Part/maintainance Prices

[AdoreGSX]

I'm getting my girlfriend a 1996 bmw 328is, only thing is it has 150000 miles on it but its been taken care of to the point where its almost immaculate. Engine bay is still as clean as ever and it drives like a dream. What i'm worried about is maintainance costs and parts costs. Do a lot of things go wrong with these cars? How much are parts compared to other cars? I just replaced the thermostat and water pump because i had some overheating problems that just arose. She is 18 and has an average paying job. Will she be able to afford this car in the long run?

[drz]

Much will depend unpo the maintenance that the vehicle has received up to this point. Check out the FAQs for a listing of common E36 problems. In general, maintenance will be higher than for other cars. If she wants to get a car that she can drive without even thinking about maintenance, a BMW is very likely not the right vehicle, especially after 140k. They are great cars, and they are really not as expensive to maintain as many people think. That said, you should be ABLE to afford expensive repairs/service should they arise.

[jrhaile]

simple answer: if it was taken care of and you take care of it, it'll drive for another 150k miles no problem. gotta remember that certain things will need to be replaced including filters, o2 sensors, brakes, and other misc parts that just need to be done. first thing I would do after getting that car is replace the o2 sensors and have your idle control valve cleaned/reaplced. this seems to be a major problems with all e36s that you'll notice right away. also change all fluids inlcluding ATF and diff