When Nancy and I decided to sign on the dotted line for our first BMW a couple of years ago, little did we know that I would lose my job a couple of weeks later! It has been a very tough time since then but, recently, I've fallen into a well-paying job and after catching up on all the bills, decided to join THE club. Do not doubt me when I state emphatically that our 328xi is the best car we have ever owned and it was tough there for a while but a couple of lucky breaks and we still own our '08 with pride. It was pristine when we took possession and when it comes out of the shop later today, it will be as close to showroom as we could hope but for a couple of road chips that I agonize over as you can all understand. My biggest concern is nomenclature. It's a "Three Series" but, much to my dismay, this knowledge is not enough and the more I attempt to research the proper terminology the more frustrated I become. Is there a way on this sight that I can get to know my black beauty better? I appreciate your toleration of my ignorance in advance. I look forward to learning how to make our B'mer all the more enjoyable as we rack up the miles over the coming years...that is if we don't trade up, but don't tell our black beauty that! We want to make 'improvements' but with a lack of proper model nomenclature it is tough to take her where we want to go. A great, big and joyful "Hello" to all who have bothered to read!
Welcome to the club and forums first off! If you need any info on your vehicle please just ask we have quite a few members who will help out including myself. Not sure what info your exactly looking for?
Welcome to the club & forums, & congrats on hanging in there through whatever trials and tribulations you may have suffered. http://www.bmwarchive.org/e-code/ http://burgertuning.com/BMW_chassis_codes.html If you're deciphering the trunk badging, it's safe to say with BMW there's always been a bit of, uh, 'interpretive flex' - obviously you have a 3 series, which is the '3' of your 328xi; the 28 is approximate engine displacement (2.8 liters, roundabouts), the x is for the all-wheel-drive system, and the 'i' is the German word for fuel injection. Your chassis designation is an E90 (3-series 4dr sedans from 2005-2011). Your engine is the N52, specifically the N52B30. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_N52
The wife came home from the shop with a brand new valve cover gasket and was tickled to death! No more oily smell radiating through the cabin and the gratification that our engine is now tight as can be is a blessing worthy of note. Thanks to you all for your kind comments and after posting yesterday, and waiting for my two wives to come home from the shop, I did stumble about a bit and can honestly say that I'm impressed with the amount of info and camaraderie existing throughout the site. I look forward to learning more. I can state that the wife, as well, is excited at the opportunity to meet other mothers of BMW's over time. To achieve this...this site for the club is a great start and can't thank you folks enough for helping us feel welcome. Is there a way for the wife to become active here with her own contact info through our shared membership? On a side-note, I look forward to running into other owners out on the road and appreciative smiles and nods are shared unabashedly. To be able to share the appreciation at events would be all the more gratifying. I suppose that the magazine will be helpful beyond measure concerning this item of concern for us...meeting and getting to know others who share our passions for the greatest badge to ever grace the hood of a car. We want our car to be as impeccable as the club that represents it. With your assistance down the road, I feel nothing but confidence concerning this matter.
Thanks, M...your prowess on this site was obvious to me after wandering about the forums the past two days. Your first paragraph was already noted by myself over the course of my love affair with automobiles. It was the last sentence that caught my attention and is the reason for my original posting so, for that I thank you! The E90 and N52 will be ingrained into my psyche until replaced by something more...substantial...say an "M"?
Find your local chapter here: https://www.bmwcca.org/chapterfinder - then, check out their website, and social media options, such as chapter facebook page, etc., to figure out what's happening in your area and connect with local members & events. Your chapter's website may have it's most-recent chapter newsletter available to download as a .pdf file. Not sure about forum registration for associate members - if associate members get their own membership number, presumably that could be used for individual access to the 'CCA site/forums/etc. - if no membership number, I'm not sure what the setup is for forum access.
In UK and European parlance, the 3-series is often referred to as a 3'er. ("three'er") Welcome and good luck with your car.
