Faults:

Roof motor failed when car was 6 years old. This was replaced under warranty by BMW (a separate policy I had taken out).

Other than that, nothing aside from usual tyre/brake replacement, in line with expected wear and tear.

General Comments:

This car gives a great combination of looks, performance, reliability, affordable running costs and driving entertainment.

Firstly; the performance. Mine has the 231 BHP 3.0 litre engine. Yes, there are quicker cars out there, but it goes well, is quick off the mark, pulls happily even at high speeds, and the engine sounds great too.

It's also fun to drive. The run flat tyres do have a habit of "pulling" a little on certain road surfaces, but overall it handles well, and on a good "B" road, with the roof down, it cannot fail to put a smile on my face!

For this type of car, I've found it incredibly reasonable to run. I use my local BMW dealership where the service is always excellent. It generally advises c15k miles between services, which on my mileage lasts for 2 years, at which point I get it serviced regardless of mileage. The standard service only costs around £300 though. Obviously brake/tyre replacement is more pricey than a family hatchback, but other that that, it's been amazing reasonable to run.

On a long drive I can get 35 MPG. Obviously around town/on short blasts it's a lot lower - but even then I still see 20+ MPG.

It's not let me down once. As you'd expect, you get BMW reliability and build quality.

My only complaint would be the alloys (mine has the 108's). They have corroded badly and are now in need of a full (and probably quite expensive) refurb.

Other than that, a great car.

It can be driven hard for fun, or can easily do long journeys in comfort. You can even get a decent amount in the boot!

I will be keeping mine for a good while longer, and would happily own another.

Faults:

1. Possible computer issue (probably responsible for all the issues.

2. Top works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't (it isn't the safety switches). If I start the car and the top does not go down, I turn it off after about 2 minutes, and then the top will work. Putting the top up is iffy sometimes too, so I keep the little tool with me to do it manually when/if needed.

3. A/C does not work, but I always have the top down anyways. It's stuck on heat all of the time, and will not even blow ambient air temp. Just hot, hot air.

4. Power lock button on key works sometimes, and sometimes doesn't, but may just be a battery.

5. The beeping noise the car makes when you leave the lights on or the key in the ignition... yeah, well that happens sometimes when you turn the car off for no reason, even when the lights are off and the key is out. It'll stop beeping after 20 minutes or so. It's just annoying when people ask "Why is your car beeping?" Because I don't know haha.

6. The dash lights do not indicate when the brights are on or when the blinkers are flashing, even though they DO work outside. Also at night when you turn the lights on, the panel lights will not come on until the car has been running for about 2 minutes.

The battery is not the issue. I was told it probably needs a new computer or re programed, which the dealer has to do. A used computer can be found for $200, so I'll probably go that route.

General Comments:

I know it sounds like a lot of problems. All the problems happened at once about two weeks after I bought it.

I'm not picky. I'm extremely happy with the car. Being a young 23 year old male, I get a lot of looks, so I can't complain. I feel like they see me as a spoiled rich boy, but in reality with no down payment, I only pay $200 a month for the note, and $125 for full coverage insurance, and that's including my pickup truck too.

The car handles and rides awesome, and is so smooth. I can't get enough of this car... I've had some special driver training on a closed course on how to handle a car at high speeds, or when it starts to slide, but I've never needed it, because this car is glued to the road!

It'll top out between 130-140 mph, and gets on average 28 MPG doing 80 everywhere I go.

I just took it on a 3000 mile 10 day trip with my buddy. Not much room for luggage, but we made do. Had no problems out of the car. Very reliable (minus the computer issues) for having 170k miles on it. The oil is still clean, and the engine bay and everything still looks brand new. To my knowledge, no major work has ever been done to it. Doesn't smoke, idles smooth, and shifts smooth.

The sound system is pretty awesome as well. Love the black leather interior, but wish I had some red thrown in there.

All in all, I love this car. I feel like it's one of the best looking cars on the road, and it makes me happy every time I get in it. I recommend it to anyone (who isn't too big for it).

If anyone has questions or knows about the issues on my car, feel free to email me at beau2006@ gmail dot com.