BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

laurasdada

..is the caption below a horrible picture in the 9/14 edition of my local paper. The home was destroyed by a fire that originated in the engine compartment of the owner's two month old BMW. The paper lists the BMW as a 503, I'm guessing they mean 530. You really can't tell from the picture. The house, the BMW, and a Mercedes ML are gone, gone, gone. Thank goodness, no one was hurt.
Just a lousy week for the civilized world...
Give blood regularly and know you are saving lives.

shipo

So far, all information points to the fact that the tires included on the SP are NOT all season radials. There are a number of indicators, which you can check:

On the sidewall of any tire, check to see if "M+S" is stamped on in, if not, you do not have all season rubber.

On the sidewall of any tire, check to see the "Treadwear" rating, anything less than 300 is most likely not an all season tire.

Connect to www.tirerack.com and look up your exact Make, Model and Size, I suspect that you will find that they are listed as "Max Performance" or "Ultra High Performance"; these tires are not all season tires.

Best Regards,
Shipo

mmcbride1

Less than 300 can still be all-season. My wife's I30 came with Toyo all-seasons. Their treadwear is 240 (pathetic). But they've held up fairly well at almost 20k miles. No doubt I'll need to put new ones on probably next fall or winter, though.

kominsky

I entirely agree that a narrower tire will get better bite in the snow. I will be getting 205/55(50?)/17's for my winter tires, not replacing with the OEM sizes (245mm rear & 225mm front).

kominsky

The brochure shows the exact same size tires/wheels on the sportpack and non-sportpack equipped cars (330Xi)... 205/50R-17. They are also both listed as all-season tires.

dinanger

Howdy. With regard to your last question asking about AWD taking away power from the 325xi, I drove one a few weeks ago and thought it did very well. To me there was no difference from the 325i. The power was excellent...not 330 excellent, but excellent nonetheless. I love the car and have one on order...it's due in late October.

shipo

I am also aware that a few all season tire models on the market have a low UTQG rating. I think that these are older tires (in design, not manufacture, please correct me if I am wrong). It is my understanding that the later (mostly after 1997) rubber compounds use a type of silica to replace some of the ash found in standard rubber compounds. The silica apparently allows tires to be more elastic in cold and wet conditions, which yields better traction, reduce the rolling resistance and increase the tire life.

A quick scan of the tirerack site showed only the Bridgestone Potenza RE92 (160-260) and the Goodyear Eagle RS-A (260) "All Season" tires with a treadwear rating of less than 300. I do not know if these two tires use the silica compound.

If anybody here actually knows this stuff for certain, please correct me.

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

That is true; the AWD versions of the E46 have the same rubber regardless of the package selected. The only cars that come with optional tires are the non-AWD cars equipped with SP. My message was regarding the 330i that Topspin627 just took delivery on; I assumed that it was not equipped with AWD. Maybe I missed the post that said that.

Best Regards,
Shipo

huntzinger

"Wouldn't changing the tire pressure on the 17's make the difference or just make the tires wear faster?"

Probably a bad idea. I assume that you're referring to running a lower tire pressure, to emulate those 4x4 trucks that drive down a sandy beach.

A lower tire pressure does lower your ground pressure psi. It is the correct thing for those 4x4 drivers to do because they're trying to "float" on top of the sand and be supported by it...they don't want to dig in.

For us, however, the snow isn't bottomless, so instead of being perched on top of it looking for traction, we will do better if we choose to dig down through the snow to reach pavement. As such, lowering the tire pressure is going the wrong way.

Plus, we know that an under inflated tire will increase your localized tire wear, and can also lead to overheating problems/failures (see Ford/Firestone)...generally a bad thing.

Going the "right" way for snow, to an over inflated tire, should reduce the tire footprint, but I haven't really ever heard of this as a possible solution for improved winter handling. An over inflated tire will also have a reduced tread life, which can also be somewhat nebulously dangerous, if you only measure tread depth at the easy-to-reach edge, as opposed to systematically measuring it across the width of the tire. I generally run pressures a little high in the summer to tighten up the car, but you have to be careful as to where, when and by how much...if you don't know what you're doing, you can really change the under/over-steer handling characteristics of the car. Note that NASCAR racing TV coverage talks about drivers making 1/2 and 1 psi pressure adjustments.

Overall, my philosophy on tires is that for as much as you've spent on the car, plus however much you think your life is worth, spending $750 for a set of dedicated winter snows is the only wise choice you can make...as a wise man named Stan Hanks once said (sic):

"once you've seen how small the contact patch of a tire is,
you'll never buy anything less than the absolute best."

Stan was originally referring to Motorcycles, but it was good advice on his Porsche list, and it applies for all of us for both summer and winter tires. "All-season" tires are comprimises that excel at neither and I don't tolerate them on any of my cars.

kominsky

my mistake, I mixed up posts.

mmcbride1

Well, it's a 2000 I30. I don't know tire manufacturing specifics, but I have heard that some tire mfg's will produce OEM tires with lower treadwear ratings than what you would find in the tire stores. They have held up relatively well, but not great by any stretch. We're at 18k miles and I'd expect to have to replace them by next summer or so (around 30-40k). My 4Runner's tires lasted longer than that, and they're truck tires.

They are Toyo Proxes (A05, I think). Treadwear is 240 (I looked at it yesterday). They must not make them anymore (or they don't make them available on the retail market because of the low treadwear, I don't know) because they're not listed on Toyo's own website.

shipo

If you are looking to replace your Toyo (I heard years ago that Toyo is owned by Goodyear) tires with other "All Season" rubber I can highly recommend the Michelin MXV4 Plus tires that came on my 328i. I now have 30,000 fairly hard miles on them and they still look new, I could easily see them giving at least 50,000 miles. While they may not have the best dry road "Stick" when compared to summer tires, I have absolutely no complaints about their ability to hold the road.

Best Regards,
Shipo

mmcbride1

The most frustrating thing about the I30's tires is that the car is not driven hard at all (nor are most I30's, I'd guess). It's my wife's car and she will go fast in a straight line, but slows to a near crawl to turn. The tires ride good, but their durability sucks. I will most certainly look for alternatives when the time comes. I know Michelin makes great tires.

dave330i

to the other 3-series owner with leather. How often do you treat it?

shipo

Oddly enough, I don't. In fact, I never have on any car, and I have had two that had well over 100,000 miles and the leather was still in great shape. If you want, I think I have pictures of the drivers seat from my 1995 Passat which had > 80,000 miles on it when I turned it in. The only "wear" that has ever been apparent on any of the seats in my cars has been the creases that eventually form from the flexing of the leather. In my mind, well used/broken in leather seats look better than the brand new stuff.

Best Regards,
Shipo

mmcbride1

I treat my wife's I30 leather 2-4 times per year with Lexol (basically whenever I remember). It only takes 10 minutes and it really makes the seats softer. It's cheap insurance, IMO. Leather ain't cheap to fix or replace.

brave1heart

means that the grooves on the tire make at least 25% of its total surface. The more grooves, the better the tire should be able to dig into the snow. Fewer and narrower grooves generally means a larger contact patch - better traction on dry/wet roads, i.e. the opposite of all season/winter tires. Note that the M+S rating says nothing about the compound and/or treadwear rating.

huntzinger

cnybmwbuyer writes:
"One more thing. I was considering a 325xi but I've heard the AWD takes away too much power from the smaller engine. Any thoughts?"

Yes. You can do whatever calculations you want, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, so there will be some reduction in performance. However, for the vast majority of the drivers out there, whatever the technical difference is, its going to be "lost in the sauce" of driver skill variations.

Unless you're already a semi-pro driver (and you wouldn't be asking this question if you were), you would benefit more from a good performance driving course than from buying this option.

The question to ask yourself is if you're buying a technology to try to make up for a skill deficiency. I guess the best way to express it is that as "enthusiasts", we're all a quantum leap better than the average "operator". But the truly *GOOD* drivers are another quantum level above us. This human factor always trumps minor differences in equipment, and sometimes major ones too.

What it really comes down to is why you're buying AWD in the first place...do you _really_ need it?

My personal philosophy is that you buy AWD only after you're sure that for your winter driving environment that dedicated snow tires are not enough to get you through.

For most of us, we can choose to stay at home in lousy weather (or go home from work early), so we can leave AWD for the Doctors on Call, Firemen, Police, EMT's, etc. The only real exception is the "exceptional commute" requirement, such as West Orange Mountain on I-280 in northern NJ...its famous for being a nightmare, and the state DOT chooses to contract its winter clearing out to a contractor rather than deal with it themselves.

-hh

mmcbride1

I disagree. I purchased AWD (albeit an A4) because it provides more stability and control in the white stuff (which I've been driving in for 10 years). No, you don't 'need' it, but it definitely helps.

mschukar

I've been having a similar debate over on the "AWD, FWD, RWD Wagons - Which is the Best?" board and thought I'd pose the question here-

Does AWD make a vehicle safer?

I agree that you are less likely to loose traction on your drive wheels and slide into the ditch if you have AWD. On the other hand, you are more likely to drive faster with AWD because your wheels don't slip as easily and you gain confidence. I generally push my car a little on the "safe" parts of the road to get a feel for my traction limits.

I contend that in nearly every accident, your foot will end up on the brake and not on the accelerator and we all know that AWD does not help braking (actually AWD increases braking distance because of the extra 200 lbs or so).

I feel that AWD gives you some of the same improvements on snow that a bigger engine and sports package (minus the bigger brakes) will give you on dry-better acceleration and cornering. I rarely see auto manufacturers market the "added safety" of a sports package. In other words, is a 330i safer than a 325i?

Finally, I agree with huntzinger that dedicated winter tires and rims offer the best safety option in snow.

-Murray

mmcbride1

If you really want the 'best' combination, it would undoubtedly be AWD with dedicated snow tires, not RWD with snows.

brave1heart

I agree with your reasoning. The key thing is that AWD gives you better traction. Due to aggressive marketing, however, most people do not seem to realize that the added traction (not just on snow - any surface!!) is a tradeoff at best. Driver skill and style would be the key determining factor of whether the added traction justifies the additional curb weight, slower acceleration, longer braking path, higher fuel expense and in the case of the 3-series, lack of true AWD performance settings.

hippo168

For those who are thinking of getting a set of winter tires, there is a new section on tirerack.com (right in the middle on the first page). It has a step-by-step walk thru that help you choose the right wheels and tires for you car.

If you don't care too much about appearance, a steel wheel cost only $46 each. The total package will be around $700...

shipo

In my earlier post on possible ways to identify if a tire is an "All Season" tire or not, I never meant to imply that a high "Treadwear" rating equated to all season capabilities. It was simply an observation of mine that MOST tires with low ratings (below 300) were of a higher performance nature and not all season tires. Conversely, I have noticed that tires that are considered "All Season" normally have high ratings (typically over 300 and over).

As a quick search through the tirerack.com site will reveal, there are all season tires with a low treadwear rating. There are also very inexpensive tires with a high rating that are virtually worthless for anything other than going straight down the freeway at no more than 45mph. However, some of these cheap tires have a rating as high as 700, so they will do 45mph across Nebraska for something like 100,000 miles before they need to be replaced, that is if the sidewall holds up.

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

Back in 1980 when I first read about the new Audi Quattro, Audi found that under certain conditions in side-by-side tests with otherwise identical cars (one car with Quattro and one with FWD only), that the Quattro accelerated faster, had a higher top speed AND got better gas mileage in spite of the heavier Quattro running gear. At that time, the engineering staff at Audi was left scratching their collective heads, as they had no explanation for this anomaly.

I remember wondering about that for several years including the blissful 7 months that I had an Audi Quattro of my own in late 1982 and early 1983 (a drunk ran a stop sign right in front of me at 8:30 AM on a Monday morning in a late 1970's Chevy Caprice, the Audi gave its life to save mine). I do not remember when I finally read the scientific explanation of said anomaly (maybe around 1985), but it went something like this:

"The amount of power that a tire consumes (in the form of heat) rises by an exponential amount as torque is increased." In real world terms this means that cruising around under low power, the FWD car with its lighter weight and lower drive train friction will use less fuel. However, as speed increases, the two driven wheels of the FWD application convert ever greater amounts of power into heat before said power ever comes anywhere near the road. In the AWD application, the power is spread evenly (especially in those early Quattro applications which had a "Diff Lock" button on the console to lock the various differentials for different driving conditions) across the four wheels, thus less heat, higher top end, greater mileage and quicker acceleration.

I have no idea if this still holds true (at least in real world driving conditions) given the advances in high performance rubber. I suspect that the tires of today are so efficient that the Quattro would have to be traveling over 100mph before the break-even point was reached.

Best Regards,
Shipo

topspin627

Thanks for the info on tires. Does anyone know if the customized programs (DRL's, doors are locked signal etc.) can be done or changed without going to the dealer. My dealer said that I had to bring the car in to them.

gurumike

You will need to take the car to the dealer, unless you buy your own "Modic" (the portable PC the dealer should have) for around $3000.

derprofi

While mulling over my own option choices for the '02 3er I will be picking up in Germany at the end of November, I'm wondering if anyone else who has completed the order process (or has already taken delivery) is wishing they'd done option ___ differently. So, knowing what you now know, would any of you change your decisions on:

Color?
Leater or 'ette?
Split Rear Seat?
Cold Weather Package?
Sport Package?
Premium Package?
Xenons?
Nav?
etc.

Please try to be as honest as possible! If you're truly kicking yourself for not going with Titanium Silver, for example, fess up and explain why. You might help others who are currently going through a painful decision process--if buying such a sweet car could ever be considered painful

ccchen1102

Anyone know where to order service manual or CD for 2001 model? Dealers carry manual for E36 only and they said the one for E46 won't come out until another 1-2 years. This is quite annoying since most of other manufactures have detailed manual avaiable right from the beginning. I am not interested in big tasks like engine or trans. overhaul, however, I will be interested to know things such as: hidden screws/clips of panels, recommended troque of screws/nobs, brake replacement procedure ... so on.

cnybmwbuyer

I'm probably going to opt for the 330xi with an extra set of snow tires for the winter. I live south of the Utica, NY area and the winters can be quite nasty. I really like the look and feel of BMW's, which is the main reason I want the car. From the cars I've tested, the cars built in Germany are some of the best. BMW happens to be my pick; I enjoy their excellent craftsmanship and ride. I originally considered the 325xi, but I think I'll go with the 330xi. Thanks to everyone for the help and insight.

dave330i

I was told the only way to change the door lock signal is to have the alarm installed, is that true?

errickson

No major regrets here....
2001.5 325 blk/blk lthr / cd/ sp/ step/ moonroof/ armrest/ chrome exhaust tips

BUT...if I did it again I probably would have:
added the on-board computer and fold down rear seat, bought the 330, and done European Delivery

...but as I said up-front, no regrets!

cnybmwbuyer

I'm probably going to opt for the 330xi with an extra set of snow tires for the winter. I live south of the Utica, NY area and the winters can be quite nasty. I really like the look and feel of BMW's, which is the main reason I want the car. From the cars I've tested, the cars built in Germany are some of the best. BMW happens to be my pick; I enjoy their excellent craftsmanship and ride. I originally considered the 325xi, but I think I'll go with the 330xi. Thanks to everyone for the help and insight.

huntzinger

Let me start by saying that there is no doubt that AWD is a clear benefit to winter traction, assuming "all other factors being equal".

But in saying this, note that this assumption of equality includes the driver's skill.

What I see is the real underlying question is if you had some amount of money to invest, say $1500, what would your *BEST* investment?

I submit that it is not AWD: the investment that will reap the greatest benefits is driver training.

Of course, it would be even better to do both. Unfortunaely, we have overinflated opinions of our driver skill level, so most of the time, we buy the AWD (or big engine, or big tires, or whatever), and ignore our driver skills.

I cannot emphasize enough how _humbling_ it is to take a Porsche 911 out to an Autocross course and see a stock Neon beat your lap times.

The only thing probably more humbling are the guys in their shiny new 930 Turbo's who discover that they are being passed in the corners at Pocono Raceway by a fine old clubmember with a twenty five year old 914 (ie, 1/4 the horsepower!).

-hh

mmcbride1

You'll get no argument from me on that.

huntzinger

FWIW, I was running 62sec, down to around 58. The Neon's first laps were 59's and got down to around 56.

At least I wasn't one of the "gold chainers" in their fancy new 996's and trophy wives who couldn't even follow the cones around the course and got DNF's, lap after lap...

bmwagonmaster

Look here:

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/product.htm?code=b301

mmcbride1

At least the gold chainers were out there, trying to get better. I would analogize it to an overweight person at the gym. At least they're there, doing something about it. Lots of people buy new Porsches, Ferraris, etc and never once set foot on a track or auto-x course. We all have to start somewhere.

I know that's not what you were trying to say, but I'd bet you that some of the gold chainers will turn into serious racers (granted, most will not).

tegwj

I'm looking at a 99 328i 5spd, sport & premium package, xenon lights, CD changer, new Bridgestone S-02's, 37k miles. It's marked at $32,900 which seems pretty good to me. Car's in excellent shape but I'm wondering what I should be looking at specific to that model? NB: I'm fairly mechanically inclined and know about the general things to look at on a used car, I'm just not explicitly familiar with E46 3-series BMW's.

Thanks for any insight,
twj

drempt

Hi guys,

My bimmer should arrive anytime now (got a call two weeks ago from the dealer saying that the car was being shipped). In the meantime, I need to buy an inexpensive car. Don't want to lease. What car would you recommend? Should I go for a medium size Japanese? Which one?

Thanks.

shipo

I have a very similar car to the one you are looking at, except the SP.

The long and short of it, look for the normal stuff (body work, bent rims, new paint, etc.) There has been virtually no problems with these cars with the exception of a couple of very minor recalls (which I assume were taken care of during routine maintenance).

Best Regards,
Shipo

derprofi

For $33K it sounds like you're almost into 2002 330i territory, assuming you go for a stripper model and then do European delivery. Do you absolutely need the SP/PP/Xenons?

derprofi

Thanks for the honest response. Anyone else who would change anything?

gearman

Here are some thoughts for your options consideration.

Color: obviously a matter of personal choice, but there are a couple of functional elements to consider. If you will be parking outdoors without a cover, metallic reds and blues are the most subject to oxidation damage. Non-metallic white stays the coolest and is also the least subject to oxidation. From a safety perspective, if you live in a high traffic urban environment, you may wish to consider the inherent safety advantages of having a vehicle that provides the best contrast with the road surface in a variety of light conditions. While testing has shown that the bilious 'optic yellow' color used on tennis balls and some fire engines provides the highest level of visibility under most conditions, white is a very close second. In contrast, insurance accident statistics show that darker colors, particularly black, are the most dangereous at night. During daylight and dusk/twilight, the various shades of silver (or "metallic asphalt" as this cliched color is commonly refered to in west L.A.) have the same optic qualities as many road surfaces, particularly during damp conditions. These colors, along with some of the 'champagne' silver/browns, tend to fade into the pavement under many lighting conditions.

Seating material: BMW's leatherette is terrific stuff; it's hard to tell the difference. I personally perfer the real stuff, but here's a place to save a couple of bucks if the price/benefit equation doesn't balance for you.

Split rear seat: This is a definite yes. One of the several reasons my wife & I crossed the 3.2TL off of our list was the absence of a split folding rear seat. If you need it, it's invaluable. When it's not being used, then you have a regular sedan. Particularly given the tiny rear seat dimensions of the 3 series. We use the folding rear seat at least once a month for carrying all sorts of miscellaneous stuff.

Cold weather package: Depends on where you are. My wife adores heated seats, and I've come to appreciate them after the gym during cooler months. As to the other stuff, like the headlight washers and heated mirrors, it clearly depends if you'll use them.

Sport / Premium packages; I'd vote for both, since you spend your time inside the car, and that's where most of these features are evident.

Xenon: In contrast to Renault's (i.e. Nissan) new Q45, the Honda/Acura 3.2TL, or various DaimlerChrysler products, the xenons used on the bimmers offer a particularly obnoxious combination of high price, terrible glare control (from the perspective of oncoming traffic), and marginal lighting improvement. The blue spectrum shift is fun, but if you live in an urban environent, get ready for LOTS of oncoming drivers flashing their brights at you thinking that you've got misadjusted highbeams in use in regular traffic. Save your bucks on this one until BMW figures out how its done.

Nav system. This is a great place to save lots of upfront and upgrade money. Maps are cheap and dirt easy to use. On the other hand, if the car is going to be driven alone in unfamiliar territory by an attractive lady, the OnStar system is unbeatable safety feature, and one that could sway your purchase choice. That's available is several competitors (Saab, CTS, C-class, etc.)

You're buying a terrific car in a great place; hopefully you'll have a chance to enjoy some of the wonderful roads through bavaria and haute-savoie after taking delivery. Just remember to not leave anything in the interior and to leave your glovebox open at night (after removing the bulb) if you will be leaving the car in unattended areas. Enjoy!

derprofi

Wow, that's quite a response Gearman, thanks! The options on my order are final (330i/SP/bi-xenons) but I was wondering if other recent purchasers with a bit of ownership under their belts had perhaps changed their minds about their original option choices.

I ask because I'm the sort of person who tries to put a lot of thought into decisions like this, but inevitably I have some regrets. With our Benz, for example, we opted not to get the power/memory package which saved us about $800. But we now curse our bad judgement every time my 5'4" 100 lb. S.O. trades off driving duties with 6'0" 200 lb. yours truly.

Re: the nav system, your mention of OnStar reminded me of an article I came across recently. Apparently BMW will begin offering "telematics" as an option in the US starting with MY2003. I only wonder what BMW will charge for it...

Nice tip about leaving the glovebox open in Europe--never would have thought of that.

PS--make mine tennis ball yellow, Herr BMW Salesman!

bmw323is

I have a 2000 323i - jet black with SP, leather, HK, wood trim, CD. Love the car, and as someone said before, no regrets. BUT, if I were buying one today it would be a 330i (or maybe even a coupe) with nothing but the sport package (CD and HK are already standard). These cars are so much fun, I don't need the extras to enjoy it.

From a resale standpoint, I'll never forget one of my past vehicles. I bought a 1985 Nissan pickup in 1986 with 15,000 miles for $4,500 (not an option on it, just used as a second vehicle). I drove it for 6 years and 65,000 more miles never spending a nickel on it except for maintenance. Sold it for $3,000. That works out to a bit over $20/month for depreciation. The morale of the story is that options are expensive, more so (IMHO) on european cars. Of course, this is from a financial viewpoint only. I think I read that one of the new Lexus' or Infinity's have an $11,000 'premium' package option. Holy cow!

habitat1

I agree with derprofi, why buy a now 3-year old 328i for $32,900 when you could get a new 330i loaded for under $40k, under $36k if you go Euro? If $32k is your absolute limit, I would look at a new 325i over a 3-year old 328.

I know that the 3-series has great resale value - which is why I would only consider getting a NEW one. The previous owner enjoyed the new car smell, 37k miles of trouble free, full-warranty driving and is now going to get back all but about $3k of what he/she paid for the car, not including taxes and tags. Good for them, bad for you. Especially when you've put your next 37k miles on it and are now looking at uncovered maintenance and repairs.

The way I look at it, I would only buy a 3 year old 3-series if I could get it for at least 40% under the price of a new comparable car (i.e. $20-23k in your case, not considering the the 330i is a significant improvement in power, so it's not directly comparable). Since that's highly unlikely to happen, I'd go new.

jeffc1

I have a 2000 328i Sport/Premium, 5 speed, CD, all the goodies except HK, xenon, and nav. I am currently listing the car on EBAY mainly for advertising purposes. I am looking at some BMW convertibles. Here is the auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=595410943

tenet1

Why would anyone buy a used BMW 3 series for over $30K. You can get a new, well equipped 2001 325i for about $33.5K (PP, CD changer, Leather, Heated seats, Xenons, Auto etc.) Skip the leather and the auto and you can get in around $31K. My suggestion, throw in 1 or 2K more and get a brand new one judging by how well these vehicles are holding their value. In the long run, you'll glad you made the extra payment and went with a new one.

tegwj

Folks--

I appreciate the answers. I had another look at the car last night, in much closer detail. All i could find were some minor scratches on the wheels, airdam, and a couple of little dings on the hood -- expected stuff.

The shop that's selling the car is willing to let it go for $31k. While the thought of a new car at $36k is lovely, that's not the true cost once travel, etc are factored in.

I've done a bit of digging in the SF Bay area, both private used sales, and CPO cars. Prices for loaded '99s seem to start in the $34k range. And I *like* all the goodies, I don't want a stripped car.

A loaded new 325 prices out at around $35.5k plus TTL, which again ends up being more than I want to spend -- the incremental advantages don't seem worth all the extra cash, IMHO.

Anyway I appreciate the advice -- I will double-check on the recalls to ensure they were performed.

twj