Probably the best quote in all of evil forum history.

 

I just unloaded my 1997 M3 and am so grateful that damn thing is gone. It was awesome to drive her hard, but felt like I was sitting on a timebomb. Repairs for that car were astronomical. Will never get another one.

But good luck with the Audi!

Here it is at the shop, waiting to get fixed again!

 

I want that M3 so bad!

 

so upkeep on a bmw is rather costly, huh. what was wrong with it this time?

 

My '98 328i wasn't too bad. Bought it with 100k on her, and other than brakes and ball joints didn't have to do a whole lot to it. Until, that is, the tranny blew up. So now she's taking up space in my driveway while I decide what to do with her.

Problem is, there are so many electronic doodads on these trannys that it could actually be something as simple as water in a connector. So, I need to get it over to my buddy's house and throw it up on the lift and go over every single Item I can reach. If we don't find the issue, then it will be a gamble to throw another tranny in there (might end up with the same damn issue). All I need is time. lmao...

 

BMW parts aren't cheap but if you do your own maintenance it will save you a bundle
especially on a BMW.

For example, my wifes 2000 323i blew a coolant tank. It had to be towed home but
that was only $65 dollars (thank you AAA). Since I was in there I replaced all the
rotating bits on the front (pulleys, tensioners,waterpump) and hoses. I also replaced
the radiator because its plastic and had over 100K on it anyway. Had a front pusher
fan seized (probably helped cause some extra heat on the hottest day of the
year which probably was the straw that broke the coolant tank). Anyway, I got all these
parts from pelican parts for about $1100 and installed them myself. If had the same
thing done at a shop or a dealer we would be talking 2K and up depending.

One thing you can't do with a Bimmer is neglect maintenance because if you do and
,say it grenades a tensioner or even a belt, it could take out more plastic crap on the
front of the engine and end up costing you 10x the failed parts cost. Thats why
when I was in there I replaced it all now at 120K.

Heres another example. Currently the power steering is leaking fluid a bit. I keep
it topped but I know its just a matter of time before it blows. So I spent $250 for
all the hoses in the power steering system because if ones leaking others will
follow. I'll be doing that weekend after next I think. I could just see which hose
is leaking, fix it and move on but then at some point I'll have to get back in there
to fix the next hose and theres like 6 of em. So it just makes sense to get in there
and replace them all in one service session. While I'm doing that I'll also replace the
auto tranny fluid and filter since it will be up on stands.

I love working on the car for the most part. Its very well engineered and is a
pleasure to deal with. Very modular even if you do have to peel a few layers
away sometimes to get at things. You can tell they designed the car to be
maintained for years unlike most other domestic cars.

 

and that is the reason why i only own vehicles with a manual transmission.

 

Lol... the manual trans has a bunch of sensors too....I had to replace the trans and clutch on a friends 540 6spd and I almost went broke buying all the special tools to do the job. They are fantastic cars though. One drive was all it took for me.

 

Yeah, I would've prefered the six speed, but that's not what we found. There is a version of this car that comes with a V8 and 6 speed with 300 horse. Plus the quatro awd, just imagine.