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Top 10 things you need to know before buying a new or used BMW

526K views 225 replies 180 participants last post by  Zoeston 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Here are the top 10 things that anyone considering a new or used BMW should know. I'm going to make this a sticky - feel free to add on to it!

  1. Most newer BMWs require synthetic oil and premium fuel. Do not give your car less than it requires.
  2. Contrary to popular belief, parts and labor on BMWs is not more than the competition; however, BMWs are not as reliable as Japanese cars and they do require more maintenance.
  3. If your car is out of warranty, find yourself a competent independent mechanic. Their labor rates tend to be about half that of dealers. http://www.bimrs.org/ lists such shops.
  4. Buy a Bentley repair manual for you car. Even if you don't work on your car yourself, it's good to be an informed consumer (example: if your check engine light illuminates, Autozone will plug into your car for free and give you the car's trouble code. You can cross-reference it in the Bentley manual to see what's wrong).
  5. Historically, manual transmissions are more reliable that automatic or steptronic transmissions.
  6. BMWs have great brakes - this is due in part to the rather soft pads and rotors they use. Don't expect them to last more than 30-50k miles. The rotors generally wear at the same rate as the pads so 'machining' the rotors OR replacing pads without rotors is not recommended. There is a 'brake pad low' warning light that is triggered by a wear sensor that will illuminate on your dash when you are due for new brakes. It looks like this:
    . When you replace your brakes, you also need to replace the wear sensors ($10-20 each). There's one on the front left wheel and one on the rear right wheel. Parts for all 4 rotors, pads, and sensors are generally $200-500 and labor is about the same.
  7. The 'sport package' available on most BMWs is usually considered a necessary option by enthusiasts. It usually includes better (bolstered) seats, stiffer suspension (better handling), as well as larger wheels and tires. One caveat: It also comes with summer only tires that are NOT suitable for ANY slushy/snowy/icy conditions. If you live in an area that gets snow, it's highly recommended that you buy a second set of wheels with dedicated snow tires.
  8. It's fairly common for OEM tires to only last 10-20k miles. Price out replacements on www.TireRack.com to prevent being shocked: It can cost $600-1500 for replacement rubber. Also remember that tires are the #1 performance mod available to you! There's a significant difference between cheap all-season tires and good summer-only tires. Ask any questions in the Tires, Wheels, and Brakes forum.
  9. BMW engines are tuned very well from the factory. It's very difficult to get more than a few horsepower out of intakes, exhausts, chips, headers, etc. (the newer the car, the more true this is)....unless, of course, you're talking about the N54 twin-turbo (335i, 535i, etc), in which case, completely disregard what I just said!
  10. The BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) is a great organization- membership ($48/yr) entitles you to a free subscription to the monthly magazine Roundel, discounts on parts at most BMW dealers, high performance driving schools/car control clinics/autocrosses, local gatherings/rallys/dinners, as well as a $500-1500 discount on your next new or CPO BMW (you must be a member for at least a year prior to purchase - and this transaction is completely independent of the dealer - you receive a rebate check after purchasing the car for at your dealer-negotiated price). Join here and if you found this post useful, use me as your referrer (Kris Linquist #170334)
 
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#51 ·
I'm coming up on a year with a 2001 330Cic, which I found in pristine condition with only 35k miles on it. I put on only about 10k per year, so it has a long future life with me, it seems. My impression so far is very positive concerning quality and reliability, and it seems to me that it would be very practical to buy one outright, even a used one! The previous owner has been my only source of problems, as s/he evidently felt obliged to drive through every pothole s/he ever saw.
 
#52 ·
[*]The BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) is a great organization- membership ($40/yr) entitles you to a free subscription to the monthly magazine Roundel, discounts on parts at most BMW dealers, high performance driving schools/car control clinics/autocrosses, local gatherings/rallys/dinners, as well as a $500-1500 discount on your next new or CPO BMW (you must be a member for at least a year prior to purchase - and this transaction is completely independent of the dealer - you receive a rebate check after purchasing the car for at your dealer-negotiated price). Join here and if you found this post useful, use me as your referrer (Kris Linquist #170334)
[/LIST]
Just joined CCA (link didn't directly work but I did list you as referrer). Aside from the benefits such as gatherings and Roundel mag, it's quite plausible I could be in the market for another Bimmer in a year or 1.5
 
#53 ·
Thanks for the tips my friend I think I should print these, I just got my 654ci, pre-owned, with almost 60K miles on it, and I had to replace the pads and rotors too, I thought it was un-normal till I read your top 10.

So I guess I should prepare my self for changing the tiers pretty soon too ;)
 
#54 ·
Thanks Kris, I just signed the wife and I with BMW CCA, used your info as the reference.
Regards,
TR
 
#61 ·
Here are the top 10 things that anyone considering a new or used BMW should know. I'm going to make this a sticky - feel free to add on to it!

  1. Most newer BMWs require synthetic oil and premium fuel. Do not give your car less than it requires.
  2. Contrary to popular belief, parts and labor on BMWs is not more than the competition; however, BMWs are not as reliable as Japanese cars and they do require more maintenance.
  3. If your car is out of warranty, find yourself a competent independent mechanic. Their labor rates tend to be about half that of dealers. http://www.bimrs.org/ lists such shops.
  4. Buy a Bentley repair manual for you car. Even if you don't work on your car yourself, it's good to be an informed consumer (example: if your check engine light illuminates, Autozone will plug into your car for free and give you the car's trouble code. You can cross-reference it in the Bentley manual to see what's wrong).
  5. Historically, manual transmissions are more reliable that automatic or steptronic transmissions.
  6. BMWs have great brakes - this is due in part to the rather soft pads and rotors they use. Don't expect them to last more than 30-50k miles. The rotors generally wear at the same rate as the pads so 'machining' the rotors OR replacing pads without rotors is not recommended. There is a 'brake pad low' warning light that is triggered by a wear sensor that will illuminate on your dash when you are due for new brakes. It looks like this:
    . When you replace your brakes, you also need to replace the wear sensors ($10-20 each). There's one on the front left wheel and one on the rear right wheel. Parts for all 4 rotors, pads, and sensors are generally $200-500 and labor is about the same.
  7. The 'sport package' available on most BMWs is usually considered a necessary option by enthusiasts. It usually includes better (bolstered) seats, stiffer suspension (better handling), as well as larger wheels and tires. One caveat: It also comes with summer only tires that are NOT suitable for ANY slushy/snowy/icy conditions. If you live in an area that gets snow, it's highly recommended that you buy a second set of wheels with dedicated snow tires.
  8. It's fairly common for OEM tires to only last 10-20k miles. Price out replacements on www.TireRack.com to prevent being shocked: It can cost $600-1500 for replacement rubber. Also remember that tires are the #1 performance mod available to you! There's a significant difference between cheap all-season tires and good summer-only tires. Ask any questions in the Tires, Wheels, and Brakes forum.
  9. BMW engines are tuned very well from the factory. It's very difficult to get more than a few horsepower out of intakes, exhausts, chips, headers, etc. (the newer the car, the more true this is)....unless, of course, you're talking about the N54 twin-turbo (335i, 535i, etc), in which case, completely disregard what I just said!
  10. The BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) is a great organization- membership ($40/yr) entitles you to a free subscription to the monthly magazine Roundel, discounts on parts at most BMW dealers, high performance driving schools/car control clinics/autocrosses, local gatherings/rallys/dinners, as well as a $500-1500 discount on your next new or CPO BMW (you must be a member for at least a year prior to purchase - and this transaction is completely independent of the dealer - you receive a rebate check after purchasing the car for at your dealer-negotiated price). Join here and if you found this post useful, use me as your referrer (Kris Linquist #170334)
damn good tips. reading the part about requiring more maintenance makes me a bit weary though. But I heard that often.
 
#64 ·
Thanks a lot for the forum and i must say its an enlightening one,i have been a BMW enthusiast ever since i was a kid and i can still recall all the grooves on our neighbors' 2002. great car it was. His son is now 35 years of age and the car still runs! mine is an old 520 model (quite my level financially)but i hope to get an upgrade soon.will be in touch.

=========================================================================================

Malcolm
A very powerful search engine
Google
 
#67 · (Edited)
My top ten repairable items to watch out for when choosing a used BMW ...
- radiator neck prophylaxis (I didn't do this yet so I don't have a good link for ya!)
- air conditioning stink research & diy
- brake bump shudder judder shake to pieces research
- windshield cover molding diy
- driver seat cover replacement diy
- cupholder replacement diy
- instrument cluster (pixels out) replaced by dealer
- intermittent fan blower (FSU) research
- jack lifting pads research & diy
- broken gas cap tether research

My maintenance list is currently ...
- four wheel brake job diy
- brake fluid diy
- H7 light bulb research
- oil change power bleeder & oil extractor research

My nice-to-have list is currently ...
- dice ipod research & DIY
- best parts supplier by price and availability research
- obnoxious door lock research

Another nice list of things to watch out for is here
 
#68 ·
A corally to #2 Contrary to popular belief, parts and labor on BMWs is not more than the competition; however, BMWs are not as reliable as Japanese cars and they do require more maintenance: The more expensive the BMW when new, the more expensive the parts and service with age (e.g.: 7 series, 8 series, M cars, especially M5s, etc.)
 
#69 ·
A corally to #2 Contrary to popular belief, parts and labor on BMWs is not more than the competition; however, BMWs are not as reliable as Japanese cars and they do require more maintenance: The more expensive the BMW when new, the more expensive the parts and service (e.g.: M cars, especially M5s, 7 series, 8 series, etc.)
That is true of all vehicles. One should always assume that a vehicle's maintenance/repair prices are correlated with its original price. This often bites people that find cheap Porsche 944s and such :).
 
#75 ·
Why? Esp. the Castrol since they at least paid enough money are good enough to appear in the owners manual AND on the oil filler cap.
 
#73 ·
helpful, but you missed one important thing: carfax is unreliable. buyer beware.
 
#77 ·
I'm coming up on a year with a 2001 330Cic, which I found in pristine condition with only 35k miles on it. I put on only about 10k per year, so it has a long future life with me, it seems. My impression so far is very positive concerning quality and reliability, and it seems to me that it would be very practical to buy one outright, even a used one! The previous owner has been my only source of problems, as s/he evidently felt obliged to drive through every pothole s/he ever saw.
 
#83 ·
[*]Buy a Bentley repair manual for you car. Even if you don't work on your car yourself, it's good to be an informed consumer (example: if your check engine light illuminates, Autozone will plug into your car for free and give you the car's trouble code. You can cross-reference it in the Bentley manual to see what's wrong).
[/LIST]
I suppose you should mention BMW instead of Bentley? :)
 
#85 ·
Addiitonal wordsmithing of the items is probably not necessary but I cannot resist. I would reword item 9 which currently reads:

"BMW engines are tuned very well from the factory. It's very difficult to get more than a few horsepower out of intakes, exhausts, chips, headers, etc. (the newer the car, the more true this is)....unless, of course, you're talking about the N54 twin-turbo (335i, 535i, etc), in which case, completely disregard what I just said! "

BMW engines are tuned very well from the factory. It's very difficult to get more than a few horsepower out of intakes, exhausts, header, etc. (the newer the car, the more true this is). It is possible, however, to reprogram the N54 twin-turbo (135i, 335i, 535i, etc) for significantly more power (50hp or more) by increasing boost pressure and sometimes with other intake/exhaust changes.

I would also add an item 11 something like:

11. Buyers of new BMWs should also consider two delivery options; European Delivery and for U. S. customers, Performance Center Delivery. European delivery results in a price decrease that will help with and may even cover the cost of travel to Munich for delivery of your BMW, and travel in Europe with your new BMW prior to drop-off with BMW's freight forwarded for its trip to you (at BMW's cost). Performance Center Delivery occurs at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, SC adjacent to BMW's only U. S. manufacturing site. It is "free" and includes track time in BMW vehicles (not yours) with instrucution.

Jim
 
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