BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

hgeyer

The model I've got is grey and yellow. Below is a link to a picture, although for some reason the specs aren't correct (it's 1500psi and 2.1gpm):

http://www.karcher-usa.com/cpe/homeline/k395m.html

So far, I've used it on my deck (with deck cleaner) and BMW wheels (no chemicals) and it has worked out great. I had a more powerful Craftsman washer that died after 30 days and felt that it was too powerful for household uses.

Although I'm very pleased with how well it cleaned my wheels, I haven't gotten up the nerve to use the washer on the body of my car yet. I'd be interested in hearing anyone's thoughts on this.

butmywife

bmw323is: Reread your post about the clear bra. You said if you were to do it over you wouldn't but admitted seeing chips on parts not covered by the clear bra. In retrospect, would you prefer the black bra or no bra at all and just live with the rock chips?

hpman: Did you make a decisions about the nose mask? I live in rock-chip country too (Washington)and am pondering what to do about it.

Thanks, ButMyWife

ccotenj

you might want to be VERY VERY VERY careful hitting your paint with a power washer... i know there are some that you can buy that have a "design feature" (so to speak) for proper pressure for cars, but i don't think i'd want to experiment on my car to find the right pressure...

-Chris

nyccarguy

I'd also be wary that you may powerwash the clearcoat right off of your beautiful wheels (not to mention your car).

claywaterfill

I'm glad to hear no one would jump ship for a G35 if they could do no better than a 325i instead. That is what I was hoping to hear.

I have one more stupid question, then hopefully I will leave you alone for a while. It's about the on board computer. It's included in the PP, which I have no intention of ordering, but it can be bought by itself for about $300. What are the four functions, is it something you use every day, and could you live without it if you didn't have it?

Thanks in advance.

seivwrig

The OBC has a clock, average mileage left till, outside temp. empty,average mpg (useless) and average mph.
I only use two functions: the clock and mileage left. It gives me an idea of how heavy footed my wife is. I expect my gas to last one week. It probably is not worth $300. The SP is probably the only good deal concerning options especially on the 330i.

ccotenj

if the e46 has different functions than the e36, but the e36 (at least 95's), also have several early warning functions, such as low coolant level and so on...

-Chris

brave1heart

"Is it ok to miss a car?" I miss mine every minute when I am not driving it. Just don't tell my wife about it, please ) Glad to hear that it was the aux fan; I think they should've shipped it overnight but it's good you have a loaner at least.

jj330i

Recently I noticed dye from a belt I have been wearing the past several months has left a bit of a stain on the leather seat. Can anyone recommend a good leather product that removes stains? I tried Lexol cleaner, but it did not remove the stain.

brave1heart

The board's consensus is that if you live in the Northeast, you will need at least all-season tires for the winter. The summer tires that the SP comes with will not cut it and you will need to have a dedicated set of snow tires or all-seasons.
Disclaimer: there's one dissident voice that disagrees with SOME of the reached consensus but it is not statistically important...

brave1heart

Yeah, it was worth the $300, to me at least. Frankly, I would have paid even more for it because all the data that it offers is important to me, esp. the avg fuel consumption and the avg speed.

nyccarguy

While my Saab has an On Board Computer that tells me the time, date, outside temp, avg MPG, avg speed, & Distance to empty, my Prelude does not. It is definitely something I will miss when the Saab is gone. The function I use the most (besides outside temp & clock) is the Distance To Empty. Most people get gas when it hits "E" or the light goes on. In my Saab, I realized that when the light goes on, I've still got another 50 or so (depending on how I'm driving) miles to go and don't need to pull over for gas that instant.

claywaterfill

It may be worth it just for the "distance to empty" feature. My wife likes to start freaking out that we're going to run out of gas at about the quarter-tank mark, so this feature ought to stop that. Thanks.

ccotenj

is nice too... especially when you are out on the highway all by your lonesome and your right foot tends to take you up to what you feel is a comfortable speed...

-Chris

nobee

Something I frequently use is the outside temp. portion of the OBC. I tend to drive pretty hard here in GE but anytime the OBC temp shows/chimes and blinks at +37 F I always slow down. Black ice is my enemy on the B-roads.

-nobee

leenelsonmd

I had the dealership program my OBC so that 2 full size cup holders pop out of it.

vkwheels

You can say things like, "My car told me it was 79 degrees outside." Dr. Lee, the pop-out cupholders would just be a liability, think back to that suit against McDonald's. ;-) I haven't seen a light to tell me I'm low on gas (yet)--is there one or do I have to check the OBC? Dunno, if I could choose what came with PP, I'd forfeit the OBC, or apply the cost to something like xenons. I'm still exploring all the features...

riez

vkwheels... My 540i6 and wife's 323iA both have a low fuel light. Very handy. (But I also tend to do all my driving with the range remaining readout on the OBC showing. I like to know how many miles I can go on a tank of gas and how many miles I have left before I need to refuel. The yellow low fuel light in my 540i6 normally comes on with 75 miles remaining on the OBC readout. Once it came on with 50 miles remaining.)

mg330ci

Cleaning my garage, I found this can of brake dust cleaner I used once when changing the pads on my old Eclipse, and an IDEA came to me.

Being scientific, I though I test the waters first and see if anybody has tried it. (I'm concern it might ruin the finish of the wheels

mschukar

The OBC has a clock, average mileage left till, outside temp. empty, average mpg (useless) and average mph.

Why do you think the average mpg is useless? Mine tends to read about 1 mpg high, but I enjoy watching it. I tend to drive a little easier (coast up to stop signs, etc.) just to see if I can increase mpg, although it doesn't stop me from redlining a shift :-)

Incidentally, I clocked my speedometer on a four lane highway to see how far off it was. With the cruise set at 70 mph, I timed 7 mile markers in 6:09 (it should have been 6:00 even). The actual speed was 68.29 mph or 2.4% lower than what the speedometer read. I have a '02 325i with SP and the test was conducted with 3 bikes and two front wheels on the roof (I know, wind resistance won't make any difference).

-murray

tobyk

Has anyone had this problem and what did they do to fix it?

I have a 93 325i, here is the issue, my tranny after about a mile or so will loose 1st and 2nd gear on my automatic transmission, i dont get any check engine light or nothing. If i turn my car off for about 30 secs or so and than it goes back to normal when i turn it on again. I have had the transmission serviced (new filter and fluid) still messed up. My mechanic thinks it might be the ECU, but he is not sure.

let me know

-T

ddblue

I'm looking to replace the rears on my 325Ci, and I've been doing some copious research myself a la tirerack, friends, autoxers. It looks like the HTRZ IIs are my best bet, but I'm not quite sure if I should plus size to 235/40WR17s or 245/40WR17s? Did you stay with the stock SP sizes or did you stagger front/rear?

hpman

Sorry for the delayed response, I just returned from ED this past weekend and have not had a chance to get on here.

I have another 6 to 8 weeks before I have to make a decision on the clear mask, but I think I am leaning towards doing it. Between rocks/sand in the winter and bugs in the summer, it seems like it would be a nice added protection. Plus, my car is silver so I don't think the line of the clear mask will show as much.

For those who are wondering, I picked up my silver 330, SP, manual a few weeks ago in Munich. My wife and I had a great time touring southern Germany, a bit of Switzerland, northern Italy, and back up through Austria. I will try to do a more thorough write-up when I have caught up on my inbox. Basically, the car was awesome and I am going to cry when I am limited to 70 mph back here in the states.

Best,
hpman

motorcity3

Hello everybody,
There has been some recent discussion about cleaning wheels. Is S100 still the best product for cleaning BMW wheels? I have had my 325i for just over a year now and the original wax has been long gone from the wheels. It is gettting harder and harder to clean them now. Any other good wheel cleaning products?
Thanks.

tenet1

Shipo, you previously suggested a wax for the wheels that worked well for you. Can you tell me what that was and the application techniques and time taken to do this.

My car is now 9 months old but the original wax is still on the wheels (probably because I haven't cleaned them much) and I want to start waxing them before I lose the original shine.

Thanks

shipo

I am using the Klasse system on my wheels. I cleaned them down to the shine, and then applied the Klasse All-In-One first followed by the Klasse Glaze. Total time was something like two hours per wheel, so this is not for the faint of heart. That said, I have Type 42 Composite wheels which are probably one of the hardest wheels to clean that BMW has ever put on a car, so, unless you have a 1999 or 2000 non-SP 328i (both of which have Type 42 non-Composite wheels), your wheels should be MUCH easier to clean and polish than mine.

Best Regards,
Shipo

abcnyc

Shipo - Does the Klasse Glaze give it a shinier finish ? Have you tried the All-in-one without the glaze ? I assume you think it's worth putting on the glaze.

brave1heart

I stayed with the same size (225/45/17). I am not sure how much performance you would gain from staggering the tires. BTW, I would not replace just the rears - just get a set of 4 new tires. fwiw, I now have put on about 500 miles on the Sumi's and although they are significantly quieter and ride better, I keep thinking that my Contis held up better at the limit when they were new (stiffer sidewalls maybe?!?). The Sumi's have a more progressive breakaway but for very hard cornering I think I'd take the Contis. I am autoXing with the Sumi's this Saturday and I will get a better feel for their handling at the limit. Will let you know if you're interested.

shipo

If ddblue isn't (and I'm sure that he is), there are plenty of us here that are. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

Well gang, y'all have heard me mention a few times that Mrs. Shipo and I have been contemplating a move up to southern New Hampshire this summer. To that end, we signed a listing agreement for our house in New Jersey late Sunday afternoon, and 10 minutes after our house went on the market Monday morning it was sold! We just placed an offer on a house in NH (not yet accepted), and we could well be moved by 1-Aug.

I guess that means that flirting with disaster on All-Season tires, like I did with my 328i is going to end as there is no way I am going to drive my new 530i SP through a New Hampshire winter without winter tires. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

ccotenj

where in new hampshire? spent a good portion of my life there...

ummmm... guys? go do a search on tire stagger....

-Chris

nyccarguy

Gotta love the disgustingly strong real estate market here in the NY area. Good luck with the move!

shipo

We are currently looking in very southern New Hampshire, in the Salem/Windham area, which is essentially a suburb of Boston. Is that anywhere near where you spent your time?

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo

Thanks! Yeah, who knew? We broke ground on our current house just 5 years ago, and at the time, we had a hard time coming up with enough money to keep the LTV at 80% or less because the appraisal came in well below the buying price. :-( And now? Ummm, well, we aren’t going to be hurting. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

sunnybrook

My ED 325i SP came with Michelin's which surprised be since it seemed most people had the Conti's. Anyone have experience with these tires?

shipo

Which Michelins?

Best Regards,
Shipo

ccotenj

yup, within 20 miles or so of one of the places we lived... lived in auburn (twice)...

hmmm... salem... not too far from the granite state potato chip factory, which is a really great ride to get to in your bimmer... good point about nearly a suburb of boston too...

-Chris

nyccarguy

Southern NH is a great place to live (As I may or may not have said before, I have an Aunt, Uncle, & 2 cousins who live there). Salem is in a great location: 30 minutes from Boston (w/o traffic), 30 minutes to the Beach, & maybe 40 minutes from the mountains (if you're into camping and all that outdoorsy stuff).

A move to NH to a (probably) bigger house that costs less and more money for the Shipo Junior's college fund.

shipo

Well, sort of, we certainly don't need a bigger house, so, we went for the same size house, 6 acres (nine times the land), and two thirds the cost. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

ccotenj

no sales or income tax either...

of course, no real services either... and big time tariffs on other items...

close to the big state store though right over the border from taxachusetts!

-Chris

seivwrig

For me, I really don't care about my mpg until a road trip. Most of my driving is highway miles between 55 mph and 65 mph, so my mpg will not change much. If I did a lot of a city driving, I probably would care but then I would probably garage the BMW and drive my truck all the time.

dcdriver2

I am in the process of purchasing a new 2002 BMW 325i. We have agreed with the dealer a price based on a spread over invoice; however, the dealer is telling us the invoice price is $200 higher than what Edmunds shows as the invoice price. Any suggestions on how I can get to the bottom of this? When I requested the invoice, the dealer sent me a computer print-out that was captioned Wholesale Price and shows what he says is the invoice price. However, it just happens to include a line item called MACO; that is exactly $200. Any ideas what is going on here and how I can get to the bottom of it?
Thanks for any help you can provide.

nyccarguy

MACO is a legitmate advertising fee assesed to the dealership by BMWNA. It only applies if you live in or around a major metropolitan area. Many here have paid it. $200 is correct.

When you're driving down a deserted, curvy road in your new BMW, you won't even remember the $200.

What color/options are you thinking of getting?

tenet1

Where are you purchasing from? I purchased from the DC area an did not pay a MACO of $200.

brave1heart

Congrats on the successful sale. I'm glad to hear that you're moving to my neck of the woods. The rates are great right now - we just closed yesterday with a rate of 6.5% on a 30-yr jumbo fixed with no points down. You've probably done your research but I wanted to chime in on the NH thing. In short, I think it is greatly overrated. If you are working in Boston or the area (rt. 128), your commute from NH will be excruciating and although you may be able to save some money for your kids' college, you won't be able to spend much time with them. It is nice that there is no sales tax in NH but you don't need to be a NH resident to shop there. The lack of state income tax is great, esp. for high-income earners but the ridiculously high property taxes almost wash that benefit away. Simple math: a 500K house at $25 per 1,000 will cost you 12.5K in taxes up in NH. That's >$1,000/month in property taxes alone. Same property would cost you only about 4-6K in MA towns like Wellesley, Concord, etc. Sure, you can't get 6 acres of land in those towns but do you really need them?!? Also, the public school system and quality of life are much better in those towns (no need to drive 20 min to drop off your dry cleaning), which leaves you more time to spend with your family ;o) Look a little South, you can afford it.

As far as the staggered tire thing, those of you who know enough to discuss it should help their board brethren like me who do not know much about its advantages. I thought we all share on the board. Why is it OK to repeat the same trivial things (MACO fees, brake dust) but pass on a potentially interesting discussion like staggered tires? Sure, everyone could go do their own research but we all come here to share. Spread the knowledge.

dcdriver2

Thanks, Tenet1. It's VOB in Rockville, MD. Supposedly, they are the largest in the Mid-Atlantic (cheers and whistles not required).

Has anyone else had the experience of finding a discrepancy between the Edmunds-listed invoice and the dealer figure? I know it's not the biggest deal, but I do not want to feel the dealer is pulling a fast one on me.

dcdriver2

We went with the steel grey metallic with black interior. It looks hot (and, I suppose, it will be hot in the other sense of the word, too).

We went back and forth on the Harmon-Kardon and I suspect others may differ, but after listening in two similar cars (one with, one without) we decided it was worth it to us. Of course, we got the sunroof and a couple of other goodies too.

The one thing on which we skimped a bit was in not getting the power seats. I am afraid we may come to regret it, but since--according to our friends at Edmunds--the power seats retain little resale value and since we rarely move our seat we decided we could use the manual control.

dl7265

Texas has no state tax , however our average property tax is a little more than the 2.5% you quoted also due to this black mold stuff, homeowners insurance is going up as much as 300% for some people.

I got my 3er back sans air in brakes, dealer claims the manager, quality control person, and my advisor drove it and it was fine. Told me had the ability to to bleed some of the air out on its own, dont know if im buying it or not.. I think they may have fixed and not admitted it. At any rate since my free service is over , ill be choosing another dealer to work with in the future.

DL

ddblue

I talked to Vance from tirerack.com, and I informed him of my situation. Turns out that I have about 15K miles left on my front Contis, but my rears are close to being on their way to tire heaven (2K miles left). I want to get the most for my $, so I don't want to replace all four tires. He recommended staying with the same brand/make of tire for all four. He stated that in emergency braking situations, tires with different makes and tread patters will cause the car to handle erratically. So, I've decided to go with larger (245/40WR17) Contis in the rear. I figure if I'm gonna wear out the rears faster, then the new ones will wear out close to the same time the original fronts are gone. Then I can replace the whole set in about a year.

bmw323is

butmywife, you asked about the clear bra. I don't think I would install one again - even in Colorado. On my black car, it is too easy to see the flaws in the bra itself and the line across the hood (wax residue sticks on the edge of the bra and I can't get it off). I'm pretty anal about these things. On a lighter colored car it would be more invisible but so would the paint chips. However, my installation was less than perfect, so I could be biased. I had a black leather bra on an old Ford Probe and would never do one of those again - trapped dirt, scatched the paint, yuck!

kdshapiro - I'd still take my 3 series over the G35 because of the subjective intangible things - looks and feel. I can never get over the way the Bimmer handles on mountain roads. But I will say again that competition is great and BMW won't sit still for somebody beating up on their 3 series. What if they didn't make C&D 10 best for the 10th (or whatever) year in a row -GASP!