2001 BMW 325i This baby is a blast to drive and handles like a slot car car going around curves. Get extended warranty or trade in after 50k/miles. In shop way too much. AC: defective water pump; rear window regulator;exterior trim falling off; front suspension control arms; steering box; camshafts sensor failure; faulty head gasket; just to name a few repairs. Be prepared to be on a 1st name basis with your mechanic and volunteer for overtime hours at works to get get money to pay for repairs. Other than that great car.

I don't drive the car hard. Only 37K miles in 6 years, but so far no problems, just routine mintenance. One oil change. Still on the original set of brakes.

Only quality problem is exterior trim. Glue that fastens brackets to window trim is failing and falling off. No way to repair except buy a new trim piece.

03 325i with 87k. lots of problems that i am finding are very common with these bmws

All problems listed in most of the comments i have had, brake issuses,window issuses,light issuses,but i still love my car -go figure

I have loved this car from the moment I turned the key to test drive it, then put 30,000 miles on it in the first year because it is so much fun to drive - drove from Louisiana to Ithaca, NY and back, taking back roads and two-lane mountain roads when available. When I finished the trip, I realized that I had not even turned on the radio or stereo the whole time, just was in the driving zone of this tight car and the road.

The only problem I have had with this is a front end collision which had undiscovered damage to the coolant system, ruining the engine. It is now getting a new, rebuilt engine and I will be on my way again. I can't wait to get my baby back. I loved the 3-series so much that in the meantime, I purchased a 1996 3-series convertible for my second car (just to have something to drive). That one has 177,000 miles on it and drives beautifully.

This car has some weak points that cloud the overall ownership experience. My problems so far:

Rear window regulators. It seems like there is a 100% failure rate on the the rear window regulators and at $350 a window this is not trivial.

Front window regulators: The fronts have not failed yet but are slow and as a result I avoid using them.

Cooling system: This year has a tendency towards cooling system failures. My fan clutch had to be replaced and the service advisor is recommending replacement of the water pump and reservoir to head off the inevitable failure at 60k miles.

Lights: The side marker lights fogged up and had to be replaced. The interior door switch failed and required replacement.

Brakes: brake life is not long and complete replacement at $1300 is a heavy price to pay.

Mystery stalling: If I make a U-turn and don't keep the gas on, the car stalls. Sometimes it just stops on a bridge or making a left turn out of my development. This is a scary problem that so far has no diagnosis.

My car also has the weird fan speed problem in which the fan pulses at high then low speed. This is annoying but apparently there is a fix for this.

The ride has lost the compliency that is so good when new. My other BMW has 127k miles and rides better than this one!

Summary: an expensive car to own. Look at alternatives that can provide similar quality with lower costs from Lexus or Acura. This car can make you truly miserable with repair costs. If you do own one, make sure you trade or sell the car when there is some service agreement and warranty left.

My 325i 2002 is nice had to put a little money
in it to keep it up & riding good, overall Fun to drive beemmer!

good car?

As with the 2002 models there are many expensive and disappointing problems. I love drive this car but find the clutch jerky and although I had it replace before it was time, it is still clunky. The problems with the window lift controllers is very annoying, obvious defective designs should be resolved by the manufacturer under a recall. The dealer told me that the sunroof falls of its track and there is a retrofit kit for $1500, i have never used the sunroof and find that outragous (BTW he also said that before the kit was available the repair cost was $2500).
The last trip to the dealer for the 50K service netted me an estimate of over $5000 for repairs to defective parts.
I get 31 mpg on the road and 25 around town which i like but the gas savings don't come even close to the cost of repairs.

I absolutlely LOVE my Beemer!!! I'll never go back to a domestic vehicle again. The feel and telegraphing of the road, the care and craftsmanship of the entire vehicle is unsurpassed in my opinion. What an ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE!!!!!

The only problems I have with the car are as follows: The right side of the dash lights went out plus the one on the thermometer and clock, the speedometer/odometer have quit working for a while every once in a while but they come back when you start the car again usually, the sunroof froze up on me and won't slide open, and the steering has a slight rattle on bumpy roads.

That said I love the car. It is amazing in so many ways. Good gas mileage, power, and style. It's German engineered. It's Reliable. It's everything you could ever ask for...just add a CD/mp3 player.

I have owned a 2001 BMW 325i for a little over a year now. It definitely has its high points, such as the brakes and such. I bought the car from an owner who didn't know to actually take care of a car, and now I'm taking the repercussions of what he did (i.e.- drove the car like a maniac, let the car sit out in the sun, let the tires get so low in air pressure to the point of nearly blowing up).

It is a very nice car, but you have to actually take care of it. Right now, I've gone through over $10k worth in repairs because he was careless about the car.

Overall, the car is reliable, even after all of the repairs. I would recommend it to anyone.

I owned a 325i for 2 years and loved every minute of it. Not once in two years did I experience even the smallest problem whatsoever with my car. Even more, I loved the fabulous service provided by BMW dealerships and service professional.

Oh BMW, how I'll miss you.....

My dad has a BMW 325i, and I want to steal it. Fun to drive, it's been very reliable, and he hasn't spent much on maintenance and nothing on repair. The brakes are expensive, but they were under warranty. The oil changes are expensive, but you only have to do them once a year or less.