I bought my first (but definitely not last) BMW about a year ago. It is a 1992 BMW 325i and, WOW, what a car! My interest in BMW began with a coworker's 1986 325. I saw his car in the parking lot at work for several months and just thought that it was a nice looking car. I didn't even know what year it was. Then I rode in it and everything changed for me. I was immediately impressed that this thirteen year old car could be so tight, quiet, and rattle-free. In fact, I had never been in a new car that was put together this well. I was already looking for a new car, so I began doing some research on the BMW and everything I learned told me that I wanted to own one. I started looking around and, about a month later, I bought my 325i. I just can't recommend it highly enough.

What's great about this car?

The driving experience - power. The first reason to buy the BMW is that it is so fun to drive. I look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work because I get to drive there in this car! The 189 hp 2.5 liter inline six cylinder engine gives it all the get-up-and-go that you will ever need. It moves like no four door sedan I've ever driven. While the performance isn't quite at the Corvette level, it is more than you will need for your daily commute. I highly recommend the five speed manual transmission over the automatic. My car has considerably more pep than the automatic 325s or even 328s I have driven.

The driving experience - handling. BMW has built a suspension that you just won't believe unless you have actually driven it. There is almost no body roll (car leaning toward the outside of the turn) even when cornering at excessive speeds. I can easily see why it has been a road racing favorite for year. Riding with my wife in the minivan always scares me after she has been driving the BMW.

Reliability. BMWs seem to last forever. I bought mine with 78,000 miles, it now has 90,000 miles, and it feels like a new car. When I was researching the BMW before I bought it, I found several people who were driving BMWs with over 300,000 miles. I almost bought a 1996 BMW 328 with 97,000 miles and had a mechanic tell me that it was just getting broken in. The fact is that I've never met anyone who has actually managed to wear out a BMW. Every time I tell someone that my car is a 1992 model, they invariably say, "I thought it was much newer." I've owned my car for a year and never done any maintenance other oil changes. You will actually save money by buying the more expensive BMW because you would wear out three cheaper cars in the life of one BMW.

Economy. The mileage is quite remarkable for a car that performs this impressively. I typically get 27 mpg on the highway and 21 mpg in town.

Comfort. There is no doubt that this is a luxury car, the small price notwithstanding. When I went to the local BMW dealership, I told them that I was specifically looking for a car without leather seats, but in the end I bought the car with leather seats - it is hard to find one that doesn't have leather. This soon became one of my favorite features about the car. These seats are the most comfortable that I've ever encountered. They are unbelievably soft and are perfectly formed to fit my body. Oh, did I mention that the seats are heated? You must experience this to believe how nice it is. The leather is also very stain resistant. My kids have spilled everything imaginable on the back seat and it has all easily wiped clean. I drove the car from Maryland to California last summer with no pain whatsoever. I have heard some people complain about the cramped back seat, but my kids have plenty of room. I will say that if you have children, you should go with the four door 325i over the two door 325is. It is much easier to get into the back.

Luxury - it's standard. My car is loaded with features. It has power windows, power door locks, heated power mirrors, a sunroof, and a security button so the children can't put the back windows down. One of my favorites things about the car is that you can't lock the keys in it (which has been a bit of a problem for me in other cars, I'm embarrassed to admit). If you lock the doors before you close the driver's door, they will all pop unlocked when you close the door. After you close the door and lock it with the key, all the doors and the trunk lock automatically. The gauge package immediately identifies this as a performance car. The best thing is that most of these features are standard equipment so the base price and the price you actually pay for the car are unusually close to the same.

Safety. Maybe this should be at the top of the list. BMW is one of the highest rated cars on the market for safety. Dual airbags are standard. The rear seatbelts pull down from the center for added child protection, and the standard four wheel anti-lock disc brakes will stop the car quickly without skidding under any driving conditions.

Security. The car is very difficult to steal because the engine's computer control system is disabled unless the chip mounted in the key is in place.

Great sound system. The standard Alpine AM-FM cassette system delivers excellent sound. It is also pre-wired from the factory to accept a CD changer. The CD mount is installed in the trunk.

A real spare tire. A full-sized spare is also standard equipment. It is even mounted on the nice BMW alloy rim that matches the other wheels.

A nice trip computer. The gauge package includes a gas mileage indicator that is close to useless because it ranges from 2 mpg to 40+ mpg depending on the engine strain at that exact instant. However, the trip computer calculates gas mileage averaged since you last reset it and is very accurate. The trip computer also calculates range on current tank of gas, distance to a given point, and constantly runs a diagnostic check to tell you if anything is wrong with the car. I has about a thousand other features that I haven't yet figured out how to use.

What's not so great?

No cup holders. I know this may be a minor downside to such a great car, but I always have something to drink so it is quite annoying to me.

Parts and service are expensive. Fortunately, it is so reliable that you almost never have any repairs to worry about, but if you do - get ready to take out a second mortgage.

Where should you buy a BMW?

Only from a BMW dealer or from an individual. I looked at over a dozen BMWs on used car lots and every one gave me some reason to be suspicious. One thing you should look out for from the dealers, though, is the "certified pre-owned" program. In some ways, this is a great program because the certified cars come with a 100,000 mile warranty, but they are so reliable that you will be very unlikely to need the warranty anyway. The certified cars will certainly be in superb condition because in order to be certified they must have less than 50,000 miles and have had all maintenance done by a BMW certified facility. The downside is that you will pay almost as much for a certified pre-owned BMW as you would for a new one.