You have saved this page | See all saved pages
BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier
30250 messages, Last post on Mar 24, 2013 at 11:51 AM
You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum.What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan
#1934 of 30250 xi AWD Reliability by langley2
Apr 23, 2001 (7:55 am)
Ordered a steel gray 325xi myself on April 1. Test drove the car in a hilly area of my city (with lots of stop signs) during a snowstorm in late February. Pretty much made the decision to order one right then and there. Rock steady. Can't wait to take delivery.I also asked lots of questions about reliability. Learned that AWD is not a new concept at BMW. BMW has apparently been making AWD models for sale in Europe for many years; however, they only offered this feature on a few cars marketed in the USA during the late 1980s/early 1990s. They dropped AWD from the USA market because those cars didn't sell all that well here, presumably because there wasn't a really big demand for them at that time. Of course, that has now changed, and the xi's are selling very well. I'm personally very confident that there won't be any nagging reliability issues.
#1935 of 30250 Tires/ A4 by reubencahn
Apr 23, 2001 (8:08 am)
Brave1heart: I think the Bridgestone Turanzas are one of 3 types mounted on 325s. IMO, they are lousy tires. If possible have the dealer switch with another car with Dunlops or ContiSports mounted (I think the Pilot Sports are only on the 330). The Turanzas really limit the performance of this car.A4: I obviously agree that the bmw is a better car. That's why I'm here. But, if you're comparing cars, the 2.8 is roughly the same price as the 325 assuming any options. I'll be interested in the new A4 when it arrives here but my guess is I'll still prefer the bimmer's rwd.
#1936 of 30250 dc_75 - AWD by brave1heart
Apr 23, 2001 (8:53 am)
I couldn't agree more with your opinion of the A4 and esp. with your statement that 'the only A4 worth looking at for the money was the blown 1.8 four'. In spite of some of the problems reported on the board with the BMW XI models, I think they will be reasonably reliable and getting better as BMW gains more experience making them. It's just that the A4 1.8T is a great value proposition and VERY close to a 325xi performance-wise. Similarly equipped, the 1.8T is about 6 grand cheaper than the 325xi and a viable alternative. Having said all that, the 3-series is still the car to beat in this class and that won't change soon.+++
#1937 of 30250 by dc_75
Apr 23, 2001 (8:56 am)
reubencahn: Audi's 2.8 V6 despite 5 valve per cylinder technology is nowhere as charismatic as a BMW six-in-a-row IMO you know what I am talking about
. That is why the 2.8 is a harder sell than the 1.8 turbo and the 2.7 twin-turbo. langley2: If I am not mistaken, BMW also made a 525iX early 90s...I am not doubting BMW's AWD tech, but I understand the Xi's awd is different i.e. less mechanical, more high tech/electronics than the old iX's of late 80s and early 90s. Is the Xi's underpinnings an almost direct transplant off the X5?
About reliability, is the overheating/radiator problem inherent in most Xis? That is why I posed the question of Xi reliability earlier on....yet another post on overheating. I know the problem is in the cooling not the awd system itself...but I was just curious...
#1938 of 30250 by dc_75
Apr 23, 2001 (9:06 am)
brave1heart: The detailings on the A4 1.8T along with more goodies i.e. std cassette/CD, alumimum trim, alarm system, sport steering wheel, choice of interior schemes ala martha stewart plus 1 year extra maintenance to boot...affords the Audi a strong hard look when considering a 325i/Xi IMO. Heck even new entries like the IS300 and Acura TL-S sports equipment/amenities that warrant them a hearty consideration when shopping...But that is on paper and showroom appeal... the bimmer has that je-ne-sais-quoi that still gives the driver/owner the willies several years down the ownership road IMO. Too bad you can't quantify that....that is the reason why a lot of folks do not fully grasp the 'concept' of 3er ownership. I guess you gotta own one to understand *groan* sorry... I have no doubt the BMW will have ironed out the creases on the Xi's but its interesting to know, right now, with the help of new Xi owners who frequent this fine forum, what teething problems the Xis have and how they feel about them. Both curiousity and potential purchase interest drives me to pose this question, also to get the ball rolling....
#1939 of 30250 Midwest dealers anyone.....??? by jk26
Apr 23, 2001 (9:07 am)
Anyone on this board know of a good salesperson in the midwest that will do $1500 over invoice? I'm in Minneapolis and they are giving me the run around about demand and how they can't get close to that. If anyone has had a good experience somewhere in the midwest, please post where and how much over invoice you paid. Thanks.jk
#1940 of 30250 overheating by tcn2k
Apr 23, 2001 (9:16 am)
It might be because of the cooling fan problem that bmw knows about. Someone else here had their car for 6 hours and overheated, turns out there is batches of cars that may have a bad cooling fan.#1941 of 30250 side molding by tcn2k
Apr 23, 2001 (9:17 am)
you might be looking at the coupe 3 series!#1943 of 30250 reubencahn - Tires/ A4 by brave1heart
Apr 23, 2001 (9:25 am)
That's a good tip, thanks! I hadn't thought about asking the dealer to put in different tires. Not sure if it's a choice but I'll definitely find out and let you know. I am a big Dunlop fan. A friend of mine's been running on SP8000s and swears by them. When you say Dunlops, what particular model did you mean? Interestingly enough, there are no survey results on the Turanzas on the tirerack.com. They are in the performance grand touring category. I guess that means that they are not nearly as extreme performance-wise as the max performance category tires but are supposed to be quieter and more versatile?!?I'll take the RWD over AWD any day, unless I lived somewhere in the Arctic or something. I even love sliding the RWD in snow but again, that's me; most drivers would think I'm nuts for saying that and I don't care because I'm not an average driver. You are right about the 2.8 being about the same price as the 325xi. My point, though, is that it's reasonable to compare the 1.8T 170 HP A4 to the 325xi. The Bimmer has 15 more HP but is also about 250 lbs heavier in AWD trim and they are very close performance-wise.
+++
To POST a message, please
Sign In.
Advertisement
Most Popular in Forums
Search Forums
Enter Keyword(s):
Learn More, Do More
Edmunds Community
Advertisement