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2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 12th 12, 08:21 AM posted to alt.autos.bmw
[email protected]
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Posts: 1
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice

I am thinking about purchasing this 2003 BMW 325 CI (convertible, 2.5l l6, 5sp manual). It is priced in line with NADA guides for this year/model/make, it has 110k miles, and a clean carfax report. I have always owned Fords, so, I have no idea what I would be up against as far as maintenance and repairs. Can regular american mechanics handle BMW's? Or will I pay a small fortune for a "foreign car repair shop"? What kinds of special things about BMW's will I need to know about? Since it is a 6 cylinder, can I assume it has a timing CHAIN and not a timing BELT? I've never owned a convertible, but, since I live in Texas where winter is not too long, I'd probably only have it up for a couple of months - what special consideration is there about the convertible tops for BMW's?

Just give me any sound advice you can think of to help me decide and be alerted to anything I need to watch out for.

Thanks. Littleberry
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  #2  
Old December 12th 12, 05:50 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
Jeff Strickland[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 627
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice


> wrote in message
...
I am thinking about purchasing this 2003 BMW 325 CI (convertible, 2.5l l6,
5sp manual). It is priced in line with NADA guides for this
year/model/make, it has 110k miles, and a clean carfax report. I have
always owned Fords, so, I have no idea what I would be up against as far as
maintenance and repairs. Can regular american mechanics handle BMW's? Or
will I pay a small fortune for a "foreign car repair shop"? What kinds of
special things about BMW's will I need to know about? Since it is a 6
cylinder, can I assume it has a timing CHAIN and not a timing BELT? I've
never owned a convertible, but, since I live in Texas where winter is not
too long, I'd probably only have it up for a couple of months - what special
consideration is there about the convertible tops for BMW's?

Just give me any sound advice you can think of to help me decide and be
alerted to anything I need to watch out for.

Thanks. Littleberry


==================================
You need to sign in to a forum called E46Fanatics.com.

The engine does have a timing chain, but you cannot assume that just because
it is an inline 6. My opinion is that the 5-spd transmission is superior to
the automatic. Both of my kids had the automatic trans in their respective
'00 323s, I have a manual in my '94 325.

My personal experience is that all of the routine maintenance can be done at
home, brake service, plugs, cooling system, belts and hoses, pretty much any
repair that does not require taking the insides of the engine or
transmission apart. Since replacing the clutch requires taking the
transmission off, I leave this sort of thing to the professionals. But, I
replaced the entire suspension on my '94 325 by myself, at home. I do all of
my own brake work, and so on. My kids were driving somewhere just over the
200-mile limit of my towing plan and blew the cooling system. I had AAA
bring the car to my house and I replaced all of the parts myself for about
$300.

I find my BMWs to be pretty easy to work on. They are not any more
mystrerious than any other car you have owned, and I find the parts that
need service to be easily accessible and simple to understand. You will want
to find an independent BMW service center for any repairs you cannot do
yourself.

Your BMW has a diagnostic port that allows a technician to plug into the car
and find that a particular transistor in a specific part has a failure --
the diagnostics told me that a transistor gate was shorted to ground,
causing the MAF to be unreliable. I was very impressed when I saw this. The
BMW diagnostic package is not cheap, but it saves lots of troubleshooting
time. Find an independent garage that uses it (I believe it is called the
GT-1), and they will be able to do anything your car needs to have done.

If you do not already have one, you should buy an OBD II Scan Tool. These
come in wide range or price points, I suggest you should spend about $150 to
$175 for one to use in your home garage. They (Peake Research) makes one
specifically for BMW, but it cannot be used on any other makes. The generic
scan tools can be used on any car or truck made for the '96 Model Year, or
later. So, if you had a scan tool by Actron or Innova, for example, you
could scan your mother's car, or the cute girl that lives next door, to help
troubleshoot the Check Engine Light. BMW (or the independent garage) will
charge $90-ish to scan for codes, so for the price to scan twice you can
have your own scan tool and share it with friends and neighbors. You can
spend as little as $40-ish, and more than $250, so dialing in on a tool for
$150-ish is a balance of value and features.



  #3  
Old December 13th 12, 01:14 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
jeanyves
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice

On 2012-12-12 17:50:26 +0100, Jeff Strickland said:

> > wrote in message
> ...
> I am thinking about purchasing this 2003 BMW 325 CI (convertible, 2.5l
> l6, 5sp manual). It is priced in line with NADA guides for this
> year/model/make, it has 110k miles, and a clean carfax report. I have
> always owned Fords, so, I have no idea what I would be up against as
> far as maintenance and repairs. Can regular american mechanics handle
> BMW's? Or will I pay a small fortune for a "foreign car repair shop"?
> What kinds of special things about BMW's will I need to know about?
> Since it is a 6 cylinder, can I assume it has a timing CHAIN and not a
> timing BELT? I've never owned a convertible, but, since I live in
> Texas where winter is not too long, I'd probably only have it up for a
> couple of months - what special consideration is there about the
> convertible tops for BMW's?
>
> Just give me any sound advice you can think of to help me decide and be
> alerted to anything I need to watch out for.
>
> Thanks. Littleberry
>
>
> ==================================
> You need to sign in to a forum called E46Fanatics.com.
>
> The engine does have a timing chain, but you cannot assume that just
> because it is an inline 6. My opinion is that the 5-spd transmission is
> superior to the automatic. Both of my kids had the automatic trans in
> their respective '00 323s, I have a manual in my '94 325.
>
> My personal experience is that all of the routine maintenance can be
> done at home, brake service, plugs, cooling system, belts and hoses,
> pretty much any repair that does not require taking the insides of the
> engine or transmission apart. Since replacing the clutch requires
> taking the transmission off, I leave this sort of thing to the
> professionals. But, I replaced the entire suspension on my '94 325 by
> myself, at home. I do all of my own brake work, and so on. My kids were
> driving somewhere just over the 200-mile limit of my towing plan and
> blew the cooling system. I had AAA bring the car to my house and I
> replaced all of the parts myself for about $300.
>
> I find my BMWs to be pretty easy to work on. They are not any more
> mystrerious than any other car you have owned, and I find the parts
> that need service to be easily accessible and simple to understand. You
> will want to find an independent BMW service center for any repairs you
> cannot do yourself.
>
> Your BMW has a diagnostic port that allows a technician to plug into
> the car and find that a particular transistor in a specific part has a
> failure -- the diagnostics told me that a transistor gate was shorted
> to ground, causing the MAF to be unreliable. I was very impressed when
> I saw this. The BMW diagnostic package is not cheap, but it saves lots
> of troubleshooting time. Find an independent garage that uses it (I
> believe it is called the GT-1), and they will be able to do anything
> your car needs to have done.
>
> If you do not already have one, you should buy an OBD II Scan Tool.
> These come in wide range or price points, I suggest you should spend
> about $150 to $175 for one to use in your home garage. They (Peake
> Research) makes one specifically for BMW, but it cannot be used on any
> other makes. The generic scan tools can be used on any car or truck
> made for the '96 Model Year, or later. So, if you had a scan tool by
> Actron or Innova, for example, you could scan your mother's car, or the
> cute girl that lives next door, to help troubleshoot the Check Engine
> Light. BMW (or the independent garage) will charge $90-ish to scan for
> codes, so for the price to scan twice you can have your own scan tool
> and share it with friends and neighbors. You can spend as little as
> $40-ish, and more than $250, so dialing in on a tool for $150-ish is a
> balance of value and features.


you CANNOT compare a 94' 325 with a 2003' 325
in the 2003 model, there is A LOT of electronics that requires the
authorized dealer's computer to check and maintain. you will be able to
make some basic maintenance (oil, etc,) but you will need to go to a
real garage to reset the indicators.
this wasnt necessary on a 94' 325 of course.
--

Jean-Yves.

  #4  
Old December 13th 12, 05:24 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
Jeff Strickland[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 627
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice


"jeanyves" > wrote in message
...
> On 2012-12-12 17:50:26 +0100, Jeff Strickland said:
>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>> I am thinking about purchasing this 2003 BMW 325 CI (convertible, 2.5l
>> l6, 5sp manual). It is priced in line with NADA guides for this
>> year/model/make, it has 110k miles, and a clean carfax report. I have
>> always owned Fords, so, I have no idea what I would be up against as far
>> as maintenance and repairs. Can regular american mechanics handle BMW's?
>> Or will I pay a small fortune for a "foreign car repair shop"? What
>> kinds of special things about BMW's will I need to know about? Since it
>> is a 6 cylinder, can I assume it has a timing CHAIN and not a timing
>> BELT? I've never owned a convertible, but, since I live in Texas where
>> winter is not too long, I'd probably only have it up for a couple of
>> months - what special consideration is there about the convertible tops
>> for BMW's?
>>
>> Just give me any sound advice you can think of to help me decide and be
>> alerted to anything I need to watch out for.
>>
>> Thanks. Littleberry
>>
>>
>> ==================================
>> You need to sign in to a forum called E46Fanatics.com.
>>
>> The engine does have a timing chain, but you cannot assume that just
>> because it is an inline 6. My opinion is that the 5-spd transmission is
>> superior to the automatic. Both of my kids had the automatic trans in
>> their respective '00 323s, I have a manual in my '94 325.
>>
>> My personal experience is that all of the routine maintenance can be done
>> at home, brake service, plugs, cooling system, belts and hoses, pretty
>> much any repair that does not require taking the insides of the engine or
>> transmission apart. Since replacing the clutch requires taking the
>> transmission off, I leave this sort of thing to the professionals. But, I
>> replaced the entire suspension on my '94 325 by myself, at home. I do all
>> of my own brake work, and so on. My kids were driving somewhere just over
>> the 200-mile limit of my towing plan and blew the cooling system. I had
>> AAA bring the car to my house and I replaced all of the parts myself for
>> about $300.
>>
>> I find my BMWs to be pretty easy to work on. They are not any more
>> mystrerious than any other car you have owned, and I find the parts that
>> need service to be easily accessible and simple to understand. You will
>> want to find an independent BMW service center for any repairs you cannot
>> do yourself.
>>
>> Your BMW has a diagnostic port that allows a technician to plug into the
>> car and find that a particular transistor in a specific part has a
>> failure -- the diagnostics told me that a transistor gate was shorted to
>> ground, causing the MAF to be unreliable. I was very impressed when I saw
>> this. The BMW diagnostic package is not cheap, but it saves lots of
>> troubleshooting time. Find an independent garage that uses it (I believe
>> it is called the GT-1), and they will be able to do anything your car
>> needs to have done.
>>
>> If you do not already have one, you should buy an OBD II Scan Tool. These
>> come in wide range or price points, I suggest you should spend about $150
>> to $175 for one to use in your home garage. They (Peake Research) makes
>> one specifically for BMW, but it cannot be used on any other makes. The
>> generic scan tools can be used on any car or truck made for the '96 Model
>> Year, or later. So, if you had a scan tool by Actron or Innova, for
>> example, you could scan your mother's car, or the cute girl that lives
>> next door, to help troubleshoot the Check Engine Light. BMW (or the
>> independent garage) will charge $90-ish to scan for codes, so for the
>> price to scan twice you can have your own scan tool and share it with
>> friends and neighbors. You can spend as little as $40-ish, and more than
>> $250, so dialing in on a tool for $150-ish is a balance of value and
>> features.

>
> you CANNOT compare a 94' 325 with a 2003' 325
> in the 2003 model, there is A LOT of electronics that requires the
> authorized dealer's computer to check and maintain. you will be able to
> make some basic maintenance (oil, etc,) but you will need to go to a real
> garage to reset the indicators.
> this wasnt necessary on a 94' 325 of course.
> --
>
> Jean-Yves.
>



I did my own service on a '00 323. This cannot be significantly different
than the '03 that the OP is considering purchasing.

The top of the '03 is not the same as the one in my '94, that's entirely
true. But engine management is not very much different, and ALL malfunctions
that trigger the Check Engine light can te accessed with an off-the-shelf
scan tool. Yes, there are diagnostics available that take specialized
equipment/software, but there is no reason to think that

I maintain that my cars, four different 3 Series, have been easy to do
routine service on at home. In more than 10 ten years of ownership, my cars
have been to the shop a grand total of less than 10 times.

Drive happy.



  #5  
Old December 13th 12, 08:13 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
R. Mark Clayton
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 778
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice


"jeanyves" > wrote in message
...
> On 2012-12-12 17:50:26 +0100, Jeff Strickland said:
>
>> > wrote in message

SNIP
>
> you CANNOT compare a 94' 325 with a 2003' 325
> in the 2003 model, there is A LOT of electronics that requires the
> authorized dealer's computer to check and maintain. you will be able to
> make some basic maintenance (oil, etc,) but you will need to go to a real
> garage to reset the indicators.


Really, my guy is a specialist. He has tons of Bosch gear and a little box
that can read several makes.

> this wasnt necessary on a 94' 325 of course.


I had a [1982] 735i with a service indicator and an LED fault panel in 1985

> --
>
> Jean-Yves.
>



  #6  
Old December 15th 12, 03:31 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
Scott Dorsey
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,914
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice

> wrote:
>I am thinking about purchasing this 2003 BMW 325 CI (convertible, 2.5l l6, =
>5sp manual). It is priced in line with NADA guides for this year/model/mak=
>e, it has 110k miles, and a clean carfax report. I have always owned Fords=
>, so, I have no idea what I would be up against as far as maintenance and r=
>epairs. Can regular american mechanics handle BMW's? Or will I pay a smal=
>l fortune for a "foreign car repair shop"? What kinds of special things ab=
>out BMW's will I need to know about? Since it is a 6 cylinder, can I assum=
>e it has a timing CHAIN and not a timing BELT? I've never owned a converti=
>ble, but, since I live in Texas where winter is not too long, I'd probably =
>only have it up for a couple of months - what special consideration is ther=
>e about the convertible tops for BMW's?


Contact the BMWCCA. Get a list of local independant BMW mechanics in your
area. Have him check the thing out.

That car DOES have a timing chain, although some 6-cylinder engines have
belts. It's a nice chain design as well, and if the engine is treated well
and gets good maintenance it will last a long, long time.

However, DO expect that you will need to do more maintenance than you do
with an American car. The maintenance schedule has a lot more stuff on
it, there is more frequent fluid change, and you will find the front end
needs more attention.

But, as you will note, it is one hell of a fun car to drive, even with
the top up, and it is worth the extra effort.

The BMW specialist will probably wind up charging less than Joe random
mechanic since although he may charge less per hour he's going to take
less time to do most work. If you're wanting to work on it yourself, it
is a joy to work on. Parts that on a similar vintage Ford or Chevy have
turned into solid blocks of rust will move easily on the BMW just because
the alloy is a tiny little bit better. Things are more designed for easy
maintenance than in American cars.

I can't speak for the reliability of the convertable top; driving MGs
for years spoiled my ability to judge that impartially.

>Just give me any sound advice you can think of to help me decide and be ale=
>rted to anything I need to watch out for.


Join the BMWCCA, get a discount on parts and maintenance. Follow the
severe maintenance schedule in the book. Drive carefully and stop at
crosswalks.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
  #7  
Old December 15th 12, 03:36 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
Scott Dorsey
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,914
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice

jeanyves > wrote:
>
>you CANNOT compare a 94' 325 with a 2003' 325
>in the 2003 model, there is A LOT of electronics that requires the
>authorized dealer's computer to check and maintain. you will be able to
>make some basic maintenance (oil, etc,) but you will need to go to a
>real garage to reset the indicators.
>this wasnt necessary on a 94' 325 of course.


On a 2003, you're in a sort of in-between level, where a tool costing
a couple thousand dollars can do the job. The $100 tool from Wal-Mart
will show you error codes but nothing else. But, the system has been
reverse-engineered to the point where the professional handheld tools
can do the job and you don't need the super expensive tool that only
the dealer has. Indicator reset you can do with a special tool that
isn't THAT expensive.

Which means your local independent BMW shop becomes your friend
as soon as you have anything really substantial going wrong. But
even so, most mechanical stuff you can do yourself (although there is
a lot more clutter in the engine compartment of the 2003 than the '94).
And there's no reason you can't do transmission and differential changes
in your driveway.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
  #8  
Old December 15th 12, 03:40 PM posted to alt.autos.bmw
Scott Dorsey
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,914
Default 2003 BMW 325 CI - need advice

R. Mark Clayton > wrote:
>> this wasnt necessary on a 94' 325 of course.

>
>I had a [1982] 735i with a service indicator and an LED fault panel in 1985


On the 2003, the guy with the proper tool can interrogate the engine control
computer and see all the parameters... the position of the MAF sensor can
be displayed, the voltage coming off the O2 sensor, and you can see what
the ECU is doing with all those sensor inputs in most cases. This makes
diagnosis of things like rough running conditions a whole lot easier than
on my '74 where the common answer is to shrug your shoulders and say "it's
either the ignition or the carb" and start inspecting parts one at a time
only to find it's actually a muffler blockage.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
 




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