After my daughter Avery was born in early 2014, the occupants of my garage, a track-prepped 2008 Subaru STI and retro-cruiser 1993 Volvo 240 wagon, left me wanting to trade performance and nostalgia for comfort and reliability. I wouldn’t say I was overwhelmed with my introduction to fatherhood, but things like track days, car meets, and wrenching in the garage for hours on end certainly took a back seat to our new family member. So, I began searching for a more family-friendly car packed with the appropriate amount of performance and practicality while still having some “cool factor.” Oh, and it had to be a wagon, which significantly shortened the list of potential candidates.
Cars on that short list included the 2015 Volvo V60 R Design, 2015 Subaru Legacy 3.6R, and 2015 BMW 328i Sport Wagon (F31). I tried to be objective about this choice, so I made a list of “requirements” and then test-drove and scored each vehicle against those requirements. Surprisingly, the BMW didn’t win on paper due to things like price and cargo capacity, but in the end, that’s the one I really wanted. I threw out my scoring system and declared the BMW wagon the winner. The BMW’s best-of-the-bunch ZF 8HP automatic transmission, chassis balance, performance, and style pushed it to the top of the list.
In December 2014, I placed an order at BMW of Sterling, speccing the exact F31 I wanted—an Alpine White 2015 328i Sport Wagon equipped with some key extras: the M Sport Package, M Sport brakes, Dynamic Handling Package with Adaptive M Suspension and Variable Sport Steering, Lighting Package with Xenon headlights, Driver Assistance Package, Premium Package, Navigation package, and other odds and ends like factory gloss black kidney grilles to match the Shadowline exterior trim, gloss black interior highlights, and anthracite headliner. Unlike F31s sold outside of the North American market, manual transmissions and sunroof deletes were not options for US-spec F31s.
Checking that healthy list of option boxes elevated the base MSRP of $41,950 to a suggested retail price of $54,950. Thankfully, I was able to negotiate something a bit cheaper, even with a seven-year warranty. As a bonus, this was when BMW offered a standard four-year, 50,000-mile warranty and four years of free maintenance, which was just the kind of worry-free driving I was after with a baby at home.
After placing the order, when I wasn’t making a daily call to BMW’s automated delivery status hotline to get an update, I prepped my hot-hatchback Subaru STI for sale and made plans to give the 1993 Volvo 240 back to my Dad—a car we had traded back and forth over the years. At the end of February 2015, the F31 arrived in port and was delivered to the dealership shortly thereafter. My pickup date happened to coincide with an impending snowstorm, and as it so happened, it began snowing—and icing!—while I was signing the final paperwork. Let’s just say there was a bit of white-knuckle driving while I tested the grip limits of the summer-only Bridgestone Potenza S001s in snow and ice.
Summer tires in a snowstorm!?! Well, as it turned out for 2015 models, optioning the M Sport brakes forced a staggered 441M wheel and performance-summer-tire setup with 225/45R18s on the front and 255/40R18s on the rear. Not my brightest decision, but we made it home unscathed—barely. A few days later, I serendipitously found a set of brand-new zero-mile BMW 400M wheels and all-season tires on Facebook Marketplace (which are the wheels that would have come on this car without M Sport brakes) and promptly installed those for the remainder of winter and early spring.
- Wagon things—fitting 4 wheels and tires without having to fold down the rear seats.
- Fresh 400Ms with new tires. Go!
Within the first month, I performed a few small “mods,” if you could even classify them as that. The “mods” included a tow-hook license plate bracket (because I requested the dealership not drill a license plate bracket into the glorious M Sport bumper), WeatherTech floor liners, a BMW rubber trunk mat, and BMW cross bars to accept the Thule cargo box and bike attachments I’ve retrofitted on my cars for the past twenty years—mostly stuff for utility and practicality. My 1991 318iS, which followed me home a year after buying the F31, and my 1998 M3, which joined us in late 2022, are the cars that get all the “fun” parts while this 3 Series wagon stays stock.
The 328i’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged gas burner packs plenty of punch for the 3,800-pound vehicle. Rated at 240 horsepower and 270 pound-feet, the N20 engine pulls strongly with the ZF 8HP transmission, providing optimally timed solid and fast shifts. If you’re in the mood for really wringing it out, the wheel-mounted flappy paddles or console-mounted shifter provide complete control of the transmission. This generation of N20 engines has a reputation for potential plastic timing guide failures, but frequent oil changes with quality oil alleviate some of those concerns.
- The F31 sees some track time. Photo by Dan Hurwitz.
- The N20 is under that cover, somewhere.
Since taking ownership, this F31 has really seen regular preventive maintenance and, thankfully, only minor repairs. A handful of under-warranty services—fixing a leaking oil cooler, replacing bad thrust-arm bushings, and a behind-the-dash HVAC fix—ensured the extended warranty paid for itself. In addition to helping work on our 1991 318iS and 1998 M3, my daughter Avery and son Carter have learned basic wrenching skills by assisting with F31 wheel and tire changes, oil changes, and loads of other maintenance. They even appeared, with tools in hand, in the photo chosen as the winner of BimmerLife’s weekly Garage Goals contest in 2020. At home, we’ve knocked out things like front and rear differential oil changes, brake fluid flushes, brake pad changes, oil changes, spark plug and coil pack replacements, and more. A local shop, RRT, handled the not-so-lifetime-fill ZF 8HP transmission flush and filter change. Overall, it has been a very reliable vehicle.
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The BimmerLife Garage Goals contest, which seems like forever ago, based on how young Avery and Carter were at the time.
Our F31 has seen its fair share of automotive adventures over the past decade. We’ve taken it from our home in Northern Virginia on nearly yearly trips to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We went on a long-haul road trip to Florida to experience the Harry Potter parks at Universal Studios and Kennedy Space Center. We’ve visited Jamestown and Williamsburg to learn about U.S. history. We’ve ventured deep into the mountains and stayed at a remote cabin. This wagon has even seen some track time at nearby Summit Motorsports Park in West Virginia. We’ve attended numerous National Capital Chapter events, including a couple of full-day driving tours.
- A trip to Kennedy Space Center.
- Silly wagon things.
The Adaptive M Suspension works well and is exercised regularly, choosing the appropriate setting depending on whether we’re on the highway or on curvy back roads. The xDrive system does its job, and given this our go-to “snowmobile,” it has seen its fair share of snow. We exercised all of these features during a January 2025 road trip to Snowshoe, West Virginia, covering over one hundred miles on snow-covered mountain roads in sub-freezing temperatures. For Spring Break 2025, we’re heading up to Niagara Falls and Toronto. Which car are we taking? The F31, of course.
After ten years and only 66,000 miles, the F31 has treated us well. Things that I enjoy most about this long-roof 3 Series are the utility and practicality, and, in my eyes, it still exudes “cool car vibes”. I turn around to look back at it every time I park. If that isn’t a sign that you bought the right car, I don’t know what is.
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In just four years, Avery will likely be driving our F31. She has already been bitten by the BMW bug.
What does the future hold for this proper-roof-length 3 Series? More trips to the hardware store, more family road trips, more pleasure drives, and perhaps it will serve as Avery’s first car when she gets her learner’s permit in four years. It’s amazing to think she was riding in this car as an infant and will be driving it herself in just a handful of years. Here’s to another ten years of F31 ownership! — Mike Bevels
- Photo by Dan Hurwitz.
- Factory-installed M Sport brakes on a 3 Series wagon.