BMW 328i questions

[pacem]

Looking at a '98 328i with 144K miles, 5-spd.

It has no maintenance records whatsoever. Assuming nothing
has been done to it, the mileage is such that it's heading into the
major repairs zone, IMO.


Should I assume that within the next 10-20K miles I will have
to replace lots of things, like: clutch, suspension, gear box,
and of course the entire cooling system - the water pump
and the plastic radiator.

 

[nel]

My wife has a '97 328i with 115K miles. Speaking with experience of owning both an e30 and an e36, I wouldn't buy another BMW without having access to past maintenance records or speaking with the shop that's been maintaining it (unless I'm familiar with the owner and his/her maintenance habits). In addition, this particular car has more miles than average (~18K/year). E36's are not rare; you can do better.

Having said this, if you're especially enamored by this car, you should have it checked out by a BMW specialist before buying. If nothing else, it may give you additional negotiating leverage.

BMW clutches last a long time, so that's probably one less thing to worry about. You will have to replace the front lower control arms (ball joints go around this mileage), the bushings that attach to them, struts, rear shocks, rear shock mounts. Waterpumps are good for about 60K miles; radiators for ~100K. You may as well replace the thermostat while you're in there. In the rear, the trailing arm bushings will be due for replacement; likewise, the flex disc between the driveshaft and transmission.

One last note: M52s are strong engines but are susceptible to overheating with neglected cooling systems. If that happens, you're looking at replacing the head gasket and possibly more. So, be careful.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

I just bought a used 1995 325i convertible for my daughter. The car had 149K , and was cheap. No records, but had a perfect body and paint, and a clean Carfax report.

>>>I have a carfax account for 2 more weeks if you need a free report.
I took a chance, and feel that I got lucky and found a great car.

I took it home, cleaned it, clay barred it, paint sealed it, and gave the car a thorough cleaning, inspection, and detailed it inside and out. [ including polishing the plastic headlight lenses, brighter halogen bulbs, and new fog lights.

There were almost no dealer service records available when I ran the VIN through BMW and contacted the selling and servicing BMW dealerships.

That car has the M50 motor. I did the research on bimmerfest.com, bimmerforums.com, and various other online sites, and this vehicle had the typical service need and weaknesses for its year and model. So I knew what I needed to look for and budget for.

I changed the water pump to the newest Composite impeller version, swapped the plastic t-stat housing for an aluminum version,new t-stat, new belts and tensioners, new plugs and 'coilpack to sparkplug boots', and valve cover gasket.

I also changed all fluids and filters, sucked the fluid out of the power steering reservoir and replaced with new fluid [ repeated process 4 times ] and flushed the brake fluid and switched to Ate Super Blue.

I did the Auto RX treatment, and switched to Redline in the diff, and repeated 'drain and fills' with Castrol Dexron III /Mercon.

I ordered, new 225/45-17 tires from tirerack for $83, new bushings front and rear for the lower control arms and trailing arms, and fresh Bilsteins with all strut bearings, rear mounts, reinforcements,boots ,etc.

I can then decide if I will upgrade the sway bars or add more suspension reinforcements or upgraded suspension parts.


The front lower arms [ ball joints ] , the control arm bushings, and tie rod ends were in good shape on this car, as was the radiator and plastic fan and viscous clutch.

But these are normal wear items on these cars and always need regular inspection... and replacement every 80K or so.

I'm very happy with this car, since the worn parts were primarily the parts I would have upgraded anyway, or were normal service items.

My experience has been that BMW's are very good cars if you do most of the service yourself and learn as much as you can about them from other BMW enthusiasts. [at least this for the e30 that I own with 465K, and hopefully this for this e36]

There are many affordable suppliers of high quality oem and performance parts, if you do the research and know prices, and what and where to buy.

It also really helps if you have a highly competent, and honest, independant BMW specialist garage to work with and to evaluate the car.

If you love the car, and it hasn't been abused, neglected, or wrecked...you may find that the BMW's can be a lot of fun. They can last a long time and can be tuned to perform very well and provide a lot of driving fun.

But, you have to spend the money it takes to keep them up.

My 1986 325es has a lot of suspension and brake mods, and the usual engine upgrades, and at almost 500K it drives like a go cart, gets over 28 mpg, and still does not use a drop of oil. [ Redline 10W-40 ]

We are lucky enough to have lots of new cars, and own Porsche and Mercedes. But I enjoy driving the BMW the most.