My main functions are to save companies money on their overheads, looking after my wife, my daughter...
My main functions are to save companies money on their overheads, looking after my wife, my daughter, our dog (plus other pets) and my computers but not necessarily in that order ;-)
Member since:04.02.2004
Reviews:5
Having just received my somewhat neglected BMW 318 SE (Sept 2002 reg) back from its first major service I thought I would write in praise both of the vehicle and the local garage.
Living in the country, once you have washed your car (on a Sunday afternoon along with all your neighbours!), and stared lovingly at its gleaming presence on your drive, your hard work is completely undone as soon as you turn the ignition and set off on your next journey. Hence my lack of enthusiasm for getting the hose pipe out, even on those rare occasions that there isn't a ban!
And so after around 34k miles the on board computer advised me to take out another mortgage and prepare myself for the first "inspection" service. I called the garage on Thursday morning to ask for a slot, jokingly enquiring if one was avilable on Friday, to be advised that I COULD take it in Friday morning!!!
"How much and how long?" I enquired.
Should be no more than an hour and a half and about £190 was the reply. I'll wait for it to be serviced then I told the chap, and partake of their coffee machine, Sky TV, newspapers and poor mobile signal.
Whilst the car was having its routine checkup I pondered over how solid the car feels to drive it - you get a sense of quality just by the sheer presence of the car on the road. The slick gearbox is no trouble and now that the 318 is fitted with the 2 litre engine the prior claims of it being "underpowered" are no longer true. 0-60 is accomplished in a shade under 10 seconds and with my mix of urban/motorway chugging and rural backroads to home again I can usually get around 40 mpg or around 525 miles per tank. I especially like the steering wheel mounted controls for the stereo (with 6 disk boot mounted autochanger as an extra) and cruise control, even on the manual variant, an aid to safer driving as you don't have to take your eyes off the road to change volume or cruise speed.
1 hour 25 minutes later and £191 pounds lighter I was re-acquainted with the keys and advised as to the location of my car in the car park.
Some mistake I thought as I approached a gleaming silver version of the car I brought in but a closer inspection of the number plate confirmed that it was in fact my car. Even the hoover had removed the attendant bits of toffee wrappers and dead leaves that seems to be a permanent fixture.
All in all I was thoroughly impressed by the car, the attitude of the staff, the swiftness and accuracy of the price and timing of the service and last but not least the reminder of the colour of the car I so lovingly acquired about a year ago!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 137 mph - 150, 170 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: ES, SE, Sport, M Sport
BMW 3 Series - Saloon - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Manual, 6 Speed Automatic - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 140, 143 mph - 163, 177 bhp - Diesel - Available Trims: ES, SE, Sport, M Sport
BMW 1 Series - Hatchback - Rear (RWD) - 6 Speed Automatic, 6 Speed Manual - 1995 cc - Max Speed: 127 mph - 122 bhp - Petrol - Available Trims: M Sport, Sport, SE, ES
Advantages: Fair price, electric roof, leather interior, CD player and, of course 'blindingly rapid'. Disadvantages: Quite expensive parts, can tend to guzzle petrol depending on the speed.
tom13 03.05.2001 ·
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Review of BMW 318i
Advantages: Power, economy, style, reliability, boot size and access. Disadvantages: Slightly difficult to handle in the wet, slightly cramped in the rear seats.
the_kidda 08.08.2000 ·
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Review of BMW 318i
Advantages: Amazing control/handling of car and begs to be upgraded (is well worth it) Disadvantages: Need to upgrade a lot of different things, so have money saved/ready
YEODIE 02.10.2007 (10.10.2007)
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Review of BMW318is Coupé
Feb 26th, 2004
very helpful by (11%):
helpful by (89%):
