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- BMW 3 Series 323 SE
- afrocub's review
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| Performance | 8.8/10  |
|---|---|
| Practicality | 9.3/10 |
| Reliability | 8.2/10 |
| Value for Money | 8.2/10 |
| Reviewer Rating | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 9.1/10  |
By afrocub
on 23rd Dec 2003
| Performance | 8/10 |
|---|---|
| Practicality | 8/10 |
| Reliability | 9/10 |
| Value for money | 8/10 |
| Overall value | 8/10 |
 afrocub's recommendation | |
Good looking, fast and great handling.
Expensive to maintain and thirsty in town.
I have had my 323i SE for over 5 years and 50k miles now and I still love it. I had meant to change it after 3 years for another manufacturers estate (growing family) but I just could'nt. The snarl of the inline six as you gun the accelerator and the precise handling can only really be bettered by a balls out sports car with no boot space and room for only two.
This is all the car you would ever need as long as you do not have more than two kids.
Alas as they get bigger they would find that the lack of leg room is a pain, aswell as the boot is far too small to take the family's luggage for a two week trip to the South of France or Devon.
The car is very thirsty in London traffic where I average 17 mpg but on a long run at autobahn speeds I will get 30mph. Once, due to a missing wheel nut and BMW's advice to keep it at 50mph, we got 50mpg on a 500 mile run through Europe overnight.
Service costs are high, even using a specialist rather than a 'real' BMW dealer but they only come about every 10,000 miles, so they are easy to bear.
Body work costs are astronomical, this due to alot of vandelism in its early life, so I do leave the dents and scratches for a meaner look, although it is still kept shiny and bright.
I have to say that this is the first car that I have owned that I have longed to get back to after having a brand new hire car, even including BMW's own Z4.
| Helpful | Unhelpful | Agree | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total Respect: +2
