What do I need to know before buying a BMW?

It's common knowledge, smart guy. There are shitloads of E90s out there. The fact that anyone thinks you need a computer with german diagnostic software to do basic maintenance is shocking.

This shit

And change all of your fluids when you get it, no matter how fresh or new the owner says it is. Change all, including tranny. Don't be lazy

What else do you need to know? If you go aftermarket, don't buy URO parts. Saves you hassle

I guess just kind of wondering what can go wrong with it and why
I've had my truck for 5 years it's at 190k miles now and I've only now just had to replace the exhaust and battery everything else is just rust/appearance
Wife has a Civic and all that's needed to be done on it is fluids for the past 4 years
Just hoping I don't have to do much to it, I don't ride them rough and I drive a little over an hour a day for work

ohhh bmw. have fun buddy and good luck you will need it.

That every plastic piece in the engine bay will break

What's Veeky Forums's take on the 320i? My brother wanted to get one but I know nothing about bmw's. What's it like compared to other 3 series?

Pick up some torx bits and you already have 95% of the tools you will ever need.
Know how to change your own fucking oil. You will be unfairly upcharged.
Learn how to change spark plugs.
Keep an eye on your oil filter housing. The gaskets can go bad on them causing oil to leak out the front and on to the belts. If you're lucky like me, this will only destroy the belt. If you're unlucky, the belt can get chewed up inside critical engine parts and ruin your engine.

If your engine makes a distinct tapping sound on start ups, don't worry it's just a notorious lifter tick issue with the n52. You're fine. The only solution is to get a new head (upgrade to the 330i head while you're at it for performance increase), or just drive longer distances and avoid short frequent trips. This might even be a non-issue, if they fixed it for the LCI.

If your car still has run-flats on them, ditch them for some proper tires. Trust me.

All things considered, these are great cars. Just take care of it.

How does their all wheel drive system compare to other sedans with AWD? I'll obviously be picking up snow tires but I'd still like for it to not just be a gimmick that doesn't perform as well as other cars

Utter trash.

Y

How do you fags deal with the BMW tax?
>costs more for insurance
>costs more for gas since you need premium
>terrible mpg
>shit breaks all the time
>you either need to spend 10 hours fixing it yourself or thousands to get simple shit fixed
>have to do your own oil changes or pay someone over a hundred dollars to do it
What the fuck?

Which one are you looking at?

One in the OP, 2011 328i with xdrive

Oh okay. I'm looking at one too. I've already been to look at a few and someone bought them before I could get there. I was just trying to talk you out of it in case we were looking at the same one. I know it's a small chance but it's a chance I'm willing to take.

lol unless you're in upstate New York you should be good
And I guess my last question for anyone still reading this thread is, how often would I be in a situation where the car would just break down for no reason or I'd have to bring it to a shop out of nowhere? Is it all stuff that I should be able to see in advance? I'd really rather not miss any days of work because of car problems

get back to your toyota

in case your alternator belt snaps.
But you can follow the health of your belts too

buy something good instead.

Such as?

awd is a meme. get the biggest engine

philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/d/dinan-bm-330ci-5-speed-fully/6444231575.html

I need a 4 door and I'm over 5 hours from there

why do you need 4 doors? it's in jersey, not philly. post your local craigslist.

kek

At that point you are better off buying a PI mustang gt unless you want to tune a n5X.

How reliable is the S54? Thinking about getting the Z4M in the near future.

VANOS solenoids can go bad, lifter tick can also develop in addition to what everyone else has said. 100% do your fluid changes on time, German engineers design these cars to basically only last the length of warranty if you abuse it. If you maintain everything it'll last a long time.

The N54, N55, and S55 engines are all dogshit by comparison for reliability. Holy shit the list goes on when it comes to what goes wrong with those engines.

True. I use a tablet to reset certain models. Audi is notorious for not letting you reset maintenance data without this tool.

>Get LCI model
>Easy to work on
>Make sure you have a trusted BMW mechanic or else go to the dealer, these cars are overengineered and require coding for things like battery, tpms etc.
>don't buy jet black
>Get a PPI
Get a Warranty if you can.
2 Recalls out right now, 1 for A/C fire from cable, and Airbag, make sure they are done before bought.
Use this oil (Ravenol VST 5W-40. It's expensive but makes the car run awesome. If you want to go cheap use Castrol Euro, and make sure the oils you use are LL01.
mobil 1 0W-40 is no longer LL01.

Are the warranties actually worth the money though? It's from a dealer but it's not a CPO

>costs more for insurance
Depends on what model. My insurance is lower than my friends newish Skoda.
>costs more for gas since you need premium
Again depending on model, some run on 87.
>terrible mpg
Depends on model again. Even the X5s can manage almost 30 MPG.
>shit breaks all the time
Mostly just cooling [plastic water pumps intensify]
>you either need to spend 10 hours fixing it yourself or thousands to get simple shit fixed
Not really.
>have to do your own oil changes or pay someone over a hundred dollars to do it
Even the tyre place around the corner from me can change the oil for cheap but then I started doing it eventually.

Really they're no more trouble than any other car. Most modern cars now aren't build with self maintenance in mind, even newer Hyundai's are a bitch to work on. I get the feeling you haven't experience any of this first hand and are just spouting buzzwords.