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BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

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

You are in the BMW 3-Series Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 393 of 535

#3920 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [praz] by roadburner

Jul 17, 2008 (12:01 pm)

Replying to: praz (Jul 17, 2008 9:57 am)
Find a good independent BMW tech and out of warranty maintenance and repair costs shouldn't average over $80-$90 per month. My 1995 3 Series has averaged $50 per month(including the cost of three sets of tires) since I bought it new in October 1995, and at that time BMW did not provide free maintenance for 4 years/50K miles. My wife's 2004 X3 costs about $75 per month to run, but that figure should drop sigificantly over the next two years, as no major services will be required.

#3921 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [roadburner] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jul 17, 2008 (2:14 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Jul 17, 2008 12:01 pm)
It makes a big difference on a BMW if you buy the car new and then avearage out your repair costs per month.
 
If you buy used, 9 times out of 10, if you are fastidious as I can be at times, I have to play 6 months of "catch up" on all the deferred maintenance from a previous owner who was either not so fastidious or perhaps innocently unaware or unconcerned about defects in the car.
 
On used BMWs, it's cost me a bit more per month than roadburner, because of this "catch up". Unless you score a real beauty of a used car with ZERO defects, you should plan on $125+ a month for a while.
 
I was shopping for a used BMW a while back, and even with the really nice cars, I spotted items needing attention that weren't going to be cheap. Some people can live, for instance, with a rear window that doesn't go down, or crackling radio speakers, or screeching sunroof, or burned out dashboard light or radio display, or loose arm rest, or a 5 series radiator that hasn't been replaced for 80,000 miles. Me, I can't live with that stuff and even that list of seemingly insignificant items can add up fast.

#3922 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [Mr_Shiftright] by praz

Jul 17, 2008 (3:37 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jul 17, 2008 2:14 pm)
Thank you Roadburner and Mr_Shiftright. I would definitely buy it new and would have the car serviced at recommended intervals and I am very fastidious. As per your comments, after 48 months I should expect to spend somewhere between $80 to $125 per month. Is that a correct statement? Thanks in advance.

#3923 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [praz] by cdnpinhead

Jul 17, 2008 (5:36 pm)

Replying to: praz (Jul 17, 2008 3:37 pm)
". . .have the car serviced at recommended intervals. . ."
 
Well, that's a start, but not nearly adequate if you're planning to keep the car like I do, for 7-10 years. You may not be aware of what happened to the "recommended service" list when BMW began including it in the cost of the car ("free" maintenance for 50K miles or 4 years), but it isn't comforting to the likes of people who keep cars well in excess of 100K miles.
 
Roadburner provided a helpful summary of the servicing intervals for those who don't lease & actually want to keep the car, back at post 3675. In addition, you should join BMWCCA. You'll get the best car magazine on the planet & get real information from people who actually love to drive & work on the cars, as opposed to wearing them. There's a very comprehensive servicing schedule (the old one, before "free" maintenance) outlined in there from time to time.
 
These cars will last forever if they're properly taken care of, and you need to start the moment you buy it, or so I've heard.
 
Enjoy.

#3924 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [praz] by etomori

Jul 17, 2008 (10:58 pm)

Replying to: praz (Jul 17, 2008 9:57 am)
Plan to spend more $$$ for maintenance and repairs on a BMW. That is the nature of the vehicle. I am assuming that you are buying a 3 Series new with the 4yr/50,000 mile warranty/maintenance agreement. Can extend the warranty and maintenance coverage to 6 yrs/100,000 miles via BMW through one of its dealers. Suggest twinkidneygrill.com, a Georgia BMW dealer, for such policies at the best prices possible.
 
If you are buying a twin-turbo 335, really plan on getting the extended maintenance and original owner protection policies. There is a strong feeling that the turbos will have a life about 75,000 miles and repairs/replacement are costly.
 
Also, the BMW 15,000 mile oil/filter change intervals are suspect. Many owners are changing their oil and filter at 7500 mile intervals. Preventative maintenance will give you the longevity. Another thing, the water pump should be replaced at around 60,000 miles. Waiting for it to fail could cause a warped head/block, a lot of $$$.
 
Not very encouraging, right? I just had my engine replaced under warranty on my 2003 330i ZHP. Bought it used at 34,000 and it had factory warranty remaining. Had continuous and documented problems necessitating warrantied repairs under BMW supervision. Should check around to see which BMW dealers treat their customers well. Niello BMW of Sacramento, CA, has provided me with excellent service on a used car that was purchased from a small non-BMW used carl dealer. This dealership really backs up their product!!!
 
But, I am keeping it because it is a great car with character (!!!) with a great dealer providing terrific service.

#3925 of 5349 All Windows rolled down by pounds

Jul 18, 2008 (8:22 am)

I recently purchased a 2008 328i and came out to my car one morning to discover the windows were all the way down and the sunroof was partially open. I hypothesized that somehow I accidentally pressed the unlock button on the key remote. I went to the dealership to have this feature disabled and was told that it cannot be disabled on the E90, however, they have done it on the older E46 . But then again, they said this was the first time they have tried to disable the feature on the E90 and it does not come up as an option on the computer. Has anyone had this successfully done on a recent model BMW? If not, does anyone know of a hard shell case that will hold my key remote so buttons cannot be accidentally pressed?

#3926 of 5349 Engine service light on--BMW 325xi 2004 by jodan

Jul 18, 2008 (7:17 pm)

My service engine light(yellow) has been on and off the last 4-5 months. I suspected the bad gas as a culprit , but now I'm a little confused. I check my gas cap and it's close. I still put in 93 grade and I just had my major service done over at my dealership for 60,000+ miles four months ago. Any advice will be great!
 
JD

#3927 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [etomori] by nyccarguy

Jul 18, 2008 (7:25 pm)

Replying to: etomori (Jul 17, 2008 10:58 pm)
I'm just curious about what lead up to having the engine replaced on your '03 ZHP?

#3928 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [etomori] by jaxs1

Jul 18, 2008 (7:44 pm)

Replying to: etomori (Jul 17, 2008 10:58 pm)
If the turbos were *likely* to only last 75,000 miles, it would be priced into the warranty and you would be paying for it anyway. They are not in the business to lose money and if you think you are outsmarting them buy buying the extended service contract so you can get turbos replaced for free before the extended warranty expires, you are probably wrong.
It is alot of money to tack on 2 years of service contract coverage after the end of the 4 year factory warranty. I would probably just buy a new car after 4 years instead if I was really concerned about the next 2 years of reliability.
 
At year 6 the extended coverage is gone and the car is more likely to have problems at that later age when they are no longer willing to take the risk of providing extended coverage.
 
Anything could go wrong with any car and the warranty will pay for itself for *some* people, but they will be in the minority. The odds are in their favor or they would not be so eager to sell the contracts.

#3929 of 5349 Re: Maintenance on BMW's [jaxs1] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jul 18, 2008 (7:51 pm)

Replying to: jaxs1 (Jul 18, 2008 7:44 pm)
Correct. These "extended warranties" are really not warranties. They are insurance policies, and the companies issuing them have got the actuarial tables all figured out.
 
They are betting your car does NOT break, and you are betting that it does.

Messages Page 393 of 535

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