08 BMW M3, OK Car??

[matt711]

Our 06 330Ci has 46,000 trouble free miles. I do all the maintenance myself, just did fuel filter, power steering resevior, plugs, oil, rear diff oil, and tranny service. I think I spent around $250 for parts and fluids. Good for another 40K other than oil changes. Car has been a gem.

I wouldnt buy a newer series (past E46) due to increased complexity. Wouldnt buy an M3 unless it was a very low mile car with a very complete service history and again nothing newer than 2005/6.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by matt711

Our 06 330Ci has 46,000 trouble free miles. I do all the maintenance myself, just did fuel filter, power steering resevior, plugs, oil, rear diff oil, and tranny service. I think I spent around $250 for parts and fluids. Good for another 40K other than oil changes. Car has been a gem.

I wouldnt buy a newer series (past E46) due to increased complexity. Wouldnt buy an M3 unless it was a very low mile car with a very complete service history and again nothing newer than 2005/6.

While it seems like it has been trouble free, that sure seems to me like a ton of maintenance to keep it that way. I think that is the reason so many BMW's go to crap, people think they are buying a Honda and only change the oil for the first 100,000 miles. When it starts to fall apart, they sell it and ***** about it on every forum.

[matt711]

I have to admit that I am a bit anal about maintenance. Change fuel filter (only cost $30 bucks) every 25K, same for PS resevior (it has a built in filter and again part is cheap). 47K may be a bit early for new plugs but it was a case of "while your in there" for me. I like to do it all in one big chunk. The GM automatic transmission in these cars is a known weak point so replacing the fluid is insurance. The fluid was the single biggest expense for this round of maintenance.

I guess I do save a little money as the car came with a Dinan air filter and exhaust. I just clean the filter ever 15K. Yes, I did feel a little silly replacing the cabin air filter element in a rag top...

[matt711]

Biosurfer1,

My sister in law lives in Roseville, CA. Nice town.

-Matt

[biosurfer1]

Thanks, I like it here a lot.

I wasn't knocking you for maintaining your car, I do it too. I was just wondering out loud if guys who don't maintain their car lead to bad rep's.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Stutzdriver

BMW is just a status car driven by a lot of Indian and Arab customers who beat one dealer with another until NOBODY makes any money in sales...

why don't we just go by Haplotype instead?

Down with H's! H's suck!

[aigel]

Matt, that sounds like a lot of maintenance for under 50k miles. Can you share the maintenance schedule (usually found online). You really need to change power steering fluid? I never changed that on any car I ever owned. I have not owned a lot of newer cars, but a good example was a Mazdaspeed3. It needed nothing but oil changes, brakes and tires until 75k when it is due for plugs. I realize this is not a BMW but it is a turbocharged 2.5 with over 260 hp nevertheless.

Reference:
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/pdf/maint_schedules/07_MAZDASPEED3_MS.pdf

The other recent example I have is my Golf TDI which is also very basic. Only bummer on it is a belt at 130k:

Reference:
http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/516/2012_Golf.pdf

G

[speeder]

Power steering fluid does not need to be changed on any car until it really gets dirty, but it should be changed at that time. After all, it's a hydraulic system.

It's a shame about these reliability issue stories with newer BMWs because the V-8 M3 is truly one of the greatest driving cars ever made. On a track, it's up there with the all-time greats and plenty of fun in canyons as well. Amazingly great engineering from a driving perspective.

[EMJ]

A good friend of mine owns an '06 330 with 55k on the clock that he bought new. $6000 in maintenance in 6 years for all kinds of issues and he thought that was typical. This doesn't even cover the warranty work that was also done. We bought an '08 Lexus IS350 a couple of years ago. The car now has 55k on it and I've changed the oil a couple of times and replaced front brakes myself for $60. That's it. Fast, luxurious, maintenance - bullet proof. No check engine light dramas of my Mercedes or other BMW's I've had.

[will944]

I'm on my 2nd E92 M3. Not a single problem so far (though I do have a full warranty......there has never been anything other than oil changes, etc).

'08


'10

[matt711]

Aigel,

Im sure that the amount of maintenance I do is far beyond what is called for by BMW.

The transmision on the E46 is made by GM and (accoring to the BMW sites I visit) is a weak link. That is what prompted the fluid and filter change at 45,000 miles. BMW says that it's sealed for life.
I do the PS fluid resevior every 25K. The resevior contains an internal filter that cannot be changed by itself. The part is only $20 and it only holds about a pint of fluid. $30 every couple of years just seems like no big deal to me. I do the fuel filter at the same interval, this is a $40part. I can do both jobs in less than an hour.
Did rear diff at 45K and probably won't ever touch it again. Same for plugs, they are probably good for 75,000 more miles now.
Next job is a brake system flush. I try to do that every year.

All in all I probably do 2 oil changes a year at around 4-5,000 mile between each. So the 45,000 service would be considered a major service. Regular maintenace is just change oil and filter, clean air filter and check all the fluids. Just like any car.

I think the issue with an M3 is that its darn near a super car and is likely to be driven as such. Parts for the M3 are also a lot more expensive than the every day 3 series. An M3 is a much more complex piece of machinery than my inline 3.0 E46.

It seems like a lot of the comments that have been made don't center around maintenance cost as much as they do on "repair" costs. For me maintenance is to prevent things from turning into repair costs. If a $120 DIY transmision service extends the life of a $4,000 transmision then Im all for incuring the $120 bucks.

I will be the first to admit that I do more maintenance than is called for by BMW AG. The "sealed for life" transmision is a prime example. My E46 is a fun car, and has been reliable thus far. Tomorrow is another day and it could burn to the ground.

[matt711]

Will944,

Beautiful M3 man.

-Matt

[speeder]

Yep. Can't argue with the looks of that thing. Or the performance.