Binge posted:

There is a carfax report, but it just has all the oil/filter and inspections listings and a couple "Vehicle serviced" entries. It also failed inspection at 32k miles, but has passed every one since it.

Its for sale at a non-BMW dealership, so you're probably right about needed extra money for the just-in-case situations. Who knows what could be about to go on it. I may still place a call just to see what happens.

I recently drove a 2011 328i and loved every second of it. Then I find myself browsing ads, and well here I am. Patience is something I normally have, but admittedly, I get too excited looking at this.

Binge posted:

Bad idea or awesome idea? There is a 2003 325XI with 70k for 12k from a dealership. I have a 2007 Ford Edge at the moment, and am heavily considering trading it in for it.

I honestly have no extra money to put down on anything right now though. I just bought 4 new tires for my car, and fixed my motorcycle, so I'm kinda broke now.

I guess this might be more of a financing question than anything. I owe ~16k on my Edge, and it's valued at like 15k-ish. (I just refinanced it 2 months ago). I know a dealership would give me maybe 12k for it, but that would cover the cost of the BMW, especially if I can magically talk them down a notch or 2.

I figure it's worth a try at least, and I'm probably going to wait a few days and call the dealership(they're a couple hours away) and talk to someone about it, and hope its still there.

quote:

It also failed inspection at 32k miles, but has passed every one since it.

BrokenKnucklez posted:

Well, the alternator died in a friend of mine's 540i. Its a water cooled and at a $650 price tag, vs $230 for the 530i.

Binge posted:

Bad idea or awesome idea? There is a 2003 325XI with 70k for 12k from a dealership. I have a 2007 Ford Edge at the moment, and am heavily considering trading it in for it.

As far as I know, the value of my Edge is more than the 325's, and I'm hoping that wouldn't be much of an issue to trade it in for it. I was considering doing something like this maybe next spring after I've saved some money, and get some tax return money in my bank again. But browsing some ads, I see this and wonder if this is at all feasible. I honestly have no extra money to put down on anything right now though. I just bought 4 new tires for my car, and fixed my motorcycle, so I'm kinda broke now.

I guess this might be more of a financing question than anything. I owe ~16k on my Edge, and it's valued at like 15k-ish. (I just refinanced it 2 months ago). I know a dealership would give me maybe 12k for it, but that would cover the cost of the BMW, especially if I can magically talk them down a notch or 2.

I figure it's worth a try at least, and I'm probably going to wait a few days and call the dealership(they're a couple hours away) and talk to someone about it, and hope its still there.

Shadowhand00 posted:

This is more of a general question:

My rear tires wear out faster than my front tires. i have yet to change tires on this car. The fronts have about 65% life on them, the rears are pretty much dead. Should I change all 4? (and spend a bunch of money), buy 2 new rears (and miss out on possible rebates from buying 4 tires), or should I buy 2 used tires for the rear? (with all of the risks associated with used tires?

revmoo posted:

Also, if the fronts have good tread but are 3-5 years old, they are probably nearly due for replacement anyway. Tread is not the sole determining factor of a tire's condition.

revmoo posted:

Personally I would never just replace 2 tires on a car, much less a performance car. You can absolutely do it and get away with it, but it's not something I would ever do. There's nothing "wrong" with doing it, but you have to consider the difference in grip and unpredictability of handling that it will give you. Also, if the fronts have good tread but are 3-5 years old, they are probably nearly due for replacement anyway. Tread is not the sole determining factor of a tire's condition.

revmoo posted:

If they're only a year or so old, and in good condition, and you can replace the other two with another of the exact same tire, I think you'd be ok.

CornHolio posted:

A water cooled alternator? That sounds pretty sweet, anybody got pictures of this contraption?

Shadowhand00 posted:

don't know why he didn't replace the rears too - bastard). So you are basically saying, regardless of the wear left on the fronts, replace all 4 tires?

wallaka posted:

My opinion is, if your front tires aren't old, why replace them if they don't need it?

EvilMoFo posted:

2002 325i, teal green
202k, original engine and automatic transmission (and transmission fluid)
power steering pump is sure to go sooner than later
at least 1 alloy is damaged, maybe 2, sitting on 4 steels with studless snow tires
broken rear driver side spring (about 1" shorter)
no tumbler in the door
cd player is broken, radio works though
fair to good interior, couple pieces of trim are damaged
the paint looks decent, except for a spot on the rear bumper, I think there are a couple minor dents and scratches
front bumper is damaged, due to piece of rebar on a tire stop, and needs to be replaced to look decent
1 valet, 2 remote keys, 1 pissed off remote key that starts it but does not open the car, and the plastic emergency key with the manual
needs an oil change and an alignment

EvilMoFo posted:

Taco Box posted:

Somebody doesn't love their car. This makes me sad.

wallaka posted:

My opinion is, if your front tires aren't old, why replace them if they don't need it? You can check the date code on the sidewall to see exactly how old they are if you're worried about it. Anything older than 5-6 years old would be a good candidate for replacement.

Fermunky posted:

It's pretty, but imagine it's a bitch to work on.

BMW posted:

• Significantly improved balance between performance and fuel consumption: acceleration 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.4 seconds, 0–200 km/h (124 mph) in 13.0 seconds, top speed: 250 km/h / 155 mph (305 km/h / 190 mph with M Driver's Package); average fuel consumption in EU test cycle: 9.9 litres/100 km (28.5 mpg imp); engine output 10 per cent up on predecessor model, maximum torque increased by 30 per cent,
fuel consumption cut by more than 30 per cent; extensive Efficient Dynamics technology, including Auto Start-Stop function and Brake Energy Regeneration.

Saga posted:

Same here.

Just put matching sets on each axle. They are not going to wear evenly front to back - it's a RWD car. The only time you're going to have equally worn tyres of equal ages on is when the car comes off the ramp at your local tyre shop.

e: in case that's unclear, just replace the rears unless there is actually something wrong with the fronts. Actually, not just the tyre shine has worn off the sidewall...

Shadowhand00 posted:

Thanks for this. I have Pilot Sports on the front, currently have Yokohama S.Drives in the back. (original owner did this). I'm going to be replacing the rears with the Hankook V12s. Got a quote for $445 installed at a place in Milpitas. The charge for the tires are about 15 more than what Tire Rack will charge (+ shipping) and this guy can get them in the next day. I'll probably go with that unless someone thinks that's too expensive. Thoughts?

Guinness posted:

Where'd you find that stat? Even downsizing from a V10 to a V8TT, I find that really hard to believe.

Oh, drat, it's according to the BMW press release.


That's awesome. That's on par with the puny NA 3.0L in my 330Ci, but the M5 makes almost triple the power. Goddamn.

Fermunky posted:

It's pretty, but imagine it's a bitch to work on.

CornHolio posted:

Have you guys seen the engine in the new M5?



:iamafag:

I'm assuming those huge boxes in the center are some kind of heat transfer device for the turbos... maybe?

Also, just ordered four Kumhos for my car from the Tire Rack. My rears are nearly bald, and my fronts could definitely use replacing too. I couldn't justify the Bridgestone Potenzas since my car is old with a need-replacing-soon suspension. It would have been wasted. Still, I think these appear to be pretty decent tires.

AlternateAccount posted:

I am not much of a materialistic person, but one of my primary motivations for earning money is so that I can someday own a car with this engine in it, know that I will never really be able to open the hood and do poo poo to it, and not have to care about that.

rawrr posted:

I just bought a 2001 330ci a couple weeks ago, and have been reading up on maintenance. I was checking the coolant level and noticed the buoy is a couple inches below the lip, but the engine temperature seems to have been fine when driving.

I'll be buying coolant from the BMW store tomorrow, but I was wondering if such a low coolant level is a cause for concern (i.e. is something broken?). Assuming engine temperatures have been normal, how damaging was it to have been driving around?

unknown poster posted:

So, my 1982 BMW 320i with almost 200k on it has been making this 'clacking'? noise for some while now, seems to be getting slightly worse....Is it that it just needs a valve adjustment, or is it just poo poo worn out cuz its old and nothing really to be done about it.

Video! I swear it sounds worse in the video than it does in person x.x Seriously, it sounds like a tractor in the video. I just did an oil change and havent really had the hood open with the engine running for a while. Decided maybe I should ask whats up with the noise.

http://youtu.be/xE3hincrWfw

Saga posted:

Well, when did you last check the clearances? What grade of oil did you use?

If this was an M40/M42 and not an M10 (right? E21 end of run model?), I'd say replace the CCT (and in your case check and re-set clearances) and see how it sounds then.

unknown poster posted:

When I bought it, the previous owner said he had checked the valve clearances recently and they were fine. I've put about 20k on it since then. I use Castrol GTX 20/50.

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get the valves adjusted, how much should I expect to pay? I was just wondering if it was something that could be diagnosed as something simple like that, or more major from the sound.

edit: its an M10, e21

CornHolio posted:

I'm assuming those huge boxes in the center are some kind of heat transfer device for the turbos... maybe?

unknown poster posted:

When I bought it, the previous owner said he had checked the valve clearances recently and they were fine. I've put about 20k on it since then. I use Castrol GTX 20/50.

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get the valves adjusted, how much should I expect to pay? I was just wondering if it was something that could be diagnosed as something simple like that, or more major from the sound.

edit: its an M10, e21