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Maintenance & Repair Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions BMW Care & Maintenance 
115 messages, Last post on Jul 18, 2007 at 6:33 AM
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Replying to: sanfranz4 (Oct 01, 2005 12:39 pm) Of course, if you planned on taking your car to an independent for repair work after the original warranty is up... my advice would be different... regards, kyfdx Host-Prices Paid Forums |
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Does anyone have any ideas on a sunroof issue I have. No matter which direction I push the button , the roof continues to open. Pushing in the direction of Close or Tilt still makes the roof open. Once opened fully it will not close. I had to manually close it after this happened. Very clean car with little roof usage. 18K on car. Thanks in advance |
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Hi - I have a 2001 Z3 in the Impala Brown color. I just recently had to park on the street and now have a minor dent between the kidney grilles from someone backing into me. Can anyone recommend a good auto body place that blends paint well in NY? Thanks! |
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I'm thinking about buying a fairly old 5 series (1997 528i) from a BMW dealer, and don't feel I am getting straight answers regarding costs of scheduled maintenance. The car has low mileage for its age (55k). Is anyone aware of a schedule of regular maintencance available online and the standard dealer prices for same on such a vehicle? Alternately, can you give me any idea what maintenance costs on such a car? Thanks in advace. Joachim
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Replying to: joach55 (Nov 05, 2005 5:01 pm)  9000 mile intervals. A minor service(Inspection I) will come up at 18000 miles and a major (Inspection II) service at 36000 miles. An oil change using synthetic oil will cost $60-$100, an Inspection I $150-$300, and an Inspection II $450-$800. Coolant must be changed every three years-using BMW Coolant ONLY, while the DOT4 brake fluid gets flushed every two years. I also change the so-called "Lifetime" ATF fluid and final drive oil every 100000 miles. The 528i autoboxes are European GM units which have proven to be quite robust. I know of several 528iAs which have hit 200K miles with 60K-100K mile ATF changes. Brakes on the 528i tend to wear quickly. Count on changing the front pads about every 20000 miles and the rears every 50000. Although most dealers don't agree, you only need to change the rotors every other pad change. I would fit Axxis Deluxe Plus pads unless you plan to track the car. Note that my cost numbers are approximate. For example, if you change the oil yourself using a BMW filter and Mobil 1 or BMW synthetic the cost will be under $40. On the other hand, my local BMW dealer charges very reasonable rates for some of the services that I don't have the time and/or desire to perform. The dealer only charged me $110 to change the ATF AND the synthetic final drive oil. Last year they changed the coolant and the brake fluid for just $143. Join the BMW Car Club and most shops will give you 10-20 percent off parts and/or labor. The 1997-2001 Fives are wonderful and durable cars. It was/is widely regarded to be the finest sedan in the world. In your case I would also want any potential purchase inspected by a good BMW tech. At around 60000 miles you'll probably need a water pump, which will run $250 installed. My wife's car is an automatic and lacks the Sport Package, but it is still an engaging car to drive. That said, if a 5er was my only car I would want the Sport Package and the MT. In my case, I fortunately have a 1995 3er track rat to drive when I want to carve up a twisting two lane, so our "vanilla" 528iA serves its intended purpose quite well.
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Replying to: div2 (Nov 05, 2005 8:09 pm) Tell me though, why you prefer RWD to FWD? (I glanced at your profile.) I've generally thought FWD was preferable tractionwise. Is this a misconception? Thanks much for your past reply and for anything you might add.
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Replying to: joach55 (Nov 06, 2005 6:52 pm) 200 torque steer also rears its ugly head. As for the 528i, one thing you should keep in mind is that BMW sixes seem to need a bit TLC at 60K intervals. For example, from 65K to 123K(5/02-7/05) our 5er needed less than $350 in unscheduled repairs. However, at 123K it needed new front struts and at 128K it needed a battery, new idler pulleys, a tie rod, and a radiator(I went ahead and replaced the water pump as a precaution as well). The grand total was $2100-which works out to about $60/month in unscheduled repairs over the past 3.5 years. For me, the pleasure of driving the older 5er more than compensates for the $2/day repair costs-and I don't expect the car to require any other major work for at least another three years/60K miles, when it will get another water pump and maybe some suspension bits.
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Replying to: div2 (Nov 06, 2005 7:47 pm) If you care to opine: wife and I are also considering Passats. Obviously not in the same class, but if you have any thoughts, please let me hear them. You seem to know your stuff well. Also in the running would be Acura's or Subarus. We've tried to talk ourselves into a Honda or Toyota but can't quite do it. Unfortunately, our budget is 20k max. Kind of tight at the moment. Anyway, thanks again for your good information. J.
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Replying to: joach55 (Nov 07, 2005 9:41 am) Acura: Solid, reliable, and well designed cars that, with the exception of the NSX, have never interested me in the slightest. Not to say that they are bad cars, just not my cup of tea. Subaru: Reliable and fun. I particularly like the Legacy GT and the Impreza WRX. The Forester XT is a real hoot-a mini SUV that can crank out 0-60 times of around six seconds. 
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 Just got back from the dealership to pick up my new 2006 325i. When I got there the salesperson told me they found a small chip in the windshield but that they could replace the windshield with a new one and it would be good as new. Bummer. It was do this or cancel the sale and renegotiate for a different car (with slightly different options). I told them to replace the windshield later this week. What's the concensus on this? Had this chip been discovered *before* I saw it and bought it would I even know? Surely windshields are damaged in transit--how are these handled. I've had windshields replaced on previous cars, but not after writing a check for $36k. Can the dealership really swap out the windshield and make it *exactly* like it came from the factory? There's a lot of tight rubber around the outside of that windshield--can this be put back on? The sales guy said he'd hold the paperwork in case I'm not satisfied but I really like my car (sans chip) and don't want to go through a whole new purchase. Any words of consolation here? |
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