BMW 3 Series Question

[JeremyD]

My wife's volvo XC90 is nearing the end of it's lease - My daughter is 15 and will be driving soon (she already has her learner's permit)

We are looking at a 2001 - to 2004 BMW 325 for my wife to drive for the next year and 1/2 and then ultimately give to my Daughter.

So, any holes in this idea? Shoudl I look for the same things in the BMW that I would in the P-car world? (condition, service records, ect)
Looks like the 2003-2004 have side impact bags too (which would be nice)

looking for under 60,000 miles - mid to upper teens.

Anything that I should watch or be aware of?

[djmcmath]

Originally Posted by JeremyD

Anything that I should watch or be aware of?

Yes, lots. At 60Kmi, it seems like the first major inspection is due, as well as a stack of other relatively minor maintenance. The short list of common failures, sorted as best as I can think of in terms of frequency, is like this:
1 - Coolant reservoir. The original design is neatly flawed, and sometimes explodes. They're not expensive, and don't take long to replace, but it's a really bummer if they go out while you're driving.
1a - Same vein, the water pump usually dies about 100kmi. It's a little more expensive at $80 or $90ish, but is similarly trivial to replace. You end up doing the $60 thermostat "while you're in there," because the t-stat is also known to give up at about 100kmi too. I just did this replacement, and it's not bad at all -- couple of hours, tops. If those things aren't in the record, it's worth mentioning, because it's maintenance that's due and may be worth bargaining power.
2 - Airbag problems -- the wiring harnesses that connect the seatbelt pretensioners to the ECU come loose. Some people have reported that they can zip tie them to get them to hold together and clear the light. I had to buy the replacement part ($24) and install it (about an hour). The other common airbag problem is the passenger side seat sensor, which detects whether or not someone is sitting in the pax seat for airbag reasons. There's no good way around that one, as far as I can tell -- it's about $600. You may be able to bargain a price down a little lower if the pre-tensioner harnesses haven't been replaced (it's like $250 if you get it done at the shop).
3 - Oil leaks.
a - The RMS is known to die, which causes some really awful problems. Oil out into the transmission, all that nonsense. I don't have this problem, so I can't really help with the detection, cost of repair, etc.
b - The oil separator (which is like a PCV valve on steroids) or one of the 3 hoses that goes to the OS is going to fail between 60k and 100k. You'll lose a quart of oil about every thousand miles once it goes. The leak is tough to spot because the OS lives underneath the intake manifold. It dribbles oil down onto (among other things on it's way) the plastic underbody covers, which can hold quite a bit of oil before they let it dribble out the back. If you can arrange to pick a car up and run a rag across the top of the underbody covers, you could check for oil. If you buy the car, and it has this problem, the parts will cost less than $100, and the replacement will cost you about 8 hours.
4 - Rear subframe assembly. This is actually a known issue based on bad engineering. The original subframe develops cracks and loses rigidity. This results in some mildly unstable rear-end handling, a clunking noise, and a trip to the dealer. It turns out that BMW will pay for the replacement, but it isn't totally straightforward.
5 - Minor stuff
a - The sunroof design is a piece of crap. There's a little metal clip in there that bends just a little bit with time and causes complete destruction of two other little plastic clips. The clips are about $60 (iirc), and it's easy to take apart. With everything apart, you can re-bend the original part back into shape. Alternately, there's a beefier replacement that requires removal of half the headliner and costs something like $120. If your sunroof makes funny noises, doesn't operate quite right, etc., you're on the verge of this one.
b - Window regulators. I haven't actually had this one (yet), but I understand that the window regulators in the E46 cars are pretty weak. Every time I see a post where someone's parting out a car, the first question is always for the window regulators.

Aside from those things, my 330i has been a great car to own, and I have twice as many miles as the ones that you're looking at. Maintenance, for the most part, is real easy, and parts aren't really that expensive. Get the Bentley's and a tool to scan the codes with and you're home free. I hang out on e46fanatics.com, and can sometimes find useful information there. I sometimes also find answers at bimmerforums.com.

Cheers, and good luck.

Dan

[JeremyD]

Well, excellent Dan - I appreciate you posting.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by djmcmath

2 - Airbag problems

$1000 for the passenger seat sensor last year. Most of it in labor to dismantle the seat. The light is on again.

Originally Posted by djmcmath

5a - The sunroof design is a piece of crap.

Ours was broken for 2 years. It has worked - barely - for the last year.

Originally Posted by djmcmath

b - Window regulators.

Just had one fixed last month.

Ours is an E46 but the predecessor to the 325 - a 2000 323i 4 dr coupe with 150K kms. I will be selling it in the spring. Fun car. Very nice to drive but the gearing & handling make you drive more aggressively somehow.

Ian

[VaSteve]

I have a 2004 325xi, that I love. I wish it was a 5 speed, but oh well. As an auto it's pretty docile (starts in 2nd gear) for a new driver. Handles really well, my wife loves when she gets to drive it over the minivan, LOL.

I think the subframe business was the earlier cars (99-00?).

Easy to work on, I did the brakes and 1 oil change thus far since it went out of warrenty. Hardest part of the brakes was seperating the front rotors from the hubs. They rusted on. I called Rick V twice to figure out if I was missing something. He said "hit it like it's your boss". That did the trick. Put one of the lugs back in first, keep the rotor off your foot that way. LOL

[rcooled]

I have a '00 328CI and it's had none of the issues mentioned by djmcmath. It's been totally reliable and with over 90K on the clock, still doesn't use even one drop of oil between changes. The BMW has one of the smoothest inline 6s on the market and the car is a pleasure to drive....the ideal combination of sporty handling and comfort. There's lots of aftermarket parts sources and independent repair shops to choose from, too. I get 24mpg around town and easily see 30mpg+ on road trips. There are many examples to choose from on the used car market...with a little patiences, you should be able to get the exact color and option package you want. The only gripe I have with the car is that the CD player will skip on some of my home-made CDs.

[TerryH]

Wife drives a '99 328i manual. Two expansion tanks, one window regulator, 118K miles. Good fuel mileage. Fun car.

[Chocaholic]

This is great info. I've been looking for a 3 series wagon, 2000 - 2004. Need room to carry my son's RC airplane and also as airport transportation. Seems the 3 series fits the bill without breaking the bank...hopefully! Interested to hear what you end up with. My son is 13, but I can see it becoming his car in about 3 years if we find a keeper.

[JeremyD]

OK - just pulled the trigger on one - 2003 BMW 325i - 50,000 miles 2 owner - well cared for not a door ding. Sport package with sport seats & steering wheel.

Alot of car for $15k

[the]

Beautiful car, congrats. You will be very happy with it.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by JeremyD

OK - just pulled the trigger on one - 2003 BMW 325i - 50,000 miles 2 owner - well cared for not a door ding. Sport package with sport seats & steering wheel.

Alot of car for $15k

You're gonna love that car! they drive beautifully. Here is my sons 2003 325Ci; It's been a great little car.

I didn't know Wayne had a 3-series book. I'll buy it from Amazon today!

[dtw]

Wow, nice pull. Enjoy it! 5 speed, right?

[creaturecat]

My wife has a 2003 325 sport with a 5 speed.
Absolutely fantastic car.

[Seahawk]

I'll be retiring from the Navy in four months and will take a great job in DC. I plan on getting an efficiency apt so I'll only be commuting a day a week. Since my Tacoma will be spoken for and I hate driving the F150 in the city, I've been thinking about a smaller BMW.

My question is fit: I am 6'4". Will I fit? I had a 2002 in the '70's and it fit me really well.

edit: Those are great looking cars, Jeremy and Moses.

[dtw]

I'm 6'3" and fit fine. That's in my 530i. Can't recall ever having had a problem in a 3 series, either. Thanks for your service, btw.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I'll be retiring from the Navy in four months and will take a great job in DC. I plan on getting an efficiency apt so I'll only be commuting a day a week. Since my Tacoma will be spoken for and I hate driving the F150 in the city, I've been thinking about a smaller BMW.

My question is fit: I am 6'4". Will I fit? I had a 2002 in the '70's and it fit me really well.

edit: Those are great looking cars, Jeremy and Moses.

Try to find a non-sunroof coupe. Should be perfect.

[Chocaholic]

$15k! That's below the KBB trade-in value for one in only "good" condition. Who'd you steal it from???

[JeremyD]

Well for those of you looking - BMW just lowered their CPO threshold from 60,000 miles to 40,000 (in Florida anyway). So now if the dealerships take a trade, they can not certify it and must offload it to either an independent dealer OR wholesale it.

SO - that means plenty of deals out there.

Lease turn overs can not be certified either if they are over 40,000 miles.

I also found a black 2005 with 48,000 for $16K - BUT MY WIFE DID NOT LIKE THE COLOR! Can you believe that?????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????

As I said - alot of car for $15K

[djmcmath]

That's beautiful -- congratulations! And those prices are unbelievable! I paid $16.5 for my 2001 330i last summer and thought I was doing pretty well. Wow.

[Chocaholic]

Jeremy....find me a wagon down there! I'm in GA...couldn't be that hard to get it up here.