5 yr old beemer

[ryanchaw]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

You guys were emphasing on the importance of a good mechanic to check the car condition ( to match its mileage).

Can someone recommend some good mechanics?

Or send them to VICOM or STA?

 

[niteblu]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

You guys were emphasing on the importance of a good mechanic to check the car condition ( to match its mileage).

Can someone recommend some good mechanics?

Or send them to VICOM or STA?

I'd give VICOM & STA a miss.
They generally won't fail a car unless it's completely langah'ed.
Or if they don't like the workshop.

Drop by and visit Rodney, R2D @ Bukit Batok
You won't get anything less than an honest well informed technical opinion.


0.02c

 

[ryanchaw]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

What type of criteria will you decided when buying a pre-owned car?

Assumption: Driving it for 3-4 more years after that.

1. Mileage
2. Colour
3.additional Accesories like 19"sports rim, Bodykit etc..
4. Age of the car
5. Other concerns ( feel free to list them)

If you are to list them ( most important one first), how will you list it?

My choice:

mileage ( need to be relative low ~< 10000 - 15000km /year)
colour (personal choice of wanting a WHITE one)
accessories (having larger rims and bodykit is a bonus but not a must)
and then the age of car ( cannot be too old due to decreasing PARF rebate after 5 years).

What do you guys think?

 

[ac323]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Hi ryan,

mileage (most important)

cheers

 

[Terry]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

mileage dont matter... it can be resetted easily for about 600 bucks.. even the newer E60s E65s E90s...all can be resetted no problem...

check for signs of wear and tear..undercarriage... leaks... gearbox....gaskets... alot of important that numbers on that odometer

 

[ac323]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Hi Terry,

oh i see...thanks for that info.......

cheers

 

[vd383]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

i just sold my 4.5 yr old 645ci.
about 55oookm
had it for a year only but absolutely problem free...... only once did i get an 'active steering' fail message which cleared after an engine restart.

 

[icta]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

mileage dont matter... it can be resetted easily for about 600 bucks.. even the newer E60s E65s E90s...all can be resetted no problem...

check for signs of wear and tear..undercarriage... leaks... gearbox....gaskets... alot of important that numbers on that odometer

Most of the time, the problem is the dealer polish and clean the car up until super shiny. Unless you are a trained mechanic....really can't find fault....:roll:

Any advice?

 

[Terry]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Most of the time, the problem is the dealer polish and clean the car up until super shiny. Unless you are a trained mechanic....really can't find fault....:roll:

Any advice?

undercarriage.... check for damages.. well put it this way...if a trained mechanic cannot even see anything is wrong ( even if theres anything wrong ) its good to go

 

[icta]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

undercarriage.... check for damages.. well put it this way...if a trained mechanic cannot even see anything is wrong ( even if theres anything wrong ) its good to go

OK. Just a question. How is this check normally done e.g. do we ask the second hand car dealer to drive the car to the designated workshop or we drive down ourselves or what?

 

[btan]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Just to share my experience, I bought a '04 525 which was abt 3 yrs old with approx 30k on the clock 2 years ago. After I changed the tyres, it felt like new and with the inline 6 purring, I crowed with satisfaction as I bought it at nearly half the price of a new car. Before I purchased it, I sent it to my mechanic who gave it a thorough inspection including the undercarriage on hydraulics. Actually this was the third car I sent to him as the first two 523s did not pass his inspection with problems like oil seals leaks, rough idling or suspect collisions i.e poor bodywork or uneven panels. My mechanic advised me to buy a 525 against a 520 or 523 as the 525 is the base model in Europe and a 523 is detuned with some parts changed for the SG market. As an offshoot model, this may give rise to more problems compared to the 525. I also tried the 520 and felt that it could not move my fat butt.

So it's totally stock car and todate I installed bodykit and front strut tower bars on it. Wheels are still OEM 17" although I have been tempted many times to plonk for 19" Breyton wheels. Then not long ago, the onboard cpu gave me the active steering error msg...I think some of you know what this means. For some, just changing the sensor solves the problem...but no such luck for me, I nearly fainted when my mechanic advised that it needed steering column replacement. It did not come cheap but I had no choice as I did not wish to risk hitting a tree on a corner as the steering was bloody heavy. Also changed undercarriage bushings at the same time to add more points to my Krisflyer miles. The car is now very quiet running and I also banished the common door creakings with a splash of sillicon. Fuel economy average 9km per litre...dun know if other bros' cars can do better. Mileage is now 56K and unless I strike Toto, I intend to drive it until the wheels drop off. i tried to persuade my boss to provide me a company car but he was too crafty and denied me. Instead he spends company budget on a XC90 to justify his own fat butt. Hopefully I will not have too many problems with it else I will have to beg my wife to lend me her IS250 instead...I can see the smirk on her face already.

 

[icta]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Just to share my experience, I bought a '04 525 which was abt 3 yrs old with approx 30k on the clock 2 years ago. After I changed the tyres, it felt like new and with the inline 6 purring, I crowed with satisfaction as I bought it at nearly half the price of a new car. Before I purchased it, I sent it to my mechanic who gave it a thorough inspection including the undercarriage on hydraulics. Actually this was the third car I sent to him as the first two 523s did not pass his inspection with problems like oil seals leaks, rough idling or suspect collisions i.e poor bodywork or uneven panels. My mechanic advised me to buy a 525 against a 520 or 523 as the 525 is the base model in Europe and a 523 is detuned with some parts changed for the SG market. As an offshoot model, this may give rise to more problems compared to the 525. I also tried the 520 and felt that it could not move my fat butt.

So it's totally stock car and todate I installed bodykit and front strut tower bars on it. Wheels are still OEM 17" although I have been tempted many times to plonk for 19" Breyton wheels. Then not long ago, the onboard cpu gave me the active steering error msg...I think some of you know what this means. For some, just changing the sensor solves the problem...but no such luck for me, I nearly fainted when my mechanic advised that it needed steering column replacement. It did not come cheap but I had no choice as I did not wish to risk hitting a tree on a corner as the steering was bloody heavy. Also changed undercarriage bushings at the same time to add more points to my Krisflyer miles. The car is now very quiet running and I also banished the common door creakings with a splash of sillicon. Fuel economy average 9km per litre...dun know if other bros' cars can do better. Mileage is now 56K and unless I strike Toto, I intend to drive it until the wheels drop off. i tried to persuade my boss to provide me a company car but he was too crafty and denied me. Instead he spends company budget on a XC90 to justify his own fat butt. Hopefully I will not have too many problems with it else I will have to beg my wife to lend me her IS250 instead...I can see the smirk on her face already.

can share how much the steering column replcement cost?

 

[AC Schnitzer]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

My mother used to have a FL E46 320 sedan. Drove it for 6 yrs. Mileage about 44,000km ++

Problems were window regulators.

When it was sold, I suspect the bushes were worn.

That's about it.

My 2004 E46 M3, 44,500km going strong no problems. Touch wood x 10.

 

[roger77]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

do u mean u got a active steering error? suddenly power steering was gone? i encountered this b4, but after driving on the road for a while, the prob disappeared....hmmm...will it come back again? btw, hw much was the damage? tks.

 

[btan]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

do u mean u got a active steering error? suddenly power steering was gone? i encountered this b4, but after driving on the road for a while, the prob disappeared....hmmm...will it come back again? btw, hw much was the damage? tks.

Yes, usually it's the sensor which you can fix quite easily. I think the bill size for replacing the steering was about $4k. Somebody in the forum said that replacement of gear box was even more....can't quite remember how much...was it $15K? I did look up various other forums (E60) and realized that it was not such an uncommon problem. Sometimes it goes away after a while but for me, it came back intermittently so I decided to go ahead with the change. Obviously the active steering will conk out and cause this problem eventually. BMW knows this...that's why they have this part in their inventory.

 

[roger77]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Yes, usually it's the sensor which you can fix quite easily. I think the bill size for replacing the steering was about $4k. Somebody in the forum said that replacement of gear box was even more....can't quite remember how much...was it $15K? I did look up various other forums (E60) and realized that it was not such an uncommon problem. Sometimes it goes away after a while but for me, it came back intermittently so I decided to go ahead with the change. Obviously the active steering will conk out and cause this problem eventually. BMW knows this...that's why they have this part in their inventory.

$4k!! tats scary! u mean the whole steering rack?? how abt if just the sensor?

 

[btan]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

$4k!! tats scary! u mean the whole steering rack?? how abt if just the sensor?

Probably approx $1k but if it doesn't solve your problem, then you've no choice but to change the steering wheel column. In any case, it should last for another 4-5 years unless you have ass luck. Having said that, I do not recall any of the Jap cars I owned having this problem. With new technologies (active steering), you also have more problems and BMW car parts do not cost peanuts.

 

[AC Schnitzer]

Re: 5 yr old beemer

Parts and accessories from PML will naturally be expensive.

Try getting a quote from PML on the cost of parts required and compare them to Tischer BMW parts.

They sell OEM BMW parts.

Steering Column: getBMWparts.com powered by Tischer BMW - Your #1 Source for all OEM BMW Parts/Accessories!

Ordered a fuel pump from them. Took about 1 week or so to arrive from the US.

 

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