BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

kdshapiro

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/firstdrive/103035/articl- e.html?tid=edmunds.h..wkedmunds.firstdrive.1g

kyfdx

Geeezzz.... me wants it.

kdshapiro

I'll take two thanks, and hold the Wrx.

nyccarguy

drooling........

m4d_cow

though '04 330i's have a $3K dealer incentive right now.

what??? i thought the $2400 incentive is no longer available

white6

Toying with the idea of upgrading from 325i to 330i through ED. Drove a 04 ZHP yesterday to check out the ride; pretty much matches my 325i ZSP which suprised me a bit. Expected a harsh ride due to stiffer suspension and 18-inch wheel/tire package but I was pleasantly suprised. Makes the decision harder though. Too bad the local dealer only sells steptronic-equipped vehicles (unless you special order, of course). Love to find a black/black base (no options) ZHP with $3,000 trunk money! Oh well, I guess a last-of-the-E46 2005 model wouldn't be all bad either.

kdog

I have a new 330i. I was told by the salesman to use castrol synthetic oil for topping off in between changes because that's what the new BMW's comes with. Any disagreements?

kdshapiro

That's what I do. 30K miles on the car now. It used 1qt of oil since the last oil change.

nyccarguy

ED on an '05 330i ZHP would be a great idea if you could pull it off.

brave1heart

Preferably, use oil from the dealer as that Castrol is specially formulated for your car.

blueguydotcom

Doesn't matter. It's basically all the same.

brave1heart

It's all the same only if you're leasing... I plan on getting 200,000+ miles out of mine with regular track driving and autoXing and will stick to the BMW Castrol oil.

div2

I agree; the only OTC Castrol I would use is the German Castrol that is sometimes found at AutoZone.

r1_97

Our 19 yr. old son has his heart set on a 325. We promised to get him one if he quits smoking. We're thinking about finding a used one in good condition with less than 60K miles.

Question: should we go private party of dealer with warranty? How much do we need to spend?

Thanks.

kyfdx

In my local paper.. I've seen a couple of '00 323i in the $17K-$19K range... mileage is 46K on one, and unspecified on the other..

'01 325i with miles in the 40's should be in the very low $20Ks... If you buy CPO from a dealer, expect asking prices of $25K-$26K. If buying an '01, I recommend finding a private seller who took very good care of the car...

Every late-model BMW can have the service history pulled at any BMW service department.. you only need the VIN#.

regards,
kyfdx

blueguydotcom

One synthetic oil is markedly different from another? Uh-uh. Yeah, and Exxon gas is better than Texaco and Arco. Okey dokey. Essentially, it's all the same stuff...

cartalk

You can also get an idea of prices by looking on cars.com or autotrader.com.

You can also search dealer CPO inventory at the following:

http://www.bmwusa.com/CPO/

m4d_cow

well that depends, what year are you looking for? need more info
one thing i can tell you is if youre going for private party you should make sure its been well taken care of. ask for the car's VIN number and have it checked

pat

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div2

If synthetic oil is "all the same stuff", then why did BMW develop the LL-01 oil specification? Does that also mean that oils that cannot pass the ACEA A3, B3, and B4 standards are functionally equivalent to oils that DO meet the standards?
And if all gasoline brands are the same, then BMW, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota are apparently pulling off one heckuva scam: http://www.toptiergas.com/index.html

kyfdx

I don't disagree with you about the oil... but, the gas thing? Sounds like marketing.. Did you note that Chevron is the ONLY national retailer on the list? So, BMWs can't run on anything but Chevron?

blueguydotcom

To each his own. I don't believe for a second that there's really any major difference among synthetic oils. Coke and Pepsi...same junk, slighty different ingredients.

As for gas... that's all marketing.

div2

Well, back in the mid eighties BMW had a huge problem with intake valve deposits on their US cars. They conducted a massive service campaign that involved mechanical cleaning of the intake valves of severely affected cars. In less severe cases BMW actually paid dealers to add Chevron Techron to the fuel. This very expensive incident led to the establishment of the original BMW fuel standards for intake cleanliness. BMW required owners to add a proprietary fuel supplement if the pump fuel didn't meet BMW standards. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that you must use Chevron all the time, I WOULD advise you to use a name brand fuel. I would also suggest that you purchase it from a station that has a pretty constant stream of customers in order to ensure that the fuel is as fresh as possible.

kdshapiro

Well it's Texaco too. But all gasoline is NOT created equal. Over the years, I've noticed my cars run better with certain gas than with others.

kyfdx

I agree about name brands... and buying from a station that does a lot of business.. I just have doubts about Chevron being the only place to go..

I would think any Texaco, BP, Chevron, Shell, Exxon/Mobil (prob missing a couple) would be okay.. Chevron doesn't even have any stations in this area of the country... (BP is the old Standard Oil here).

bmwna

I’m with BMW of North America, LLC. I’m sorry to read of your concern about your 330i. If you and your BMW center would like our assistance, please phone us at (800) 831-1117, and mention Reference #200426100092 so that we can help you more efficiently.

BMW NA Customer Relations

richardh

I have a BMW 325 automatic ('03) with 10 k miles. It's had a pinging problem on steep hills since the 3k mark. BMW first said they heard it, that it wasn't normal, and cleaned the fuel system. After they returned it it still pings. Now they say it's a normal 'shifting' sound. I have used the brand name and octane levels of gas BMW recommended. I'm concerned about the long term effects. Any advice?

jaj

On my new '04 325xi I've noticed that on any road with the slightest crown to it, the car will not hold a straight line if I let go of the wheel and will veer in the direction of the slant. Is this to be expected or might it be indicative of an alignment problem?

kdshapiro

Hard to tell. I've noticed this with Lexus, Porsche, BMW, Jeep, Chrysler cars. In general where the road crowns or dips the cars will tend to go.

It does not hurt to check the alignment. This should not happen on a road that is straight and level though.

erickpl

My brake pad light came on yesterday on my way home. Shipo, what kind of pads are you using now on your 530 and does that manufacturer make a set that will fit on a 325xi?

Still need to bleed the brakes, so I'll be using the SuperATE fluid too. Gonna be a long day for that.

-Paul

div2

Axxis does make a Deluxe Plus application for your 325xi, and at a good price-$42 front, $32 rear. See: http://www.zeckhausen.com/BMW/E46.htm

erickpl

do they sell the SuperATE fluid too? That would make it so easy to order a whole setup right there.

BTW, I got 73,500 miles out of my brake pads before the light came on. And stopping power is still excellent!

-Paul

shipo

Hey Paul,

I am using the PBR/Axxis “Original Deluxe” pads and they are available for your car. I bought mine through the folks at "Import Replacement Parts", and you can find the page with both front and rear pads at the following link:

http://www.importrp.com/catalogm.php?man=34&type=35&year=- 33&year_name=2002

FWIW, there are LOTS of places that sell these pads as well as the "Deluxe Plus" pads, which are the ones that I had actually intended to buy, I just didn't realize that there were two "Deluxe" pads. Oops! :-/ That said, the "Original Deluxe" pads have been perfect with the only difference that I've noticed is the almost complete lack of brake dust. ;-)

You can get to the Axxis & PBR sites (basically identical sites) via the following links:

http://www.axxisbrakes.com
http://www.pbrbrakes.com

I would also recommend that you not mess around with your old rotors and buy new (they are relatively inexpensive) and also buy a new sensor since that is essentially destroyed when the light comes on.

Once again, you can buy both from any number of vendors; I bought mine from Steve at the Ultimate Garage http://www.ultimategarage.com/bmwparts.html for a very reasonable price.

If you need any help with the actual brake work, let me know, I have worked out a few short cuts to getting the job done fairly quickly. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

eman6628

I have an 2004 330ci and have about 10,000 km or 6000 miles on it, it is not due for it's first oil change yet, but when I check the oil it is not translucence and fairly dark brown in colour.Should I get an oil change or this it is a fairly normal situation and I can wait till the normal scheduled maintenance?

cartalk

I have just noticed about 30+ thick, mustard yellow droplets on the garage floor coming from a 2 week old 330i. I intend on notifying the dealer and making a service appoinment, but have no idea what this stuff might be. Any ideas?

erickpl

Yeah I could use a few tips. Will I need to replace the rotors as well in this process? And does the Ultimate Garage sell the sensors as well? How much do the sensors sell for?

-Paul

erickpl

Isn't that coolant? or wet paint?

-Paul

shipo

Hmmm, will you NEED to replace the rotors? The answer to that is a definite "maybe". The new rotors from Ultimate Garage are $46.00 each for the front and $38.00 each for the rear (you probably don't need the rears just yet), and as such, just eliminating the need to screw around with getting the old ones inspected and turned mandates new rotors for me. The sensor is listed on his web site as $23.00 although I don't remember paying that much, it has been almost three years since I did my 328i (same brakes as on the 325i/xi).

I think that the best approach is to call Steve at 201-262-0414 and ask him about the rotors and the sensor (and the shipping charges). I found him to be very easy to work with. The only items that I don't buy from him (any more) are the brake pads because he uses the German OEM stuff, and that means LOTS of brake dust.

Best Regards,
Shipo

erickpl

Which brake pads did you use? The Deluxe or the Ultimates? I want as little dust as possible.

-Paul

shipo

I am currently running with the "Original Deluxe" pads. They produce virtually zero dust. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

erickpl

If we were not to replace the rotors, I assume they would need to be turned at a minimum. Guess I should at least get them checked out for wear and see what kind of rotor I'd have left after turning.

Any idea on where I could get a good, inexpensive micrometer?

If you have any tips on the BMW brake changes, feel free to send them to my email. Let me know if you need it again.

-Paul

cartalk

The specs on this car indicate a 12 speaker system. I can find 10 (2 each on front doors, one on each front window/mirrow, one on each rear door, and two on the back deck). Where are the other two?

brave1heart

73K miles out of a front pair is pretty good. I only got ~ 190 miles out of my last set - that was a day a and a half at Watkins Glen three weeks ago )

For ANY stock parts, call Pacific BMW. The front sensor is ~ $11 at Pacific. Your rotors would probably be OK for another set of pads but I'd replace them considering how cheap they are. The Axxis Ultimates are supposed to offer ~ 25% better braking than the stock pads with same or less brake dust. They are what I consider a good luxury pad. If you want to trade up to more braking power and trade down to more dust and noise, get the Hawk HPS. Next level would be Hawk HP Plus, which is what I've been running for my needs.

brave1heart

Did you count the two subwoofers in the trunk? Bend down and look up in the trunk - you'll see one on each side.

gordonwd

When stopped at a light this morning in my '04 325i I noticed that my o/s mirrors were fogged up. Aren't these mirrors heated, and isn't the heat turned on all the time?

In all the years that I owned my A4 with heated mirrors I never saw fogging on them.

kyfdx

I thought the heated mirrors were hooked up to the rear window de-fogger?

kdshapiro

The heaters mirrors are on as long as the ignition is on. If your mirror are fogged, you can put your finger against the mirror to check the temperature. You should be able to feel the heat.

tenet1

I was just in for my free 30K Inspection 1 and the techs replaced the brake pads in the front and rear as they were almost done. However, they did not replace the rotors (as I thought this was the norm with BMW's). They said the rotors were fine and can be changed the next time I change pads again (in another ~30K miles). Is this normal/OK??

So, in my last free maintanence I got free new pads, oil service, wipers, and a new instrument cluster due to hissing noises from the mpg gauge. Nice!!!

erickpl

I ordered my Brembo rotors and my Axxis Deluxe Plus pads. I guess I can't complain about getting 75,000 miles from my original brakepads, especially since I live in the mountains and driving all too often in bumper to bumper traffic in LA.

Thanks, Shipo for all your help with this. Your information, combined with the tips from the vendors on installing and prepping, I should have no problems.

Now where are those latex gloves?

-Paul

deepdarkblue

Hello all, it's been a while since I last posted. My 2001 325Ci is purring like a kitten with 48K miles on it. The engine is just getting broken in and the CAI + ECU reprogram is really kicking in . I pulled a 6.2 0-60 not two months ago. Sweet.

Some questions--some not related to my car.

1. I've got to replace my front rotors and pads. How long does this take and how much harder is it to replace the rotors than to just replace the pads? I did my rear pads a few months ago, and it took me about one hour.

2. How good are Pagid pads? I know they produce less dust, but how's the stopping power and brake fade?

3. I've got 48K miles, and I haven't replaced the coolant yet. Any suggestions as to when this should be done?

4. Has anyone had to clean their headliner? Mine is filthy from having the windows down and from my incessant stogie smoking. I don't want to scrub it b/c it is a felt-like material (what I wouldn't do for alcantara). What do you use to clean it (Resolve?) and how do you wipe it down without ruining the fabric?

5. What damage does overfilling the oil do to a car? I did so with my girlfriend's RAV4 last weekend (I stupidly only removed the oil filter and drained that portion of the oil but did not drain the oil pan. I completely spaced out). She must have about 7 quarts of oil in her engine now (half new, half old). I just realized what I had done this morning on the way to work. DOH!!!