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If you are driving more but not cab driver miles, then consider Japanese.
Scheduled maintenance on Japanese cars is generally like a “suggestion”. The dealers try to schedule crap like ball bearing rotation but if you look in the manuals, you can probably get by with fluid changes, brakes and rotors, timing belt to 100k. Not much more beyond that, maybe an alternator, CV joint. However, after 200k, the aluminum block engines might start to wear.
IF you are driving cab driver miles, like if you want to keep a car past 350-400K then the only way to go is Caprice Classic or some other cab car. But you will pay through the nose for maintenance.
in my experience--and the half-dozen or so japanese cars my family has had over the years, plus my brother's '95 325i--the BMW's are just more expensive to maintain if you are keeping the cars to 100K or 150K miles. the bimmers just require more maintenance and upkeep--which is not surprising, because you are dealing with a performance vehicle, not merely a passenger car, which is how i view a camry, you know?
again, if you just keep the cars until, say, 50K miles, your experience is gonna be very different than mine. as i said before, i average 35K miles a year, so i'm probably in a different situation than the average driver who leases his/her car.
in addition, i'd say that i'm probably tougher on my cars than the average guy or housewife. put it this way...i used to make the 360-mile trip from LA to san jose in under four hours every time, be it the BMW or the acuras.
And, IMHO, I hope that the 325i that you are looking at is fully loaded -- $25k seems a bit high to me, even if the car only has 15k miles.
Sorry, wrong on both counts. The oil is very different from the garden variety Syntec; the BMW Synthetic meets the stringent ACEA standards. Recently some "Made In Germany" 5W-30 Syntec has appeared in some stores and that oil may be very similar to the BMW Synthetic, but at this time no one knows for sure.
As for cost, BMW Synthetic is one of the least expensive synthetics on the market-and it's an even better value when the CCA discount is applied.
i love my BMW, so it's a car i obviously want to take care of. i like the idea of saving a few bucks here and there, but honestly i would rather pay an extra $50 to $100 if i know the quality of the work is the best it can be.
"Viscosity Index" (ASTM D-2270) is an imperical number indicating the rate of change in viscosity of an oil within a given temperature range. HIGHER numbers indicate a low change, lower numbers indicate a relatively large change. The HIGHER the number the better. This is one major property of an oil that keeps the bearings happy! These numbers can ONLY be compared within a viscosity range. It is not an indication of how well the oil resists thermal breakdown.
HT/HS or "High Temperature/High Shear" (ASTM D-4683) is an rating that determines the oils stability in a high temperature, high stress conditions. The oil's ability to withstand shearing and tearing is very important especially in a high RPM engine. The oil's ability to protect bearings, cylinder walls and rings, connecting rod bearings, main bearings, cam lobes and lifters, etc. is vital to an engine. For an oil to pass the ASTM D-4683, an oil must have a protective viscosity of 2.9 cP at 302 degrees F. The HIGHER the number the better!
"Flash" (ASTM D-92) is the temperature at which an oil gives off vapors that can be ignited with a flame held over the oil. The lower the flash point the greater the tendency for the oil to suffer vaporization loss at high temperatures and to burn off on hot cylinder walls and pistons. The flash point can be an indicator of the quality of the base stock oil used. The HIGHER the flash point the better! 400 F is the minimum to prevent possible high consumption. The flash points shown in the data are in F.
Castrol Syntec Viscosity = 172
Mobil 1 Viscosity = 162
Castrol Syntech HT/HS = 3.0
Mobil 1 HT/HS = 3.35
Castrol Syntech Flash = 455
Mobil 1 Flash = 445
It's a close one, according to the data. Both brands are very high in quality. The difference appears negligible to me. If someone can provide more insight, please do so.
As far as costs of BMW oil changes are concerned, this is my understanding:
-Scheduled oil changes (about every 15K) = free up to 3 years/36,000 miles
-Unscheduled oil changes (at the drivers whim) = $60 up to 3 years/36,000 miles
-Any oil change after 3 years/36,000 miles = about 160 smackers. OOOF!
It appears that
CCA is short for BMWCCA:
http://www.bmwcca.org/
www.bmwcca.org
"What is the oil extractor for? Besides extracting oil :P Is the oil change not the same in a BMW as any other car?"
On modern BMWs the oil filter element is located in a canister on the top of the engine. If you use an oil extractor such as the one I use- http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=10122 -there is no need to get under the car to remove the drain plug since everything can be reached from under the hood. It's an easy half hour job-and that's if you take your time. It's inexpensive, too:The last oil change on my 5er-using seven quarts of BMW synthetic oil and a BMW filter-cost $36.60. Not bad for a half hour of work.
mystic blue is deeper than topaz, much much deeper, its like the geometric mean between the wavelength spectrum of topaz and oriental.
nyccarguy, i've often seen that spanking broad in her m3 lately...
ksso
But i have a question for all your do it yourself folks. Once you change the oil/filter on your own, how do you reset the oil indicator in the car's computer?
To reset the indicator:
-The car should be off
-hold down the left instrument button (the trip odometer reset)
-while holding the key, turn the ignition to position 1 (radio)
-you will see a test menu
-keep holding the button
-after maybe 10 seconds, the word "reset" will appear
-let go of the button and press again
-THe indicator is reset!
In reading about the indicator, I also learned that BMW changed the way the intervals are calculated for cars post 6/2000.
For cars buiilt after this date, it is calculated based solely on gallons of fuel consumed (for example, 601 gallons for 328i manual).
Cars built prior to this date take into account other factors such as engine temp, # of cold starts, etc. I don't know why BMW bothered to change and simplify this-- if they already had the electronics, why not just leave it alone?
First time poster and occassional lurker.
Wanted to seek some opinions/knowledge regarding a current problem my 2002 325i is having.
To make a long story short, the automatic transmission started acting up when the car had only 11,000 miles. The tranny started bucking/jerking when shifting/downshifting. The transmission malfunction light came on and the car was taken to the dealership. They stated that they had to "reprogram" the computer, as the it detected something strange, and the the car had gone into a safety mode.
4,000 miles later, the problem has resurfaced. This time the dealership is stating that the transmission needs replacement - they also stated that they use remanufactured transmissions. Needless to say I am quite disturbed that the transmission is shot after only 15,000 miles of safe driving.
My question is this- is this commonplace for authorized BMW dealerts to replace transmissions with rebuilt ones, or do I have a right to request a new one? Also, how would this affect the warranty if a remanufactured one is placed in my car?
Thanks for any advice!
:P
To recap: There are no "new transmissions" to put in your car. This is how all used cars transmissions are replaced.
regards,
kyfdx
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I've been reading for awhile, but am new to posting. Does anyone know if E46 sport seats can be fitted to an E36? I have a 1998 3281.
Thanks for the expertise.
I plan on moving from CA to DC next year. In preparation for the weather change I plan buying a set of OEM wheels for winter tires. I have a 2002 330i with Sports Pkg. It comes with M68 2 of 225/45-17 in front, 2 of 245/40-17 in rear. My question is what SIZE of wheels should I get? Same as the existing M68S? or 4 17s in same size? or even 16s (I do not think that will fit the 330i SP though I may be wrong).
Any recommendation would be greatly appreciated. TIA !
Definitely go with narrower snow tires if you can. Don't go staggered like your current setup. If you can get 205 or 215s with 16" wheels, you'd be good to go in the snow. My 225/45 Dunlop Wintersport M2s have been great, but narrower is better.
I'm not sure I understand your post. Yes there may not be any more "new" 2003 transmissions left with a 2003 serial number but the exact same transmission remains in production with a 04 serial number. If I had purchased a new car and the transmission went at 1500 miles I'd be screaming for a new transmission and I wouldn't care what technical game they wanted to play about "no new 2003" or whatever. Just give me a new transmission. I would refuse someone else's 50,000 mile rebuilt unit. I didn't buy a rebuilt car.
The only thing I've heard is that the head unit isn't as bad as you might originally think. If you upgrade the speakers first, it might get you to a satisfactory answer.
My question - is there a tire that is known to be a little more forgiving(i.e. stronger sidewalls) so I don't keep on buying tires every few months thanks to her lack of curb attention? I am willing to spend the extra money if it is worth it.
thanks for any help
fo
i'm going to look into that shortly. the bimmer gets the pimp treatment in the near future. a bling-bling system is de rigeur.
soon after that, i dumped the acura and got the BMW.
I, too, was not completely sure that extracting the oil was going to remove as much as draining it. So, before I started, I warmed the car up, parked it and let it sit a bit. Then, I checked the oil and made a careful note as to where the oil level was on the dipstick. I then extracted, changed the filter and filled it with 7 quarts of Mobil 1 and, voila!, the oil level was, after a short ride, at the same level on the dipstick as before.
I am convinced that using the extractor is the way to go.
FWIW, looking through some back issues of Consumer Reports the other day I found a little write up they did on extractors from Griot's and Overton's. They liked them.
and, this is from Griot's page:
"A Japanese magazine (Automechanic, Nov. 1997 issue) tested our Oil Extractor to see if it would be able to withdraw more oil versus draining the oil using the "drain plug" method. Great news! The Oil Extractor was able to withdraw an additional 71ml of oil on a late model Toyota. Due to the ultra tight packaging of engine compartments these days, it seems manufacturers are locating the drain plug in areas that compromise complete oil
drainage. You're gonna love changing your oil! "
Mityvac is cheaper than Griots, as is the shipping from toolwarehouse.com.