3-series owners

Actually I'll argue that compared to other entry-level luxury cars, 3-series has by far the largest proportion of driving enthusiasts. Why? Because for the same amount of money or less, you could have bought larger cars, more comfortable cars, more reliable cars, or more powerful cars. For someone to forego all those possibilities and get a 3-series, he has to value the total driving experience more.

By the way, don't pretend that most people don't know that BMW is not the most reliable brand, and that we have to hear about your personal experience (albeit unfortunate) to learn it. There are plenty of surveys and publications that purport to measure reliability.

Also, a "low-level 3 series" doesn't exclude driving pleasure. A 328i is not a muscle car a la Corvette, but still has a well-tuned chassis that few other sedans can match.