2015 BMW 3 Series

Carvana (opens in a new tab) calls the 2015 3 Series largely a carryover with standard proximity keyless entry as its most important update, says it received no lineup-wide engine or transmission changes, and describes the range as the sixth-generation F30 sedan, F31 Sports Wagon and F34 Gran Turismo, with 2015 the last pre-refresh model year for the sedan and Sports Wagon. The lineup runs from the 320i through diesel and ActiveHybrid versions. Kelley Blue Book (opens in a new tab) notes the year also brings the fifth-generation M3.

KBB lists fuel economy from 20/30 to 32/45 mpg city and highway, and EPA rates the 2015 3 Series at 23 to 36 mpg combined and $2,500 to $3,350 a year in fuel, the top figure being the diesel.

NHTSA lists eight recall campaigns for the 2015 3 Series, several filed years after sale. The air-bag ones are 24V527000, a driver's air-bag inflator that may explode during deployment because of a manufacturing defect, and 24V288000, a head air-bag inflator that may fail at the weld joint and leak gas or rupture, for which dealers replace the head air bags. The diesel ones are 18V755000 and 21V907000, an EGR cooler that may leak internally so coolant mixes with soot and can smolder and melt the intake manifold, and 21V586000, a high-pressure fuel pump that may fail. The others are 24V608000, a water-pump electrical connector that can short-circuit, 20V185000, a constant-velocity joint that may be damaged and cause loss of power to the rear wheels, and 15V520000, software that can make the front side marker lights inoperative.

Owners have filed 196 complaints with NHTSA: electrical system with 67, engine and engine cooling with 44, engine with 42, fuel and propulsion system with 32, unknown or other with 30 and power train with 20.

Kelley Blue Book lists the cheapest 2015 3 Series, the 320i sedan, at a Fair Purchase Price of $8,175, with trade-in values from about $4,000 to $10,450 and private-party values from about $7,250 to $13,950 depending on trim. The 24V527000 and 24V288000 air-bag campaigns are the ones to settle on any used example, and on a diesel the EGR-cooler and fuel-pump work.

EPA rates the 2015 3 Series at 23 to 36 mpg combined. The 2015 Audi A4 rates 24 to 26 at $3,000 to $3,250, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class 15 to 28 at $2,750 to $5,150 and the Lexus IS 21 to 24 at $3,250 to $3,700. On EPA figures the 3 Series reaches the highest efficiency of the four because of its diesel and hybrid, and its base fuel cost is the lowest.