330XI/325XI Maintenance-repair issues

[sjc57]

Hello all,

I'm considering purchasing my first beemer. Looking at 325 or 330 XI AWD with manual transmission. Probably 02 or 03 with around 70k miles on it. I drove one recently and loved how it drove and handled! However, I've heard from some people that they have had problems with many expensive repairs as these vehicles get up in mileage. I'd be curious to hear your personal experiences with maintenance and repair issues as well as anything I should be on the lookout for as I get closer to making a decision. Thanks very much!

[darkhorse737]

in all honesty, probably about the same as maintaining a late model Asian car; provided you have a mech you know you can trust and not have to rely on the dealers.

Parts abound on the internet for surprisingly about the same as any ole' car; or say 15% more due to import duty...

Technically a car is a car; be it a bimmer or the lowly tuk-tuk. All the hype that u see on commercial, read in the papers, or tech jargon that techs use are just there to make ur car"special" and sophisticated in some way... and that idea forms the basis for the dealers to squeeze that extra $ off ur wallet just because...(*whispering), it's a bimmer. hehehehe

Case in point: BMW uses "VANOS"... HONDA's version is "VTEC". In essence, the theory, the tech, and the engineering is the same.

...kinda like saying if you are too stuck up on a car because of the "roundel", and you need to run to the dealer to keep it running... YOU WILL BE SCREWED!

[sjc57]

Hey Darkhorse, Thanks for being the first one to reply. I appreciate it very much! SJC57