Hello All, I have 05 330Xi -CPO and had to take it to the dealer to take care of some issues. Here is the list of stuff that was changed 1.Replacing both front and lower control arms. 2.Wishbone right and left. 3.Set rubber mounting on wishbone. 4.Self locking Hex Nut. 5.Ball joint left and right. 6. Replace rubber mounts of both control arms. 7.Replace left front spring strut mount. My concern - Is it something usual on a car with 41,000 or should I go ahead and get the $1500 extended warranty to be safe for the next 2yrs on top of CPO. Thanks in advance for your advice and reply.
Those are pretty expensive components. E46 arms are like the price of a E30 parts car. I hope the dealer paid for all that minus the $50 deductible you shelled out, right? I would think that the previous owner didn't know how to drive and went over every pothole here on earth and the moon. Remember, this E46 is at the tail end of its life (1999-2005 with a few 2006's made). It is debugged. Your CPO is good for 6 years from the car in-service date (new, not when you got it as a CPO), so I am not sure why you are asking to get another 2 years after that (they don't offer that). Good luck with the car
Think about having the tranny serviced soon. Don't go to the dealer for that. They would rather give you a brand new M3 for free than change your fluid. They will tell you that you don't need to change it until 100K miles. Its not even part of the maintenance package (unless you have an M car). Good luck with the car.
Thanks for your reply Chris, Thank God these were covered under factory warranty. Not sure what would have happened if I had my warranty expired and car is on CPO, may be dealers treat this as wear and tear and not cover it in CPO. My Factory warranty is expiring next month, and my cpo is valid till 2010 or 100000miles whichever comes first, my question was if i should also get the $1500 extended warranty for next two years as i was told it will cover brake jobs and oil changes. Also wanted to make sure that this extended warranty will not nullify certain items in CPO coverage list. If i am confusing I apologize. thanks
Oh so what you mean is the extended maintenance plan. It all depends on certain things. We have the extended plan on my wife's xi but only because we purchased the car with it. Take $1500 that you would have to spend for the extended maintenance plan and put it in a high yield account (that won't go out of business-who knows in todays market ). They are asking $1500 from you for basically only 3 oil changes. Remember, BMW's maintenance plan calls for oil changes every 15,000 miles, which by the way is poppycock. 7,500 to 10,000 is the limit for synthetic oil. You can do that yourself and save. Buy a Bentley (repair book) and learn how to do basic maintenance (I should practice what I preach). Brake parts and labor should be no more than $600 all around if you take it to a BMW indy shop. They failed to mention to you that at 100,000 miles, they would change your 02 sensors and spark plugs. You also get a cabin filter and an air filter around 65-75K miles. They also will supply wiper blades too! If you don't have the time/space/tools to do most of the simply maintenance yourself, then either find an indy BMW shop and have them do the work or get the plan. Just remember even if you get the plan, have the oil changed in between BMW's ridiculous 15,000 oil change intervals.
Great explanation, i am new to BMW, but just love it. Great car to drive. So any suggestions or ideas on what need to be looked into before factory gets expired, i just want to take it to my dealer to check for any belts or any other small items before factory warranty goes away. Thanks Chris
One thing I've noted for those who are new to BMW. I know a lot of people who hate BMW because of maintenance. "Why did you get rid of your bimmer?", "Always having to fix things." This car is not a Honda. Most people want a Maintenance-Free, oil, gas, microwave car. This car must be maintained. It is what most enthusiasts expect and enjoy. I love to work on mine, it is much easier and straightforward than any modern American car I've seen. I just want you to know that the thrill of driving a great car like BMW has it's price. Enjoy.
It does the job . Your car is much easier to change the oil than the E39 or the E46. Took me so long to take out the cover and put it back with the low clearance in the E46 .
I'll just continue with the floor jack and stands. Changing the oil takes 10 minutes, besides allowing 45 mins for all the oil to drain. Getting the car lifted takes 15-20. It's like making cuts on the table saw, 45 mins prep and fine tuning the measurements, 15 seconds to make the actual cut.
Guys i am back again with some items that i got changed this week. Took my 3 series to the dealer for a check up before my factory warranty expires. Had 2 issues: 1. Changing speed from 65 to 80Mph car hesitates for a minute and then it goes, this is very obvious while driving. Dealer checked and couldn't find anything. Any ideas or recommendations? 2. Had a vibration in the steering wheels, dealer checked and found L/F axles leaking, and they replaced the following items.1. L/F Axle 2. Collar Nut and 3. RMFD-Output Shaft. Quite interesting to see these items going bad in a 3 yr old car. By the way i got this great car as a CPO. Thanks for your time and help in advance.
Automatic or manual? I am no mechanic, but a hesitation to me at high speeds could be either a tranny problem or a starvation of fuel. When exactly does the warranty expire?
I did take it to the dealer and they checked and reported as no issues. Factory Warrranty expired last week. Looks like a code upgrade on the transmission system might be required, not really sure.
I wish the dealer would have helped you out knowing that the warranty was about to expire. Try finding a BMW indy mechanic near you. Taking an out of warranty BMW to the stealer (unless you have money to burn) will cost you alot of cha-ching. Keep us in the loop.
