What if I get a BMW?

[The Norseman]

I've been looking at used BMW's lately (mainly 3-Series). If I can find one I really like that's not too expensive, I might buy it.

Right now I'm driving an '87 Porsche 944S that is getting a little long in the tooth. I've learned an awful lot over the years about older Porsches and their maintenance needs. However I know next to nothing about BMW's. For example, I know that if you don't change the timing belts on older 16-valve Porsche engines ruffly every 60,000 miles (cost of about $600!), you're just asking for a broken belt, bent push-rods and $2000 worth of engine rebuild.

If I were to get say a 1997 - 2000 BMW 325 or 328, what types of up-keep/maintenance concerns would there be?

Please feel free to pass this around to any of your knowledgeable friends for their input, too.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[04_Euro_Delivery]

If you have a Porsche, you should already know about Pelican Parts. (www.pelicanparts.com). The owner of the site authored a book "101 Projects for Your Porsche 911." The site is about more that 911s however. The author is planning a new book "101 Projects for your 3 Series." It sounds like you should check it out if you do maintenance yourself.

There is a lot of good knowledge here too.

 

[The Norseman]

I posted this in the NEWBIE section and nobody has responded. I thought I might have better luck here:

I've been looking at used BMW's lately (mainly 3-Series). If I can find one I really like that's not too expensive, I might buy it.

Right now I'm driving an '87 Porsche 944S that is getting a little long in the tooth. I've learned an awful lot over the years about older Porsches and their maintenance needs. However I know next to nothing about BMW's. For example, I know that if you don't change the timing belts on older 16-valve Porsche engines ruffly every 60,000 miles (cost of about $600!), you're just asking for a broken belt, bent push-rods and $2000 worth of engine rebuild.

If I were to get say a 1997 - 2000 BMW 325 or 328, what types of up-keep/maintenance concerns would there be?

Please feel free to pass this around to any of your knowledgeable friends for their input, too.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[The Norseman]

Thanks, 04_Euro_Delivery. I've been dealing with the guys at Pelican for years. They have great product at fair prices and they really know their stuff, too.

I actually have a friend who runs a small used German car dealership/repair shop. So they do most of the work on my car, but to save money, I usually find out what I need, then buy it from Pelican.

I've been a Porsche enthusiast for years. I'm just breaking ground with BMW, however.

 

[Zchild]

You would definitely have to consider the cost of Schedule I and Schedule II maintenance at a cost of about $300.00+ for S-I and about $600.00+ for S-II. My last schedule II was at 115K. I am currently replacing all drive belts at 125K because the cars computer asked me nicely. Most maintenance is asked for by the cars computer via an engine check light or at key intervals of engine life. The problems start when you do not honor the cars computer wishes. the cost come in the form of regular scheduled maintenance and routine oil/filter changes.

 

[Kirby]

One thing you don't have to worry about is timing belts. All of the more recent BMW engines use a timing chain.

Two sources of information that are helpful:
auto.consumerguide.com has a review area for used vehicles that lists common problems.
alldata.com lists recall and TSB information.

This helps to get familiar with what you might expect when buying a used car. I am using this information now, looking for a mid 90's 3 series.

 

[The Norseman]

Thanks a lot, Kirby!!

I'm checking them out now, too.

 

[rjp325i]

You don't have to worry about breaking timing belts on the model years you are interested in because they utilize timing chains. The newer BMW also come from the factory with synthetic oil and an oil change uses 7 qts with the filter.

 

[Section_8]

I'd say less than your porsche, but more than most american cars (except if you want to count repeat visits from american cars? ), and less than most eastern cars(They last forever..). Keep everything regular as people already said, and you'll be well off (routine maint. is the thing to do). The parts are just 'more' than some cars. Not nearly as bad as porsches though.

Aim for a 99 or 00 so you can get a CPO - low milage, limited warranty, a car that's accident free, and inspected. It'd be a car that you'll be fine in for many years with routine maint.

 

[The Norseman]

Sounding good...

These responses seem pretty good; thanks, guys.

I am a newbie here, however, so can I get a little more detail on what exactly the S-I and S-II services include. If it's like every 15,000 or 30,000 miles that these are needed, then that is no problem at all. One of the reasons I'm looking into a BMW is that I DON'T LIKE SURPRISES. If I can get 150k out of a car by simply performing all the routine and scheduled maintenance, then I'm a happy dog. Also, Secion_8, what does CPO stand for?

Thanks again, guys.

 

[rjp325i]

The S1 and S2 are service intervals that occur at about the 15K and 30K intervals depending on your driving style and mileage according to the computer. CPO is the term for Certified Pre-Owned. Simplified,they have gone thru a more intense inpection before being offered for sale and they thus carry additional warranty service miles and time.

 

[The Norseman]

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought. Thanks a lot for all the info. guys!

 

[retso73]

I would suggest going with a 2000 or newer 3-series instead of a 1999. The 99 was the first year of the redesign and may have more issues (not necessarily major mechanical, but little things that add up in terms of time and money). Just get a good warranty -- maybe even an extended warranty. It could come in handy given the track record with these cars and stupid problems like window regulators failing repeatedly, sunroof shade problems, etc.

 

[The Norseman]

325ix

If I get one, it will be like a 2001 325ix. I really want 4-wheel drive.

I've seen them listed privately for as low as $19,000 and on the BMW dealer sites in the very high $20k's. The dealers offer the extended warranties and free scheduled maintanence. I just wonder if it's worth $7k - $9k more for that.

What do you guys think is fair price for something like this? Say around 40k miles?

 

[dudley821]

I would say low-20's are a very good price for that car. I was just in the market a few months ago for the same car you're looking at and low-20's is the best you'll find. I got my '01 330Ci for $22,900 from a private owner, I thought that was a pretty fair deal. The ones from dealers are a few more thousand, but you do get extended warranties and other goodies, so that might be something you want to consider, that's up to you. Good luck and have fun looking!

 

[The Norseman]

Yeah I'm not paying $27K for a used car. I'll buy something new that I can better afford for that much first. If I can find something for like $20K, I'll probably get it.

It's gotta be the xi, though. In 2000, I talked my wife into buying an Expedition saying that we need something that will be safer on wet, snowy, icy roads. Back then we used to always have a car load of teenaged girls. Now that my older daughter and her friends driver, we never have more than like 4 people in the car, so we don't needs something so big.

Now I want to replace my older sports car (Porsche 944S) with something newer and let her drive some type of family car or SUV. However when she heard B-M-W she flipped out. She's saying things like "You don't need such an expensive car." Or "That's too showy a car." Or (until I recently found out about the xi) "I thought we had to have a 4X4 for emergency driving on bad roads!?"

So I'm still trying to convince her ... and myself to some extent.

Wish me luck!