MY 2002 BMW 325i

[bluesbrother60]

I am a new member. My ride is a 2002 BMW 325i. I know it is just the entry level BMW but I love this car. I got it from Joe Self BMW in Wichita, Kan. It was a used car that was driven by a BMW executive for one year and then traded for a new BMW. This is cool because I am the first owner the car is titled to. Plus it only had 8,000 mi. when I got it. It has Sport, Premium and Cold Weather packages mounted to a 5-speed gearbox. I have always been a BMW fan so this is a dream come true for me to own one! I plan on owning BMWs for the rest of my life...plus an Aston Martin or two....hahaha.
go to http://www.geocities.com/britracer60/my_bmw.html to see pictures of it. Please let me know what you think of it. My future plans are to add the AC Schnitzer Strut Bar plus some other performance items to make it a little more competitive without voiding warranty.

[TT]

Definitely we have many Bimmer owners around! Welcome aboard!

[bluesbrother60]

I just went and washed my car. Then I went for the ever sacred post-wash drive. That is one of my favorite times to drive my car. The car is clean, the sun is setting, just roll the windows down and enjoy. BMW truely makes the "ultimate driving machines."

[ae86_16v]

I thought the 2002 was before the facelift.

Nice car by the way. . .

[bluesbrother60]

The 2002 was after the facelift. The facelift occurred in 2002. They redesigned the 3 in 2000. And then, following a BMW trend, they gave it a facelift in 2002. The facelift stood until 2004 (maybe mid-2003).

[adlinyusman]

nice car dude. I've always loved beemers me self. The steering wheel looks and feels awesome, especially the hand stitching. makes it look all the more special. Enjoy your new toy and welcome to JW :)

[ae86_16v]

The 2002 was after the facelift. The facelift occurred in 2002. They redesigned the 3 in 2000. And then, following a BMW trend, they gave it a facelift in 2002. The facelift stood until 2004 (maybe mid-2003).

In US, the E46 Sedan came out in 99. . . then the coupe came out in 00.

BMW has a 7 year life cycle, so I guess they updated it after 3 years and this current one will go until 2006.

But they've been adding stuff to it all the time now. Liike this year all coupes, convertible and M3s cars are equiped w/ LED taillights, don't know about the Sedan yet.

[na2o]

it's a nice car, i have one similar to that . Mine is a 2001 328i .. u can c it here http://www.geocities.com/na2o u know.. i'm not a big fan of the face lift they made in 2002. i don't know but it used to look a little Angry , u know what i mean? and after the face lift it seems a softer

[bluesbrother60]

I personally love the face lift. I always thought that the original front bumper looked like it had been squashed. Although I do not think that mine looks "mean", however I think the overall stance of my car adds to the agressive overall look.

[VerderameJ]

Actually I remeber seeing the redesigned ones in Italy in the summer (July/Aug) of 98. Prolly were badged as 99's though. This whole year thing gets so confusing since the years dont match the releases.
Anyways enjoy that Bravarian. They are wonderful creations. Just keep up on the maintence and it will be an exquisit car for a long time. I have seen too many that were not meticulously maintained and then became a problem. Though I have a feeling you might not be one to worry about in that respect.

[Erez]

too bad it has the facelift.. you should have gone for a coupe..

[bluesbrother60]

Personally I prefer the sedan over the coupe. I think that it has a more sophisticated apperance. Plus I am just a fan of the lines on the sedan over the coupe. Suffice to say I am one of the rare few that strongly believe that BMW should release a sedan version of the M3...I know there are not many of us, but I truely believe that would be the car for me. That may be why I have always prefered the M5 over the M3. And I also like the facelift that they did on my car. It is agressive yet does not allow for bugs to get caught in too many places...!!!

[undien717]

You're car looks very much like mine- only mine is the '04 model and my color is Silver Gray Metallic. The color of the car and the wheels (style 119) are new for '04. They didn't have the Steel Gray Metallic color anymore by the time I purchased my car. The color is a little bit lighter than the Steel Gray, but I think it still looks nice. The options I got are the Bi-Xenon lights, Power Glass Moonroof, and the Sports Package. Here is the link to the pics- http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?p=104477#104477

I got the 5-speed MT also. The gearbox is a lot smoother that the Integra GS-R that I used to have and it's a lot more fun to drive. The handling is remarkable and the ride is nice and firm. I'm glad that you got the MT instead of the Steptronic because it makes a world of difference.


But they've been adding stuff to it all the time now. Like this year all coupes, convertible and M3s cars are equipped w/ LED taillights, don't know about the Sedan yet.

If you're referring to the adaptive brake lights, where the brake lights light up brighter when the brakes are slammed to enhance visibility, all the current 3 series models have that.


Personally I prefer the sedan over the coupe. I think that it has a more sophisticated appearance. Plus I am just a fan of the lines on the sedan over the coupe. Suffice to say I am one of the rare few that strongly believe that BMW should release a sedan version of the M3...I know there are not many of us, but I truly believe that would be the car for me. That may be why I have always preferred the M5 over the M3. And I also like the facelift that they did on my car. It is aggressive yet does not allow for bugs to get caught in too many places...!!!

In terms of the 325 and the 330, the 0-60 times are the identical whether it's a coupe or sedan, so the overall performance is very similar. I took the 325i over the 325ci because it performs the same and you can sit passengers more comfortably in it. It's a sports car for everyday use.

In terms of an M version of the 3 series sedan, There is a Performance Package in the US that is available (M Sports Package II) for the 330i. It comes with an M aerodynamic kit (front bumper, side skirts, and rear apron), Alcantara M steering wheel, Alcantara seats, silver or black cube trim, M shift knob with a short shifter, a stiffer suspension than the sport package ( with a -.5 camber on the front for more tire contact with the road on corners), black housing lights with black window trim (sportier look), stronger flywheel for a higher redline (6,500 rpm), 10 more hp and 8 more ft/lb of torque, and M wheels that are 18 x 8.0 front, 18 x 8.5 rear;,225/40R-18 front, 255/35R-18 rear (style 135M). This package narrows the wide gap between the regular 3 series and the M3. Car and Driver Magazine rates the 0-60 on the 330i Performance Package to be 5.6 sec, compared to the 6.1 sec 0-60 time for the standard 330i (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=6978&page_number=1).

Here are some pictures of the 330i Performance Package:
http://www.superhonda.com/photopost/data/512/3652ZHP1.jpg
http://www.superhonda.com/photopost/data/512/3652ZHP2.jpg

[bluesbrother60]

I am fully aware of the Performance Package available for the 330i. However, due to growing demands the Performance Package(which was the only way to have a performance-based 3-Series sedan) will be available as an option on the 330ci and the 330cic. So once again sedan lovers will lose their competitive advantage...

[ae86_16v]

I am fully aware of the Performance Package available for the 330i. However, due to growing demands the Performance Package(which was the only way to have a performance-based 3-Series sedan) will be available as an option on the 330ci and the 330cic. So once again sedan lovers will lose their competitive advantage...

Huh? It is still gonna be available for the Sedan after it is available for the Coupe.

Or are you saying you want something exclusive? Just for Sedan only?

Undien: That 330i looks Super Clean!!!

[bluesbrother60]

The Performance Package will still be available for the sedan. Sadly it will also be available for the coupe and convertible as well. I think that the Performance Package should only be available for the sedan. The coupe and convertible have the M3....the sedan has only the Performance Package.