BMW 3-Series Maintenance and Repair

Mr_Shiftright

Yes, forgot that one...combined velocity of object and car....also, where you live I guess, if that changed between cars....in Colorado you can just about guarantee a rock in your windshield within a couple years--or if not that, sand-blasting. In Alaska, about 3 months I'd guess!

smoothoperator

Hi, everyone. I'm a new member of this board and I've spent the past 45 min. or so reviewing the problems you've all been discussing. I'm the very proud owner of a '99 328i (premium package, heated seats, auto).

A potential "problem" I've experienced (haven't seen it mentioned) is with the a/c. During especially hot days, say 95+ F, I've noticed that the vents will blow only warm air when I've been sitting motionless in traffic any longer than a minute or two. When I begin to move again the a/c tends to pick up again. Even when moving (again, on really hot days) it has a tendency to fluctuate in temperature from nice and frosty to just not cutting it. Also, on these days it sometimes takes a long time (almost 10 minutes) for the air to really cool down.

Now, I understand that a really hot day is going to tax the system a lot more than your average summer day but, under the same circumstances, my girlfriend's 1999 Chevy Blazer's system blasts cold air in just a minute or two and never shows any of these same symptoms I've described. I also don't recall ever having the same problem with my former '94 525i.

Am I simply expecting too much from the a/c or could there be something wrong here? Any suggestions you guys might have will be greatly appreciated.

-SmoothOperator

shipo

First off, NOBODY seems to make A/C units like GM. Oddly enough, I went to High School in the mid seventies with the son of the guy who did most of that era's GM A/C designs.

As for your 328i, I also have a 1999 328i (5-Speed) and while I have in fact noticed that the air coming from the dash vents when sitting at idle on a hot day (we hit something like 110 on the NY Thruway a month or so back) is not frigid, it is however, certainly cool enough by my judgment. So, a few things come to mind:

1) Make sure that the little wheel between the two dash vents above the radio shows three blue dots. Anything other than that will be mixing in warm air.
2) Make sure that the "Recirculate" button is lit.
3) If the above two do not have the desired effect, you might want to schedule a service call to see if you are low on refrigerant.
4) The only other thing that I can think of is the fact that you have an automatic transmission. I wonder where the tranny cooler is located, I suppose it is possible that an engineer in Munich had a brain fart and placed said tranny cooler in front of the A/C Condenser (not very likely though).

Let us know how you make out.

Best Regards,
Shipo

woohah

I was wondering if there are any known problems with this model of BMW. The one I am looking at is a 98 318i with 44,000. What does anyone think I should pay for this vehicle. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

brokedown

I just recently purchased A 2001 325CI.. Due to my inability to wait for things, i ran out and bought the only manual transmission left in the state of illinois at the time and was forced to pay almost full list for the vehicle.. ihad no problem with that though b/c i was so excited to have found the vehicle and to have had to order it. i also expierenced the clunking noise right away. i also properly broke the vehicle in according to the manual. then on labor day weekend my vehicle stalled on the highway.. road side assistance was terrible. took over 3 hours plus nothing but hassle on the phone. 2 days later i was contacted by the dealer and was told they would look into the problem. they did not offer me a loaner vehicle. i also did not recieve a phone call untill 2 days after that. then i recieve the phone call stateing that i must have missed a shift and blew my motor and bmw will not cover the problem and was told to call customer assistance. so i did...the man at customer assistance did not look into my situation at first..he started arguing with me saying its your fault the case is closed ..when he didnt even have my info..finnaly he called the dealer and called me back and said..try calling your insurance..sorry sir.so ive tried getting a hold of numerous throught the last couple weeks..now the dealer called me and said well once we break the engine down we might be able to warranty the problem..but since my service was so bad i want to tow it to another dealer but they want to charge me 300 just for pulling of the valve covers..one i did not miss a shift in my vehicle..two bmw has given me no help..no one has given me help.. hopefully someone else has had this problem or knows what to maybe due in this case....thankyou for reading this long letter

ccotenj

well, first off, are you a member of bmwcca? if so, there's some recourse you can try to take through the arbitrator (or whatever they call it) through there.

secondly, have you contacted bmwna?

as far as the actual car problem itself, we'll need a little more input (i.e. any other noises, high temeperature readings or whatever) before it stopped running? any oil on the ground once it stopped running? and so on?

-Chris

brokedown

no iam not a member of bmwcca but i would love to become aware of the process in joining. secondly i called customer assistance but i do not have the number for bmwna.. and to answer the other questions.. i was driving on the expressway with 3 passengers when i was coming to an off ramp..i was not paying attention to engine temperature to be quite honest.but i did downshift to forth gear at around 75 miles per hour..bmw is stating that i had to down shift to second but they still wont know until they completely break the engine down. some people have told me there is a black box that will tell if the car was redlined..so say there isnt...after shifting to forth there was no response or noise from the vehicle and i looke d at the other passengers and stated that the car was shutdown... i pulled over thinking it would start right back up but it did not. it just buzzed. no other noises occured during this event and when we used the flash light to look underneath there was what appeared to be oil underneath or brake fluid sprayed on the frame....on the flipside i was in a toyota celica the following week when the driver missed a shift and the engine made a horrific sound a blew a mountain of smoke out of the tailpipe..every light lit up on the dash and the car moved a little but clinked and rattled until we pulled over wher the smoke continued to billow out of the tail pipe...toyota roadside assistance came out within an hour. towed the vehicle to the nearest dealer... the next day the dealer called and gave the owner a rental car and stated that we understand people make mistakes we will have car down in a wekk or two.. now i purchased the ultimate driving machine and what the call luxury care and no one from bmw has tried to help..all they keep doing is blaming me..what happeneed with the toyota was nothing like my car and on top of it..toyota covered it right away.. what do i do?????

killer99

Pretty odd that a person would be in TWO cars that blew up within a week of each other... Not that it couldn't happen, but it doesn't smell right to me.

Also odd that Toyota would provide a rental and fix a car that was broken by obvious user error.

lokki

I would imagine that the current E-46 does as well.

Over-reving the engine is not covered by the warranty.

I'm surprised that there were only manual transmissions available, or that the dealer wouldn't order one from another state....

Hitting the off-ramp at 75 mph with 3 people in the car and counting on the transmission to slow you down by engine braking? Brave man.

I also know that loaners are not a BMW policy but vary from dealership to dealership. My dealer, for example, only gives loaners to those who purchased the car there. Was the dealership where you sent your car for inspection and repair the dealership where you purchased it?

Also, you might start checking the net for a rebuilt engine. It is going to be pretty expensive (if you can find one for a 2001), but less than BMW will charge you for a new engine.

Just out of curiousity ...were you driving the Toyota when it blew its engine?

jrct9454

...what happened to the rev-limiter? It works on every car I've owned for the past 10 years [just hit the rev cutout on our Accord V6 the other day, so I know Honda's works]...doesn't it work on a new E46? I suppose if you get the gear low enough suddenly enough, the rev-limiter can't intervene in time....maybe...?

lokki

will stop you from over-revving when you are hitting the gas - it works by shutting off the gas.

However it won't do you a bit of good when you put the transmission into too low a gear. It is the transmission spinning the engine then. The engine still gets spun too fast, whether there is any gas coming in from the fuel injectors or not.

Nothing but the clutch can save the engine if you get too low a gear, and then you'd better be darn fast.

brokedown

LIKE BMW YOU GUYS ARE POINTING THE FINGER AT ME... NO I WAS NOT DRIVING THE TOYOTA AND YES TWO ENGINES BLEW IN ONE WEEK. IVE SEEN A LOT MORE COINCIDENTAL THINGS HAPPEN IN MY LIFE. ONCE AGAIN ITS A GAME TO EVERYONE ELSE. I USED THE TOYOTA AS AN EXAMPLE B/C OF HOW OPPOSITE THE OCCURENCE. AND YES TOYOTA HANDLED THE WHOLE SITUATION LIKE I STATED... SO IT IS AN INSULT FOR YOU TO QUESTION THAT...THATS SAD..TOYOTAS SERVICE WAS UNBELIEVABLE

killer99

Brokedown...
Don't come yelling (IN ALL CAPS) at us because we are skeptical about a somewhat unbelievable story... I mean look at what you are telling us:

1. Your engine blew up.
2. It's not your fault, you didn't miss a downshift.
3. BMW is shirking all responsibility.
4. You just happen (within the same week) to have been in the car when someone did miss a downshift and blew their engine...
5. Upon which Toyota, out of the goodness of their hearts, agrees to fix the car and provide a loaner, no questions asked.

The obvious intended conclusion being that Toyota is a better, more caring car manufacturer than BMW; and that BMWs just blow up for no good reason, while it takes an obvious user error to damage a toyota.

I'm not saying it's a duck. I'm just saying that it quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, and water beads off it's back just like a duck...

lokki

You are in a situation that is probably going to cost you $6,000 to $7,000 from what I can guess, between parts and labor.

I would imagine that, if BMW is denying your claim, that you should consult with an attorney. However, just out of curiousity, please tell us more about the details of how your car 'stalled' when the engine stopped. You had said you were exiting a ramp at 75 mph and downshifted to 4th. What did the Tachometer do? How did the engine sound? Did the car lurch or buck? Did steam or smoke come out from under the hood either then or after you stopped? Tell us the details.

Here is a link to a site for used BMW engines. they don't list a 2001, but perhaps they could help you find one.

http://www.bavengine.com/engine.html

woody02

I'm looking at buying there. Can you recommend salesman and service advisor?

Thanks.

eug

I received my 325ci in July, and have since noticed a notchy or sticky accelerator petal. It's really annoying, and it makes it hard to smoothly adjust my speed. I checked around and found a web forum filled with people with the same problem. I guess BMW in working on it now. Anyway, checkout http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bmw-sticky-pedal/messages/121 for more info.

iam0378

I have had my '02 330Ci for a week and there is a pull to the right, as the car would appear to be out of alignment. Momentum BMW in Houston told me initially the tires had incorrect pressures between the front and rear, which should correct the problem--it didn't. I took it back the next day and a different service advisor said BMW designs their cars with a pull to the right "so as to get the car off the road in case the driver falls asleep."

I don't buy it. My friend has a 2001 325i with 7K miles and is perfectly aligned.

Is there any truth to this? Thanks for the help.

lokki

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been happy with John Roberts. I used Peter Bruce for both my cars; he treated me well and was very low pressure. For a service advisor I have Beth Richardson. Very happy with her attitude and that of John Roberts. They really WANT you to be a happy customer. Let me know how you make out.

seelig

>BMW builds the 330 with a pull to the right in case the driver falls asleep<........that is about the dumbest assumption i have ever heard. not that it is your assumption, but the service advisor needs more work than the car.....LOL actually, i've been told by a few alignment guys that it isn't out of the ordinary to find a slight drift, and i mean SLIGHT drift to the right after an alignment, but not likely. what concerns me is that i'm currently dealing on a 330ci for the wife, and it had better track straight.
if the 330 you have is pulling to the right, how is handling at freeway speeds. if it pulls hard at freeway speeds, then we can only imagine how it would be on the autobahn. they are feeding you a bunch of BS, and it needs to be fixed, so what's their problem. no doubt i'm going to print your post and bring it to the dealer. i feel bad that i'm able to benefit from some of the posts here, but i feel that we all share our findings to help each other. when i see my dealer, i'll ask him what info they have to help you out.

jrct9454

The car needs a complete alignment check, and if everything is perfect, the next thing to do is rotate the tires from side to side. If it changes, you have a bad tire...it happens more often than you might think, even from the best tire makers.

Why a competent dealer would refuse to do the most basic trouble-shooting [which is what the two steps above are in this case] is beyond me. Escalate within the dealership, or pick another dealer to do the work. These cars do not wander into the weeds on their own...

iam0378

Thanks. How does it pull at freeway speeds? Let's just say I can change lanes and/or exit the freeway at will!!!!

I didn't figure a 40K car would ever do anything other than drive straight as an arrow.

jrct9454

I'm personally betting on a bad tire, but you always start with the alignment. Let us know how it turns out.

kstoj

I have 2000 323 Ci. Do to the bad weather here in Pacific NorthWest I put it in the garage for about 8 days and drove my '97 Honda to work. This Sunday was really nice so I step into my BMW and try to start it up. THE BATTERY IS ALL DEAD. Nothing works. This happened to me twice already first time car was in the garage for about two weeks. After first time dealer charged the battery and said this is normal for BWM to drain that much power. This time I won't let them of the hook so easy. Car is at the dealer and I still don't have any info on it. Any one has any ideas what is going on. It is fully equipped car, but I can't imagine that BMW would allow to drain the car battery in a week. Please help!

jrct9454

I can't speak for an E46 BMW, but all of our cars for the past 8 years ['94 C220, '96 Acura RL, '98 E320, '01 Accord V6] have been garaged and undriven for days at a time, not uncommonly 10 days or more, and never had an electrical problem of any kind.

We're retired and within easy walking distance of most of life's needs and even amenities; the cars are routinely jacked up at all four points to make sure the tires don't flat-spot. None of these has ever shown any noticeable drain in that period of time, even with the alarms activated.

Something is clearly amiss; you need a competent servicer to hook up a tester to check for the source of the runoff.

adam68

Is anyone aware of known problems with rubber
seal around driver and passenger windows in the 2-door coupe? While I have not experienced leaking, I have noticed several gaps in the rubber
seal...

Adam

pswibowo

I have a 2001 325I that has 6800 miles on it. I bought it back on Oct 2000. I was under the impression that I can get an oil change either at 15000 mi or at the end of the first year, either way, BMW would pay for the oil change. My dealership is telling me that BMW will only pay for the oil change at 15000 miles. I called bmwusa.com twice and got 2 different answers (of course. One said that BMW would pay for it and when I called back, I got a different person and he said that it would be an out-of-pocket expense for me because of the 15000 mi criteria.

My question is does anyone know which is true? Should the oil change be covered as a service maintenance? Also, I was told that someone had posted a similar question and had listed the official bmw service posting. If so, can that person tell me the posting number and when the changes was in effect?

Any clarification on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,
Patricia

nbb

My 2001 325CiC had the same problem. I also thought it was the alignment, but the dealer said the steering had to be 'equalized' which eliminated the pull.

As the oil change interval, tell your dealer to reference bulletin 00-04-01. They should change the oil, but not reset the service indicator.

badger11

I have a 1994 325 which suddenly won't start. It cranks but won't fire -- not even a single cylinder. I can hear it trying to fire. During the last few weeks,it seemed to miss every now and then when driving. I wonder if the fuel pump failed. I am a rank amateur as a mechanic so this is a guess. The car ran fine on Saturday. I didn't drive it on Sunday. Monday morning, it wouldn't start.

I will greatly appreciate anyone comments on what could be wrong. Car has 78,000 miles -- I bought it about 6 months ago so don't know about past maintenance or repairs (seems to have been nicely driven and maintained). If it matters, the car is from the Chicago area.

badger 11

shipo

It could be fuel starvation or your ignition system, on older cars that still had a distributer, you can pull a plug wire from the cap (or the plug, which ever is easier) and have somebody crank the starter. Hold the wire close to the cap and you should see a spark arcing from the cap to the wire. Note, do not stand in a puddle of water in your bare feet while you are performing this test. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

div2

Your car doesn't have a distributor. You might try replacing the fuel pump relay. Also, the crank position sensor can fail and cause a no-start condition as well. And yes, it could be the fuel pump.

jumble

Hello all:

I have a 2000 323i manual with sport pkg. and 38k miles. Great car. No problems... except recently...

A couple months ago a high pitched whining noise started coming from the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) vents. This occurs with or without the A/C, heat, etc etc. It seems to disappear when the dash vents are disengaged. The noise is present with the stereo on or off. This is a physical whistling noise, not electronic. It comes and goes. Sometimes it will appear from nowhere and then suddenly go quiet - for no reason!

BMW replaced the fan blower unit, and that did not do a thing. Then, they replaced the heater core. That fixed the problem for about a week or so. Now it is back with a vengeance.

This is the type of noise that will drive you coo-coo (or to the message boards, at least). My dealer (who has been WONDERFUL and is putting forth great effort) has admitted he is out of ideas. He consulted the last time on the phone with the BMW factory rep to no avail. Our next move is to have a personal inspection by the factory rep, Scott. Scott covers the area I live in (St Louis) and visits each dealer about once per month. So, the next time he is in we will all take a look (or rather listen) to the problem.

Has ANYONE experienced this???? If you have, you can definately sympathize with me.

Thanks for the feedback and any suggestions - I am desparately open to anything. Gotta get this fixed before I hit 50k miles......

HELP ME!
Greg

jrct9454

...especially if they come and go, always make me suspect sealing problems. If they haven't already, have them take a THOROUGH look at the entire fresh-air intake system...everywhere the air is routed from the outside vents through the system to the HVAC guts. My guess is, in replacing the heater core, something got reconnected that has now come adrift again. Think about the internal wind tunnel which makes up the system, and try focusing there. Otherwise, am clueless...

badger11

Thanks for your help. It is great having this site as a resource.

jumble

jrct9454 - Thanks for your suggestion. The two previous times I've had the car in the shop I adopted a hands off approach - I merely dropped the car off, thouroughly explained my problem, and let the professionals deal with it. Appearantly they don't have the passion for my car that I do, so this time I am all but going to show up in jeans and a tshirt ready to get my hands all greasy. I will consult with the mechanic, not the service rep guy, on this one.
Thanks for your advice - it seems so obviously logical - I wonder why the mechanics and/or BMW specialists overlooked this possible cause.
Any other advice from anyone out there would still be appreciated.
I'll let you know how it turned out so maybe we can save someone else a headache like this out there.

jrct9454

Understand, I could be completely wrong - diagnosing problems in person is tough enough, never mind doing it in hyperspace...

Whenever I can, I try to point the mechanic in the direction I'D LIKE THEM TO START; I never try to tell them how to do their jobs, but when they take multiple unsuccessful cracks at it, it's time to think outside the box a little. Often the techs can get real focused on one aspect of the problem and not think of all of the others. Having said that, I do think the idea of getting a factory rep involved is a good one. Three times is more than enough...please come back and let us know how it turns out, whether positive or negative.

jodar96

Where do I go for E-36 repair questions? I hate to butt in this site if it is not the right one.

shipo

Its cool Joe, you are not butting in, we seem to have become the default 3-Series topic here at TownHall, regardless of vintage, number of doors, cylinders, transmissions or horsepower. So, having said that, give us a shot with your question.

Best Regards,
Shipo

jodar96

I just bought a '92 325i with 87K miles. the backlight in right front power window switch is out. Is it a simple bulb or it is one of those printed circuit bulbs that the entire assembly must be replaces? What is the best site to buy parts for this car?

iam0378

What did the dealer do to "equalize" the steering? The latest on my work order stated "electronic chassis and suspension tuning" with a bunch of numbers next to it. My service advisor wasn't there when I picked the car up to get an explanation. I thought I'd drive it for a week to see if the problem is in my head or in the car.

Anyway, it seems the alignment is improved; however, the steering wheel still sits off to the left (i.e., imagine looking at your wristwatch when the time is 10:55). This is how the "centering" feels. This may be nit-picky, but it is thoroughly annoying and every time I get in the car, it's the only thing I think about. I don't even want to drive the car any longer.

I have tried calling the service mgr at the dealership, but we continue to play phone tag, and each time I call and ask to speak with him directly, I get the voice mail.

I have had the car for 18 days now, and it will be going to the dealership for the 4th time tomorrow morning--for the same problem. This will entail the 6th day of work on this car.

I wonder if BMWFS will let me take 33% off of my payments???????

For all the BMW-lovers out there, I'd never buy another one, nor recommend one to anyone. It's very unfortunate that some people save money for quite a while to get one of these over-priced machines and then have nothing but trouble. This experience has soured me on BMW forever. I guess next time I won't buy a car based on over-blown and baseless hype. Audi may not have the "name" BMW has, but for a few grand less and far more features, I'll live with it.

hicaira

The wheel ain't straight, so the car is a POS. Try looking out the windshield as you drive instead of the steering wheel. You may enjoy the BMW a bit more. Better yet, find another service facility: The fault is not the car's.

Wait, forget that. Instead, quickly trade this POS in and get rid of it. Seriously. I'm in the market for a really low mile 3 series where some other poor slob has already taken the initial depreciation hit.

Course, we all know Audis are perfect and something like this would never happen on one of them....

iam0378

Yea, it's not the cars' fault because I built it. Let me come clean. My true identity is a 5'4" Hungarian who works on the assembly floor at BMW installing the steering systems. I intentionally make mistakes on every 100th car. This is why my evil deeds have been undetected for so long. Unfortunately for me, it looks like I bought one of my products.

If you paid for my car, then I wouldn't mind the problem. But since it's my money and it isn't perfect, then it's a problem. Those of us who drive "new" rather than "used" require a certain level of perfection--esp. with a so-called luxury car. If it isn't or can't be perfect, then it's flawed.

Maybe too many years of buying "used" have diminished the expectations?

The crux of the issue is how "fun" these cars are "supposed" to be to drive. When quality/warranty issues (4 times in 18 days of ownership) cheapen this suuposed "fun," buyers are left wondering what all the hype is about!!!

div2

Can I show you something in a nice Elantra?

gvyt

Hi all. I tripped 30k on mine this week end with extremely minor problems. (1) A bad AM antenna amplifier and (2) replace front control arms. Both were done during annual state inspections and didn't require money or additional time. So far this car has been nearly ideal.

One area I've been dissappointed by is tire wear. I have "normal" tires without a sports package and am looking at replacing the rear tires very soon. On my other FWD I've had 52k and 61k off tires with similar treadwear ratings.

Does anyone have any advice for decent wearing and good performing tires?

shipo

It seems that you and I have almost the same cars, I have a 1999 328i PP no SP, and I have almost 32,000 miles on the clock. I am very curious about your tires, I have "Michelin MXV4 Plus Energy" tires with a rating of "400 A A" and a size of 205/55 R16 91H. What makes me curious about your situation is that my tires look like they could easily go another 20 to 30 thousand miles.

I have heard that BMW used Continental tires for some of their non SP cars, and that they suffer from early wear. What do you have on your car?

Best Regards,
Shipo

jodar96

I asked this question earlier. Where is the best price website to get brake pads, rotors, filters, regular maintenance items, and where is th best site to get used or new BMW parts like head lights, tail lights, interior panels.

q45man

Decent wear is in the eye of the beholder. The higher the tread wear index [160-220, 300,400, 620] the harder the rubber, the worse the tire handles, and wet/dry brakes. OEM usually spec soft to increase the performance as the magazines [tests] cover braking distance and slalom speed and tires account for 90% of these numbers.
So it would be foolish of them to equipt a car with hard tires and lose the performance rating game!

shipo

Hmmm, I think foolish is a big harsh. The rubber (400-A-A) that BMW put on my car from the factory is more than acceptable for every driving condition that I have ever encountered with the exception of deep snow (> 6&#148;). That in the summer I might be giving up a few feet of stopping distance or a few hundredths of a G on a skid pad is overlooking the fact that my 328i will still out handle and out brake 98% of the cars on the road. In the winter that percentage is even higher, because the standard equipment All-Season rubber has MUCH better grip on all road surfaces than summer tires and has superior handling characteristics on snow-free roads than winter tires. In the end, given the wimpy winters we have here in northern NJ, I will stay home for the one day every two years that the roads are not drivable.

Best Regards,
Shipo

q45man

Since most tires are run for 6,000 miles max on the tire test track, manufacturers have developed dual/triple compounds which work extremely well for 6,001 miles....then things go down hill fast from there! You trade consistant life of tread performance for ...boy aren't these NEW tires great...the best I ever had. Till 6 months later hey what happened...then your stuck for the next 2-3 years because few will dump half worn tires.
But you're right 5% difference in Performance to average M+S is only important if you escape rearending someone.
The thing people forget is ABS is calibrated assumming factory tires [friction coefficient]

shipo

I beg to differ Sir. My tires have 32,000 miles on them and have been on the road for just two months shy of three years and if anything, they have more grip than they had when they were new (less tread you know).

As for ABS braking systems being calibrated, what's up with that? ABS systems have sensors to determine if any individual tire is slipping and adjusts accordingly. End of story. The tire and its compound and how well said compound will grip a warm dry road has absolutely nothing to do with when the computer tells the ABS system to kick in.

Best Regards,
Shipo

roadking4

I,m thinking of buying a friends 99 m3 convert. with 19000 miles. I guess it is loaded except for the navigation system. it is black,black top and pumkin color leather interior. It is a stick shift.He wants 34k for the car and tells me I am stealing it at this price. I have been a corvette guy for some time now and am not sure if I would really enjoy it or if it would hold it's value like my corvetts have in the past.Is this as good a price as he says? And any other comments would be appreciated.