I have an appointment to leave my wife's 03 325xi for a tune-up this Thursday at my local independent shop. I have the parts (plugs, valve cover gasket, fuel and air filters) and syn oil change. Car only has 71K, so too early for the 4 02 sensors. Am I missing anything tune-up wise? The car is CPO until March 24th 2009, so water pump, thermo, etc... will wait until I see leakage and then have BMW change it. If the warranty passes and they are still showing no signs of leakage, I will still change them at our expense. It has the auto trans, so I plan on getting it flushed, along with the transfer case and differential next month.....
Brake fluid was changed by BMW in March. Coolant will be changed when I get the other coolant parts changed. No timing belt in this engine. Timing belts were last seen in the M20 engines. Drive belts were changed in January..........
I sure wish we could copy this link to the bmwcca website. KrisL from bimmerfest.com is a fantastic well of knowledge. E39Chris525i, please read this wiki. It will tell you all you need to know. http://www.bimmerfest.com/wiki/index.php?title=BMW_E46 The specific topic in question is this: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109846 It is very easy! In fact, you could do it yourself and save ~$80/hour!
It's a waste to change things like water pump and thermostat before they break, IMHO. If you are changing those things might as well do the fuel pump, fuel filter/regulator, alternator, radiator, mechanical fan, mechanical fan clutch and the battery as well. They can all leave you stranded. Oh and you need to carry an extra set of fuses, relays and a primary belt. You don't need to replace the A/C, P/S pump and P/S rack since the car should still be drivable upon failure.
Good one Eastwood! Actually, the power steering rack was changed by BMW under CPO warranty back in January
$198 total due...... Do you all think $198 in labor is a fair deal for a tune-up? I was thinking it would cost around $150 at most....................Or am I just whining and just bite the bullet that we drive BMW's and not some *%#@ Honda....
don't pay for labor. The tune-up is soooooo easy. It is all stuff that you can do in your driveway in a Saturday afternoon. Buy the parts, crack the hood, do the work, then crack some cold ones and enjoy!
Too late as the car is done already. I figure that I will buy a bentley and just read to learn. I can do oil changes at least
E39Chris, Did you read the links that I posted earlier? I think that if you purchase the Bentley and read it, you will be a little more confident and willing to tackle these types of things. They really are easy to do if you have minimal mechanical know-how and a few tools handy. Plus, you feel pretty good after its done knowing that you fixed your own car! AND you know it was done right and don't have to worry about shoddy worksmanship! Anyway, after its all said and done, I would say that $198 for a tune up is pretty close to fair. If you consider that it takes about 2-3 hours to finish all the work @ $80/hour...that's about right. Just think, next time you can save the $200 and buy something nice for yourself! HaHa
Yes I will go and buy the Bentley. However, the E39 525i and the E46 325xi both share the same M54, though the radiator and some other engine related parts are a bit different. For $200, I could buy over 2 hours of Jetski use in Key West
