bmw questions
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 247
Likes: 2
bmw questions
Looking at a '98 328i with 144K miles, 5-spd.
It has no maintenance records whatsoever. Assuming nothing
has been done to it, the mileage is such that it's heading into the
major repairs zone, IMO.
Should I assume that within the next 10-20K miles I will have
to replace lots of things, like: clutch, suspension, gear box,
and of course the entire cooling system - the water pump
and the plastic radiator (by '98, did the water pump
still have that plastic impeller in it - it's a bmw thing,
the water pump goes bad and the loose plastic apparently
takes out the radiator as well)
It has no maintenance records whatsoever. Assuming nothing
has been done to it, the mileage is such that it's heading into the
major repairs zone, IMO.
Should I assume that within the next 10-20K miles I will have
to replace lots of things, like: clutch, suspension, gear box,
and of course the entire cooling system - the water pump
and the plastic radiator (by '98, did the water pump
still have that plastic impeller in it - it's a bmw thing,
the water pump goes bad and the loose plastic apparently
takes out the radiator as well)
Freshman User
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 30
Likes: 0
From: Connecticut
I believe 97 and later e36's have a composite impeller so that's one issue you would not have to worry about. My experience with e30's is that BMW's cost money to repair and maintain, but they are built like tanks overall. The driving experience more than makes up for the cost.
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,921
Likes: 0
From: central TX
I'm pretty sure they had the plastic impeller until '00, not positive though, I think there were a few different styles. All the other stuff is impossible to say from here. The gearbox is a good unit as far as I know, it just depends how it's been treated.
The stuff you're wondering about isn't all that expensive if you can do it yourself and use high-quality aftermarket parts. I wouldn't worry about factory on most anything you've mentioned.
The stuff you're wondering about isn't all that expensive if you can do it yourself and use high-quality aftermarket parts. I wouldn't worry about factory on most anything you've mentioned.
Last edited by tdister; Jun 11, 2006 at 11:25 AM.
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: SW VA
The one thing that I would have checked ASAP is that nast little thing that BMW uses instead of a u-joint (it is kinda like a rag joint). I'm sorry that I can't remember the exact name of it, but I DO know that if it fails while you are driving it, you will be replacing the exhaust system from the cat back!
I'm not sure why you said that you might have to replace the gearbox though. They seem to go forever, but when they break, they tend to be a bit pricy to fix.
My bro in law has had a beemer ever since I met him 15 years ago. As far as the mileage goes, it's a bit of a moot point with a BMW, IMHO. His current ride is a NICE '89 M3 with a little over 300K on the clock, and tet me tell ya, he doesn't baby that thing one little bit either! That little car's performance is amazing considering that all it has under the hood is a N/A 2.2 or so liter 4 banger!
I'm not sure why you said that you might have to replace the gearbox though. They seem to go forever, but when they break, they tend to be a bit pricy to fix.
My bro in law has had a beemer ever since I met him 15 years ago. As far as the mileage goes, it's a bit of a moot point with a BMW, IMHO. His current ride is a NICE '89 M3 with a little over 300K on the clock, and tet me tell ya, he doesn't baby that thing one little bit either! That little car's performance is amazing considering that all it has under the hood is a N/A 2.2 or so liter 4 banger!
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 2,511
Likes: 0
From: Marion, VA
I would want to talk with the prior owner to see if it has been maintained. The prior owner's name and address will be on the title and you could use that to find him or her. If it has been properly maintained (a very expensive thing to do at the dealer but most Bimmer owners did it), the miles don't hurt it but if it has not been maintained, I wouldn't consider it. Major repairs are terribly expensive on any high end European car and as Polarbear said, the book is way high on high mileage vehicles from there. I found out long ago that if you need a part that is not available aftermarket, the cost can be amazing.
