Bought my first Bimmer on 01/12/13. Anything I should know?

Bought my first Bimmer on 01/12/13. Anything I should know?

I just bought a 1999 BMW 328i, 126k miles. I am the 4th owner.

Dana Point Juan

Originally Posted by bmwdanapoint

Bought my first Bimmer on 01/12/13. Anything I should know?

I just bought a 1999 BMW 328i, 126k miles. I am the 9th owner.

Dana Point Juan

Holy CRAP !

Read the wiki on the top right of the page, read as much about the operation and DIY's as possible and do not create yet another useless thread. There is a search option in the black strip above that when used will answer 99.99% of the questions that you might have.

After merely 16 days of the new year, the Class of '13 has failed us and that is being quite conservative.

Anything you need to know?

You bought a car that has, on average, changed ownership every year and a half. You might want to learn how to sell a car very quickly.

Well what works been done to it so far? And the wiki will lead you to what else you should do or should have been done. Was the oil changed on a regular basis? Was the 100k check up done? Filters changed recently? Spark plugs ever done? It's important to find out what the previous owns have did to the car before you took ownership

Oh my... I just hope it works for you. +1 on reading the wiki. I hope you got a good deal, I'd say you're probably in for some maintenance. The only reason I can see for it changing hands so often is that no one wanted to put the money into it.

We are here for you. Welcome to the 'fest.

That's a ton of owners. I'm the second owner of my 99 323i 124k on it now and bought it with 67k (my assumption is the OP didn't want to maintenance it)

I'd hate to beat a dead horse. But the Wiki on the top bar (right hand side) of any page here is your best friend.

And use the search function, because if you ask a question that has been asked a million times (probably anything you want to ask lol) it will most likely go un-answered.

I hope your BMW experience is a good one.

Welcome to the Fest!

Not a damned thing! Just put gas in her and drive like a maniac.

Just kidding. Congrats on the new car. I hope that car is not cursed - could explain why you are the 9th owner.

Originally Posted by vandyboy

Not a damned thing! Just put gas in her and drive like a maniac.

Just kidding. Congrats on the new car. I hope that car is not cursed - could explain why you are the 9th owner.

Right~

A $1500.00 Exorcism may be required before any mechanical work could be done

I picked up my ordered car, 10/18/2000. I'm the original owner, 330i 5 spd sports package, 147K miles

Originally Posted by tcphoto

Read the wiki on the top right of the page, read as much about the operation and DIY's as possible and do not create yet another useless thread. There is a search option in the black strip above that when used will answer 99.99% of the questions that you might have.

After merely 16 days of the new year, the Class of '13 has failed us and that is being quite conservative.

Aw great. Now Ill never make Hall Monitor.


Do you have any problems with the car in specific? Any parts that need to be replaced to your knowledge? It took all of three days for these guys to help me with my problem, all it takes is the symptoms to be properly expressed. Pictures and a little simple troubleshooting is all we need.

AmityCar Horror Movie

I meant 4th owner. Carfax has has 3 previous owners. My bad.

Thank you for the warm welcome! I'm happy to be here.

Originally Posted by bmwdanapoint

I meant 4th owner. Carfax has has 3 previous owners. My bad.

ok, u can stop running for the fence now
as most people have told u, check the service records, read ALL the E46 wiki, go through previous posts, google/youtube for DIY's and get ur hands dirty to save up on sh!t loads of $$
most, if not ALL, the jobs can be done without a need of a mechanic if u have the appropriate tools, know how to follow the DIY's, and are intuitive.
good luck

Even if you can't do EVERYTHING yourself you can save fine amount of money, when you do all easy stuff yourself.

Will do! Thanks people.

Originally Posted by bmwdanapoint

Bought my first Bimmer on 01/12/13. Anything I should know?

I just bought a 1999 BMW 328i, 126k miles. I am the 9th owner.

Dana Point Juan

Originally Posted by Fast Bob

Holy CRAP !

Nice fix Bob. You even took the OP on that one!

Juan-

if nothing's major wrong with it you bought a great car!

my biggest worry on your car would be subframe.

then figure out if the following have been addressed (see wiki for more info):

cooling system refresh
CCV refresh
control arm bushings refresh
pre-cat O2 sensor refresh
new fuel filter

fresh fluid in :
TM, Diff, P steering, brakes

Vanos piston seals refresh(with fresh vanos and valve cover gaskets)

and just know that lots of other little things will need attention as parts fail/wear on a car this age. if you DIY at all, it will be a labor of love. these cars are fairly easy to work on and this site has great info. and members to help you.

Welcome to the Fest!

Just wanted to say... ofcourse you should understand that "save some money" doesn't mean that you will actually have some money left in the end.
You just can get more and better stuff that way.

Take it to a BMW shop and get a complete service performed professionally the first time and fix everything the shop tells you.
Have the alignment and wheel balance checked.
Get the DVD manual for 10$ off ebay so you can learn to fix it yourself.


ps original poster said he only had 4 owners in 1st post. All you other guys read it wrong and started heckling like a bunch of JR. HIGH school kids.

Originally Posted by rawbspear

Take it to a BMW shop and getce a complete service performed professionally the first time and fix everything the shop tells you.
Have the alignment and wheel balance checked.
Get the DVD manual for 10$ off ebay so you can learn to fix it yourself.


ps original poster said he only had 4 owners in 1st post. All you other guys read it wrong and started heckling like a bunch of JR. HIGH school kids.

As to the first part of your post, I say "WTF, are you on drugs ?"

As to the second part, my post #2 contains the OP`s ORIGINAL, verbatim statement (i.e., "I am the ninth owner")
(If you look below the OP`s first post, it`s obvious that he corrected it *after the fact*)

You`d better get your feces cohesive before coming in here thinking you know which end is up....

this is exactly what i just did to my 325xi touring. My car drives awesome. I bought it used and had no idea where its line was. Now I am baselined.

you can negate my advice if you want, but it is very good advise. cost was 700$

peace.

Originally Posted by rawbspear

Take it to a BMW shop and get a complete service performed professionally the first time and fix everything the shop tells you.
Have the alignment and wheel balance checked.
.

Originally Posted by rawbspear

this is exactly what i just did to my 325xi touring. My car drives awesome. I bought it used and had no idea where its line was. Now I am baselined.

you can negate my advice if you want, but it is very good advise. cost was 700$

peace.

Do you also play Russian Roulette ???

Walking into a BMW shop and doing what is highlighted above is quite likely to cost you closer to seven THOUSAND dollars than seven hundred....

And that's why BMW service works like it does... apparently there are enough people who just pay without any questions.

I already put 1000€ worth new parts into this since i bought it and if i let BMW mechanic assemble everything for me it would be like 2000€ of work.

I don't have 2000€ extra which i can just give to some guy.

Originally Posted by lgr122

And that's why BMW service works like it does... apparently there are enough people who just pay without any questions.

I already put 1000€ worth new parts into this since i bought it and if i let BMW mechanic assemble everything for me it would be like 2000€ of work.

I don't have 2000€ extra which i can just give to some guy.

Everyone does that, though; the dealers are just the worst about it. Especially when you're going in for a state inspection ( similar to your MoT inspection) it's not uncommon to have to fix things that aren't exactly problems.

I just got my 325 inspected and had to replace the side mirror glass because it was delaminated in spots. In Pennsylvania it's like they don't trust you to actually maintain your car so even if it works but it probably won't last until your next inspection, you're going to have to replace it. Brakes that still have 20% life left, tires that are still above the wear bar...

Most other states I've lived in just want to make sure it meets the specs on the day you take it in. PA seems to want to certify that it will continue to meet specs for the duration of the inspection period.