BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

kyfdx · April 2005

Every BMW service department that I have talked to, will do a complimentary oil change on the anniversary date, whether you have reached the service interval or not.. Generally, they do not reset the service interval when they do this, so that your car will still call for the recommended service at the proper time..

regards,
kyfdx

blueguydotcom · April 2005

There's the rub, my aniversary date is still 1.5 months away! I got my first oil change 7 months after getting the car - like 12 or 13k miles. 16 months later I'm at 25k miles and the obc still says 1100 miles until service. I'll get it done in May even though I'll probably still be 700-800 miles from service.

kyfdx · April 2005

I think you can get it on any one year anniversary of your last service... The intention is not to go over 12 months without an oil change..

So, if your last service was November of '03, then you could get an oil change in November of '04, even if your interval wasn't up, without re-setting your interval..

regards,
kyfdx

blueguydotcom · April 2005

Huh, unfortunately the dealer said otherwise. Shrug.

kyfdx · April 2005

Yeah... too bad you don't have any other dealers to pick from :surprise:

I know, I know... it is leased.. who cares?

blueguydotcom · April 2005

You said it, not me. :P

And actually, I don't have other dealers that are local. The next closest is a pit called BMW of San Diego and the place is a little slice of hell run by a bunch of doddering fools.

After that we're talking at least a 25 mile drive.

shipo · April 2005

"After that we're talking at least a 25 mile drive."

Hehe, around here a dealership within 25 miles is considered a local dealer. ;-)

Best Regards,
Shipo

div2 · April 2005

"Hehe, around here a dealership within 25 miles is considered a local dealer."
Same here! It's no big deal really-it builds character (not to mention solid DIY skills).

webby1 · April 2005

My dealer advised me the same.
Regards,
Webby

xkss · April 2005

Get a 2005 3 series. They are offering great incentives on them. Plus, it looks far better than the new 3 series with its flat dashboard.

brave1heart · April 2005

You should never go without an oil change for more than 12 months! It's either the service indicator or 12 months, whichever comes first.

paule · April 2005

25 miles, sheeshhh! I wish I was so lucky. My closest dealer is 184 miles away. Needless to say, I'm kinda hoping this turns out to be a reliable car.

dl7265 · April 2005

Brave's right , even tho he's in a minvan now

, Anyone who was denied service I would contact BMWNA.

DL

blueguydotcom · April 2005

You should never go without an oil change for more than 12 months! It's either the service indicator or 12 months, whichever comes first.

My dealership said otherwise. I'm not gonna argue with them because it really was not a big concern of mine. If they said, don't ever come back for an oil change, I'd be fine with that.

blueguydotcom · April 2005

Why call bmwna? It's not like it's hurt me in any way. I could understand if the car broke down but really, you guys are making a bigger deal out of this than is necessary. The car has a measely 13k miles over 16 months, driven only on weekends. At most it's been driven on maybe 150 days total in that time.

530ir1150r · April 2005

You are not getting the free service you paid for when buying the vehicle. If you let them get away with it, the line will continue to slide to the point that no one gets the service paid for when purchasing the vehicle.

brave1heart · April 2005

Even if a car is not driven at all for a year, oil still gets dirty as it absorbs particles, moisture, etc. and should be replaced. No, the wheels won't fall off the car even if you don't change the oil for 50,000 miles. And it is more than "well, will it last 200,000 or 300,000 miles then". If you end up with even with small amounts of oil sludge in the engine, you may not be making the same horsepower at 20, 30, 40K or maybe even sooner. You may still live to be 100, you just won't be able to do your 5-mile sprints any more ;o)

blueguydotcom · April 2005

If it were my car, I'd have pushed harder. But it's not. It's a long term rental, so I'm not really concerned.

dl7265 · April 2005

Since several on here have purchased used or CPO BMW's. They would probally appreciate a vehicle that as taken care. Mr. Shipo even did 7500 miles changes on his "rented" BMW. Everyone has their own ethics, if your happy thats all that matters.

Rregards,
DL

blueguydotcom · April 2005

Or at least that's what my dad always said. If it were a car I owned, I'd care more (my mazda gets oil changes constantly and is babied inside and out). The bimmer is babied on the outside. Inside (mechanically) = NMP.

kyfdx · April 2005

Trust me... blueguy could have changed the oil with every fill-up, and you still wouldn't want his car when he's finished with it....

All beware...'03 silver-gray ZHP in SoCal coming up for sale in mid-2006...

blueguydotcom · April 2005

squirtdad · April 2005

The consensus i've gotten from the forum is: Sport package is only way to go.

As the number of lighty optioned, manual 2005 325 is getting low.....what are thoughts on getting a non sport package and adding aftermarket suspension upgrade.. vs getting over it and getting few more things like leatherl, that aren't bad but are pushing the price beyond where I would like to stay? Any effect on warranty?

thanks

brave1heart · April 2005

You can do a lot with aftermarket suspension mods. The 3-series is a great platform to work with. I have seen a couple of non-SP 3-series at the autocross that do very well with suspension mods. Problem is, the SP is really good value and you'll be hard-pressed to achieve these gains for the same amount of money, esp. when you factor in wheels, springs (the SP is about an inch lower), thicker steering wheel, etc... Not to mention that it would impact the warranty.

kyfdx · April 2005

Not to mention... you don't get the sport seats..

I stopped by my local dealer today.. Not much to pickup from.. Around 4-5 330xi.. a couple of 330i, none had sport... About 8 325i... all non-sport were automatic, and all of the sport were 5-speeds... one 325xi..

dl7265 · April 2005

Man, and I like Silver Grey too ....

brislance1 · April 2005

I have had Continental tires on my 03 330 Sport Package since new. The road noise became so bad at low speeds that I finally replaced them with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's. What a difference! No road noise and the handling is terrific! Well worth the near grand price. Just thought anyone else who has road noise problems might want to know that the Michelins are great. I can now hear the beautiful sound of my engine!

webby1 · April 2005

What model conti's have you had...what size and how many miles did you get out of your conti's ?
Regards,
Webby

venture · April 2005

Any discussions about me being a bonehead are moot. I know it.

Now...I was looking over the paperwork on the 325i I bought two weeks ago when I discovered I overpaid by $1,000. It was the deposit I put down on the car.

Before I even had a chance to call the dealership to point out the error, a check came in the mail today from the dealer for a $1,000 "overpayment". Pretty cool.

I think it's nice to mention a good dealer when you come across one. Mine is Laurel BMW of Johnstown, PA. It's possible there are others out there who may never have even realized they are as dumb as I am.

tenet1 · April 2005

Mistakes happen. You should be glad you have an HONEST dealer. Most, even honest ones, would look the other way. You should call the dealer's GM and thank them for their honesty, just so you can get on their good books

brislance1 · April 2005

The front tires were 225/45ZR 17 and the rear 245/40ZR17. I only had thirteen thousand on them, but the rears were almost shot. I was able to get something in trade for the fronts from Discount Tire. I have two homes, one in Tucson and the other in Minnesota. We leave for Minnesota in a few days and I did not want to take the chance on poor rears. We travel quite heavily packed. The replacements were the same as above only YR's. As I stated earlier, am very satisfied with the Michelin tires.

webby1 · April 2005

Which tire was it ?
Regards,
Webby

Standard Touring All-Season

ContiTouringContact CT95

Touring Contact AS

Grand Touring Summer

ContiPremiumContact
Max Performance Summer

ContiSportContact 2

ContiSportContact 2 Vmax

Ultra High Performance Summer

ContiSportContact

Ultra High Performance All-Season

ContiExtremeContact

Grand Touring All-Season

ContiPremierContact

ContiProContact

ContiTouringContact CH95

ContiTouringContact CV95

brislance1 · April 2005

The tires were ContiSportContact. The road noise was unbelievable at low speeds.

gordonwd · April 2005

Well, I had my first service after a year, and it seemed strange to drive a car for a full year before its first oil change. And it was also nice to take it back to the dealer for the first time since picking it up and having nothing to mention other than doing the scheduled service

.

Anyway, the X3 3.0 that I got as a loaner for the day was a real eye-opener. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I had the following thoughts as I drove it around a bit:

- It was really weird from the driver's seat since it felt like someone had "morphed" my 325 into something else. Same steering wheel, same radio, same instruments, but a whole different look and feel to the driving experience.

- I'm sure glad that I didn't follow up on my initial idea of buying my 325i with an automatic trans. I thought that maybe it was time to try one for a change, but fortunately my wife said "Are you crazy? You'll hate it!" and she was right. Nothing against people who go the Selectronic route, but it's just not for me.

- What is the attraction of these SUVs anyway? There's no way this thing felt or handled like a car (at least a BMW car!). I drove over some rough pavement a couple of times and the car really felt bouncy with sharp pitching movements.

Anyway, my first experience with service at my dealer was a pleasant one. So far, so good on my E46 experiences!

blueguydotcom · April 2005

I had an x3 6 mt 3.0 for 3 days last jan/feb (04) and boy did I hate that thing. My sister, a converted SUV person thought it was a dream come true. In her eyes it was a sporty, manual SUV with some pretty sharp handling. To each his own.

okprofessor · April 2005

Hi All:

Recently moved back to the US and bought a 325i to replace the 318 I had to sell when I left Europe. (Could not import it as it not US specifications.) That little 318 had well over 100K miles in four years. Now I am putting a lot on my new 325i and it makes me wonder if there are others on the boards who use their cars a lot i.e. 25,000 miles a year or more. I need to run this one for at least five years, more if possible, and that translates into 125,000 miles or more before I trade it off. Any comments on reliability from owners who use their cars as hard as I do?

kyfdx · April 2005

IMO, time wears on a car just as much as mileage.. So, driving your car 125K in five years will be easier on it than driving it 125K in ten years..

For the mechanicals, 125K is 125K, but your car will spend less than half the time out in the elements than a ten year old car...

And, since I see plenty of ten year old BMWs with triple-digit mileage running around, I don't see why your new car won't make that easily.. and will probably be in better shape than most cars with the same mileage..

regards,
kyfdx

530ir1150r · April 2005

Make sure your budget includes a set of tires.

memphis10 · April 2005

I am putting in a lot of miles on my 03' 325i. I have a long commute to work. I was considering buying another car and driving my BMW only on the weekends. But I Love my car and my commute is infact quite enjoyable because of the car. The fact that I am using is and enjoying it justfies my 35K cash outflow. I dropped the idea of getting a commuter car.

kyfdx · April 2005

I think about this sometimes.. In March, you could lease a Saturn Ion for 39mo/39K for just $139/mo.. with only $300 due at signing.. I think the total outlay with taxes was less than $150/mo.. I started calculating how much longer our 3-series would stay in warranty, if we drove that Saturn to work just four days per week (which would just about use up the mileage allowance).

In the end, I came to the same conclusion.. I might save money overall, but we'd have to drive a Saturn Ion for 12K of our annual 32K miles of driving per year (between the two of us).

It just wasn't worth it..

regards,
kyfdx

blueguydotcom · April 2005

I did the commuter angle with a protege es. I bought the car - 17k msrp for 11k - 12.5k out the door. It gets 30 mpg and uses regular gas. I was driving 90 miles roundtrip per day.

I am about to put the car for sale at 9.5-10k as I now work 7 miles from home.

By my estimates, even with the 3k loss on the Protege, I've saved thousands. I've put 26k miles on the Protege and replaced only two tires and had 3 oil changes so far. All told for maintenance - less than $250.

If I'd driven the BMW I would have replaced the tires at least once more (1k - more likely twice). and I would have spent about $2700 on gas v. $2000. And the kicker, my BMW would now be out of warranty and already 7k over my lease limit with 1 more year to go on the lease!

ebana · April 2005

I'm back...

We are about to negotiate with BMW.

Here is the deal.

325xi 2005

heated seats
leather interior

100 or so miles on the car.

We are receiving a 1500 rebate to bring it down to 32225. .

The dealer has stated that an employee hit the car while in the lot. Thay had to replace the hood and paint the from bumper.

Since they disclosed the fender bender. I still think I can get the price down to 30750. Am I dreaming?

grantchstr · April 2005

I was told by my dealer that in the N East there are very few 05 325xis around and that I got one of the last three stickshifts in the NE. So I paid sticker (leased) for a car that was flatbedded from a far away location. Was I hosed?

kyfdx · April 2005

I don't want to say... It really doesn't matter now, does it?

nyccarguy · April 2005

Doesn't matter now, just enjoy your car.

erickpl · April 2005

with 98,000 miles. Would that qualify as high mileage?

-Paul

brave1heart · April 2005

Fellow BMW enthusiasts,

In a few days, I and my co-driver Eric S. will be off to our first One Lap of America. As most of you know, One Lap is a direct descendant of the legendary Cannonball speed contests that started out in New York City and ended in Redondo Beach, CA. Over the years, the race has evolved into a series of time trials on road courses and ovals, drag races, autocross, and skidpad events. One Lap is the only opportunity in the world to compete on 10 different racetracks in 8 days while driving a total of over 3,600 miles!

Our car

We will be driving my 2001 325i. The car could use an Atlanta Downing supercharger but it does OK at the track even in its current configuration (it laps Watkins Glen in less than 2:30 min on street tires). The car has the BMW factory Sport package and the following mods:

· UUC sway bars
This is probably one of the most popular handling mods with E46 owners. The sways reduced body roll significantly without sacrificing ride quality. I have both the front and rear bars set to full stiff. The sways should be huge help especially with the 2 skidpad events that are part of One Lap. Id be really curious to see how our skidpad number will compare to the 86 g that most car magazines have quoted for the 325i with SP.

· TMS fixed front camber plates with -2 degrees camber all around
The factory alignment specs call for 2 degrees in the rears but only -¾ degree for the fronts. This works well on the street but it is not nearly enough for performance driving. Dialing another 1 - 1.5 degrees of negative camber in the front reduced understeer and increased front-end grip noticeably. I have never had the car plow at the track and even at the autocross where driver inputs tend to be more jerky, it is hard to get the front to slide. When close to the limit, the car rotates nicely into a turn.

· TMS E46 Rear Subframe Reinforcement Kit http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=TDR4675412

The E46 front suspension is very strong but the rear hasnt kept up with it. Torn rear subframe is a common problem with earlier E46 cars and it is wise to reinforce the rear subframe for preventative maintenance. Last thing youd want is for the rear subframe to tear while exiting a fast corner on the track!

· R/D front strut brace
The strut brace tightened up the front nicely and it reduced understeer. Its effect is not nearly as noticeable as the sways or the front camber plates but it is a welcome improvement nonetheless.

· ECIS CAI
I have had the CAI in my car for 50K miles and it is easily one of the best and easiest mods Ive done. It improved throttle response noticeably and it sounds really awesome at WOT. It is also cheaper to clean the cone air filter than having to replace the stock one every 30K miles. In addition, I am getting 5-10% better fuel economy with similar driving, except now I just want to keep the tach needle in the right half at all times!

· Shark Injector
The Shark gave my car a go-kart-like throttle response. I have had it installed for over a year and have had zero issues with drivability.

· Other goodies
The 325 still has the stock brakes, although we will be running more aggressive ATE Power Discs in the front with Ferodo DS2500 brake pads front and rear. We are using ATE Super Blue brake fluid and Red Line differential and tranny fluids. We chose Michelin PS2 235/40/17 street tires mounted on lightweight O.Z. Superleggera 17x8 wheels. The wheels alone saved us nearly 10 lbs of rotational weight per corner over the stock Star 44 wheels. The end result is better acceleration, handling, and braking.

Our Competitors

Here is an incomplete list of the competitors in our Mid-Priced sedan class (vehicles with original purchase price between $20,000 and $40,000, ALL modifications allowed):

· 4 Subaru WRX STi (one of them pumping 500+ HP)
· A Mitsubishi Evo
· an Infiniti G35
· a Dodge Magnum
· a heavily modded Mitsubishi Evo
· 2 heavily modded Chevrolet Impalas
· a Mercedes-Benz 190E
· a 1999 328i

Most of these cars are driven by Lap Dogs (the official term for One Lap vets).

Its safe to say that our car will be outpowered by at least 100 HP average in our class. Hopefully, our E46 will be much better balanced, better at handling and braking and most important: more predictable and easier to drive at the limit. We also hope to offset some of our cars horsepower deficiency (at least by One Lap standards) with good event preparation. We have track videos, hot laps, and track maps for each racetrack that we will be running on.

We hope well be able to provide daily updates of our participation in the event on our teams website http://www.ABsolutePuppies.com. Please visit the website regularly once the event starts on April 30. Better yet, if you are anywhere near the 2005 One Lap venues, stop by the track to support the 11 BMWs and 2 Minis that have been entered in the event. Here is a complete event schedule:

2005 TireRack Cannonball One Lap of America Schedule

Friday April 29 Registration, Drivers Meeting and Welcoming Party
Saturday April 30 Tire Rack Wet skidpad challenge.
Saturday April 30 Indianapolis Raceway Park 2 Time Trials
Sunday May 1 BeaveRun 2 Time Trials
Sunday May 1 Lancaster Speedway 1/2 mile oval
Monday May 2 New Hampshire International Speedway 2 Time Trials
Tuesday May 3 Summit Point 2 Time Trials
Tuesday May 3 Mason Dixon Dragway Low ET Drag and Bracket Drag
Wednesday May 4 Virginia International Raceway 3 Time Trials (minimum)
Wednesday May 4 Carolina Rod Shop Passage Control
Thursday May 5 Roebling Road 2 Time Trials
Friday May 6 Nelson Ledges 2 Time Trials
Saturday May 7 Tire Rack Dry Skid Pad Shootout
Finish at Tire Rack

We hope to see you at the track!

guest123 · April 2005

Now that the 2006 model is out, there is a 5K or more discount on the 2005
models. Is it a good idea to get a 2005 model now? Will it not affect
the trade in value after 4 years heavily? The 2006 is too new and I am afraid
they are going to have a lot of problems in the first year of the model.
I do see a lot of new 2005 330s out on the streets so I guess I am not the only
one

blueguydotcom · April 2005

If the best you can do is 5k off msrp on an 05, you should never become a bargain hunter.

There's over 4k in incentives on 330is right now. Same incentives for the past 3 months.

amt7565 · April 2005

So....
I don't like the seats on the Sports package of the 2005 330i. So what options do I have if I have to replace them with the other seats which come with the standard models? Any costs with that?

Another question- The tires seem to be wider on the sports package models, am I correct? Does this add to any road noise? What are the pros and cons of these tires?

Thanks.
AMT-

BMW 3-Series 2005 and earlier

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