So Veeky Forums

this is exactly the kind of info i'm looking for.

i've owned a few mk iv vee dubs so i know about that german life style. i'll likely only own it for a year or two as my finances come into order and my student loan balance decreases

do it lad

false information spread by hillbillies who don't own them and women who don't know how to do their own maintenance

brand new OEM parts are very expensive. used parts in nice condition are widely available and both cheap to source and easy to install. any issue you can conceivably have has been well-documented on the internet with photos, videos, and detailed step by step instructions

if you buy a well kept car with records to show for it, and keep up with fluid changes and preventative maintenance it's about as expensive to own as a honda or a chevy

what happens is people hear a weird sound, take it to the dealership, and believe all the wild lies and drag themselves to the bank to get a loan to pay for the intensive labor and parts. in reality it was probably a leaky vacuum line and a cracked pump mount that they fixed for 50 bucks while laughing

when people say a car "requires a lot of maintenance", what they mean is "it requires maintenance". when they say 'my honda is low-maintenance' what they're actually saying is "I literally never perform maintenance on my honda, but it hasn't exploded so that's good"

if you have any questions about very specific part by part maintenance items or buyer's checklist I can elaborate

My dad has one with 175,000 miles on it he bought used probably in 2007-8. No major problems. I believe he replaced the fuel pump.

Still shifts beautifully (auto). Maintenance is more costly though.

no they're just poorly built

please don't excuse poor engineering with actual maintenance. there's no reason for using the cheapest possible rubber and plastic on everything that a japanese/american car would use metal. to their credit bmw is nowhere nearly as bad as audi/vw, mercedes, and newer porsches

i own a e36 m3 i should know here's the crappy plastic/rubber bits i've ran into (everything mentioned below is plastic in some way that fails)

>clutch pivot pin holding fork into bell housing, 850csi uses a steel one that can be substituted
>clutch slave cylinder
>clutch pedal and bushings, why most e36s have a pedal that "leans" to one side if original
>seat motor gears
>bushings (literally all of them if they're original, diff/subframe ones are a big one that's neglected)
>rubber engine and trans mounts can get old and "sink/settle" despite not being torn
>guibo/center bearing support (never seen one done on a older rwd japanese/american car car but common on bmws)
>balljoints (WHO THE FUCK DOES THIS LETS PUT PLASTIC IN THE CUP OF A BALLJOINT LOL)
>water pump impeller (newer composite ones arent as bad)
>thermostat housing/water pump pulley/coolant expansion tank (all can crack and break/leak)
>radiator end tanks splitting
>plastic valve covers on m52/s52

i personally wouldn't bother if it wasn't a ///m car

70-80k is too low
a 120-150k E46 would have all the worn and broken stuff recently replaced and would be prepared to do many more miles
I've owned 5 BMWs, two E46s and only one of my bmws has a been sub 200k mile car

oh yeah i forgot

>door panel clips (will rattle and glue on door panel will come undone)

to be fair too the newer cars aren't as bad. if its just gonna be a commuter though i'd rather get the nicest stockish wrx or tsx i could find.

Same engine as the E46 unless we're talking about the V8.

some of these are valid for the E46, some are not

for one, I don't dig the plastic valve cover. I've never seen one leak or warp with properly cared for gaskets either. at 130k, my shocks and bushings are pretty much shot but my honda and chevy were the same way. clutch pivot pin is still plastic but can be easily substituted with a steel or brass one, and I see no record at all of my clutch having ever been replaced yet the fit and operation are still very solid. my expansion tank leaks but very slowly, at worst I have to top it off once a month

all of those points could be worse in a poorly maintained example but if they're in good order they shouldn't turn you away. at worst, I look at slowly upgrading and refreshing parts as a fun weekend activity considering they're not actually failing left and right

thanks a ton, f/o/lks!

i'll prolly post pictures and a sad story about my old car when i get it in a month or so.

Carbon buildup