I was looking through the site and saw a thread about monthly costs for your bimmers and comparing them. I noticed that most of you had down about $200-500 maintenance a month on average.
I am currently goin to pick up a 95 316i Coupe. I have worked out other costs and such but am a little stuck to maintenance. I am only 19 and previous cars i have had have been fine, but they have been average cars.
I would like to know do you guys spend much on maintenance each month. Also do i have to take it to a bmw dealership to get checked each time, they are expensive. Can i pick up cheap parts elsewhere also (uk), cos bmw dealers charge alot where i live and order most parts that are on older models. What bout scrapyards etc, second hand parts.
Thanks for your time, i am just a little confused on that part.
BMWs are premium cars.... their parts/repairs/maint come at a premium price most of the time.
If you are stretched to met the cost of buying and insuring the car then you might be better looking at something more affordable until the time is right.
Otherwise you might be buying a 'cheap' BM which will be susceptable to problems which you won't be able to afford to repair... then what?
Do consider your options carefully. If you bought a different car to run for a year or two, you could save a bit of cash and then buy yourself a nice BM with a 'proper' engine in it. It would seriously be worth the wait
Thanks. That is a good point. I am only 19, but i can afford a nicer bm but wanted a 95 to lower the insurance. I was gonna pick up a 95 316i with about 100k milleage and have done a test drive and looked over it and seems a good buy and well looked after.
This would be the first bm i would own so i am a little unaware as to costs and such and being only 19, plus i would be very reliant on my car to get to work etc. Thanks for the info. Very much appreciated.
It really does depend on who you go to for the work to be done. You can make a BMW super cheap if you can work on it, or if you really know a good mechanic. Like I meet mine at church and I go chill at his house a lot, so I get good prices and we trade stuff for labor ect. But figure on something small being wrong every month. Now a lot of the things you can live with, but if your like me you can't stand anything mechanical being wrong with your car. I barely have a clear coat left (not my fault car was like that when I bought it) but mechanically it's almost perfect!! but since january i've spent almost $2,000 on the car. But that includes brakes, struts, cd changer, HU, belts and lots more. The car really needed maintiance thigns like most of those above when I got it.
You should get the car checked out regardless. The BMW dealership in town charged me $70 CDN to give it the "once over". They have some "be all end all" service check that is probably a standard bit of work. It was worth it for me. I got it checked out after I got my car, which in retrospect was probably a mistake, but luckily, it checked out OK.
I can't really speak to the monthly repairs since I've only driven my BMW about 250 kms in the last 2 months (since I got it), but I think the bulk of the monthly expense is probably the annual insurance costs /12, which for me is about $95. CDN / month, even when the car is sitting in the garage collecting dust.
:driving
Cheers for all the responses. Great information. Thanks for the faq part, just checked that out.
Well i do know a friend who is a mechanic and he said he would be able to fit parts and work on my car aswell (me i am not a mechanic). Other cost wise i am fine with, insurance, tax, mot, fuel etc etc and can afford to keep and run the bm. It was just the issue of if i pick up an older model (say 95-98 bm e36 type) would i just be looking at sticking it back into the garage each month.
I understand you get problems and such, you know the usual, which is fine, i just didnt want to have my car in the garge for the majority of each month, like with most ppl, but the average problems are fine. Also are actually getting the parts a problem or can you pick up 316 parts quite commonly.
I was told that most places order the parts in for the older models, which means waiting and such. Could you pick up a part elsewhere and cheaper is another question. Not sure where i would look.
Thanks leibniz, i will make sure i get my car checked out, definately worth it. And i will check around for different cars, not just get the first one i see and that.
Mr White G yea i agree about the 325 would be something sweet. I wont be goin below a 316, i will check out the 318iS and other 318's also. It was just the questions i asked above that concern me, other then that i would be fine with my car.
I have just read through that faq page you posted and realise that i should have said the problems i am worried about are mainly engine ones. Thats the big question, as in most older models, would i be looking at engine problems alot, say 100k mileage tops, i will be looking to buy under 100k mileage.
its funny, if you actually read the thread one what the money is spent on...very little is for repair. Most is for upgrades, insurance, gas, and wash.
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