Tumblin Tumbleweed
Gold Member
- Mar 16, 2015
- 22,395
- 7,842
- 265
Yes. Former BMW owner. If you are not mechanically inclined, then it's going to cost you. My M3 & M5 were mostly engineered for track speed and handling, and that came with the pitfalls of such.When I grew up, car maintenance was extensive and at times expensive. A tune-up was required periodically (points, plugs, condenser), oil was to be changed every 3k miles, mufflers had to be replaced regularly (see Midas commercials of the day), tires were crap, and so on.
Now, not so much.
My wife's Beemer (2017 3-series) has only required an oil change when the car tells you (roughly 10k miles), and...that's been about it.
But she "loves" this car and is threatening to keep it until they pry Charlton Heston's gun from his cold, dead hands. We are at about 76,000 miles, and it has been a flawless, trouble-free, inexpensive ride until now. For some reason we are going through a quart of oil every 1500 miles or so; not sure whether to press the Panic Button over that. (There is no dip stick; the car tells you when your oil is low, and you have to let the car check it self while the engine is idling).
But I think I have to bite the bullet. A combination of BMW owner sites and the owner's manual recommend several things either now or shoulda been done already, namely,
Transmission fluid and other fluids seem to be "permanent." In fact, they tell you NOT to change the transmission fluid.
- Replace brake fluid (water gets into the lines and causes rust),
- Replace engine coolant (similar),
- Spark Plugs,
- Ignition Coils (I don't even know what that is. Are there four of them or only one?), and of course,
- Oil and filter.
Anyone here knowledgeable to add any thoughts? I think this whole service is going to run about $600 - NOT at the BMW dealer. The good thing is, my mechanic will not do anything that isn't necessary. He has proven invaluable in similar situations in the past with European cars.
However, if you want to do any of the above you mention, which is all solid info., there are instructional videos that could probably help you out at about 1/3 cost from your local auto parts store. Use your Inn3rt00bz.
If you choose to trust your mechanic, hopefully he'll keep it running for a long time. If successful, Beemers can be incredible automobiles. Tons of fun.