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Powdered Toast Man posted:All I know is I sat in and rode in an M3 (I think it was a 2002?) and now I don't want anything else. THOSE SEATS. Well, I mean, the car as a whole is fantastic but the seats are particularly excellent. I have been hunting for a set of the old-school cloth Recaros for ages. I think I'd be better off with an aftermarket seat from Recaro/Sparco though, I'm fuckin' 6'4" and getting in/out of the E30 is like human origami.
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Jan 27, 2013 05:50
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I have a 94 e34 Touring that I love, but it's a little light on power, so I've been getting jonesed' up for the 3 Series sport wagon that the US gets here in the spring. 240+ horses in a new, taut wagon skin seems great. I went to the dealership today and looked at the 3 series' they have on the lot to get a taste of the sport wagon. Maybe the gulf between the 3 and 5 series is quite large, but the seats felt like slabs of granite compared to my 94. I didn't actually drive it at all because I was so put off by it, but is this normal? Also I checked out a 5 series Gran Turismo and good god that thing is hideous.
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Jan 27, 2013 06:59
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Getting the radiator out what a much larger bitch than I initially planned....and I was already expecting it to be a giant pain in the rear end. After about 3 hours of struggling to get hoses disconnect, and finding various bolts not described in the Bently manual...I managed to drop it out of the bottom with the lower hose and thermostat still attached as I couldn't get it freed up until I got it out. It's a wonder I didn't break those lovely plastic mounts you have to bolt to the radiator. Tomorrow will be getting the water pump out and then some how managing to get it all back together. So many plastic (read: extremely fragile) parts. I can see why people say to just buy all new poo poo as it allows you to be rather reckless with your dis-assembly.
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Jan 27, 2013 07:32
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Beach Bum posted:I have been hunting for a set of the old-school cloth Recaros for ages. I think I'd be better off with an aftermarket seat from Recaro/Sparco though, I'm fuckin' 6'4" and getting in/out of the E30 is like human origami. Same height and you aint joking. http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/cup_holder/ are these any good? Not having a cup holder is like the most frustrating about this car so far.
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Jan 27, 2013 18:27
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I would assume it's better than nothing. The E30 has just trained me not to eat/drink in the car, unless it's like a water bottle.
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Jan 27, 2013 19:00
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Bottled EVERYTHING. I started keeping a pack of bottled water in the trunk to discourage me from going into gas stations and buying sodas as an excuse for being thirsty, and the little 20oz bottles fit in the coin tray thingy in the center console pretty nicely.
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Jan 27, 2013 19:17
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Well it's only $9 and shipping is free so it's not like I'm out much if it winds up sucking. I'll give a trip report when it shows up.
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Jan 27, 2013 19:56
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Powdered Toast Man posted:There's also not one for sale within a hundred miles of me, so there's that. There were only 690 01-02 M Coupes sold in North America (the older pre 2001 models with the 240 HP S52 had about 2180 sold in NA). It's pretty much the rarest BMW in the states short of a 507. (For comparison, BMW sold more Z8s at their starting price of $128k+ in the US than they did of all the E86 M Coupes sold in the US put together). If the sellers had actually ever answered their phone or checked their voicemail, I may very well have ended up with a black Z3 coupe (non-M) instead of my E46. P.S. black Z3 /M coupes look like the batmobile. Militant Lesbian fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Jan 27, 2013 |
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Jan 27, 2013 20:04
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I would not want a regular Z3. It's basically a 318ti with less practicality.
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Jan 27, 2013 21:24
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KakerMix posted:I have a 94 e34 Touring that I love, but it's a little light on power, so I've been getting jonesed' up for the 3 Series sport wagon that the US gets here in the spring. 240+ horses in a new, taut wagon skin seems great. 5'ers will generally have nicer equipment than its little brother. That includes seats and other parts. But for what its worth, if your not to opposed to an older car, look for an E60 (08 I think is the last year). The 535xi is a god drat hoot to drive for a large wagon. Plus the AWD and the turbo 6 it is like driving a really really fancy Subaru Outback.
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Jan 28, 2013 03:00
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revmoo posted:I would not want a regular Z3. It's basically a 318ti with less practicality. An early Z3 with the 1.8, yes. A late year one with an M54B30, whole different car. Also, they look miles better than a Miata.
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Jan 28, 2013 03:04
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BrokenKnucklez posted:5'ers will generally have nicer equipment than its little brother. That includes seats and other parts. But for what its worth, if your not to opposed to an older car, look for an E60 (08 I think is the last year). The 535xi is a god drat hoot to drive for a large wagon. Plus the AWD and the turbo 6 it is like driving a really really fancy Subaru Outback. You don't say?
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Jan 28, 2013 05:23
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If you don't buy that, I may have to drive to where ever you live and smack the poo poo out of you. (sorry I couldn't remember the year that they stopped bringing in the E61) That is one clean wagon.
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Jan 28, 2013 05:46
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So my e39 540i/6 has been feeling kinda notchy to shift, especially when cold. Research shows rebuilding these boxes is $$$$$. I'm only at 96k, but the history I've learned of this car makes me worry the transmission may have been abused. I'm going to start with a fluid change, and while I'm down there I'll look at the shift bushings. I know there's no real consensus on fluid, but iirc, if I go for redline or RP syncromax or oem I shouldn't be in bad shape right? If it's the bushings messing up alignment, the pelican kit is $170 and there's some kind of kit on ecs which doesn't seem to make sense based on the realoem diagram I suppose while I'm down there I can check out the guibo, but that's unlikely.
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Jan 28, 2013 07:15
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Fuuuuck that's nice! I'd get a plane ticket to Florida, and buy it in a heartbeat if I had the cash.
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Jan 28, 2013 08:40
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Old and busted: 1995 323i failed its safety inspection. Sold it to a dude who loves old E36 BMWs, and he has already started fixing it up. New hotness:  2007 E91 320d with every package you could ever wish for, except external M aerodynamics. I'm picking it up Thursday or Friday, and I'm crazy excited for it! I get a 3 month warranty, 2 year safety inspection, and the interior has been detailed after the pictures were taken. All the pictures and moon language ad: http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/viewimage?finnkode=39516541
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Jan 28, 2013 14:32
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evobatman posted:New hotness: Diesel? Check. Wagon? Check. Sexy 3 series styling? Check. I'm jealous.
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Jan 28, 2013 16:46
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I have started looking around for a used 335i or 135i. How is the reliability and annual maintenance on these? Are there any "bad" years? Some things need to be checked/replaced right away? Would probably getting it from a BMW dealer. Thanks in advance!
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Jan 28, 2013 17:16
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-A n i m 8- posted:I have started looking around for a used 335i or 135i. How is the reliability and annual maintenance on these? Are there any "bad" years? Some things need to be checked/replaced right away? Would probably getting it from a BMW dealer. Thanks in advance! If you're looking to own it until the earth stop spinning, you might stay away from cars with the N54 engine (so, 335s from '07-10 and 135s from '08-10), since their fuel pumps had a high failure rate. Currently covered by a recall (iirc, the recall units fail also) and special 10(?) year warranty, but after that you're on your own. Or am I misremembering and this has all been taken care of?
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Jan 28, 2013 17:53
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How come Europe gets the cloth seats? I'm not a big leather fan.
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Jan 28, 2013 18:03
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Because in North America BMW is marketed as an upscale brand so we get all the luxury goodies (and the price tags to match).
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Jan 28, 2013 18:04
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I want some houndstooth cloth recaros 
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Jan 28, 2013 19:40
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televiper posted:If you're looking to own it until the earth stop spinning, you might stay away from cars with the N54 engine (so, 335s from '07-10 and 135s from '08-10), since their fuel pumps had a high failure rate. Currently covered by a recall (iirc, the recall units fail also) and special 10(?) year warranty, but after that you're on your own. No, you're right. I have an '09 335xi I bought last June and on the maintenance report the HPFP had already been done in the first year of the car's life, but there is an 8 year extended warranty so I'm not too worried about the replacement going too. Other than an easily fixed twitchy rear blinker the car has been spectacular. PCJ-600 fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Jan 28, 2013 |
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Jan 28, 2013 21:30
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televiper posted:If you're looking to own it until the earth stop spinning, you might stay away from cars with the N54 engine (so, 335s from '07-10 and 135s from '08-10), since their fuel pumps had a high failure rate. Currently covered by a recall (iirc, the recall units fail also) and special 10(?) year warranty, but after that you're on your own. The hpfp doesn't matter. It has so long of a warranty that any problems that come up are going to be something other than hpfp. I've had my 08 for 100000km and ive had a bad water pump and leaky power steering cooler.
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Jan 28, 2013 22:04
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N54 engines also suffer from carbon build-up on the valves and wastegate rattling, which the latter has led to some people replacing the turbos.
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Jan 29, 2013 00:37
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Billy Zane posted:N54 engines also suffer from carbon build-up on the valves Isn't this nearly every DI engine ever, except some of the new ones that have port injection running in tandem?
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Jan 29, 2013 01:07
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With non DI engines you could avoid that by thrashing them every so often - is that not the case now-a-days?
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Jan 29, 2013 01:08
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Billy Zane posted:N54 engines also suffer from carbon build-up on the valves and wastegate rattling, which the latter has led to some people replacing the turbos. They extended the warranty on that stuff to 8 years/82K miles.
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Jan 29, 2013 01:10
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Realjones posted:They extended the warranty on that stuff to 8 years/82K miles. But then what? I mean, I don't know about you, but none of the 4 BMWs I've owned have had less than 108k on the clock when I bought them, and two have had over 200k. But I admit I may be a scrub. televiper fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Jan 29, 2013 |
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Jan 29, 2013 01:14
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Re: carbon build-up: people have been either cleaning the valves themselves, which is more tedious than difficult, or having the dealers perform walnut shell blasting for about $300 after 60k miles or something.
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Jan 29, 2013 01:29
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Bought this as a winter beater/daily driver: 2013 328i Xdrive M-Sport. Premium Package Lighting Package Cold Weather Package It still hasn't been PDI'd, and it's waiting for some parts to come in so they can fix the brake squealing thing that happens on the m-sports. Supposed to get it by the end of the week, or early next week. Depends on how much they dick around, I guess. :| They gave me a loaner to drive in the mean time, just an X3 28i. Kinda peppy for a relatively big SUV , but I like the N20 engine. Test drove a 335i xdrive, fully loaded. Was going to order one, with same options as the 328 I ended up with. But didn't want to spend the money on a second overly sporty car when I have the M3 (which would end up neglected). Also wanted to spend less and get some better fuel economy. Bummed I can't get the 328xi's with a manual, but for a winter beater/DD it'll be fine. Driving home from school the other night, stuck in traffic in lovely weather was the turning point to lean towards the 328's. Test drove a luxury 328 and it was boring on the inside, but peppy fun engine that's good enough for me and then sat in that and some of the sports line 328s and the M-sport in the Estoril Blue II is amazing in person. Had to go with that. Second Estoril Blue F30 in the state (so far). Interior will look like this:  exterior from bmw site  Now I can finally let my e36 M3 rest during the winters! And a picture of the M3, just because... 
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Jan 29, 2013 01:55
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televiper posted:If you're looking to own it until the earth stop spinning, you might stay away from cars with the N54 engine (so, 335s from '07-10 and 135s from '08-10), since their fuel pumps had a high failure rate. Currently covered by a recall (iirc, the recall units fail also) and special 10(?) year warranty, but after that you're on your own. The HPFP thing is still ongoing, but my understanding is the latest revisions of the pump have solved probably 75% of the problem. Also, I'm pretty sure the special warranty is carried by the part itself and has nothing to do with the normal vehicle warranty. By doing this. BMW has effectively said they'll replace (and continue to replace) the part regardless of how old the car is.
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Jan 29, 2013 02:40
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Wow, the current M3 has really taken a depreciation beating hasn't it? I test drove a 2008 Coupe that was listed at 37k the other day. Other than the usual M-tax, eating rear tires alarmingly quickly and horrible fuel mileage (I averaged 10.8mpg on the test drive) are there any other major issues with the current M3?
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Jan 29, 2013 04:00
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About a week and a half ago, someone backed into my 2001 330ci in a parking garage, and his insurance has since declared my car totaled. So now I'm looking at buying another e46, and have been negotiating with a local used dealer on a car I found this past weekend. I'd love some advice on this decision if anyone can provide some! I'm looking at a 2003 330ci with about 100k miles, electric red with black interior and wood grain paneling. Its got the sport and performance packages, but is otherwise stock from what I can tell. Clean carfax. And the car itself is extremely clean inside and out (cleanest I've been able to find in my price range). Problem is, I had my mechanic check it out, and it threw up a couple of issues. Lower arm control bushings are shot, there's an oil leak, and the clutch is on its way out (mechanic estimated another 10k-ish miles, maybe a bit more or less). I've taken it back to the dealer, and they're looking at fixing the oil issue, and they're putting new bushings on it. That said, they're not going to put in a new clutch, and it doesn't look like they're going to budge much at all on the price I'd already negotiated. That was $12,000. They did offer to do the clutch in their shop when it comes time to do so, at an "in house rate" - I'm waiting on a call for the estimate. What do y'all think? Is this a good deal or should I back out of this one? $12k is on the higher end for a car like this (right about the KBB retail value), but the clutch is gonna need to be replaced probably this year. That said, that's probably true of must e46's with 100k miles, which is mostly what I'm looking at. Any thoughts?
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Jan 29, 2013 18:13
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Just being nitpicky, but you can't have both "performance package" and "sport package". The performance package is also known as the ZHP which should be easy to discern from a sport package. Having woodgrain I'd say you've got a sport package. That said, back off. 12k for 100k with a bad clutch is a bit ridiculous. Sounds like a shady dealer which means you should just forget the car and look elsewhere.
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Jan 29, 2013 18:31
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cendien posted:Any thoughts? If it was me, I would pass. The dealer just really cleaned the poo poo out of it and didn't pay a lick of attention to the mechanical. I should also add that the person before you that owned this car didn't want to take care of the issues that were coming up and dumped it. To me, that just screams an unmaintained car. Sure the car has never been an accident and etc, but a car that hasn't been looked after... I would be a little wary of it. Plus your looking at a cooling system refresh soon too, its about that time.
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Jan 29, 2013 18:32
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I've seen it mentioned in a couple of posts recently that mechanics are telling people that the clutch on their cars has xxx amount of miles left, and even a friend who had a PPI done recently got something similar in his report. Assuming it's not already slipping, short of literally dropping the transmission and inspecting the clutch and flywheel how the hell do they make that claim? It's one thing to say "hey it's a 10 year old car with 100k miles, keep in mind that it might need a clutch soon depending on how it has been driven - or not, who knows!", but to say with some authority that "the clutch has 10k miles left" is another thing entirely and reeks of BS.
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Jan 29, 2013 18:36
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Crustashio posted:Just being nitpicky, but you can't have both "performance package" and "sport package". The performance package is also known as the ZHP which should be easy to discern from a sport package. Having woodgrain I'd say you've got a sport package. My mistake - I meant sport and premium. Just mistyped. Thanks for the advice. I'm waiting to hear if they have a better offer this afternoon. Guinness posted:I've seen it mentioned in a couple of posts recently that mechanics are telling people that the clutch on their cars has xxx amount of miles left, and even a friend who had a PPI done recently got something similar in his report. Assuming it's not already slipping, short of literally dropping the transmission and inspecting the clutch and flywheel how the hell do they make that claim? It's one thing to say "hey it's a 10 year old car with 100k miles, keep in mind that it might need a clutch soon depending on how it has been driven - or not, who knows!", but to say with some authority that "the clutch has 10k miles left" is another thing entirely and reeks of BS. He was basing this assumption on the fact that the clutch is engaging at the top of the pedal. cendien fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Jan 29, 2013 |
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Jan 29, 2013 18:40
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cendien posted:My mistake - I meant sport and premium. Just mistyped. Its well worth finding a well sorted car that will provide you years of trouble free enjoyment. Unless they give you a wicked good deal, just walk away.
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Jan 29, 2013 18:44
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televiper posted:With non DI engines you could avoid that by thrashing them every so often - is that not the case now-a-days? It doesn't help - the problem with a DI-only engine is that no fuel ever passes the intake valves, so all of the poo poo that gets sucked in by way of EGR and PCV sticks to the valves and never gets washed off.
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Jan 29, 2013 18:59
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