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BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

5349 messages,  Last post on Apr 30, 2013 at 3:31 PM

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What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 161 of 535

#1599 of 5349 cost of 1993 bmw 325is by hellskitchen

Feb 27, 2005 (7:42 am)

My neighbor has agreed to sell me his wife's 1993 BMW 325is with auto and approximately 18,000 miles at the end of 2005 when he retires. I see the NADA, BlueBook, etc. values, yet on e-bay the selling price is always so much higher! What is a fair price, and considering that he probably did bring it in for standard maintenance, does anyone see a pitfall in purchasing an older car? The inside and outside seem perfectly clean, but i am not a mechanic!

#1600 of 5349 Re: cost of 1993 bmw 325is [hellskitchen] by kyfdx HOST

Feb 27, 2005 (9:57 am)

Replying to: hellskitchen (Feb 27, 2005 7:42 am)
18,000 miles, or 180,000 miles?
 
E-bay really isn't a good barometer of a used car price, especially for something that is 12-years-old...
 
How much is your neighbor asking for the car?
 
Any car of that age will need much more maintenance than a newer car.. nothing wrong with that, but you should be aware of it...
 
Really... only 18K miles?

#1601 of 5349 Trans and diff fluid by sirdarby1

Feb 28, 2005 (8:26 am)

My service advisor at the dealer here in Atlanta keeps telling me not to worry about changing the oil in my trans? I have a 98 328ica w/103k that the dealer has done all service on.
 
I noticed in an earlier post dhanley states we should. Have I missed the boat?
 
Anyone know good BMW garage in Atl. Now that mine is getting up in age, I want to keep it but don't want to pay the high prices now that 100K warranty is up. I only drive it 2 days a week.

#1602 of 5349 trans by dhanley

Feb 28, 2005 (12:05 pm)

Well--bmw says there is no need to change the trans fluid. One might speculate this is because with the free service, they don't want the responsibility of paying for it?
 
According to BMW-CCA there have been quite a few trans failures, and they suggest doing a change at inspection 2. Other uses of the trans also suggest fluid change.
 
However, after 100K miles a change could theoretically be a bad thing(tm).
 
I'm personally highly suspicious of "lifetime" fluids.
 
dave

#1603 of 5349 sirdarby1 by div2

Feb 28, 2005 (2:44 pm)

BMW now calls for an ATF change at 100,000 miles. We had the service performed on my wife's 1997 5er at 101,000 miles and have had no problems over the subsequent 15,000 miles.

#1604 of 5349 Re: cost of 1993 bmw 325is [kyfdx] by hellskitchen

Mar 01, 2005 (8:26 am)

Replying to: kyfdx (Feb 27, 2005 9:57 am)
thank you for replying. Yes, the car presently has 17,480 miles and when they retire and move, by summer's end, I estimate it should hover around 18,000. He is a retired professor of medicine and bought this car for his wife to go grocery shopping! I believe it was always garage kept and no doubt had regular oil changes and the like, but I have no idea whether a non-mechanical person lioke me should purchase such an old vehicle, the low mileage not withstanding. As to the price, he has made no offer, but I gave him a copy of NADA, Consumers Reports, and BlueBook as a guideline, so hopefully it will be in the $5000-7000 range. If the car is good, I in effect get a slightly used bimmer for apporximately 1/5 of the cost of a new one! Do you think that the car should sell for more than the Nada, etc. prices, and if so, by how much? Thank you again. Alan

#1605 of 5349 Re: cost of 1993 bmw 325is [hellskitchen] by kyfdx HOST

Mar 01, 2005 (8:43 am)

Replying to: hellskitchen (Mar 01, 2005 8:26 am)
Wow.. well if that car had a manual shift, I'd snap it up in a minute...
 
I have a few points..
 
1) You'll have to find a good independent BMW garage to do work on the car... It is imperative that your mechanic specializes in BMWs.
 
2) If you plan on putting 15K/year on this car, it will be expensive to maintain.. I'm not sure this car would be a good substitute for a newer car, if it is to be used as a commuter... Any advantage you receive from buying a low-mileage car will go away fast, if you rack up the miles on it.
 
3) The fact that you are not mechanically inclined shouldn't make a big difference.. I never turn a wrench, and I've bought 20-year-old BMWs and Porsches.. You'll pay more for repairs, but you won't enjoy driving it any less..
 
4) $5K-$7K? That would be a great price.. The car should be worth more with the low miles.. but, I wouldn't pay a lot more.. It is still 12 years old, even if it does have low miles..
 
Maybe div2 can chime in here.. He has a '95 318ti, so he is intimately familiar with the E36 BMWs...
 
18K.. unreal..
 
regards,
kyfdx

#1606 of 5349 Thanks guys by sirdarby1

Mar 01, 2005 (9:18 am)

dhanley
 
What do you mean by this?
 
"However, after 100K miles a change could theoretically be a bad thing(tm."

#1607 of 5349 Re: cost of 1993 bmw 325is [kyfdx] by hellskitchen

Mar 01, 2005 (11:45 am)

Replying to: kyfdx (Mar 01, 2005 8:43 am)
Thanks again for the informative and fast reply. Its funny, but I never learned how to drive a stick! I am born and raised in Times Square, hence the moniker "hellskithcen". In any case, I presently have a 1999 Subaru with 44,000 miles on it, and will give this to my brother who has a 1996 Saturn with 40,000. As you can see, we barely but on 4000 a year! There is a fellow who advertises in the NY Times that he is independent and worked on BMW racers. A new Impreza wagon runs betweeen 17 and 24,ooo depending on the model, and of course, has 4 wheel drive. But if the price is right, the panache of owning a BMW, which admittedly I've never driven, is hard to overcome. What type of expenses would be out of the ordinary as compared with a different make or a newer car? I'm 52 so the insurance shouldn't be too bad. Thanks again.

#1608 of 5349 Re: cost of 1993 bmw 325is [hellskitchen] by kyfdx HOST

Mar 01, 2005 (11:52 am)

Replying to: hellskitchen (Mar 01, 2005 11:45 am)
I've never owned an E46 BMW ('92-'99).. but, they don't have a reputation as being the most trouble-free model... But, if you are driving only 6K/year, then you'll just need to see your mechanic for regular maintenance semi-annually..
 
You should be able to keep the car pretty nice for a long time...
 
I'll wait for some other owners to chime in.. I just don't have enough experience with this model.. I wouldn't mind having one, though...
 
regards,
kyfdx

Messages Page 161 of 535

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