Give me advice oppo!

"Irlyluvwagons" (irlyluvwagons) 07/02/2014 at 10:55 • Filed to: None

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Ok, so I'm currently in the market for a new car. I'm looking at this sweet 2007 328xit E91 wagon, with sport package and a manual. Yes I know it's super jal0p. The problem is, it has 100,000 miles on it. So i pose it to you, to those with BMW's or with knowledge on the subject, what can I expect to go wrong, and how much can I expect to pay per year in repairs. I know we all would like to just buy a car and it never go wrong, but what if it does?? Give it to me straight Oppo, thanks!

Party-vi > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:03

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Get the service history and make sure it's had regular inspections. Plugs will probably need replaced, as well as the water pump (sorry, going off M54 knowledge here). Might as well service the diffs as well. If you're serious about it pay the $120 to have your mechanic perform a pre-purchase inspection.

phenotyp > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:05

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It depends entirely on how well it's been maintained. My recent experience showed me that unless you take it to someone who really knows the car, walk away. If there are service records, read them carefully, and make sure shit's been done. If you can buy a warranty, do so, and get the most coverage you can afford. My 550 turned out to have serious gasket/seal issues, and those are pretty common on BMWs. They just used shitty compounds with short lifespans. Also depends on where you live; I've found that BMWs don't like the heat too much, which is definitely a factor here in central Texas. My neighbor has an awesome E34, which he's meticulously maintained, and it's pushing 200K, but looks better now than it did when it came from the factory. Another friend has an E30 with about 140K, also well-maintained and modified, and it's totally bangin. Really depends on prior owners' care.

Textured Soy Protein > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:05

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These cars aren't so rare that it'll be particularly difficult to find one with less miles on it.

JGrabowMSt > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:06

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No experience with BMW, but I bought my 2005 Magnum a couple months ago with 142k on the 5.7 V8 and 5spd auto.

Do the standard fluid changes regardless of what the previous owner tells you, make sure you get under the car and look at the usual wear and tear suspension items, and if it runs well, keep up on maintenance and you should fine. You'll eventually begin to start finding things you aren't terribly happy with, but if you take care of it, it will take care of you.

FWIW, I don't often hear of too many nightmare stories with BMWs when the cars are taken care of.

BoulderZ > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:08

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Just my $0.02. There are several BMW people in the office here that I've helped out over the years. I've found the BMWs, if reasonably maintained, generally to be solid for many, many miles. Lots of 200,000 miles examples around. The one thing, and it's common to most modern cars, is if any trouble with the electrics comes up, be prepared to cut bait and move on. An intermittent and temperature sensitive starter relay fault on a 335xi comes to mind. If I were looking for another car, I'd certainly have BMW's, used/certified/new, on my "to consider" list. See if the car has full service records that you can examine, preferably independent of the owner's say-so. If it's been in and out for electronics issues more than one or two times, you might be better off passing on it. Happy shopping!

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:19

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I see lots of great advice here about checking the maintenance and stuff, here is my $0.02:

What did it feel like when you drove it?

Is it what you want?

Because if it feels right and it is what you want, then the eventual problems that WILL come, regardless of how well maintained it has been so far, will seem worth.

Take this with a grain of salt, because I would rather be ambitious and fail, then dream about what I want all the time and never pursue it, only to avoid hardship or failure.

drunkenup4 > Irlyluvwagons 07/02/2014 at 11:46

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You will want to expect and look for leaks indicating failure of the oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket. Also window regulators are prone to failure so make sure they're working. As far as the suspension goes, tension arm bushings are failure prone which is evident by a steering judder upon braking and some excessive steering slop, shocks are probably going out by then. Wheel bearings.. hmm maybe.

I would always keep a couple grand just in case something does happen, but the typical 328s won't be difficult to keep running. At least once you have some of the major common failures taken care of (water pump, gaskets, bushings, etc) you won't have to worry about them for a while since they go bad on the same time and mileage interval, more or less. Service records are a must, but some dealerships require that you actually be the owner and present the key so they can scan the VIN off of it using a tool. I guess you could claim you are the owner at the point.