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Goodbye to the f30 - not a luxury vehicle, nor sporty enough

67K views 936 replies 113 participants last post by  BeemerGuy 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I recognize this is an f30 forum and I've spent a couple of years browsing/commenting as I considered and re-considered an f30 - and finally made my decision against it after another week in a loaner. I'm a BMWCCA member, a long-time forum member, and owner of 2 BMW's - I'm not a troll and my intent behind this thread is to bring to BMW's attention what areas they could improve upon to increase sales even more (perhaps in an LCI). Many on here have different priorities than me and have found great satisfaction in the f30 - I respect that.

The thread "Is the f30 a luxury car?" got me thinking about it: I want to love the f30, but the as-built price for me is around $55k. Do I get $55k worth of luxury, and sufficient sportiness? I received a 2013 f30 loaner this past week. I've put about 1,000 miles on F30 loaners - from fully loaded to stripped down XI versions. I've driven n20, n55, 6mt, and 8-speed auto versions. And I finally reached my answer of no....

I'll detail out the whys - my reasons are somewhat different from what you read before from others - but the bottom line is that the 3-series is no longer the best at anything, nor the best "cross-trainer". It's neither the most luxurious in the segment, nor the most sporty. Yet it is the most expensive.

Luxury/Overall Interior Experience

I very carefully went into this most recent loaner with an open mind to re-evaluate. I also had 3 relatives from all different backgrounds get in and without prejudice give me their opinions.

I didn't prime or lead any of these comments:

My father, who is middle income but whose past includes BMW and Porsche, exclaimed how beautiful the exterior was and then after getting inside said "How much does this cost?" and I told him $38k base. He then stated it didn't feel like a $38k car - lot of cheap materials in sight. This was primarily a reflection on the door card and door grab, the dash in front of the passenger, the center console look (this was a black on aluminum model), and the headliner/sun visor.

My brother, who is middle income but always owned cheap cars and drives them into the ground, felt it was nice but not impressive. Nothing stuck out at him as luxurious or very expensive, just overall decent.

My wife, who daily drives an e60 535xit, just felt it was cheap in comparison. She was especially disgusted by the sun visors which I hadn't remembered and when felt were worse than those I've felt in many $20k vehicles.

At the end of this week, my own opinions are similar. I love the layout and design, but the materials are in no way befitting a vehicle with an as-sold price of likely $45-52k for me. There are obvious signs of cheapness (i.e. sun visor).

In addition, wind noise is nicely suppressed until highway speed. It's a bit embarrassing on Bluetooth when cruising at 80. Road noise is more present than I'd like from even low speeds. The e90 was a bit quieter in both areas and found the right balance, BMW moved away here.

Where it is a luxury vehicle is in the driving experience itself. The composure of the f30 is simply phenomenal. It's sporting but isolated enough for luxury. The steering is fine - the different lines offer different steering feel options. It's not heavy for the sake of heavy, nor too light - and it's very responsive with a nice tight ratio.

Engines

The n20 and n55 engines are spectacular. The power and efficiency they offer, as well as rather simple ownership experience in terms of maintenance, is great. I'm glad the n20 is offered by BMW. And it loves to rev.

That being said, after putting about 500 miles on the n20 in an f30 - it's sound is completely unacceptable. Frequently at idle with the windows up and the radio off I could hear almost a diesel clatter type sound. And off idle/low engine speeds, the engine sounds like crap. As the rev it out, the induction sound is poor. And this is windows up - meaning I can't get away from it. I would do as others have done and stick an intake and exhaust on this vehicle just to tune the sound of the engine.

I've owned 2.0 liter and 2.0 liter turbo engines. The only engine that sounded worse was the 2.0 liter turbo engine in a 2002-2005 Subaru WRX. In fact, Subaru's 2.5 liter turbo engine sounded better than this and that engine was agricultural as well.

The N20 is a phenomenal engine that produces a sound I'd find distasteful in a $25k car - let alone in a $38k+ vehicle. The n55 is fitting, but no longer the star engine for this class of vehicles.

Steering

I find it to be perfectly fine and it can be tuned with different lines, wheels/tires, suspension options, and switching off run-flats. This is good solid steering. Cadillac's ATS does it better, but otherwise this is best in class.

I noticed a weird lag between my sharply turning the wheel, suddenly, and the response - but I blame that on very cold weather + all seasons.

Braking

Classic 3-series braking. A bit touchy up top, but otherwise firm, predictable, and easily modulated. This was probably the single best element of this vehicle - besides being touchy in low-speeds, this is simply an outstanding stock braking system.

Chassis/Suspension

The chassis is the star of the f30. It's so solid yet so responsive. It's sporty and luxurious. It is best in class to me and finds the best balance.

Overall Experience

I've driven Infiniti, Lexus, MB C-class, Audi A4, Cadillac ATS, and of course BMW. The 3-series has always previously been the benchmark - the blend of both luxury and sportiness that defined the segment. It wasn't always the fastest, nor the most luxurious, but the common theme of "the sum of its parts" was the most further along in both was the case.

I don't feel that way about the f30 now though. I really enjoy the design, the layout, the space, the features. I WANT to love it. I wanted to lease or buy CPO, perhaps even do European delivery.

But the way I want to build it it would be $55k-ish. And it's just not giving me a $55k experience.

I'm going to stick around for this thread and peruse in the future, maybe check in on some other things, but otherwise I'll be waiting to see what the f80 m3 offers with a full leather interior and other upgrades.

Thanks for reading this and I welcome thoughts and feedback. I don't mind being challenged.
 
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#850 ·
Yeah, CarMax in Virginia beach has a 2014 335i with m-sport, tech, and premium packages for $46k. 2k miles on it. Manual trans.

My problem has been with the value of these cars priced out brand new. But we shall see where I wind up...
 
#863 ·
Hi guys.
I don't have a BMW yet. I'm semi successfull professional with just under six figures and just turned 40.
I want a fun sports sedan. I was eyeing up saving money by going with a 2year old or so 2011 msport 335...now after studying the f30 I think it be a shame to spend almost 40k on an e90.

I just feel bad spending so much money I a car. Spent 38k for my wife's mdx 5 years ago.. Was it worth it? Somewhat.. It's aging well and feels nice to drive at 90k miles

I'm hoping I could find a nice litely used msport f30 bc I think you save money over buying new.
 
#864 ·
Hi guys.
I don't have a BMW yet. I'm semi successfull professional with just under six figures and just turned 40.
I want a fun sports sedan. I was eyeing up saving money by going with a 2year old or so 2011 msport 335...now after studying the f30 I think it be a shame to spend almost 40k on an e90.

I just feel bad spending so much money I a car. Spent 38k for my wife's mdx 5 years ago.. Was it worth it? Somewhat.. It's aging well and feels nice to drive at 90k miles

I'm hoping I could find a nice litely used msport f30 bc I think you save money over buying new.
Man you sure at opening up a big can of worms with this post... The worth of the vehicle is what you are willing to pay for it. BTW, you can pick up a 2011 335i for less then 40K and BMW is always having some sort of special financing on 2010 or 2011 3 series.
 
#868 ·
Buying a used car today isn't as hard as people make it out to be, with carfax and getting repair records from dealers pretty easy to see if a car has been taken care of. The OP wouldn't be happy with a 320i, and if done right, one can get a great deal on a 328i.
 
#869 ·
Buying a new BMW is a hard task now.... like going to a department store... so many models to choose from
 
#872 · (Edited)
they are untill they see

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

X1
X2
X3
X4
X5
X6

1M
M3
M4
M5
M6
M2
M8

M1xx
M2xx

2GT
3GT
3GT
5GT

Z4
Z2. ... Coming

i3
i8

2 active touring

etc etc etc
 
#884 ·
I really like the f30, but I'm going to have to agree that it is not worth 50k-plus in 328 form. It's a good car to buy in slightly used form, if you can drive without a couple of the technology options.

The engine is great, unless you simply have to do a sub-5 second 0-60 run once a year, and, on the "luxury" end, I have a buddy with a low-mile '11 328, and the f30 interior blows that one away. That being said, I get into mine, and I never mentally feel that I'm inside a car with a luxury configuration, and I'm not sure it was designed to be that way, really, which is great, because the 3-series was never meant to be a luxury car anyway. It's being marketed in the luxury car segment, more than ever, in order to sell cars to folks who don't really get what a 3-series is supposed to be.

Should a car potentially costing 55k, new, run faster than the 328 does? Probably.
 
#889 ·
decided against f30...

i've been a big bmw fan over the years, but haven't ever owned one for very long. first and only one i owned was an e36, which i loved. over the years i looked closely at e46, e90, and then f30 without pulling any triggers. the f30 interior is very comfy, and the first time a 3-series was ever comfy in the back seat. the ride is comfortable, the car seems solid, but it fails to excite. "Exciting" was the reason i was originally drawn to the brand. i have driven f30 335, 328 and 320. the 320 really was the last i drove and i left me with a very bad taste in my mouth - that an exclusive sporty brand would have such a boring transport vehicle. i thought that the bmw "dna" and differentiator in the marketplace was an exciting drive, no matter if the engine was small or large.

i've been wanting to pull the trigger on a bmw recently, and after driving the F30 sedan without much interest, i spent some time thinking about going in the direction of a 911, but was hesitant because of the practicality, so i said to myself i'd wait for the 3-GT to see if that does it for me, then the coupe, then the 2 series, then the Gran Coupe, but i finally came to the realization that i really don't think they'll be much different. too numb and too much technology that gets in the way.

after the 320i drive, it hit me that i'm going to have to go backwards to get what i was seeking, and i found an e90 and it was night and day - in the e90 i'm driving IT...controlling IT and the master of IT...not just along for the ride as i felt in the f30.
 
#895 ·
Bottom line is:

The F30 does what it was meant to do, and it does it well. It never paraded around as the greatest sports coupe ever and it never claimed to be as luxurious as a Rolls Royce.

But it's a healthy balance of both.
 
#901 ·
Honestly, I can't say I like the looks anymore because BMW decided to show us what the racing version looks like and it's impossible for the poor street car to live up to that. )':

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
#904 · (Edited)
There's talk of it. There are lots of renderings floating around. However, the latest comments I've seen from BMW indicate they may not do one, because they are concerned about cannibalizing 3er and 4 GC sales.

I've seen the new A3 and it looks great! Personally I think BMW will lose a lot of sales to that car if they don't produce a 1er or 2er sedan. And, of course, there's the Merc CLA.
 
#919 ·
I saw the new f80 m3 at the car show. Realizing I haven't driven it yet, I'm willing to put $64k towards it as of right now given it's total overall package. It is sexier to me on the outside than the f30, the interior addresses a lot of my key complaints, and the specs seem to indicate it's going to be a blast to drive.

We shall see....
 
#922 ·
Why did you resurrect a zombie thread from over 2 years ago to comment to the OP? I never understand when people do that...
 
#932 ·
The 3/4 series is now a boring car

No other way to put it. This is my 4th BMW in a row and Im bored with it. Thats after I had a 535Xi and traded it 6 months early because of how bad the handling and seating position was. It was a worse ride than an Impala. Spent a bunch of money to make my 335 handle better and look special. Still a mostly boring drive. Its fast yes but so is a Golf R.
 
#934 ·
No other way to put it. This is my 4th BMW in a row and Im bored with it. Thats after I had a 535Xi and traded it 6 months early because of how bad the handling and seating position was. It was a worse ride than an Impala. Spent a bunch of money to make my 335 handle better and look special. Still a mostly boring drive. Its fast yes but so is a Golf R.
Have you tried F80 with JB ?
 
#933 ·
One thing about owning a 2007 e90 was its unreliability.

What we probably seek in the f30, in particular the b58 engine, is reliability.

Wonder if we will all end up getting into the machinations ... Like many of us had to with the e90, in particular, the n54 engine.

:dunno:
 
#935 ·
One thing about owning a 2007 e90 was its unreliability.

What we probably seek in the f30, in particular the b58 engine, is reliability.

Wonder if we will all end up getting into the machinations ... Like many of us had to with the e90, in particular, the n54 engine.

:dunno:
The N54 was a Beta experiment. They perfected it, and stuck it in the F80.
 
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