[BrunoT]

I just want to weigh in with a report on my E90 325i at the 7500 mile mark. This is our 3rd BMW and I was not a huge fan overall (pros vs cons) until this newest one. I feel I owe it to BMW and to prospective buyers in the segment to report the good news on this one.

So far, reliability has been great. Nothing serious.

Issues:

1. Th fuel shuts off early when filling from 1/2 tank to full. When filling from empty it does fine. I "solved" it by pulling the filler nozzle back out a little more than usual to help it vent.

2. Brakes "groan" when backing up slowly. I don't really care, but it does sound distinctly down market.

I'll address both when it goes in for service, hopefully in about 8 more months.

Car continues to impress with power, smoothness, ride, handling, braking, solidity, and now even comfort. I've adjusted to the seat on the long trips I make twice a month. No discomfort till about the 5 hour mark.

I was not a "fan" before, but this car so far has me very impressed. Factor in resale, free maintenance, fuel economy (highway) and this is a very affordable car for the degree of safety and performance it delivers. I would definitely recommend it for those who really care about handling and road feel in a $32,000-$36,000 car. I like how our fwd Saab handles, but you don't notice how numb it feels till you get in the BMW. Big difference.

I'd also suggest a good 100K warranty if you do plan on keeping it much past the 50K mark. If just for the peace of mind. We had them before and they really paid off.

In '02 we made a mistake by getting a Saab 9-3 instead of a BMW. The pittance saved up front was lost to poor resale value. We got it primarily to avoid the "bmw envy" syndrome we had experienced before, but sometimes you just have to let people deal with their own envy.

[David328M-Sport]

Nice one Bruce,

Just to compare, I don't have a fuel tank fill issue like yours and my brakes don't groan unless I deliberately let them off REALLY gently. I can replicate that but I think virtually all cars will exhibit this to some degree, especially automatics.

The car certainly impresses, especially with A/C on. My previous e36 and e46 were shockers with a/c on, the e46 being better but still not the best. The e90 is one terrific car, the 325 being powerful enough for me on our congested public roads.

As you now know, BMW envy is someone elses problem and should never be yours. I know it's hard, especially when it's the first new BMW that you own, although I never had that problem myself.

Still, we are now lifelong BMW fans and that is all that matters.

All the best.

[NICK]

Hey Bruce, I would like to know if you had an issue with your oil light coming on. The reason I’m asking is because I just read a post where a person at 7000 mile had to add some oil.

Originally Posted by brucec32

I just want to weigh in with a report on my E90 325i at the 7500 mile mark. This is our 3rd BMW and I was not a huge fan overall (pros vs cons) until this newest one. I feel I owe it to BMW and to prospective buyers in the segment to report the good news on this one.

So far, reliability has been great. Nothing serious.

Issues:

1. Th fuel shuts off early when filling from 1/2 tank to full. When filling from empty it does fine. I "solved" it by pulling the filler nozzle back out a little more than usual to help it vent.

2. Brakes "groan" when backing up slowly. I don't really care, but it does sound distinctly down market.

I'll address both when it goes in for service, hopefully in about 8 more months.

Car continues to impress with power, smoothness, ride, handling, braking, solidity, and now even comfort. I've adjusted to the seat on the long trips I make twice a month. No discomfort till about the 5 hour mark.

I was not a "fan" before, but this car so far has me very impressed. Factor in resale, free maintenance, fuel economy (highway) and this is a very affordable car for the degree of safety and performance it delivers. I would definitely recommend it for those who really care about handling and road feel in a $32,000-$36,000 car. I like how our fwd Saab handles, but you don't notice how numb it feels till you get in the BMW. Big difference.

I'd also suggest a good 100K warranty if you do plan on keeping it much past the 50K mark. If just for the peace of mind. We had them before and they really paid off.

In '02 we made a mistake by getting a Saab 9-3 instead of a BMW. The pittance saved up front was lost to poor resale value. We got it primarily to avoid the "bmw envy" syndrome we had experienced before, but sometimes you just have to let people deal with their own envy.

[BrunoT]

No, in fact I checked the "oil level indicator" and it was just a bit down from when delivered, but still right at the full mark.

Watching the DVD BMW sent me after we purchased it was really impressive. It really showed the passion they had for getting things right and I get the feeling the E90 is going to improve on BMW reliability.

I also just read that sales are way up this year(which was to be expected) so it seems that even with the competition getting better (Lexus IS, Acura TL) BMW is holding their own.

[NICK]

Thanks, I was getting a little worried about this issue. I have a new e90 on the way, but when I heard other people on the post adding oil to there fairly new e90, I was thinking twice about getting it. i feel it will only get worse. I have a different feeling for new cars that burns oil. I could be complete wrong about this issue, so if someone knows the answers please convince me.

Originally Posted by brucec32

No, in fact I checked the "oil level indicator" and it was just a bit down from when delivered, but still right at the full mark.

Watching the DVD BMW sent me after we purchased it was really impressive. It really showed the passion they had for getting things right and I get the feeling the E90 is going to improve on BMW reliability.

I also just read that sales are way up this year(which was to be expected) so it seems that even with the competition getting better (Lexus IS, Acura TL) BMW is holding their own.

[BrunoT]

Just to update for those shopping for E9x's. Past 2 years and almost to 30,000 miles now and the only service issue has been the auto-close function on the sunroof not working (had to hold button for it to close and it spit out an error message in the display). It was flashed by the dealer in a few minutes and back in service. No problems since.

The brakes still give a hollow metallic groan when coming to a stop at very low speeds or backing out of the garage. I'm wondering if it has something to do with being cold or the pad drying feature. None of the numerous cars I've owned has made a similar sound. Brakes work great, though.

Paint has chipped in several spots on the hood (lots of expressway miles at 80mph) and like all new cars seems to chip more easily due to being water based. Florida water has also taken its toll on the paint with water spots and light etching. Remind me to pay the extra $$ for the metallic paint next time and NEVER get a black car again.

One time during a drenching rainstorm in Florida the wipers just stopped working on the expressway and would not restart. Luckily I had rain-x'ed the windshield and it was passable visability even with no wipers! Got home and unloaded and immediately went back out to check it . Put key in and turned them on and they worked fine and have ever sense. Just a gremlin.

Dealer service has been fine. We have 20K miles to decide if we are keeping it for the long haul.

[HyperM3]

Originally Posted by brucec32

The brakes still give a hollow metallic groan when coming to a stop at very low speeds or backing out of the garage. I'm wondering if it has something to do with being cold or the pad drying feature. None of the numerous cars I've owned has made a similar sound. Brakes work great, though.

I notice the brakes on my e90 do a lot of funny things and noises compared to my e36 and other BMW's our family has owned.

I attribute this to all the new features BMW incorporated into the brake system. When a car sits for a while, the discs may oxydize. When starting out you might hear the little groan because the pads are cleaning off the discs with a very slight wipe. Unfortunately with the drywipe thing that the pads do, I understand they do it only when the wipers are on. I never use my wipers so the brake sensors will never know its raining or wet.

[voltron1011]

Good to hear that...
My car is 2.5 years old with 33,000 miles and I've had only one issue with the valve-cover gasket seeping, and it was barely doing that....

No other issues what-so-ever..

[BrunoT]

Originally Posted by HyperM3

I notice the brakes on my e90 do a lot of funny things and noises compared to my e36 and other BMW's our family has owned.

I attribute this to all the new features BMW incorporated into the brake system. When a car sits for a while, the discs may oxydize. When starting out you might hear the little groan because the pads are cleaning off the discs with a very slight wipe. Unfortunately with the drywipe thing that the pads do, I understand they do it only when the wipers are on. I never use my wipers so the brake sensors will never know its raining or wet.

It's probably oxidation. I mostly use the car for trips between homes every 2-3 weeks. I'll check and see if it does it after a recent trip to make sure.

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by brucec32

I just want to weigh in with a report on my E90 325i at the 7500 mile mark.

I'd also suggest a good 100K warranty if you do plan on keeping it much past the 50K mark. If just for the peace of mind.

You have a 2006 with 7500 miles....when did you take delivery? It seems that the 100K mile warranty would expire from the time limitation before you would see any benefit from it because you put so few miles on your car. But then again, you might have an expensive piece of mind.

[japac1]

Originally Posted by STE92VE

You have a 2006 with 7500 miles....when did you take delivery? It seems that the 100K mile warranty would expire from the time limitation before you would see any benefit from it because you put so few miles on your car. But then again, you might have an expensive piece of mind.

The OP was written in December 2005....

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by japac1

The OP was written in December 2005....

Thanks, I guess it's too early in the morning for me....I love when old threads are revived...

[ShinyRedCar]

We got our E90 325i in July 2005 and have had no major problems so far. I'm closing in on 39,000 miles. Biggest expense so far has been the replacement of the original Bridgestone Turanzas with Continentals. The car's performance has been beyond my expectations. I too noticed quite a bit of little paint chips on the front end but that's to be expected I guess. As far as comfort on long trips, it exceeded my expectations 10 times over. I have 3 bad discs in my lower lumbar region. Even so, I drove from CA to NJ in 3 days (2 days coming back) and I never, I mean NEVER, experienced back pain at any point along the way!

Yep!...still love my car

[voltron1011]

Originally Posted by STE92VE

.I love when old threads are revived...

I've noticed a trend of that happening lately, too!!!

[achien]

Originally Posted by voltron1011

I've noticed a trend of that happening lately, too!!!

there's because there is nothing new on this forum anymore...