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My 1998 328i. I really like the car, but I want to move on to something else. The wife (MY WIFE) is looking at E46 M3s, E46 330s, and Caymans. Tab8715 posted:How much are you guys spending on maintenance? I'm curious to see how much you're putting into BMWs that have got ~200k. How often are they breaking down? I've put roughly $5k into mine in 2 years including the wheels. That's with the services and oil changes and minor poo poo that has broken. Nothing has left me stranded. However, I get nearly everything done at an independent BMW mechanic because I don't have the time to work on this car and my project Mustang, so my prices are significantly higher than a DIYer's would be. Owning a BMW is like owning any other car. You get used to people cutting you off and not letting you merge because you're an rear end in a top hat in a BMW. I don't think the driving experience is magical or anything, but I can see how you would if your only other automotive experience was a Civic or something. Don't get me wrong, BMW's are fun to drive and look pretty good (until the current generation which are ugly), but they aren't life changing or anything. frozenphil fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Mar 28, 2008 |
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Mar 28, 2008 18:07
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Scrubed posted:Mileage and is it for sale? 144k and yes it's for sale. I'm not actively trying to sell it, but if someone shows me the money it's theirs.
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Mar 28, 2008 20:26
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I think I may have shattered some folks' preconceived notions about BMW drivers the other day. On my way home from work I was blasting Kalmah - Tordah with the windows down and just rocking out in general. This Cherokee pulls up next to me and I see the dude driving and his passenger are rocking out with me and motioning for me to turn it down so they can talk. They are both covered in tattoos and piercings and had a look of amazement in their eyes at the dude in khakis and a polo rocking out to metal in his BMW. "Who is that?"  "Kalmah" "They rock, man!"They threw up the horns and we went on about our way navigating through traffic.
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Apr 1, 2008 22:37
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Xenoid posted:Does anybody have any ideas? JB Weld trick. Get a cheap socket and JB Weld it to the stripped bolt. Once the JB Weld sets up you can just insert your ratchet into the socket and off she comes. In your case you'll have to have a few sockets, but whatever.
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Apr 4, 2008 20:37
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Xenoid posted:I like this. So what the gently caress made this happen in the first place? I'm using a 6mm hex which is the correct tool and it STILL strips? lovely bolts. You can substitute cut-off bolt heads for sockets if you can't find any cheap sockets. Just cut the bolt head off leaving only a couple mm of "stub" thread and sink that into the JB Weld. Then you can get a socket on it and turn it that way.
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Apr 4, 2008 21:22
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It's not hard to drive a high horsepower car in the rain if your tires aren't poo poo and you're not a moron/driving like a moron.
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Apr 4, 2008 22:21
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CornHolio posted:Do I need the special tool to remove the large mechanical fan at the from of the engine? I've heard both yes and no from various places. You'll wish you had it if you don't get it. I didn't bother because it just looked like a skinny wrench. I ended up putting a cheap wrench to the grinder to make it fit. The right tool makes the job 100x easier. Even without, it only took me a few hours to do the job and that was only because it was the first time I'd ever worked on a BMW. I could probably do the job in 30 minutes now. How does your radiator look? If they end caps are ugly you might want to go ahead and do it while you have everything else apart. Same goes for the thermostat cover. You'll have it off anyway so you might as well replace it while you're in there if it looks questionable. The PO of my car gave me an aluminum housing and a new thermostat and it got swapped on the day after I brought the car home (thermostat was dead so I was going to be in their anyway). He had already swapped in a new radiator, so I got lucky there.
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Apr 8, 2008 16:11
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CornHolio posted:Im pretty sure I have an aluminum thermostat housing, but Im not sure about the radiator - what should I look for while Im in there specifcally, with regards to the radiator? Check the end caps on the radiator to make sure they don't have any cracks or weak looking areas. For some reason, BMW thought it a good idea to make them out of plastic. They are a very common weak spot in the cooling system and usually break within 80k miles. Here's a guide to doing the job if you need it. http://www.bimmerdiy.com/diy/e36coolingsystem/
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Apr 8, 2008 16:26
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There's a pretty cool project over on the turbo forums. A guy bought an E30 325es and is swapping a Ford turbo 2.3 4 cylinder into it. Should save a ton of weight and allow extremely easy horsepower gains. They also have the added bonus of knocking down 30+mpg while still making 300hp. You can pick up turbo 2.3s for well under $100 in running condition all day long as they were used in a ton of Thunderbirds and other Ford cars besides the SVO Mustangs. Could be a good idea for you track rats or Lemons folks. Comedy picture option: 
frozenphil fucked around with this message at 21:33 on Apr 21, 2008 |
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Apr 21, 2008 21:30
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dvorak posted:So I got a brand new 750Li in February. Are you some kind of automotive masochist? You need to add an 8 series, Jaguar, and a VW to your collection to truly tip the scale towards insanely unreliable automotive fleet.
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Jul 7, 2008 18:10
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Anyone know of a decent write up for replacing the rear bearings and hubs on an E36 and what parts I need to order? Mine are howling like crazy and while I love my mechanic, I don't love him enough to give him $1100 to replace some wheel bearings.
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Jul 15, 2008 17:27
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For the Birmingham BMW folks, you need to check out Stephen's Garage (326-4542, 4105 4th Ave. South, Birmingham, AL 35222). He just did the wheel bearing in the right rear and fixed the brake light board (removed it, soldered up the burned spot, and replaced the bulb socket) for me for $383. Momentum quoted me $550 for the bearing only. I looked into doing it myself after the Momentum quote and parts were going to run me $278, the tool another $250, and approximately 3 hours of labor. I called a buddy to see if he had the tool and he told me to ask Stephen what he would charge. He's a one man shop and has been working on BMWs for 30+ years. I guess I found a new shop. Hopefully Rory will make it without me. 
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Jul 30, 2008 22:37
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CornHolio posted:sometimes I wonder if I should say 'gently caress it' to owning an awesome car and get some boring-rear end Honda or something. That's what I'm going through. I'm really tired of having my daily driver require more time and money than my project car. It recently developed a wonderful knock from the front right (passenger) suspension and I'm sick of dumping money into a 10 year old, 152k mile commuter car.
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Sep 11, 2008 17:44
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Adnuo posted:My E46 key fob died a week ago. I assumed it was just a dead battery and waited until my 3 hour round-trip this weekend so it could nicely charge. However, it's still dead. The back of the key comes off. Try a small flat head precision (jewelery) screwdriver. If your key is like my E36 key, you may need to resolder a broken/loose contact point around the metal clip that holds the battery in place. There are 3 contact points (on the E36 anyway) and mine had broken 2 of them and the thrid was about to break. It took me roughly 30 seconds to fix my non-functioning key.
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Sep 15, 2008 17:54
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two_beer_bishes posted:Christ, I put this request up on a couple E30 forums also and I'm getting nothing but alarmist replies to pull the loving engine and rebuild it or at the very least replace the wire harness. It's always nice to come back to SA... I'm curious, what basis are they using for suggesting you rebuild that engine or replace the entire wiring harness? Do they believe the fire was so intense as to change the very alloy of the engine's internal components? Do they think the wiring is going to be chemically altered farther down the harness where you wish to splice it in such a way that it won't transmit electricity? Kids these days; what with their need for everything to be brand new and to just throw away stuff that is "broken".
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Sep 15, 2008 22:36
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frozenphil posted:That's what I'm going through. I'm really tired of having my daily driver require more time and money than my project car. It recently developed a wonderful knock from the front right (passenger) suspension and I'm sick of dumping money into a 10 year old, 152k mile commuter car. I'm dumping more money into my 10 year old, 152k mile commuter car because every other car on the market in the sub-$25k range completely bores me. 
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Sep 16, 2008 18:50
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Ugh, why do I end up working on my daily driver more than my project vehicle? gently caress BMW and gently caress their leaky coolant systems!
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Oct 20, 2008 22:00
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CornHolio posted:Pelican Parts has everything for $277 but that doesn't include the reinforcements that were $20 each. So ultimately they're a little more expensive. I placed my first order with BavAuto last week and I doubt I'll be going back to them. The only reason I ordered from them was because they had the fan clutch tool in stock; according to their website anyway. Turns out they didn't actually have it in stock and didn't notify me it was on backorder (they told me they were supposed to be in Sep. 3rd when I asked how long of a wait I was looking at) until the box got to my house. I burned a day for nothing since I couldn't remove the fan clutch to do the water pump. I wasn't too pissed because it looks like the fan clutch burned up as well so I had to go ahead and order one of those from Pelican and the fan clutch tool from Amazon. Apparently the water pump bearing is wore out enough that it let the water pump droop forward allowing the fan to actually get caught behind the fan shroud, burning up the fan clutch. Luckily the fan and shroud stayed in one piece, somehow. At any rate, I don't like to support a company who can't update their website or at least notify you when you place your order that a part is back ordered. There's no excuse for it in 2008. As an aside, what the gently caress is with BMW parts dealers and their atrocious shipping times? I order stuff for my '67 Mustang project all the time and their free shipping never takes more than 2 days to get to me. Why does it take every single BMW parts supplier on Earth at least a week to get parts to me?
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Nov 6, 2008 17:34
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I'm doing the waterpump and fan clutch in my E36 tomorrow and I was wondering if there is anything special I need to look out for or if it is just as straight forward as it appears to be. I have the fan clutch holder tool as well as the 32mm wrench, so I should be good to go.
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Nov 11, 2008 01:12
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I changed the water pump and the fan clutch, get everything buttoned back up, top off the fluids. Hmmm, only able to get a gallon back in the system when nearly 2 gallons came out. Oh hey, no heat! loving thermostat is now stuck closed. It was previously working fine, but it decided to take a poo poo after replacing the water pump and fan clutch. I originally just ordered the waterpump because that was all that was bad; then the fan clutch poo poo out when I pulled into my drive way to replace the waterpump. I ordered the fan clutch and delayed the repair another week only to find out the thermostat took a poo poo too. Do yourself a favor and just replace all 3 if you have to replace any one of them.
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Nov 13, 2008 02:50
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I finally got the thermostat installed after waiting an extra day due to Advance Auto not ordering the gaskets for the thermostat and housing. On the way home from the shop where I was working on my Mustang the fan exploded and took out the radiator. gently caress BMW's and their cooling systems. To recap, my waterpump went out, so I ordered one and waited a week for it to arrive. When I went to install the waterpump I noticed that the fan was wedged under the fan shroud, toasting the fan clutch. I ordered a new fan clutch and waited another week for it to come in. I got the new waterpump and fan clutch in, topped off the fluids, and promptly discovered the thermostat had stuck closed. I wait another week, plus a day, for the thermostat to come in, get everything all buttoned up, and the fan explodes taking the radiator with it. Looks like I get to take apart and drain the cooling system for the third time next weekend. I think I'm going to go ahead and replace the expansion tank and all of the hoses while I'm at it because gently caress doing this again for a fourth time. Remeber kids, if it's been 80k miles since your last cooling system over haul and any one component needs to be replaced, save yourself the time and effort and just replace the entire cooling system.
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Nov 17, 2008 16:23
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Sterndotstern posted:Your direct experience confirms all forum lore I've ever read and only serves to reinforce my belief that, when it comes to BMWs, spending the extra few bucks to "do it while I'm in there" is always a good idea. Sorry for your suffering, but thanks for sharing it with us. Yeah, I've always chalked it up to exactly that, forum lore. The funny thing is that I had told my wife I should just go ahead and do it all while I'm in there. That idea got shot down due to financial reasoning. Why spend $500 when all I need is a $70 part? In the end I'll be spending a little more due to not qualifying for free shipping on a few orders because they were under the price threshold and I'll have wasted four weeks of downtime on a job that otherwise would only have taken an afternoon.
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Nov 17, 2008 16:40
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So I bought the fan, radiator, and expansion tank (might as well do it so I don't have to pull apart the cooling system a fourth time in a month) along with a few odds and ends to complete the job from rmeuropean. Their website quoted me out 3 day shipping and I placed my order on Monday. I got an email Tuesday telling me that it had shipped and giving me a tracking number. I check the tracking number and the ETA is.....Monday. I am absolutely loving working on my daily driver that requires nearly every part for common maintenance and repair items to be special ordered and take at least a week to arrive from all 3 of the major BMW parts places. It's a sad loving day when I can go into an Autozone and pickup a waterpump or an oil pump that is in stock, on the shelf, for a '67 Mustang but I have to special order a loving thermostat or anything else for a '98 BMW. I'm seriously considering selling this Ultimate Driving Machine once I have it back up and running and just getting an Accord.
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Nov 21, 2008 20:57
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multiprotocol posted:But if you do that how is Rory going to stay in business? Heh. I'm sure he'll get by somehow. Besides, I've been using a dude over on 4th and 41st. He's a one man machine that has decent prices and does great work. He replaced my bearings for me in the rear for like $300 after Rory quoted me out like $1100. He also re-soldered my brake light housing connection for free so my brake light would stop throwing a code and not working.
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Nov 25, 2008 00:05
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multiprotocol posted:Ah yes, Stephen Wittkop. That man is a national loving treasure. He fixed my shitbird crossthreaded sparkplug (thanks, previous owner!) for $300 after Rory quoted me TWENTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS to pull the head and do it. Yeah, a friend used to work with him when they worked at a shop that specialized in old British cars so I kinda got the hook up. Don't tell anyone, but I do pretty much all of the work on my car anyway. I just like messing with miklm because he seems to have an issue with it.  Also, I've never had an M3 but I am down for lunch sometime after I get the radiator replaced this week/weekend.
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Nov 25, 2008 17:07
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Christoff posted:How feasible is it to daily drive and own an E36 BMW? I was thinking along the lines of a 325, 328, or even M3? I'm on a pretty low budget but would most likely be able to afford the car outright. I am a student but do work full time. Don't make a lot of money but being rent free has its benefits. Of course most people, including myself. Think of BMWs as expensive as hell to maintain. Including parts and labor. I'm not too mechanically savvy. I know the M3 parts are dealer only but for the other ones you can get knock offs that are just as good? What kind of routine maintenance would I be looking at? I find the E36 BMWs to be surprisingly affordable. How do they hold up? (I know. Take care of it and it will take care of you). Anything to particularly look for or avoid? I've spent roughly $3k in parts alone for my '98 328i over the last 3 years. Not a single one of those parts were for anything other than common failure items on E36 BMWs. If you can do the work yourself and can keep at least a grand squirreled away for maintenance, you'll be fine. If you can't do the work yourself and/or can't afford around $1k a year in maintenance, look elsewhere. I'd also look elsewhere if the BMW will be your only car and you can't go a few days without a vehicle.
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Dec 1, 2008 16:28
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TractionControl posted:As long as you look over the cooling system with a fine tooth comb...it shouldn't be TOO bad. Those are the common failure points. Those are the major things about E30s, and E36s. I would just go ahead and replace the entire cooling system if you don't know when it was done last. If you do pick one up ask in here what all parts you need. If you have all of the parts you need at first it is a couple hour job, tops. If you try to just buy what you know needs to be replaced and wing it you'll end up like me, waiting 5 weeks to complete what should be no more than a 3 hour job. 
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Dec 9, 2008 04:23
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I fixed all of the little niggling crap that was wrong with my E36 this weekend....I sold it and bought an '09 Accord.
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Jan 5, 2009 22:19
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Sterndotstern posted:What? How much? Sold it for $4k. I could have gotten a good deal more for it private party, but I got the Accord at $500 below invoice, so I made out alright.
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Jan 6, 2009 00:04
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CornHolio posted:Some of us disagree I have a project car. I didn't need a daily driver that takes just as much maintenance and money to keep running as my project.
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Jan 6, 2009 04:48
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My wife wants another BMW. What's the best way to talk her out of it seeing as how referencing our last BMW hasn't worked?
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Oct 22, 2010 03:27
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Trapdoor posted:You're asking for advice on how not to get a BMW, in a BMW thread? Search my post history in this thread.
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Oct 23, 2010 19:40
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CornHolio posted:Has anybody replaced an E36 sedan blower motor? Yes. It's a tedious as gently caress job, but not a terribly difficult one. It's one of those jobs where one step will take the majority of your time; specifically as you try to finagle the motor itself in/out of its spot.
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Oct 24, 2010 20:50
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