Faults:

Battery failed early on (at around 5,000 Km)

Rear shocks replaced at 80,000 Km.

Head gasket replaced at 100,000 Km.

Breaks re-done at 120,000 Km.

General Comments:

Despite its age, this car remains fun to drive and provides enough comfort for a family of four.

Handling is excellent, power is good enough for city acceleration and highway cruising.

Because of the relatively small engine (1.8 liter), power and torque are delivered at higher revolutions, making it a noisy car on long highway trips when cruising in the 120 - 140 Km/h range.

This car drives best on winding country roads, where its handling and "feel of the road" really come alive.

Faults:

Well I've had some minor problems.

Front left brake disc was changed.

And a new exhaust at 103000km.

After that only new filters, oil and gasoline!

General Comments:

The handling and shifting is excellent. Though could have more power (105 hp) and more room in the back seats. Very reliable and good looking. Soon I am going to buy BMW 520/525, because I need more space and power.

Faults:

I purchased this 4-door/sedan 325i (E36 chassis, for those who know about their BMW's) used in August, 2001 with almost 108,000 miles (107,800 miles to be exact).

When I purchased this car, I had the air conditioner repaired, the tires replaced, and a major maintenance service done on it (a 30,000-mile BMW "Inspection II" maintenance).

At around 109,000 miles (in late August, 2001), the radiator went bad and had to be replaced.

At around 114,000 miles (in November, 2001), the slave cylinder for the clutch went bad and had to be replaced.

Besides the problems with the air conditioning, radiator, and the slave cylinder, there have been no other mechnical problems with the car.

I expected to have some mechanical problems, as mentioned above for a used car of this age and with this many miles on it. However, with these repairs done, I know that these repairs will last for many years and I will not have to worry about these mechanical problems.

Fortunately, I also have an excellent mechanic that I go to have my BMW repaired and maintained.

General Comments:

I love owning and driving this car! It is one of my favorite cars that I have owned. Although this car is 10 years old and has nearly 120,000 miles on it, it still looks much newer and runs as smooth as a car with half as many miles on it.

This car is very well and solidly built and is built to last. I am sure that I could use this car as a daily driver for the next 10 years and get 275,000-300,000 miles out of this car, if I wanted to.

In addition, this car has excellent performance, in terms of acceleration, pick-up, speed, and road handling. It is also very comfortable, comfortably seats 4 adults, and is quiet on the highways (even for a 10 year old car).

The bottom line is that this car is a true driver's car and a lot of fun to drive (having a 5-speed manual transmission makes it even more fun to drive). No wonder why the 3-series BMW is the benchmark sports/performance sedan that all others are judged against. Many of my friends have driven my car and always want to drive it for these reasons.

The only complaint that I can find for my 325i is that the maintenance and repair costs are expensive for this car, especially when compared to those of American or Japanese cars.

I would recommend one to consider purchasing a used E36 BMW 325i, if one does not mind the only drawback of high maintenance and repair costs.