BMW 3 SERIES Coupe 1999‑2005

these cars are unbelievable, so much better to drive than normal cars, yes they are a bit more expensive to maintain but very rarely go wrong,the facelift model (2003 53 onwards) looks alot better from the front and back with the led lights,if your thinking of buying one i wouldnt even think twice, im now looking for an m3 : )

Easily the best car i have owned and only sold because i need more room for my family!

Very easy and enjoyable to drive, and comfortable to be a passenger, either in the front or the back. Plenty of room for a 2 door coupe, the boot is quite large as well, comparable to a lot of small family saloons.

The engine is wonderful, very smooth, makes a great sound, although it is not as economical as more modern day sports cars.

All in all it is a great car to own and worth the extra money it costs at the fuel pump and with servicing/insuring.

Unfortunately when I bought this car there were a few problems that the previous owner had not told me. Within a week of purchase the alternator needed to be replaced and within two weeks the radiator needed to be replaced, and at considerable cost to me! 10 months after the purchase the bushes and anti roll bars were in need of replacement at a cost of £500ish. This is just the kind of maintenance that these cars need though and is what you should expect to spend. Despite some of the problems the car is now mechanically sound and the general quality of the car feels great and solid. I have had no other problems to speak of! Very good when you consider the car has done excess of 100,000 miles.

The car is also very practical, with rear seats that fold down it has a huge loading area. With the seats up space in the back is definitely adequate for two large adults. I recently done a 500 mile round trip with two large rugby players in the back and they seemed to find it really rather comfortable, although saying leg room is generous would be a bit of a push.

Unfortunately the costs of running this car are really quite dear with tax being about £170 for a year and repair costs being huge should something go wrong. Insurance for me was really quite extortionate, but I believe that is because I was seventeen when I got the car, for older adults I believe the costs are quite agreeable.

Despite the large costs of the car in general I just have to love it for how it is to drive; it just absolutely comes into a league of its own, the steering is sharp and precise, the gear changes are crisp and enjoyable, the car feels flat and balanced through the corners thanks to rear wheel drive and really inspires sporty driving. The 2.0L is a great compromise between economy and speed. For a 4 cylinder engine it is remarkably smooth and quite. However, one of the straight six engines is definetely the best choice delivering unparalleled smoothness and directness of power.

I would highly recommend this car as the sheer driving pleasure and status it gives you far outweighs any bad points that I could think of.

Had it over a year now and love driving every single minute of it, with the 6 cylinder engine underneath....beautiful! It was very reasonably priced and i often get asked how much it costs as sooo many people think it is worth much more than the £3k i paid for it with full leather, alloys, 65k miles and FSH.

Dont think i'll have any other car than a BMW now, hopefully an E46 M3 will be the next car!

Its a great car , beautiful interior very comfortable specially on the motorway just put on the cruise control and that's it , it handles extremely precise, the engine is a delight runs how you want it fast , slow and sounds great l do recommend it if you don't care how much you pay for the fuel because it does drink...........a lot.

Very reliable you wont have any surprises with it it runs and runs and runs just give her the right stuff tires,fuel and always service in time.

I love this Beemer - the rear wheel drive, the fact that the nose goes wherever you point it, the overall balance and poise.

That said, the ride is bone-shaking on rough roads, the steering tram-lines (follows cambers in the road), you can't get oddly shaped things into the boot, the tyres and suspension parts cost an arm and two legs (this one is M-Sport spec), and the engine killed itself six weeks after I bought it - due to the well-documented inlet manifold fault on these diesel engines. Luckily, BMW replaced it for labour costs only (£2200!) even though my car was out of warranty and had an incomplete service history. It's a great engine though, and remaps very well.

Despite all its faults, as soon as I jump behind the wheel I fall back in love with it. Great fun.

I got this coupe with only 54k millage, with bit of wear and tear that nonetheless did not make overall experience bad.

Car has a very good handling and a soft suspencion, which gives you that feeling as if you would be driving around on your sofa. On average BMW cars have a good ammount of extras, such as heated seats, ESR system, leather chairs, etc. However standard radio comes with casset player - a bit outdated in our days.

I was very happy with the car quality, 10 years out of the factory and only minor cosmetic nuances required my attention.

Be careful if you are buying BMW which has a wood embedding as it might be cracked.

On full tank usually I can go for up to 350 miles. That is 70 pound for a full tank. I fill it up once in two weeks, as it take me around 15 miles to get to work.

If you are into traveling, then you might enjoy a huge trunk.

You also might find BMW rather expensive to maintain, compared with ford or vauxhall. Aditionally if you are not an experienced driver, solely because it is a BMW your insurance will cost twice as much.

My main disapointment with this car was its weak engine. 318 offers you somewhere around 110 hp, however next engine - 320 will gives you 170 hp according to autorader. You won't find big difference in cost of insurance, tax or petrol consumption, but will definitely enjoy riding it more.

But if you are only after very nice looking car, then this is your dream choice.

I have had this car for almost 4 year's now. It is a great car however it can also be an absolute nightmare. In the 4 years I have had it i have had to replace:

Front Suspension Arms (Twice)

Break Disks (Twice)

Break Pads (Twice)

Clutch (Once)

Tyres (5 Times)

Alloys(Once)

Servicing: What you'd expect from a luxury car. Petrol can be lethal if you have a heavy foot but much better than some of the other manufacturers with the same engines.

Practicality: For a 2 door car its quite good I would say - massive boot and enough space for 5 people

Parts and Labour: BMW direct give excellent service but you pay for it...

Comfort: Suspension is a bit hard but again, you can expect that from this sort of car. Seating position is awesome and ride quality is great. Cornering and handling is spot on and you really feel safe in this car

Speed: 231 BHP, Great Engine. Enough power to get you out of any sticky situation.... QUICKLY.

Options - Leather and aluminium trim looks the best. Great air con too and electric everything makes it effortless. STRONGLY recommend the auto as the clutch can be heavy on the manual.

Would I buy this car again? Yes and No. if I used it as a second car I would but not as a main car.

This is one of the most fun cars that I've driven it sticks like glue in the corners and gives great feedback through the wheel. It feels like a much smaller car.

The engine is fantastic, the inline 6 is so silky smooth and provides torque all through the rev range. The engine has variable inlet and exhaust cam timing and a variable length inlet manafold, this serves to boost low end torque. The variable timing is great but the variable inlet (DISA valve) gives a subtle but annoying notch in the torque at around 3000 rpm.

BMW seem to have a good reputation for reliability but I've had a couple of things go wrong in the last 2 years of ownership. My car has 120k on the clock and is 12 years old at the time of writing so you may expect a few problems.

My inlet cam position sensor became faulty which made for performance issues and rough starting. This was quick and easy to replace.

The Variable valve timing hydraulic system pison seals were worn causing poor performance. This was quite a complex procedure to fix, not for the feint hearted DIYer.

The front grill clips became brittle and snapped off as did the pipe connection for the high pressure headlight washer.

The cabin blower speed regulator resistor failed and was quite hard to get to to replace.

The original clutch is still fitted and isn't showing any signs of failure yet.

The exhaust valve that makes the exhaust quiet when the car is stationary no longer functions. I think this is due to a previous owner 'chipping' the ECU. As a result it makes a nice but annoying (to the neighbours) growl at tickover.

Practicality is not great as you'd expect from a coupé. You can just about get two suitcases in the boot but the rear seats are quite cramped. The large doors are difficult to get open in tight spaces.

The interior is wonderfully comfortable, the seats offer loads of adjustment and the whole dash seems to wrap around the driver. There are lots of nice little touches like the subtle orange cabin lighting at night that make it a very nice place to be.

The satnav is very hard to use especially when compared to more modern systems.

My experience of the BMW 323Ci (E46) has been a very happy one, the car has been a pleasure to own for the last 10 months. I purchased it with 126K on the clock and it now has 130K with no faults to report along the way. My reason for choosing this car was mainly due to the way it looks and drives, these machines are built to last and when I drove it, it did not disappoint. The car feels tight and the build quality is second to none with all the toys in working order. When I first purchased the car I had some reservations regarding the fuel economy but I have to say it is not as bad as I was expecting. Around town was always above 20mpg and on the motorway you could easily see 40mpg and above. For me my son is older of teenage age so the practicality of the car didn't really mater as it was also a second car but I wouldn't consider the coupe if I had young children. The only reason I am selling this car is due to my new company car. I would without doubt buy another 3 series especially the coupe.