BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

kyfdx · October 2004

I don't think Tire Rack offers 16" steel wheels that will fit over the brakes on a 330i or a 5-series.. Their steelies only fit 325s..

If you want 16" wheels from them, you have to go with alloys.. I'm not certain if BMW dealers have 16" wheels that fit (I might have missed this part in your post).

regards,
kyfdx

div2 · October 2004

I'm certain that the dealer can get the Euro wheel covers, though the parts guy will need to look in the correct section of the ETK. They almost certainly won't be in stock but any BMW dealer CAN get them.

gordonwd · October 2004

Seems like you could just get the black carpeted mats instead of the sand ones; it should make no difference to the dealer. And, by the way, if you do get a set of winter rubber mats, you would use them _instead_ of the carpeted mats -- not over the top of them.

I have the sand interior with black (carpeted) mats and think that it looks pretty sharp with the color contrast and makes the black dash look more in place. You'll like it.

330blast · October 2004

Thanks div2.

It has 63K on it. The mileage might indicate an inspection II. However, since the dealer did a thorough insepction when CPO the car at 50K, is it possible that they determine to do an inspection I this time? I guess the question really is how to decide if an inspection is I or II. By mileage? Or the dealer can also make a call depends on the situation and car history.

kyfdx · October 2004

They should be able to pull a vehicle history report... If it has 63K and it is due, it is almost certainly an Inspection II..

Good luck.. pricey...

regards,
kyfdx

330blast · October 2004

Thanks div2.

It has 63K on it. The mileage might indicate an inspection II. However, since the dealer did a thorough insepction when CPO the car at 50K, is it possible that they determine to do an inspection I this time? I guess the question really is how to decide if an inspection is I or II. By mileage? Or the dealer can also make a call depends on the situation and car history.

tangko1959 · October 2004

My BMW is a '02 325i (E46), recently I always heard sounds like "it..it..it.." from the rear wheels when someone getting in or out the car in parking mode.
I tried to fix the problem by sending the car to BMW's official service center. The technician said it's the normal sounds that if the hand brake applied.
I just wonder have anyone got the same problem and why I never heard the same sound from other brand of cars?

div2 · October 2004

The CPO inspection is NOT the same as a service inspection. You need to look at the car's service history; if the last inspection was an Inspection I then the car will be due for an Inspection II and vice versa. Expect to pay @600 for an Inspection II at a dealer and around $400 at a good BMW independent shop.

gordonwd · October 2004

On the recent cool mornings, my heater fan seems to start up right away at a fairly high speed setting (about 3/4 of the scale). I find myself manually turning it down, as it's blowing cold air on me since the engine has not warmed up yet. Is this normal ('04 325i)? Shouldn't it wait for the engine temp to come up a bit before going to a higher speed?

By comparison, my A4 was pretty good about this, ramping up the blower just as soon as the coolant was warm enough to give some heat.

Crevels · October 2004

I'm taking my '04 330CIC in for its first oil change. I've got a couple of little things that need to be address under warranty, but one I'm not sure of. When I start the car in the morning (it's in a garage), the xenon lights come on and perform the self-level check (they go down and then back up). The right light is slower than the left. Is this anything that I should be concerned about? I don't notice any problems with them on the road, and they swivel left and right as they should (they are the adaptive lights). I'm just wondering if the one light being slower than the other might indicate a future problem and something I should have addressed now.

kominsky · October 2004

I'd have that looked at. The fan is not supposed to run until the engine temp comes up. It works fine on my car, fwiw.

330blast · October 2004

Ouch:(

Thank you to all that replied.

ballfire8888 · October 2004

Thanks gordon and kyfdx ... I have settled on the black carpets ... should last much longer than sand mats.

I got an email update from BMW for the new E90 3 series ... vehicle looks so sharp I almost regret purchasing my new E46 :-( but consolation is my $6K discount off MSRP as compared to probably zero on the new 2006 E90.

blueangel · October 2004

Has anyone had any experience with run flats? I am buying a new 330xi and like the style 98 tires that you can get for only $300 more if you get the run flats. The other choice would be to get new rims after taking delivery of the car. If I do that how much should I pay for installation.

Also, the product "kleen wheels" was recommended to me by a friend to keep the brake dust out of the wheels. The dealer I am trying to buy from said the price for these is $400 including installation. I saw the product on the internet for $60. I was therefore thinking of buying them separately and having them installed. Does the installation require re-balancing of the tires? I am just trying to limit the dealer ripoff factore here.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

kyfdx · October 2004

People hate runflats.. very hard riding, compared to stock performance tires..

Kleen wheels... I'm not familiar with the Style 98 wheels, but the kleen wheels are plastic discs that fit inside the wheels and over the brakes.. If the 98s are an open style wheel they will show through the spokes and not look very good..

IMO, you shouldn't put anything on your car that might impede airflow to the brakes.. Just buy a bottle of wheel cleaner, some rubber gloves and get a chiropractor appointment..

regards,
kyfdx

Upgrading wheels through the dealer for $300 is dirt cheap.. Even if you end up hating the runflats, paying the $300 and buying another set of non-runflat tires will be cheaper than buying the wheels afterwards.. and if it turns out the runflats are okay.. then, so much the better.

blueangel · October 2004

Thanks kyfdx. I think I will stay away from the kleen wheels -- at least for now. I am also inclined to order the run flats and then if I dont like the ride to get non run flat tires. The only downside is that I will have to buy 5 tires as I will need to buy a spare.

How much do dealers usually charge to install new tires including installation of the wheels?

Thanks again for your fine advice.

kyfdx · October 2004

If you upgrade to runflats, I doubt there will be any charge except for the $300 you mentioned... If you decide to get other tires after that, I'd recommend an independent tire dealer, rather than the dealer... Mounting and balancing usually runs $12-$20 per tire. A dealer, while possibly competitive on price, is going to charge you hourly labor for mounting and balancing, plus a material charge ... It could get expensive, but you can always price it out ahead of time..

If you really want those wheels, just assume that the tires will be fine, and maybe they will be..

Otherwise, figure about $700 for a new set.. and that should be on the car and out the door.

regards,
kyfdx

erickpl · October 2004

I recently changed my BMW pads (at 76,000 miles with life left) and switched to the PBR/Axxis brakes for the E46. After driving across the country from CA to VA (3000 plus miles) and a lot of stop and go in areas, the wheels have just a tiny bit of brake dust.

The old pads would have had the wheels dark before I even left my town.

VERY much worth it if you are at a point of replacing pads. The effort to do it is NOT that much, but if you do it, do it BEFORE the sensor light comes on. Resetting it is a pain.

-Paul

kyfdx · October 2004

Did you have to put new sensors in as well? Also, did you change the rotors? All four wheels or just the fronts?

I'm impressed with your DIY skills.. I can only dream of that..

erickpl · October 2004

It was actually pretty easy.

I replaced the front rotors, front pads, and the sensor located on the driver side front. Once the worn brakes are thin enough, the rotor shears the sensor, tripping the light.

I only replaced the rear pads on the back. Rotor wear was minimal in the back and there was no pulsating I had to worry about. The rear sensor was okay, but I went ahead and put a new one on anyway (cuz the sensor light was giving me fits to reset it).

Overall, it took about 3 hours for my first time (did the front/rears on different days).

I am nowhere close to a mechanic, but I've been getting better since I do all my own work on my Jeep Wrangler. I have learned a lot about auto systems and braking concepts are the same from car to car (generally speaking).

I also did a brake line bleed as well.

-Paul

kyfdx · October 2004

Congratulations!! It is that last part that would worry me... the brake line bleed...

But, I'm just thinking out loud.. The chances of me attempting this are almost zero.. Plus, brake pads are free for another 30K miles, if I need them... Just curious.. thanks for the info.

regards,
kyfdx

shipo · October 2004

Hmmm, my brake pads were free for many more miles as well on my 530i, that said, so was the elbow grease (mine) to clean that nasty black stuff off of my beautiful 2-Piece Type 42 wheels. :-/ That made the swap to the PBR/Axxis pads a no-brainer. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

kyfdx · October 2004

Yeah.. I've seen your pictures of those wheels.. that might have motivated me, also.. Great looking, but a bear to clean.. Plus, I'm not that picky on how clean I get mine... It is my wife's car, after all...

Plus, style 96 and M68 are a lot easier to clean than yours... not quite as nice looking, though.. thank goodness they don't fit a 3-series, or I'd be looking for a set.

regards,
kyfdx

brave1heart · October 2004

Who's this Shipo guy everyone's talking about?!? Does he even own a 3-series

)

brave1heart · October 2004

<<Resetting it is a pain.>>>

What do you mean? You just turn the electronics on (without starting the engine), leave them on for a minute or so and the light is gone.

paule · October 2004

You may want to take into account that you would also have to buy a rim for the spare tire if you go with the runflats. I would assume there would be no spare tire\rim on a runflat equipped car.

**Congratulations Red Sox!!** --shameless plug for the home team--

erickpl · October 2004

I tried that. It didn't work. Another poster on another forum indicated to do it in the full on position w/o the engine running. I tried that and it didn't work either. So I did a combination of both of those.

I eventually did it in each position. I also shot some cleaner into the contacts where the sensors connect. That helped some too.

Even though my 325xi is a 2002, I have LONG since blown away the mileage portion of the warranty (lots of highway miles). The less dust was a no-brainer for me too.

My wheels (sport package wheels on the xi) are pretty easy to clean, but I hate having to take that extra time doing it. The new pads make it much faster to clean.

-Paul

shipo · October 2004

ROTFLMAO! ;-)

Well, it seems that my decision has been made regarding my 530i. As much as I love it, I'm turning it back in at lease end (next spring). Then I'm going to wait for the kinks to get worked out on the E90 and do another ED trip, this time for a 2006 330i 6-Speed (three pedal version). In the meantime, I'm going to drive our old "Green Monster" Dodge Caravan. Yup, once again I'm going to be BMW-less for (hopefully) only about six months or there abouts. So, what am I going to do with the extra dough? Well, assuming that things continue to go as planned, I'm going to finally finish my flying lessons and buy a small 4-place plane (probably a Cessna).

So, do I even own a 3-Series? Nope, not anymore. I will however most likly rejoin y'alls ranks about this time next year. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

brave1heart · October 2004

You are trading your vehicle for one with half the horsepower?!? Go figure

)

erickpl · October 2004

to having an E60.

-Paul

kyfdx · October 2004

Not to be nosy.. okay, I am...

What is the residual on your 530i?

shipo · October 2004

Hmmm, half the horsepower, not quite. ;-) Assuming that I pickup a C-172 with either the 150 hp O-320 or the 145 hp O-300, I will be dropping 75-80 hp. That said, I am highly likely to do a FireWall Forward upgrade to the new Diesel that will be offered here next year. That mill is only 135 hp however, even a further drop, however, it actually had more static thrust so the Diesel (which is a heavily modified turbocharged MB motor) should perform better pretty much at any altitude. Then when I get the E90 330i and combine the weight of the two and divide that by their combined HP, I should come out just about even. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

shipo · October 2004

Hmmm, I don't know, I'll check when I get back home and let you know.

Best Regards,
Shipo

Kirstie_H · October 2004

For an upcoming article, one of our editors is looking to correspond with women executives about what they drive  or wish they did  and why. If youve got an opinion, please email Joanne Helperin, using execs in the subject line, at jhelperin@edmunds.com

ballfire8888 · October 2004

Folks,

Arrived at dealer with certified cheque in hand ... observed stone chip on hood prior to handing over cheque ... told them this was unacceptable and I would not take delivery with this problem ... they suggested taking delivery and they would do whatever it takes to fix hood to my satisfaction but it was my choice ... ended up taking delivery with their promise to replace chipped hood with a new hood from another vehicle they've found at another dealer ... told them touchup and buff is never the same and I wouldn't accept that ... what a major disappointment to find the stone chip at time of delivery :-(( any thoughts from the experts on this panel???

m4d_cow · November 2004

delivery on US dealers has been quite an issue, saying they'd replace the hood is actually unusual since most american dealers wouldnt even take responsibility for it.
the same thing happened to my parents when they bought a new mercedes, it had a stone chip on the rear bumper and the dealer wouldnt replace it, saying they assume no responsibility once the car leaves the dealer parkinglot.
yes its a major major disappointment, but sadly theres nothing we can do about it, its practically the same with almost all dealers here

ballfire8888 · November 2004

Not sure if you fully understood my situation ... stone chip was noted BEFORE I took delivery while vehicle was still on dealer's lot ... does that change your comments at all?

bmw323is · November 2004

I ordered my car from Germany. During the waiting process, I asked what would happen if the car was damaged during transit. Their answer was that it would be repaired to my satisfaction (repainted). I said I wasn't interested in taking delivery of a "repaired" new car. The only other alternative they gave me was to order another car and wait 2-3 months. Fortunately my car wasn't damaged (but how would anyone know unless you saw it being unloaded?).

m4d_cow · November 2004

yep that changes the whole situation. well things happen during shipping, and sadly all dealers will say the same thing, that they'll offer a repaint service free of charge, or wait another 2 months to get a new one, just like bmw323 said.
its actually quite unusual for them (dealers) to offer you to replace just the chipped hood, which will be taken from another car (just fyi, some places consider it a crime), heck the color wont be the same though.
also, like bmw323 said, it "looks" undamaged, but unless we see it unloaded from the ship ourselves, theres no way to know

the only country i know to assure every bmw comes in 1 piece w/o even a tiny scratch is japan, due to their strict customer protection program

ballfire8888 · November 2004

heck the color wont be the same though.

Silver gray metallic is not the same from car to car?

gordonwd · November 2004

>Silver gray metallic is not the same
>from car to car?

That's correct, and metallics are the worst, especially a light color like silver. You could probably swap a solid black hood from car to car and not see it, but metallics are very sensitive to the particular mix of paint and to the pattern that they are sprayed with. Actually, with today's automated paint systems (my company happens to provide BMW's paint systems), this is much less of a problem than it used to be with hand-sprayed cars, but a really picky person could probably tell the difference.

That's also why any experienced used-car dealer can take one look at a car and tell that it's had bodywork done on it.

div2 · November 2004

I know Woody; I'm surprised that he's selling the car. I haven't seen the car for some time but I would assume that it's in very good condition. You might be able to snag a later Sport for similar money but it won't have the OBDI M42(or the M3 mirrors). Good miles, decent price-all I'd do is pitch the K&N and replace it with an ITG.

kyfdx · November 2004

Yeah.. he says he is selling because he bought a new one...

When you say: "snag a later Sport", is that a newer 318ti with the Sport package? Because, '95 was the only year for the Club Sport option, right? Drawbacks or benefits to one or the other (other than the ones you mentioned)?

Also, what is an ITG? Some kind of cold-air intake?

regards,
kyfdx

div2 · November 2004

From 1996-on the Sport Package was essentially the same as the Club Sport package. Here are the major differences:

No M3 mirrors

The LSD option was phased out in 1996 when traction control became standard-:p

More options became available-on the CS you could only get a sunroof, LSD, and Premium Sound(the ten speaker Premium Sound System became standard sometime in the 1996 model year).

Speaking of sound, the head unit in the 1995 is superior to the unit in the later cars; I got this straight from an engineer at NA. My wife drove a 1998 for a couple of years, and we both agreed that it didn't sound as good as my 1995. FWIW, the 1995 sounds better than the DSP system in our 1997 E39...

The 1.9 M44 has a bit more torque than the 1.8 M42 in the CS, but the M44 is OBDII and hence harder to tweak. Jim Conforti told me he never offered a Shark Injector for the M44 because he couldn't find enough HP to justify the cost. Dinan begs to differ.

More color combinations-the CS came in either Bright Red or Jet Black with Black Montana leather/Red Millpoint Cloth interior trim.

All tis got vented front rotors in early 1998.

ALL 1999 tis were Sports, and they got the way cool three spoke M steering wheel from the M Roadster/Coupe.

Some people refer to the later Sports as "Club Sports", but they are dead wrong. I've also seen the Sports package identified as the "M Package" or "M3 Package", but there ain't no such animal...

kyfdx · November 2004

div2: thanks..

Does there seem to be some "collectibility" factor in the prices of the Club Sport? Or was that pretty much tossed out, once they made those options standard in the Sport package the next year?

I have noticed the "M3 package" ads.. I figured that was BS (but, no BS package, oddly enough).

Assuming I'm not going to "chip" the car, either way... Any reason to pick a Club Sport over a newer Sport?

regards,
kyfdx

P.S.: Believe it or not, my ten-year-old is the one keeping me interested in this.. the ti is his favorite car... I kind of like the '91 318is a little better.

Kirstie_H · November 2004

A reporter is wondering if anyone has had trouble getting parts for cars and trucks from the 1985-1997 model year. If you have a story to share, please send it to jfallon@edmunds.com by Friday, November 19, 2004.
Thanks!

m4d_cow · November 2004

Silver gray metallic is not the same from car to car?

True, even w/ automated painting system, and believe me you dont have to be that picky to be able to tell the difference

div2 · November 2004

A Club Sport might be worth a small premium to someone who really, really, wants one. I seriously doubt that they will ever be collectable, even though less than 300 were built. FWIW, mine is especially rare because it is one of no more than than 5 that were built without a sunroof; Prior to SOP BMWAG decided to make the sunroof a "mandatory option" on all Club Sports. My salesperson went to bat for me and had my Club Sport-along with one other-built without a hole in the roof. All I've done to mine is add the BMW CD Changer, front splash guards, M Technic rear spoiler, and a UUC Motorwerks RKII SS shift knob and clutch stop. As for ITG filters, they are low restriction replacement elements which can be cleaned and reused. Unlike K&N elements/filters, they DO filter out abrasive dust and grit.
Funny you should mention the E30 318is; I've often considered buying a nice one to use as my commuter car. I drove one back in 1990 when they were first introduced. They are great cars, and the E30s have a timeless style.
BTW my (almost)ten year old son thinks he's getting my ti when he turns sixteen. Yeah, right...

kyfdx · November 2004

Thanks again... I think I now know more about 318ti's than I do about my own cars...

There is an E30 318is that I see at the local high school a lot... I'm thinking maybe belongs to a football player, because it is always there after school hours.. I've thought about dropping a note on it.. I figure..if Daddy bought him a BMW for high school, he's bound to be getting something better to take to college, right?

Anyway..getting back to ti's... I do like that special interior in the Club Sports... but, it sure does open up more possibilities, if you expand the search to any Sport pkg. equipped ti. And, believe it or not, if I got it, I probably would pass it on in 5-6 years.. But, then.. you buying yours new.. I could understand your reluctance..

regards,
kyfdx

div2 · November 2004

Sorry for the confusion, but the black leather/red Millpoint upholstery was still available in later years. Happy hunting! ti or is-you can't make a bad choice...

BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

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