OT - Opinions wanted on older BMW 3 series

[jumphigher]

Didnt read the entire thread but here are my thoughts. BMW has made both great and not-so-great cars. I had an e30 3 series (made from '84-99 I think), and it was a really fantastic car (ie reliable, well made) that I put over 300k on before I sold it. And currently my wife has an '05 X3, which has also been a great. reliable vehicle.

What I would do in your situation OP, is join a BMW forum and ask specifically about the model and year of the car you're thinking of buying. You'll get a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the car. I did that with my wife's X3, and my '90 Miata before buying. Good luck!

[tylercheung]

I think e46fanatics.com or something like that has a lot of resources.

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by jumphigher

What I would do in your situation OP, is join a BMW forum

The signal:noise is awful on most car forums.

[jumphigher]

Originally Posted by .RJ

The signal:noise is awful on most car forums.

I agree wholeheatedly. But I think if you can weed through a lot of the BS you can find some really good info. Even reading past threads about your particular car.

[summilux]

Originally Posted by Louis

However, if "service items" means more than one (maybe two) replacements over the life of the vehicle (assuming, say, 250k to 300k miles total life for the car) then that's either bad design and/or manufacturing or an intentional situation designed to be a revenue generator long after the initial purchase.

BMW water pumps and starters are notoriously poor. For the E90 3 series (2006-2012) average life for the pumps is ~80-90K miles, starters ~100-120K miles. Bad design? Yup. If the water pump impeller was made of metal instead of plastic, there wouldn't be these failures. The variable time system (VANOS) in the engines is quite sensitive to dirty oil and without regular 12K changes you are prone to all kinds of engine malfunctions. This is no Honda Civic! Most owners just view this as part of the cost of having a supremely fun car to drive. On one of the BMW forums I frequent there is one guy who has over 300K miles on his E90 so a 3 series can be a long-term car as long as you understand the cost/benefit ratio.

Water pump replacement is ~1K USD from an independent. Starter about the same. In the grand scheme of things this is not a huge sum of money, but is something to keep in mind. BMW also requires fancy oil. An E90 oil change is about $50 USD in oil and filter cost alone. It's easy to do yourself, but an indy will charge about $100.