the end of the lease if I really love it.
Originally posted by KMP@Nov 2 2004, 01:08 PM Have the dealer program your key to the settings you like for the daytime running lights, door locks, seat position, etc.
Originally posted by Gulelin@Nov 2 2004, 01:19 PM There IS IS IS a breakin period, the salesguy will tell you there isn't, but it's in your user manual and in the video they give you. If I remember correctly you shouldn't take it over 100mph or over 4500 RPM for the first 1200 miles. Have fun with the car, I love mine!
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I'd probably baby it for quite a while. The break-in topic seems to be hotly debated...
Here in the United States radar detectors are only illegal in Virginia and Washington, D.C. Connecticut recently repealed it's prohibition on detectors. Everywhere else in the US they're legal.
Upon picking up my new 2004 325xi I bought an Escort S2 wireless radar/laser detector and it performs very well.
Originally posted by KMP@Nov 2 2004, 02:53 PM Here in the United States radar detectors are only illegal in Virginia and Washington, D.C.* Connecticut recently repealed it's prohibition on detectors.* Everywhere else in the US they're legal.
Upon picking up my new 2004 325xi I bought an Escort S2 wireless radar/laser detector and it performs very well.
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Thanks - I'm just investigating detectors now. VG-2, Spectre - things have changed since the simple X and Ka days.
Is there a good FAQ out there about detectors/jammers? Specifically what's legal and what's not?
I'm off to pickup the 330xi in 5 minutes. My thanks to everybody who commented!
- The dealer claimed no breakin period. He advised that I avoid heavy accelleration and braking for the first 1000 miles, and that I not use the cruise control for the first 1000 miles. He said that I don't have to baby it, though.
- 93 octane always.
- The Navigation must take some getting used to. It's not a very intuitive interface at all (I'm a programmer, so I know this stuff ;-). The lack of a uniform "back" key is kind of bothersome. I'm starting to get the hang of it, though.
- The sound system is decent. Not the best I've heard (it tends to be just loud and bassy instead of having excellent sound). Caveat - I enjoy excellent audio, so I could be nitpicking here.
- The dealer explained that the OnCall and SOS buttons call BMW's OnCall and 911, repsectively. I found this to be false - both call BMW's OnCall - just with different priorities and departments.
Overall, very nice. The handling of the 330xi isn't all that different from a 330i from what I can tell. I certainly don't feel the typical "front-wheel" or "AWD" pull of an AWD car - they've done a very good job with it.
And, of course, the car corners like a bat out of hell. Lovely.
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