Thanks for reminding me - I have to book mine in to get the radiator fan changed now that the snow's cleared..
BMW 328?
- Thread starter chrisnic0
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[TW]Fox;18170440 said:
Fair play, you haven't said that. There are a lot of people on here that take what you say about BMWs as gospel and posts like your one above are few and far between the 'don't buy a cheap bmw' ones. Which is fair enough because half your posts would be copy and paste of the same thing. Where it starts to get messy is when you have posts like this from a 'member' (who has since been permabanned) which is backed up by a proper member or two.
You mean when.
These people are applying your advise without thinking about what the OP is actually saying. You've said that the car is a good spec, it seems to be in good condition, it hasn't driven to alpha centauri and back. As you said in post 2 the only question in this situation is 'does the op feel that it's a lot of car for the money?' If I was in the market for an e46, I would have to think very carefully as to whether it was worth spending £6k on a 2002 plate one when this one can be had for less than £4k.
I think its the same thing here that annoys me about the Uniroyal Rainsport love. It's unconditional and is applied across the board by people who sometimes are just repeating things in a chinese whispers fashion.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
I can't control what other people say, I can only post what i think. In part I agree with you, the Uniroyal thing drives me bonkers, I think they are crap (Had them on my Xantia), but it just isnt worth fighting the crowd on that one.
Personally I think the V plate 328i looks nice and with a private plate on it would be a nice buy - but it is an old car and it won't be plain sailing.
I am sincere, open and honest with the advice I give on these cars. And none of it is hyperbole, most of it's from personal experience, backed up with the sort of things i pick up from obviously spending a lot of time hanging about in various BMW communities.
I do have a particular bugbear with BMW reliability because it dissapoints me. It's a shame these cars are not as bulletproof as the reputation leads you to beleive. I love the cars and everything about them but I cannot defend them against claims of unreliability. Heck I'm even having to modify my own purchasing habits to avoid exposore to comically stupid bills.
Personally I think the V plate 328i looks nice and with a private plate on it would be a nice buy - but it is an old car and it won't be plain sailing.
I am sincere, open and honest with the advice I give on these cars. And none of it is hyperbole, most of it's from personal experience, backed up with the sort of things i pick up from obviously spending a lot of time hanging about in various BMW communities.
I do have a particular bugbear with BMW reliability because it dissapoints me. It's a shame these cars are not as bulletproof as the reputation leads you to beleive. I love the cars and everything about them but I cannot defend them against claims of unreliability. Heck I'm even having to modify my own purchasing habits to avoid exposore to comically stupid bills.
As said above if you are handy with spanners the bits are easy to get and nothing is *too* complicated to do with the right DIY tools. But £300-£500 bills should be anticipated, new front control arms for example are £250ish parts alone
Cooling systems notoriously weak - I had a new thermostat/hose fitted, 2 months later the oil/atf cooler went and put atf oil in the coolant, then a month after that the expansion tank split and once again, new coolant!
The only major sticking point is the auto box, these seem a lot more likely to go wrong after 120-150k and it's the best part of £2k to rebuild.
Still, good cars after all this time, and good to drive - just don't go anywhere if it snows
Cooling systems notoriously weak - I had a new thermostat/hose fitted, 2 months later the oil/atf cooler went and put atf oil in the coolant, then a month after that the expansion tank split and once again, new coolant!
The only major sticking point is the auto box, these seem a lot more likely to go wrong after 120-150k and it's the best part of £2k to rebuild.
Still, good cars after all this time, and good to drive - just don't go anywhere if it snows
This is the one thing about my 260k e39 that does worry me somewhat!
Soldato
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Actually I said that in jest, hence the "
", but also I said it from experience with a 328i, although that was an e36 with much less to go wrong electronically but iirc, more to go wrong with the engine (2.8 in the e46 is a revised unit isn't it?). At the end of the day, it's still an old BMW and will throw up bills, more often than not, they will be larger than on something like a Ford.
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Virtually zero I'd imagine, but it's a hypothetical question so it doesn't really matter.
Yes, the M52 is the 2.8 Engine in "your" car.
I assume the issue you refer to is the VANOS that Fox mentioned?
I'm not sure if it was revised / sorted with the '99 model year, that said, I have had (thankfully) no such issue in any of my 3 M52 engined BMW's - 1997, 1996 & 1997 Model years.
If it was my £ 4-5k I'd be after an e38 740i !
It wasn't ever revised or sorted. Even the M54 has it - though there was a DME update to mask the physical signs of it so with the M54 you just get a gradual reduction in performance below 3000rpm instead it would seem
[TW]Fox;18172251 said:It wasn't ever revised or sorted. Even the M54 has it - though there was a DME update to mask the physical signs of it so with the M54 you just get a gradual reduction in performance below 3000rpm instead it would seem
I wonder if that could possibly explain my e39 being a bit flat?
That said, it idles as steady as a rock (you can happily balance 50p on the cam cover for example) plus the engine's exterior is dry, no apparent leaks anywhere.
Its due an Inspection II soon, no doubt, the bill will be a biggie.
