What service to do?

[bj0nes]

Hi all:
I'm a newbie - just got my first BMW, a '96 328i convertible. It has 65k miles & no service records - what would you do to it right away? I'm getting new tires & I'll have the alignment checked, and from reading here I was thinking of having the oil & atf changed. Beyond that, it feels ok to me, so I'm planning on letting a local indy look it over & do those few things. Is there anything more that really you'd advise? Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
Bobby

[Dudesky_E36]

Have the cooling system checked, change the waterpump. Enjoy the ride :)

[bj0nes]

So waterpumps tend to go around 60k? Thanks, I'll get them to do that too.
Bobby

[Dudesky_E36]

60k is the recommended replacement interval for the water pump, but there was a problem with the pumps they used up to around '97. They used plastic impellers at the time, and those need to be changed with pumps that have metal or composite (preferred) impellers. Otherwise, the plastic one grenade and causes catastrophic damage if not caught in time. It's a good chance you may have the new version, but you can't tell without pulling it off the motor. So better safe than sorry ;)

[bj0nes]

That's good to know - since I know nothing about the service history I'll certainly get that changed out.
Thanks again,
Bobby