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For anyone interested, I managed to get the caliper bolts off with a large pipe over the breaker bar .
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 02:36 |
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# ? May 28, 2024 14:26 |
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Anybody looking for a project? http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1074988768.html A slightly beat up, non-original engined 2002tii for sale up here in Seattle.
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 18:21 |
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I made a bad financial decision and now it's sitting in my yard. It's hiding! Oh there it is guhhhhhhh The trunk is full of chromed trim pieces and assorted parts. I have a few books but would like to get my hands on the actual shop manual for these. I see a lot of sanding and bondo in my future.
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 18:57 |
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MalleusDei posted:Anybody looking for a project? How did he take all those pictures and not manage to get one of the whole car?
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 19:13 |
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MalleusDei posted:Anybody looking for a project? That sure is a nice Escort ZX1 Civic Accord Corolla gas saver economy impalla aveo hyundai Project M3 M5 M6 Roadster cabriolet Builder.
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 19:32 |
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BossTweed posted:How did he take all those pictures and not manage to get one of the whole car? I have no idea. It bugged me too.
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 19:59 |
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Look at that wheel gap! I managed to clean the wheel hub quite well with a steel brush. I think this looks decent, but if it's going to rust, I'd rather paint it (I have some black caliper paint on hand that should look decent). For what it's worth, I'll be painting the calipers black so that they don't rust. What do you guys think? And yes, I know there is no caliper on there, this is a test fit.
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# ? Mar 16, 2009 23:57 |
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Man, removing and reinstalling the rear springs on an E36 is unbelievably easy. I replaced the stock upper spring pads (which were all nasty, brittle, and made the back end sit a little too low for my tastes) with the 15mm upper spring perches. It took about 10 minutes per side, just slip a pry bar in the upper control arm, push down, pull the spring out, replace the pad, pry the control arm down again, and reinstall the spring. This is all done with the shocks unbolted from the rear trailing arm and sway bars unbolted. Now my car has a nice sexy rake to it.
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# ? Mar 17, 2009 00:07 |
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Did you worry about disconnecting the half shafts? I have read random warnings to be careful when letting the rear suspension drop, lest you thrash a CV joint or two.
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# ? Mar 17, 2009 04:51 |
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Mad Dragon posted:That sure is a nice Escort ZX1 Civic Accord Corolla gas saver economy impalla aveo hyundai Project M3 M5 M6 Roadster cabriolet Builder. God, I hate that poo poo. I'm looking for an e36 328, and if I type in any combination of BMW, e36, or 328, half the listings I get are for any other make except a BMW.
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# ? Mar 17, 2009 05:20 |
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Jonny 290 posted:Did you worry about disconnecting the half shafts? I have read random warnings to be careful when letting the rear suspension drop, lest you thrash a CV joint or two. That's really not a valid concern here as you're not really dangling the spindle from the axle; the c-arm is still carrying most of the weight. He just flexed the whole suspension enough to get clearance to pop the spring out. It's not really the approved procedure since you could theoretically over-stress bushings or bend poo poo with the big pry bar, but it's certainly how everyone I know has always done it and I've never seen a problem result. If you were removing control arms, then yes, by all means remove or support the axles.
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# ? Mar 17, 2009 05:28 |
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Awesome, that makes complete sense. Thanks for clearing it up. Now I Know
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# ? Mar 17, 2009 06:04 |
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So the guy whose Z3 I was going to get decided he needed the whole payment in cash, and then some jackass from Seattle payed him 6k cash on the spot and flew down there to pick up the car the car pretty much the next day. Every single person I call in San Jose, CA that has a DECENT E36, has been, without fail, someone who either speaks NO english, or very LITTLE english. The ad is there, written in the grammar of a 16 year old, then I call to go "hey man how many miles on this car?" and am responded to with either "que, no engles", or "eh man yeah it's got like 130k on it or something around there joo no but if joo what joo no you can get it mang I'm selling it like right now man joo know just drop by" Any other questions are met with uncomfortable silence and a repeat of the above. 3 months of looking so far, no results. Too bad EVERY SINGLE REVIEW on Steadfast Motors says they're lovely, shady rear end dealers 'cause they seem to have stuff I want and would pay for, but apparently all of their craigslist ads are bait and switches, cars aren't in the condition they're claimed on in the ad, wrong cars are pictures, more mileage is on them, etc.
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# ? Mar 17, 2009 08:11 |
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Don't know if this has been posted in AI yet, but just saw it today on the New York Times website, BMW's art cars: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/automobiles/collectibles/15artcars.html click above for the story, and below for the slideshow: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/03/15/automobiles/collectibles/0315-artcars_index.html
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# ? Mar 18, 2009 00:48 |
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OxMan posted:E36 woes Stretch out a bit. I had to travel 250 miles (one way) to find mine, and it took a bit to find it, but you'll be happy. The drive home will be great. Craigshelper is a godsend as it sorts by physical distance (approximate) from you, so it is automatically organized, least travel at the top.
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# ? Mar 18, 2009 02:18 |
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Apparently BMW wants to fix the 1-series for 2011-12: clicky. Most exciting to me are the proposed 135iS (3.0L twin-turbo six, 326 bhp) and the round-headlight, 2002-styled Supersport, which will slot in between the 135iS and the new M3 with a 2.2L four banger pulling about 300 bhp. If BMW makes this and makes it affordable, I would love to have one. We miss out on used E30s up here, and the 1-series currently just doesn't seem worth the money (128i: $33,900 MSRP, 135i: $41,700 MSRP, 335i sedan: $48,900 MSRP).
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# ? Mar 18, 2009 02:29 |
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Apparently BMW wants to fix the 1-series for 2011-12: clicky. So M division is making up for the up-and-coming M-version of the X6? Works for me!
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# ? Mar 18, 2009 04:35 |
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OxMan posted:E36 stuff I hear you. I've had largely the same results as you. It seems like every E36 advertised is either a total shitheap, is owned by some idiot balla try-hard or is an automatic. Or for even more entertainment, it'll be an outright scam. I've pretty much exhausted every E36 listed in Alberta; I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to need to look out east or in the States. Any Ontario goons willing to comment on the availability of 5-speed, non-convertible, 2-or 4-door 325s and 328s out there? Kijiji and Autotrader seem to have a few, but those two sites aren't exactly the best sources, in my experience. MrChips fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Mar 18, 2009 |
# ? Mar 18, 2009 04:47 |
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So I fell in love with the e30 M's but I don't want to pay the exorbitant markup on those cars (even though they are god drat beautiful) and have decided to start shopping for an e30. Going to look at this car this week is there anything I should know on top of your normal used car buying (rust, records, carfax, whatnot)? I fully plan on an engine swap down the road so I am fine with this being an 'e' as opposed to the more power 'i'. http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...&standard=false God drat auto trader links are retarded.
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# ? Mar 18, 2009 05:25 |
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Boy, I remember my E36 search a year and a half ago. I'm in the midwest, and of all the ones I looked at, one was a vert, one was an automatic, one had a bad power steering pump, one was a complete piece of poo poo and overpriced to boot... and then a nearly pristine example showed up for cheap a mile away from work. For less than ALL the other ones I was looking at. I think a certain amount of luck is involved. CornHolio fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Mar 18, 2009 |
# ? Mar 18, 2009 13:10 |
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Apparently BMW wants to fix the 1-series for 2011-12: clicky. As much as I'd kill to own a 1 series since the new 3 series are huge, I doubt we'll see any decent prices for them in Canada. I'm holding out for a used 135i in a few years, as long as I can find a dark one that hides the saggy doors. I would loving kill for a supersport if they do the headlights right and sell stripped down versions, but I have a feeling it'll still be expensive as hell. MrChips posted:I hear you. I've had largely the same results as you. It seems like every E36 advertised is either a total shitheap, is owned by some idiot balla try-hard or is an automatic. Or for even more entertainment, it'll be an outright scam. E36's are dropping like rocks on the east coast right now and I'm not sure why. Either way, there is almost always another 325/328iS posted every week. Some cleaner than others, but there have been a few good examples. I think finding a nice e30/e36 is pretty much all patience and timing, especially in Canada. When I was casually searching for an E30 it took me about 6 months of looking daily to find one worth looking at. I looked at it on a thursday, bought it on the monday and the seller had about 4-5 calls in between then from people wanting to look at it. Thankfully there seem to be far more 5spd e30s than automatics, unlike e36s. Since I'm looking for a few interior parts I still browse everyday and haven't seen an e30 worth looking at in about 4 months. These days it's stuff like this: http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-BMW-1989-bmw-325ix-PRICE-DROP-W0QQAdIdZ114226329 1500 for an e30 with bent valves, and terrible paintjob+bodykit? Plus the fucker lowered an iX by 3 inches, completely negating the point of owning one. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Mar 19, 2009 |
# ? Mar 19, 2009 00:04 |
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Jonny 290 posted:Craigshelper is a godsend as it sorts by physical distance (approximate) from you, so it is automatically organized, least travel at the top. craigshelper rss + google reader is pretty much the best way i've found to shop for cars.
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# ? Mar 19, 2009 00:14 |
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Over the past few months, my E36 speedometer and tachometer have been acting up. When I first leave in the morning, and when it's below freezing, neither dial moves for the first mile or two, sometimes more. They always work eventually, but it seems to be getting worse. My initial thought it condensation on the harnesses behind the instrument cluster, since it seems temperature related, and they start working once the interior starts to warm up usually. Would there be some terminal connections behind the cluster that I can apply dielectric grease to? Is there anything else this could be? I need to change out some cluster bulbs and thought I'd do this while I was back there.
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# ? Mar 20, 2009 14:30 |
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I have this, weird and annoying problem with my 2000 E46 323i. First of all the keyfob lock button (it's the old style key before the diamond) takes a considerable amount of force to press and actuate. The car locks fine when I can push the button hard enough. That's just an issue of me needing a new key. And I don't think it's related to my main issue. The main problem however is when I unlock the car from the fob about 40% of the time it doesn't unlock anything. The lights flash to indicate it's unlocked but the actual door locks don't go up. If I unlock the driver's door manually with the key I can get in and start fine. I can't open any of the doors from the inside however and the central lock button won't work at all. It's like the car tries to unlock but the locks won't go up. This is only 40% of the time every other time they unlock properly. Could this be an issue with the central locking module? The general module? Or the individual door lock actuators? I'm thinking it might be the main module itself but I don't know what fixing that involves. Any ideas?
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# ? Mar 23, 2009 17:06 |
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Groan Zone posted:I have this, weird and annoying problem with my 2000 E46 323i. Well, it's either the key or the general module. And since you say when it happens the central locking button in the car is also inop then it's almost certainly a central locking relay issue. Unfortunately the relay is integral to the general module so the gm needs to be replaced and encoded. Not something you can do at home.
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 00:25 |
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My E36 is not doing well this spring. For the most part these are all new problems, or at least new to me.
I thought you guys said BMWs are fun cars and not utterly depressing
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 02:32 |
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Well I'm back looking at BMWs (I swear to god it's like an addiction, I do it on a weekly basis) and came across a 2000 328Ci coupe for $6600. What has me in a conundrum is that I ran the numbers on KBB and NADA guide and it should be retailing for around $10k. What's the deal, have car prices crashed that much lately? I haven't run a carfax yet but judging from pics and some googling it seems in relatively good shape. I'm going to take a look at this week, and I swear to god if you guys snatch it before I look at it I will run you over in my kia Car in question: http://www.kengarffnissanorem.com/used-inventory/vehicle-details.htm?vehicleId=f712b8184046381e00444a8b17f8636e&useHistory=true Car 2 months ago (google cache): http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cach...lient=firefox-a I don't know my beemers well enough to tell if this is an E36 or an E46
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 05:43 |
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Butt Reactor posted:Car in question: http://www.kengarffnissanorem.com/used-inventory/vehicle-details.htm?vehicleId=f712b8184046381e00444a8b17f8636e&useHistory=true Interestingly enough, a friend of mine from Utah claims to have just looked at that car. He said it probably overdue for the inspection II. When he popped the hood the belts looked poor and the fluids were not all topped off. He also said he thought the clutch felt funny, but it might have just been that he wasn't used to a clutch delay valve. Edit: And it is an E46. At the bottom of this wikipedia page there is a nice map of all the years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_3_Series Swap_File fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Mar 24, 2009 |
# ? Mar 24, 2009 06:08 |
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Swap_File posted:Interestingly enough, a friend of mine from Utah claims to have just looked at that car. He said it probably overdue for the inspection II, and when he popped the hood the belts looked poor and the fluids were not all topped off. Good to know, thanks How much would it cost to do the service interval? And how does the clutch delay valve make it any different than a standard man tran?
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 06:15 |
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Butt Reactor posted:Well I'm back looking at BMWs (I swear to god it's like an addiction, I do it on a weekly basis) and came across a 2000 328Ci coupe for $6600. What has me in a conundrum is that I ran the numbers on KBB and NADA guide and it should be retailing for around $10k. What's the deal, have car prices crashed that much lately? I haven't run a carfax yet but judging from pics and some googling it seems in relatively good shape. I'm going to take a look at this week, and I swear to god if you guys snatch it before I look at it I will run you over in my kia It's an e46 and when I was looking at similar cars late last year they cost around 10k. So either there's something expensive wrong with that car and they got it for a song, or they just want it off their lot for what they have into it. Since you don't sound like you're too familiar with the BMW product I would take it to a mechanic and have them do an inspection before buying. Then ask them what it would cost to fix the big issues. Just remember: even though the car is cheap, parts for it won't be. edit: I'm not exactly sure what we charge for an inspection 2, but it's not really worth the money anyway. It's essentially an oil change with cabin and air filters. I think it's probably around $400 at our shop, but that's a guess since I don't look at customer costs on book items. What's more important is that the trans and engine oil were changed at regular intervals and that it got spark plugs at 100k. Just take it into a dealer or reputable independent and ask for a used car check and they'll be happy to give you a very long quote. It'll probably cost you between 50-200 for a good inspection, but it's worth it if you're serious about the car. And the clutch valve is basically an on-off switch for the clutch. It delays clutch actuation until there's sufficient pressure from the master cylinder. It makes it a little harder to modulate the clutch, but it prevents you from burning it out as easily by riding the pedal. I've never thought it was that significant, but I have removed the valve for a couple of customers that didn't like how it affected pedal-feel. I would strongly recommend leaving it in the system. Ethelinda Sapsea fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Mar 24, 2009 |
# ? Mar 24, 2009 06:16 |
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Here's my suspicion: the car was an off-lease model flipped at some point between 2002 and 2004, when it was snapped up by someone who thought they found the cheap car of the lifetime. It was likely in good shape at this point. 3-spoke steering wheel and front bumper means it's a sport package, and as others are saying the mileage means it's way overdue for its Inspection II, which it's likely it was between 20,000 and 40,000 miles shy of when the second owner purchased it. This owner took it and drove the poo poo out of it. Drove it hard for the interim, and possibly aside from oil and oil/air filter and tires, did very minimal maintenance on it. The interior is actually in fairly good looking shape; the only spots to raise and eyebrow at are the trunk and the engine bay. The trunk has some of the paneling punched in - probably due to something such as a suitcase. The engine bay is just a mess, which supports the lack of maintenance theory. The clutch is likely the original and on its last legs. The clutch diverter valve that was previously mentioned - a CDV - is a small valve in a self-enclosed attachment that is located underneath the driver's footwell accessed from beneath the car. It's simply a fixture attached to the metal brake line, and removing it is a 20 minute job with cleanup and time to open a beer. The process is well documented online. The CDV is best described as making novice manual drivers smoother and more tolerable, while making predicting shifting and generally driving enthusiastically more frustrating for an experienced driver. It restricts the flow of fluid in the hydraulic line behind the clutch, and therefore creates a limit as to how quickly the clutch will engage. It also greatly increases clutch wear, particularly if/when you drive it according to how you know you're timing shifts without attention to the artificial limit. The clutch gets engaged over a longer period of time while you're essentially going WOT. It's a terrible feeling any time it happens if you know what you've done and the little fucker is best suited just yanked out. Basically: this was a nice car, an E46 coupe with the Sport package (biggest difference the 3-spoke steering wheel, better front seats, different front bumper) but likely not the Premium (standard headlights, no acoustic stereo button on the center console, appears to be standard radio) nor the Cold (no heated seats, better because rear armrest has cupholders and storage uni) packages. The car is likely going to need most of what occurs in an Inspection II and a bit of what won't, likely: suspension wear components (bearings, shocks), belts, the coolant system replaced, oil and all filters changed, spark plugs and wires (possibly the coilpacks?), as well as quite likely the tires and clutch. If you do most/all of the work yourself you may be able to skate by with all of it done for under $6,000 according to the prices I'm assuming for most of the larger cost items. For your money you get yourself an assload of work, but high-quality parts and an integral understanding of a car that's really a loving joy to work on. If you threw in little things as you went along like engine mounts and many other bits of rubber around the car you would be fairly ahead of the game as far as maintenance is concerned for quite awhile. If you get it done at the dealership, expect a much higher price. The benefit is the ease of having it done, the assurance of a warranty and higher-experience people doing the work, and the speed at which it can be completed. The obvious downfall is cost. I really don't have an estimate for an Inspection II + larger tasks like clutch and suspension, but expect at least $10,000. Also, keep in mind that all the BMW Inspections consist majorly of examining parts and checking long-term items, which is really primary to knowing what to expect and what to watch for but is not a complicated procedure. Either process, you end up with a car with a questionable previous service history. However you've majorly covered the bases mechanically, and given that you know what to observe in the future and continue to be diligent with the maintenance you have a really solid vehicle on your hands. The actual motor will go for planets with regular attention, and they're amazingly fantastic to drive. End point? Go check the car out, and really pay attention to anything you can't/wouldn't want to fix immediately - interior problems, non-functioning mechanisms throughout the car, etc. - and decide whether it's worth fixing most of the things and waiting for the rest. When you go make a list of everything in the Inspection II and see which you can check on your own. Feel free to completely examine the car, and really try to judge each of the major points on the checklist. Add the average cost of repair at a dealership to the purchase price and negotiate that number close to the book MSRP for the car, +-$2,000. As a negotiating tool, offer that $2,000 is what you would expect to have to invest in a car of average maintenance and most records to really get it up to par. If you estimate the repair to be $8,000 then give them $2,000 over MSRP and negotiate somewhere around $4,800 for the car, let them work the number down from there. If you're determined to pull through with the purchase and choke down the enormous gulp that is the required effort to refurbish this car it'll be great. tl;dr - E46s are awesome and require a fair amount of maintenance, and this one appears to have very little. Go to the dealership and investigate, figure out if an enormous mechanical force can adequately refresh the car to an acceptable level. Introduce the cost of the required work to the dealership, add to MSRP plus some, and haggle as best you can for a low purchase price. Do everything immediately, wait it out and experience automotive bliss. Holy jesus, I'm sorry, I didn't mean this to turn into a wall of text. I've just looked really deeply into doing this so I've been postulating this exact move for myself, secretly waiting for a similar car (but a Sport+Premium 330Ci) for the summer.
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 09:24 |
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Adnuo posted:a motherfucking manifesto This is good advice, if a little verbose. Basically, except in a few rare cases, the Porsche rule applies to E46s: even if you pick one up for a song, you're still going to spend KBB money on it to bring it up to par. This is why it's always worth paying that extra $1-2k for a car with a REAL maintenance history (either from an owner who enthusiastically DIYs or from a dealership).
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 15:59 |
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What's the best method for replacing a fuel filter on an E36? I've seen different DIYs, some where they pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it, some where they don't, some where they clamp the fuel line, etc...
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# ? Mar 24, 2009 16:08 |
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CornHolio posted:What's the best method for replacing a fuel filter on an E36? I've seen different DIYs, some where they pull the fuel pump fuse and crank it, some where they don't, some where they clamp the fuel line, etc... Just get a bucket, undo the old one, let the gas drain into the bucket, put in new one and be done.
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# ? Mar 25, 2009 00:23 |
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:Just get a bucket, undo the old one, let the gas drain into the bucket, put in new one and be done. sweet. Ill be doing it outside so I don't give a drat about fumes.
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# ? Mar 25, 2009 02:50 |
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Adnuo posted:motherfucking wall of text that was actually useful Well, I would have snapped it up except the dealership selling it was run by a bunch of pricks. First they tell me that it was sold just yesterday, and we discuss a bit some other manual cars on the lot. Then another slick willy comes up while the rest of them are running my credit and tells me that surprise surprise, its out back in the service bay lot waiting for the buyer to come back with a check; but the sales snake tells me if I guarantee to buy it today, its mine, and screw the other guy I got loving disgusted with the run-around and left without even test driving the drat thing Back to perusing craigslist I guess. Adnuo seriously though that is incredibly helpful and I'm saving that stuff for a later date. It's probably for the better I didn't get it, since I want to take a few shop classes before diving into serious car repair like you were talking about.
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# ? Mar 25, 2009 06:57 |
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A friend of mine is looking into getting an 06 E90 3 series, but he comes from a japanese luxury (lexus,acura,etc) background and is used to having really reliable vehicles. What sort of maintenance/issues/costs can he expect with a car like this, with probably between 25 and 35 thousand miles on it? Will it become a money pit? He plans on replacing it after a few years with a lexus, but wanted to see what the big deal was with the 3 series/BMWs in general.
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# ? Mar 25, 2009 10:02 |
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Vetinari posted:A friend of mine is looking into getting an 06 E90 3 series, but he comes from a japanese luxury (lexus,acura,etc) background and is used to having really reliable vehicles. What sort of maintenance/issues/costs can he expect with a car like this, with probably between 25 and 35 thousand miles on it? Will it become a money pit? He should probably just lease a new car if he plans on keeping it only a couple of years.
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# ? Mar 25, 2009 11:18 |
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He says that he'll never lease a car because leasing is "retarded". The only reason he plans on getting a lexus in a few years is because he assumes that the BMW will become a headache to maintain. All he's looking for here is details on what he can expect out of an 06 BMW 3 like I described above. Is he gonna have to continuously dish out for little fixes here and there, even on a car that is from a couple of years ago?
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# ? Mar 26, 2009 04:47 |
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# ? May 28, 2024 14:26 |
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Vetinari posted:He says that he'll never lease a car because leasing is "retarded". The only reason he plans on getting a lexus in a few years is because he assumes that the BMW will become a headache to maintain. All he's looking for here is details on what he can expect out of an 06 BMW 3 like I described above. Is he gonna have to continuously dish out for little fixes here and there, even on a car that is from a couple of years ago? The warranty on these cars is pretty comprehensive, so as long as he keeps it under 50k while he owns it he's pretty well covered. Of course, this doesn't account for tires. E90s eat tires like crazy and if you get 30k out of a set you're doing ok. This especially holds true with the OE Bridgestone Turanzas which had a well known issue of cupping and premature edge wear. It's supposedly corrected on the newer production runs, but I'm still not a fan of that tire on this car. As for issues with the cars: earlier E90s had real problems with the electronic steering lock which necessitated replacing the steering column; Window regulators are always a weak point; the comfort access system can be a little buggy if equipped; the DMTL pumps tend to fail; if you live in a colder area n52 motors tick quite a bit on cold starts (it's not harmful, but irritating); and many other small issues. In short, I think they're great cars (I had an E92 employee lease for 2 years and loved it) but I wouldn't own one out of warranty. There's nothing that's definitely going to break, but everything on that car is so drat complicated and expensive.
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# ? Mar 26, 2009 05:48 |