German Car Forum

We had the E46 320i for about a year now. And the problems keep coming in - firstly, the brake calipers clenched into the discs permanently, so much so that when we moved off our driveway, smoke came out. We hadn't realised it got stuck until we saw the smoke. We fixed it, and it was rectified.

Next problem - a creaky suspension setup. We constantly told the dealer about it, but he says it's "nothing to worry about". I beg to differ. We paid so much for this car and I think we deserve more than a creaky suspension. By "creaky" I mean squeaking sounds whenever someone gets into or out of the car, or when the car is going over a bump. It's annonying and a little embarassing, especially when our previous Honda Civic had no such problems. The nonchalant dealer ain't helping either.

Then, there's the high fuel consumption. We've been getting crazy really bad mileage, sometimes even our Phaeton can get a better figure than the BMW does. Either the Phaeton is really efficient or there's something wrong with the BMW. Figures prove to show that our Phaeton is exceptionally frugal and the BMW is achieving normal consumption rates. I don't know, but I don't think my dad likes to pay so much for petrol all the time, especially in Singapore. Several times we were intent on changing the car, because of all the money we put into fixing its problems.

Today, while we were driving through a heavy downpour, water leaked in from the front passenger door. Nope, it isn't the windows because it was sealed tight and closed. It was leaking through the rubber padding on the doors. This was the last straw, I think, for all of us. The dealer simply shrugged off out problems, and we are hardly impressed. Despite heavy marketing and showing off of its privilege programme for 7 Series owners (chauffeur for a day, borrowing a yacht worth a million dollars for free for the weekend), their service really leaves something to be desired.

I need your opinions. Should we keep the E46 (together with it's problems)? It is a fantastic car bar the issues. The engine sounds great, the interior is holding up nicely, and it's dependable. If we sell it now, we lose about 20% of its value from when we first bought it, second-hand.

We were looking at the new Civic 2.0, and the Golf GTI. We are daunted by the massive amount of money we're gonna spend should we change our car, but yet, the mounting problems with the BMW is putting pressure on us to change.

What do you think?

the squeeky suspension might not be from the suspension. i have a similar problem on my t-reg and so does my gf with her slk. when we went to the dealership, the technician at mb said that the squeek might be coming from the parking brake. and sure enough, when the parking brake wasn't pulled the squeek would go away. but i konw how you feel, luxury cars (especially german luxury cars) shouldn't make sounds that wouldn't even be common place in todays korean cars.

my suggestion is to get a new car. one that leaks water through the door can be a bit annoying (something i experienced while driving an old chevy monte carlo).

My father had the exact same thing happen to his Z3 twice. Hasn't given us a problem since then, but it's certainly not a comforting thing on the highway though.

I would probably say to get a new car, too. It must kind of feel bad, having only just got it, and you might want to persist with it, though. If it was me, I might be tempted to try and stick with it, not wanting to 'throw money' at the problem and get another one..

But I can't quite see how the problems would either be rectified so easily, or whether new problems wouldn't surface. I mean, water leaking through the seals isn't good enough. You can try getting the parking brake off (on level ground!) and getting in and out.. or turn the music off and drive over some speed humps or something. You could also figure out what mileage you get, and compare to official figures (noting that their 'combined' consumption is often skewed somewhat towards a large component of country driving, at least in Australia.

However, the dealer's service doesn't sound inspiring, and it's not going to improve, either.

Sorry to hear that it's not turning out for the best, James.

A Golf GTI or Civic seem like decent choices. Or even a normal Golf.

Thanks, I'll go check on the parking brakes.

Thanks for your suggestions.

The dealer was good before, but ever since BMW took away the throne from MB as top luxury maker in S'pore (in terms of sales), they have been complacent. Also they currently don't have the facilities to cater for the ballooning BMW population of cars, not until BMW's answer to this is built:



The new BMW building will come next year or late this year. It is a massive project.

Yeah, I checked our FC with the urban FC stated in the booklet. It's within normal limits. But it's still too high, we're getting about 13-14L/100km. Maybe we're too used to frugality.

Any other cars besides the GTI or Civic you guys can recommend? Something that is at least equal to or better than the E46, or rather, something that wouldn't be a downgrade.

Lexus IS, if you can the cramped acomodation and soemwhat plasticky interior. The car will be bullet proof though...

Yes, we should give it a chance. My dad isn't too keen on expensive Japanese cars. Not that the IS is expensive, but he would rather spend small money on Japanese cars and big money on German ones. I'll persuade him for a test drive again.

Hmm, 13-14L/100km is certainly on the heavy side. I've driven a 1400kg 4-cyl 2.2L Vectra with 5-speed auto in mostly urban conditions, and I got under 10L/100km. Admittedly Sydney's probably not as bad as Singapore, but 13-14L is quite high.

Other choice - Accord Euro Luxury? It's closer to small money, though it's not quite a small car. The Passat here is also a good choice, but again, not a particularly small car.

Or, VW Jetta? Used A4? If you do get a Lexus, then by most accounts the dealer service should be a few steps above the others.

They don't sell the Jetta here. Not yet at least.

We tried A4s, and until the new A4 comes, the 3 Series is still supreme. As for the Passat... Well, let's just say, we'd rather get the GTI than to get a base Passat.

Lexus... A tempting proposition.

It will actually be my sister's car. So I'd think she prefers a GTI. Good thing is, my dad (and I) also love the GTI. Although we are very much leaning on the GTI for now, new alternatives would be good.

Yes, the Accord is really good. But the official dealer sells this version, which I feel isn't nearly as desirable than the Japanese version:



Japanese version:



Parallel importers bring this one in.

Thanks for all the recommendations so far.

Mirage, if money doesn't matter that much, then you should replace the car. Since other members have said most of what i wanted to say, i will ask only one question. Do you consider a new E90?

Although money isn't much of an issue, in S'pore... We're talking about losing at least USD12,500 if we sell the BMW. It's a stab in the wallet.

After some consideration, I think my dad is intent on keeping the car. Reason being, I'm getting my driving license in about two years' time, and by then, we would have our third car. And we would buy it then, and then maybe sell the E46.

We wanted to consider the E90... But it's too much money. Coupled with poor service and commonality, we struck it off. And even if we buy the E90, the 325i and 330i commands a great premium over the base 323i. The only E90 within our price range is the 323i, and it isn't much of an upgrade over the 320i, I think. I was glad they discontinued the 4-cylinder E90 320i, it wasn't continuous with the rest of the 3 Series range.

I can understand the squeaky suspension being a big issue. When I owned my 96 Audi A4, that was my biggest issue. I spent a lot of time with several mechanics to isolate the problem and it turned out to be the bushings in the control arms.

The leaky door sounds like the vapor barrier is not secure. It is a known issue with the E46 and is easy to fix.

Sell the BMW. You obviously got a duff model.

So yup, I did what everyone said we should do... We sold the BMW.

Unfortunately, we didn't go for the E90.

Neither did we go for any German sedan.

We went for the Honda Jazz!

Before everyone piles up on top of me, I'll say now that there's a valid reason for this. The high cost of maintenance, along with high fuel consumption and expensive servicing took a toll on my sister's salary. She felt she wasn't ready for a BMW yet, so she settled for something more practical, frugal and cheap. Make no mistake about it - I prefer the BMW over the Honda anyday - but it's my sister's car anyway, and it's her decision. So that's that. Heh.

For the benefit of those who don't know, the Jazz is Honda's award-winning supermini:



Thanks everyone for your advice, and let's bid farewell to the faithful E46.

Hopefully when my sis gets a new job she'll venture back into BMW again.

Omg :d

I totally understand that decision. Plus that thing will be a tank and go on for miles and miles. Congrats

From an E46 to a Jazz, quite a difference!

Reading this thread, it seems like you have had quite a few problems with the E46, I can understand why you got rid of it. I haven't heard of problems like that with the E46, especially one late in the models life cycle, where most problems are meant to be fixed!

Although the Jazz is a great car, and very reliable, it tops quite a lot of the reliability surveys over here, and is great value for money!

Hope your sis has fun with the car!

Yeah, it's not quite something I'd go for myself, but I can understand. It's cheap to buy and cheap to run. Even of itself, as a city car the Jazz is a decent vehicle, and I hope it serves your sister well, and reliably!

Thanks everyone.

I think the reason why our specific model had so many problems was because the previous owner didn't take good care of it. After we purchased it the technician said it had suffered an accident before. We did impulse buying I guess, and we regret it quite a bit. We lost about SGD20,000 in depreciation. Now that we've learnt our lesson, my dad would never venture back to buying second-hand again.

The last straw was when the car stalled in the middle of traffic last week.

Mirage, please keep us updated on that new BMW center in Singapore you were telling about. I'd love to read/see more of that!

Edit;

Hmmm could this be it? Looks promising:


http://www.pml.com.sg/news/newsapr10_06.html

Hey klier, I've been looking for articles of the new centre, but in vain. It's confusing me because the article that you have posted shows a conventionally shaped building, but as far as I can remember from the newspapers, it's gonna be a huge globe. Or maybe, the globe could be encased inside the box-shaped building. It would be something like that... Nonetheless, they're doing this to compete with Mercedes-Benz, which opened an equally impressive dealer centre just this year.

http://www.mercedes-benz.com.sg/amw/...0-0-0-0-0.html



The BMW centre will be ready in 2008. And when it does rest assured, I'll be among the firsts there!

Anyway, on the topic... While at the Honda showroom, we tried a Civic Hybrid! What a novelty... It's quite refreshing to see the car recharging itself like I'm recharging an appliance. And it did sound like an some appliance. Say, a washing machine? Heh. It was kinda noisy though... And underpowered.

But the car consumes only 3-4L/100km, which is really impressive. The Jazz does 4-6L/100km. By comparison, our 320i did 12-14L/100km.