BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

tcn2k

Can anyone else besides shipo verify the there is some residue that comes out of the ATF oil reserves? (The unit right next to the oil filter).

nyccarguy

That definitely could be part of my problem as I'm trying to take it easy on my car for the first 1200-1500 miles or so and haven't really let the RPM go past the 4000 mark (especially in 1st gear).

Thanks again for all your help!

shipo

After fighting with my router and Apache (both of which I was sure were set up correctly), I discovered that my ISP is now blocking all HTTP access to my house! Needless to say, my initial plan of putting up the photos and dialog of our ED adventure on to my linux box is not going to happen anytime soon.

Time for Plan B. I just posted a few pictures of our trip on Yahoo! Photos so that y’all can see some of the cool stuff we did. I will post more pictures as time permits over the next week or so.

You can see said pictures by clicking on the following link:

http://photos.yahoo.com/shipo

Notes:

The only album that I currently have is called “ED 530i”, click on it to gain access to the photos.

All of the color photos (all but one), can be viewed in full 1280x960 resolution if you wish by clicking on the “Full Size” link above the “Screen Size” shot.

Let me know what y’all think.

Best Regards,
Shipo

bing330i

Does the 33 oz Klasse AIO come in 1 liter bottle? I'd like to know which is cheaper for my order, $35 for 33 oz at properautocare OR $28 for 1 liter at klassedirect?

Thanks.

jpnwdc

I read here and verified on the bmwusa.com website that the 325i with PP should have an 8-way power seat. Although, last time I checked at the dealer, they still had the 6-way seat. Anyone have any info?

shipo

They are the same size, 1 liter equals 33.814 ounces.

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

BMW just converted over to the 8-Way seat for the 325i PP. As such, many of the cars still on the lot, will have the 6-Way seats.

Best Regards,
Shipo

nyccarguy

For anybody who hasn't checked out all of Shipo's pics, you should.

The 325ti that has what looks like 17" wheels and a sport suspension package looks great! I wish they'd bring that over here!

silverprincess

Where is the raffle signup info? Is it in Roundel? I don't see it on their website, and I'm logged in already. Thanks.

roc50mg

they rip you off and they don't reply to your email or call when you have a problem w/your order.

bing330i

Thanks, both.

Shipo, I grew up in metric world. No idea with non-metric without looking up the conversion :-< Oh, America, what a contradiction. You inherited the British non-metric, but not the true "Football". :-> Cheers - The World Cup is coming!

roc50mg, thanks for the info. I will avoid klassedirect in the future. Fortunately this time I ordered mine from classic because i also ordered P21S shampoo and wheel cleaner in addition to Klasse. The saving with no sales tax from classic and a single S&H overweighed the $7 difference.

Thanks.

jjshabadoo

What were your problems with klassedirect? I'm just curious because I ordered from them. My order did not come with the applicator pad that many have mentioned.

ddblue

I looked on the website, but I couldn't find any information. They only listed the 2001 winners (lucky dogs!).

I received a letter in the mail with a raffle ticket order form. If you're a member, I'm surprised you didn't receive one.

You can try: questions@bmwcca.org or phone 864.250.0022.

dave330i

I haven't heard of a M3 raffle, but they are raffling off a 2002 at this year's Octoberfest.

tenet1

You are a lucky man with that Black Beauty. What are your opinions on driving the SP vs. non-SP 328 in terms of handling and control.

leenelsonmd

Beautiful car. I love that color. I am going to get the Black S. Metallic too.

Hey, I joined BMWCCA today. Wish I had joined sooner. After a year of membership you get $500 rebate off of any 3-series purchase from what I read. It looks like I will miss out on that unless I wait till next Cinco de Mayo -- pretty unlikely.

UNLESS we buy a new home. My wife called me when I was up in Austin and said she wants to get a house in central Houston. COST: 250-500k!!! We will see. Pretty pricey in my mind but I let her do whatever she wants. She is the accountant. This could put SERIOUS dampers on my plan to get some new wheels.

dave330i

I wish homes only cost that much here in SF. I'm looking at a 2 bdrm 1100 sqft. condo for $300k.

leenelsonmd

Yeah, I wish I lived in SF. I love that place.

The 450-550 range here gets you a new build around 3000-3500sf in the middle of town with good police and a 2 car garage - this is mandatory for me.

shipo

I really like the look of a BMW done up in Sapphire Black, it seems that folks are always doing a double take and saying "What color is that, it&#146;s really cool?"

Tenet1,

After getting the tail to hang out on some curvy roads in southern Bavaria, I can definitely say that the 530i SP will easily out handle a 328i sans SP. That said, it is a wider car, so through the cones the 3er would have to travel laterally less than the 5er, so, even though the suspension and rubber is not as stout, it might be able to snake its way through a little faster, then again, maybe not. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

leenelsonmd

5 series is pretty impressive for a medium/full sized car.

Road and Track says for Slalom:

330i: 63.8mph
540i: 60.3

skidpad:

330: .84g
540: .85g

so it does look like it is pretty sticky.

For what its worth.

The BS metallic color is a great color for someone who keeps their car spotless.

shipo

Interesting numbers, from what I have heard, the 530i SP should beat the 540i SP through the Slalom, given its lighter nose, more neutral weight distribution and Rack and Pinion steering (as opposed to the recirculating ball in the 540i). I am also guessing that the numbers that you posted for the 330i above were for a 330i SP, which is WAY beyond my old 328i non-SP in the handling department.

So, using a little fuzzy interpolation, my guess is still that the 530i SP will easily out "G" the 328i non-SP on the Skidpad, and maybe even beat it in the Slalom. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

leenelsonmd

the numbers above do indicate that your fuzzy interpolation would be correct. The skidpad definitely and I would think the 530 would take the 328 in the slalom too.

brave1heart

I also got the raffle order ticket in the mail but I didn't think it was THAT exciting in terms of probabilities. Every ticket is $25 and it has a 1/2800 chance of winning. That means that $70,000 ($25*2,800) would have a 100% probability of winning. An M3 is about what - 55K? The probabilities of winning are a little higher than playing the state lottery but still not in my favor...Am I missing something here?

brave1heart

I just noticed on the Rack that the Sumitomo HTR+ is rated better than the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S in the consumer survey. It is less than half the price of the Michelins so you may want to consider it when burn through the stock tires on your 530.

shipo

Thanks for the "Heads UP".

My current thinking is that IF we move to New Hampshire, the "Run all seasons year round" argument that I put forth for living here in balmy New Jersey will probably not apply. That said, I am seriously considering keeping summer tires on my stock rims, and buying an alternate set for the winter time.

Best Regards,
Shipo

brave1heart

I know for sure that summer tires are not going to cut it in the area that we're moving to. I am still debating between summer/snows and all-seasons but for now I am leaning toward summer/snows mostly so I don't lose out on the dry/wet performance as the case with all-season would be (even with those expensive Pilot A/S). I adapt as my circumstances change...I've set up a spreadsheet with all the different options that I have, the things that I care about in a tire and I have even assigned weights to every category. For now, summer/snows on dedicated alloy wheels is winning ;o)

mschukar

Check out: http://www.deckowski.com/wax%20off/results.htm

Klasse ranked very high in this persons tests. For me, the ease of application make this a no brainer!

-murray

butmywife

jpnwdc: All cars produced as of March 1 have the 8-way seats. Our car was ordered in February but assembled in March so we got those seats. The extra two movements do make a difference IMO because the 325 doesn't come with a lumbar option and the extra movements allow the seat bottom to rise and fall independent of the seat back.

Shipo: Nice pictures. It's a great color. What interior color did you get? Harms told me my car would ship on May 6th and would probably take 5 weeks or so to make it to the West Coast. When are you expecting yours? I'm planning on the third week in June. BTW, at Harms in Munich our representative had a fantastic screen saver. It was a picture of a gorgeous lady in a trendy dress leaning on a railing overlooking what appears to be the Mediterranean. About 15 yards behind her is a Porsche crashed/totalled into the very railing. They said most men liked the screensaver and most women didn't.
Also, thanks for trying to get a picture of my car before I went over.

BTW: To anyone doing ED soon here's a time saving tip. When I picked up my car in Munich I let Judith (my advisor) know what day I would be turning it into Harms (in Munich) and she called and made all the arrangements. When we got there to drop off, all the paperwork was already done and it took us all of 12 minutes to complete the process. It took off some pressure re: getting to the airport on time.

roc50mg

It's been a while since I ordered from klassedirect so I don't remember the nitty gritty details, but essentially what happened is that I ordered their Klasse Complete Concours Kit that is supposed to come with a liter of the All-in-One, a liter of the High Gloss Sealant, two bottles of the vinyl/leather/plastic cleaner, and two bottles of the wheel cleaner for $95. They sent me everything except the 2 botttles of wheel cleaner (they claim that the wheel cleaners were on back order) for something like $80 or $85, and said that if I wanted to receive the wheel cleaners at a later time for cost price (ie $10 or $15 extra) I could simple call them or write them and have it shipped to me. Well, I wanted the wheel cleaners, so I wrote to them several times and emailed them as well, but nobody ever got back to me. I was totally ignored.

I think Klassedirect is guilty of false advertisement--bait and switch tactics, advertising that you would get the whole kit including the wheel cleaners for what sounds like a good price compared with some of the other online sellers, when in reality they just charge you more and don't give you what you want. Plus on their invoice, they include their email and telephone numbers, but what good is that if no one ever answers.

That's my beef with klassedirect. I will never order from them again!

Shipo, where was it that you got your Klasse?

shipo

ButMyWife,

Thanks! I got the black leather interior with the "High-gloss Vavona Redwood trim", which, with its "Reddish" tint, makes a great contrast to the black leather.

Pavel (the guy who sat opposite from the desk with the Babe/Crash screen saver) was our advisor. Like you, we had scheduled our arrival at E.H. Harm with the ED Center, so while I was still taking my front plate off, Pavel came across the lot, introduced himself, and helped us carry our bags into the office. Also like you, the entire process took less than 15 minutes, including the wait for the taxi. Pavel was not able to give me an &#147;On the water date&#148; because Wallenius had so many sailings in such a short period of time, he had no idea of which vessel my car would make. Needless to say, I am hoping that my car is already half way across the Atlantic by now, I will find out tomorrow.

Roc50mg,

I got my Klasse from http://www.properautocare.com or http://www.classic-accessories.com (you can use either URL), and I have had no problem with them on either of the two occasions that I have ordered from them.

Best Regards,
Shipo

bbell4

You all need to move to Tucson - 2750 SF, 4 bedrooms, 3.3 acres, beautiful views, - 320k. Not bad......

lyouts

This has happened 2 or 3 times in my 02 330i (I've got 2,200 miles on it now). Turning the steering wheel from center to right, the dashboard sounds like a geiger counter. The more I turn the wheel to the right, the louder the geiger counter sound.

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?

Oh, by the way, I love my car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

butmywife

What is the best way to track my car's journey across the Atlantic? The only way I know is through the tracking feature in the Owner's Circle. It doesn't seem very specific or timely. Would my dealership have more specific information or is there a way I can track it w/o bothering the dealership?

Thanks in advance, ButMyWife

shipo

It seems to me that I remember someone posting a link either for Wallenius Lines or the port of Bremerhaven where you could enter your VIN and it would give you a Vessel name and/or a sailing date. You can then go to the Wallenius site http://www.wlna.com/ and look up the Vessel Schedule.

I have been too busy to look for the link (which I am sure I saved in a safe place ;-)), so, maybe somebody else can help you out here.

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

I just checked the Wallenius site, and there are only two Vessels that are likely to have your car on it:

Departure Loc/Date to Arrival Loc/Date -- Vessel -- Voyage ID
Bremerhaven 06-May-2002 to Tacoma 06-Jun-2002 -- Trianon -- ED218-TRN
Bremerhaven 20-May-2002 to Tacoma 20-Jun-2002 -- Medea -- ED218-MED

Assuming the folks at E.H. Harms were correct, and you car was loaded on 5-May, it should hit the VPC in Tacoma (I assume there is one there) on 6-Jun, and you should have your car a week or so later.

Best Regards,
Shipo

butmywife

Thanks! You are a font of knowledge. Ever considered going on Jeopardy?

I tried the link, clicked on cargo, put in my VIN and found out the car shipped on the 5th of May on the vessel Trianon. Cool! I'll dink around with it more to see if I can actually track it across the ocean with coordinates, etc. Thanks again!

ButMyWife

butmywife

Oops! Our posts crossed. My car is on the Trianon from Bremerhaven to Port Hueneme, CA, from where it will be trucked up here to Washington.
Thanks, ButMyWife

shipo

Ugh! It's 2:00 AM, and I am awake because some idiotic company has decided to keep trying to send me a junk fax to my home phone line. *%&$#@!

Anyway, I read your post about getting to the cargo, and so I gave it a try as well. My car is on the Hudson Leader, due in New York on 15-May-2002, a week from today! ;-)

I might just get that 45th birthday present after all! ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

mjones6

The link to find the vessel and schedule was verry helpful. Thanks. It is fun to be able to track the progress of my vehicle. Looks like it is getting here pretty quick.
Mar 25th ordered
April 19th built
April 25th loaded on the vessel
May 10th scheduled to arrive in SC
The owners circle shows a delivery date May 15th.
Is this when they think it will be ready for me to pick up?

bobbybeamer1

mjones--It looks like our cars are on the same boat and they were built on the same day. I have been wondering the same thing--I think it means that you will be able to pick it up on the 15th.

Does anyone know if the stock CD player will play CD-R's. I forgot to ask that when I ordered the car. It would be a shame to have to buy all those cds all over again.

Just another week and a beautiful topaz blue 325i (Black leather, SP, Moonroof, HK stereo, 5 spd) will be mine. I can't wait.

ddblue

I'm looking to purchase 245/40 R17s for the rears on my 325Ci. I looked at tirerack.com, and it seems that the Sumitomo HTR+s give the best bang for-the-buck. Anyone have any experience with these?

ddblue

bobbybeamer--it should read "bimmer" (car) or "beemer" (motorcycle), but maybe those names were taken.

Anyway, your CD player will play CD-Rs, but only if they aren't recorded with MP3 formatted files on them.

dunde

I went to Capital City once before buying the car and I was not happy with the Salesman. At Keeler the salesman was willing to answer my questions / concerns and do his homework and get back to me with answers. Well those days are over and now its time to Deal with Service people. So far Keeler has been pretty good in treating me. Free Car wash "anytime". They have provided me a rental car while my bmw is still being diagnosed for the Start Problem. They are trying but they havent been able to put their finger on it. I am wondering what happens if they (BMW) is not able to find a solution. What if they just blame it on fuel in Albany area and say "we cant do anything".

seivwrig

I did the ultimate drive yesterday at Momentum. Tried the X5 4.4, 745i and 530i Manual. My fav was the 530i. After driving that car, I did not want to get in my 325i Step. Shipo, you made a good choice. The manual was too smooth and drives like a smaller car. I developed BMW envy and I own one.

I went to the service to activate the alarm. I had called the dealer prior and they said the car should see the components and it should activate. I did not buy it. They went ahead and checked it and cleared some fault codes. They claim it is working. How do I test the motion sensor and trunk and hood opening?

ddblue

We'll not sure about the trunk & hood, but you can test the motion sensor in the cabin by rolling all the windows down, locking the doors/arming the alarm, then you can reach into the car via one of the windows. Your alarm should go off.

derprofi

The Business CD in my '02 will also play CD-RW media, for what it's worth.

leenelsonmd

Tucson: Do you need some physicians out there? My wife and I might like to move out there too. It depends on the practice environment. I would love to live in CA, but probably couldn't afford a bimmer after paying the mortgage.

shipo

I hear ya, when I got back from Europe, and got back into my 328i, I had BMW envy too. ;-) I actually find that kind of ironic, given that the last time I was in Europe (1996) I had a BMW 318i rental car, and at the time, I had VW envy, as I could not wait to get back home and drive my VR6 Passat GLX 5-Speed. My how times change. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

Well, in Germany, where fuel is north of $4.00 a gallon, a 318i made a whole lot of sense. That said, funny you should mention Dodge envy, because on the AutoBahn, coming north out of Austria toward Ulm, I was going full tilt boogie up a long grade in the 318i, and got flat toasted by a Dodge Grand Caravan! I sure am glad I did not have to pay that fuel bill. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

P.S.

Now that my 328i has been officially dropped off at lease end, and my 530i is not yet here, I am GLAD that I have a Dodge Grand Caravan to get me around for a few weeks.

brave1heart

Speaking of vans, I got passed by a silver Toyota Sienna a couple of weeks ago. I rarely if ever get passed by anyone on ANY road but this guy was going really fast. I tried to keep up for a few miles but I hit traffic and I lost him. I would've had to drive triple digits to catch up after that so I just smiled and let go )