Lexicon1

I went to bimmerforums and there is a reliablility section... I hope I am not reading it improperly, it indicates that for the 2006 3 series, the average is 67 visits per 100 cars/year.
Does that mean I am guaranteeing a problem warranting a visit for some big service (I am assuming not just an oil change) at least once per 1.5 years????
I will tell you that I bought a Lexus because when I was considering a MBenz
E300 they were having problems with transmissions, head gaskets, and the SC400 crowd were worrying about a broken antenna or plastic door parts.

I REALLY want to like the BMW 330i, but, reliability and relatively inexpensive ownership is NOT an option its a requirement.
I was hoping that 2006 would have better quality control.
Gotta do more homework rather than anecdotal info
Any comments welcome. I usually keep cars for 10+ years.
Thanks

lexusscturbo

iTrader: (12)

Yepppers! x2

LexFather

lol at that site

I have joined a few, E46fan is cool site. I like bimmer forums, far less flaming, typical douchebags and completely clueless people. They have a great group of GA/Atlanta owners and we've done meets/shows with them. The M5 forum is great as well.

Some forums I browse and I literally crack up reading the comments. Its great reading if you need a laugh.


I wonder why?

boostd4

Lol.

This coming from someone who's never owned one but.... he read about them on the internet. Sweet.

lexusscturbo

iTrader: (12)

330i is a stout car..(E9x or the E46) its a stout platform with a reliable motor.

flipside909

Really? Just curious but do you (not someone you know, not your friend's, not you've detailed, not one you've driven) own one to qualify that statement?

lexusscturbo

iTrader: (12)

A family member's vehicle(You can go to a BMW dealership , run my mother's maiden nameit should be there), because I'm the one that does all the service intervals on it. Only 2 failures on it have been a final stage resistor issue and a fuel pump. (132k and counting so far).

flipside909

Oh gotcha. I thought you traded in your GS for an E46 or E90. Glad your family member is beating the odds.

LexFather

Guys please keep it civil, thanks.

Faymester

Oh man, I wrote this AWESOME post and accedentally hit my back button

OP: If you want to know my experiences in moving from the IS300 to the M3, feel free to PM me, but right now I just can't type all that again.

Man I'm annoyed at my self for that *gumble grumble*

geko29

Sounds like he does, but add me to that list too. I've got a 323i (M52 engine, which was modified to create the M54 in the 330i) that I bought new and will be 10 years old in August, and thus far has cost me a grand total of $1500 in repairs and maintenance--including oil changes, brakes, and tires, and some additional fluid changes that weren't on the schedule. Only post-warranty failures have been the final stage resistor (common on early E46s) and battery. So nothing to speak of, really--less than $150 in total repairs over 9 years.

It needs some suspension work fairly soon (after all, it's a decade old, and I'm not exactly easy on it), so I'm going to sink some money into completely overhauling and upgrading it in the coming months, but I can't really attribute most of that cost to failure or maintenance, as it's going to drive 10x better than it did when it was new (which was pretty damn good) when I'm done. Figure a couple hundred bucks for bushings and balljoints, and a few hundred more if I was putting new stock shocks/springs back on. Still under 2 grand ($200/year) in necessary work.

Would I buy one again? In a heartbeat. Most reliable and lowest cost of maintenance car I've ever dealt with in any fashion, and that includes the '88 Camry that my dad drove for 17 years. As to the OP's question, e46fanatics.com for e46 models and there's some coverage of e90/2/3 cars. Might check out e90post for late models though.

boostd4

If you're in the market for one, be sure you bring a flashlight on your test drive. Pop open the oil cap and have a look down in there. If it's slimy/milky/creamy, it may not be catastrophic, but they're not rare and I'd advise buying a different one.

If the car is only driven on short trips, and was owned in colder climates, the oil separators go on them and can cause bad damage. At first it sludges up the intake and head, eventually the separator clogs completely and the crankcase vapors have no where to go. When this happens, the pressure usually blows out the valve cover gaskets causing oil smoke out the tailpipe when sludgy oil gets forced past the valve seals or throught the intake manifold.

We've seen them get bad enough that they crack the valve cover/explode out the valve cover seal and start an engine fire.

Not to scare you, because this only happens to people who do all of these things at the same time:

1)Don't change their oil sooner than 15,000 miles (BMW maintanence schedule)
2)Only drive short distances and never let the car get up to operating temperature
3)Have the car parked outside in the really cold months.

The problem stems from moisture building up in the oil. This is normal for all cars that endure cold climates as the ice cold oil gets heated up rapidly when the engine is running, and same when shut off.

Under normal situations, regular operating oil temperature is about 220-225 degrees. Water boils at 212. If you drive 20 minutes, the oil heat will boil off all the water vapor in the oil. If you never get the oil temp up past 212F, the water vapor will condense and evenutally freeze. On M54's (98-2006 BMW 6 cylinders), it freezes in the seperator and separator hoses and clogs them.

There is an updated separator and hoses that have thermal wrapping so water can't freeze in them. With a hookup, the parts would cost you ~$300 and you'll never have to worry about it.

Lexicon1

Yeah, just like I am reading about your experience, on the internet. What is your point ? I am trying to learn what the reliability is for the E90 platform. My statement about reliability is based on the info from a Bimmerforums survey, which was recommended on this same thread.

boostd4

The point was that people don't post about their good experience, or how their car has had no problems.

The main focus of forums is to find solutions to problems and help other's out. Just like a dealership, only the BROKEN cars come in, so 99% of the things you read about on the internet are from the 10% of people that have issues.

Lexicon1

Boostd4,
I wont argue your point , I agree, people will share the typical kinds of problems you may be interested in finding out about before you buy that model.
Appreciate your comments.