Faults:

Suspension bushings had to be replaced, and the interior is showing signs of plastic discoloration.

Sunroof rails jammed.

General Comments:

The car is nimble and mostly reliable. I've driven it between the east and west coasts of the USA six times, and only had to have suspension bearing replaced, and it still runs great as a daily driver.

Super fun on mountain roads, but unstable in snow and ice.

Faults:

Within a month of receiving it (it's a Japanese import), the air conditioning unit failed - common fault apparently on cars coming from Japan. Replaced under warranty, which was fortunate as it required an entire dashboard removal at enormous cost.

Trip computer didn't work when got it, switch broken, small cost of change at BMW garage ($50 or so).

Tiptronic box occasionally showed a warning light on the dash. BMW did something with it attached to a computer, and it stopped. The box itself always performed fine.

General Comments:

The extortionate cost of European cars in NZ means that a 325i "Highline" from 2002 is a flash vehicle, despite being almost 10 years old. For the equivalent cost, you'd be looking at a 4 year old 335i in the UK.

Saloon car, Highline odd Japanese spec, similar to UK/NZ "SE", but has bigger 7 spoke alloys, electric seats, heated seats, Tiptronic, 10 speaker stereo, wood trim, leather and ski bag. Possibly some additional extras from the original dealer. No cruise control, parking sensors or multi-function wheel though.

The car is very smooth to drive, not especially economical, but acceptable. Quick when pushed (unsure if this is the 192bhp version in Europe, or the 184bhp version from the US), and very comfortable and well specified. I test drove a 2009 Holden Commodore SV6, and a new Subaru Legacy Estate, and the BMW still feels tighter and better put together. Great handling too, and still looks good.

Recommend people to find a similar one. The only thing I would add is a 330i offers a lot more performance for little more to buy second hand (and the same economy); or the 320i offers only slightly lower performance, and tends to be a fair bit cheaper... I'd also probably prefer no wood (looks tacky) and cloth seats (oddly feel classier on BMW, not sure why, maybe it's just me...)

Faults:

CV boots, front inner and outer, cost = $480 - 110.000 km.

Thermostat - $380 - 160.000 km.

Headlight washer pump - $110 - 180.000 km.

The rest of the costs are just regular maintenance: oil changes, spark plugs, brake pads, fuel filter etc...

General Comments:

Sooo... I've owned this car long enough to write down something I guess...

Nice car to have; it looks so nice when it's clean.

The all wheel drive system is insanely good if you're living in Canada - Alberta. I can't believe I never ever get stuck with this car, and it's only 8 inches high off the ground.

In winter time I try to drift with this car, but there is no way make this car drift, except for sliding on the ice. Somehow the traction kicks in, even if you hold the DSC button to turn the system off, it still takes over...

Power is really good. It's only 185hp, but if you floor the gas pedal, she goes so fast, which BMW even says is lightning speed take off...

Mileage I got:

City 9.2L/100km

Highway 6.5L/100km

Mechanical issues never happened; looks like they made this car with non-breakable materials...

So... I sold this unit about 3 months ago, and bought a 2006 530xi... feels the same, I got the same mileage on gas, only a few things different, exterior and interior. Interior so quiet compared to the 325xi, which I won't compare because it's a totally different unit. But the 2006 530xi has killer looks...

That's all I can say... Thanx...