BMW 3 series 3.0i?

[ahausheer]

My friend has a 2006/07 BMW 3 series. The door jam sticker says its a 325iA but the numbering on the rear bumper says 3.0i. He says it is a euro spec model and was imported to the US. I cant find anything online. Anyone know what the 3.0i labeling is doing on a 3 series?

[Black Tire]

This car is a BMW 325i. It should say this on the rear trunk lid, but it has been the fashion for a few years now to remove such markings. The 3.0 refers to the size of the engine. In this case, the car has a 3.0 liter inline 6-cyclinder engine. The "i" refers to the fact that it is fuel injected. 2006-2007 BMW 325i's all came with 3.0 liter engines standard.

I found the attached image online for a car that is for sale somewhere on the web. It also lists the car as 325iA. Note that if you read the text, it is likely that this car was intended for the USA because it says it conforms to all U.S. standards. Also, you can tell that the car was made in Germany in October of 2005. The "A" in the name likely refers to the variation of the 325i. If BMW were to significantly change the car midway through a production cycle, they would list the new variation as 325iB to keep them strait, but would still market the car as just a 325i.

If you are really interested, you can take the car to a BMW dealer and they can enter the VIN and they should be able to tell you the entire history of where it was made and initially sold.

[ahausheer]

I think A is for automatic. I have just never seen the trunk lid and side bumper with 3.0i lettering on a 3 series. Its a mystery to me. I know its a 325i I am just wondering if there is such thing as a 3.0i model designation.

[Black Tire]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

I think A is for automatic. I have just never seen the trunk lid and side bumper with 3.0i lettering on a 3 series. Its a mystery to me. I know its a 325i I am just wondering if there is such thing as a 3.0i model designation.

I have never seen one. It might be an aftermarket kit applied to a normal 325i.

[bestwheelbase]

Originally Posted by ahausheer

I have just never seen the trunk lid and side bumper with 3.0i lettering on a 3 series.

Correct, because the 3 series always uses 3 series model designations like 325i, 330i, etc. It was the X and Z cars that got abbreviated stuff like 2.5i and 3.0i.

Originally Posted by ahausheer

He says it is a euro spec model and was imported to the US.

Doubtful.

[ahausheer]

Thats for the imput.

[bestwheelbase]

Yep, sounds like there was something lost in translation.