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frozenphil posted:My 1998 328i. I'll take that krautmobile off your hands for ya  I do love the look of the E36 and I'm sure they're phenomenal to drive but I probably won't end up getting one in the immediate future, not until I get some other things taken care of. Once I do, it looks like finding an unmolested six-cylinder with a stick won't be all that easy 
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Mar 28, 2008 18:09
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3363 posted:This is going to be so difficult to find. A manual 1989-1991 325is in black or grey. I'd still go for an E21 but those are rare, probably more expensive to maintain, and cost a lot more to get them up to reasonable speeds. It took me nearly 2 years of searching to find mine. It had 135k, some maintenance records, and was all stock. $4,800 and I had to outbid someone to get it. Really nice ones are hard to find, but there are quite a few out there. Many need work. I put a new steering rack, clutch, and a bunch of little odds and ends on it. It has really paid off in being SUCH a nice car though. I've probably spent close to $1k getting it back to where it needs to be since I got it, but it needed a lot of little work because it had barely been driven. I'd say now the maintenance costs are just oil(I drive a TON), and I am buying summer wheels/tires for it. My next maintenance things are timing belt/waterpump/thermostat/cam seals/balbahlbahbl/fixing the AC. Then I'm going to get all new suspension/bushings. I'm saving my money.
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Mar 28, 2008 18:11
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Tab8715 posted:How much are you guys spending on maintenance? I'm curious to see how much you're putting into BMWs that have got ~200k. How often are they breaking down? I will post full records for my black, green, and white E36s. I have receipts for the gold one at home, but wasn't keeping digital records then. I don't have any documentation on the E30, as it was "her" car. http://www.miklm.com/upload/BMW_E36_92_325i_gre.pdf http://www.miklm.com/upload/BMW_E36_92_325is_bla.pdf http://www.miklm.com/upload/BMW_E36_96_328is_whi.pdf The last one won't tell you much, as I've only had the car for just over a month and haven't done anything major yet. The stuff without a date is just a shopping list. As far as breaking down, the only time I've had one towed was when the oil pump nut backed off the gold car, at Deal's Gap (~300 miles from home) in June '06.
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Mar 28, 2008 18:25
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miklm posted:As far as breaking down, the only time I've had one towed was when the oil pump nut backed off the gold car, at Deal's Gap (~300 miles from home) in June '06. I might be changing the oil pan gasket on my car in the near future (oh god), while I'm there is there anything I can do to keep this from happening? I know some people weld the nut on but that seems like overkill.
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Mar 28, 2008 18:28
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TractionControl posted:I'm pretty sure that is just because of the diff. As far as I am aware, and what I've heard, the gearboxes are identical. I could be wrong though. Most likely, just saying its overall as opposed to just one or two gears.
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Mar 28, 2008 18:30
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Luk3 posted:
What's that "special tool"? A 13mm socket and a hammer? That's all I see you need to "adjust" it, but you can't get any serious camber that way regardless. You can pick up maybe 1.5 degrees negative using the shim kit but you'll really want some camber plates to do it right (you could get in the range of -4 or -5 degrees using plates) On the E36, just look on the lower control arm at the bottom, there's an eccentric bolt there in a bushing and turning it will get you minimal camber adjustment (again, only about +-.5 deg)
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Mar 28, 2008 18:32
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:I might be changing the oil pan gasket on my car in the near future (oh god), while I'm there is there anything I can do to keep this from happening? I know some people weld the nut on but that seems like overkill. The obvious recommendation would be to replace the oil pump. Mine actually sheared off. Well, to be honest, I never saw it, I was covered up when it happened and just had it towed to the local shop. Vines sent up a new oil pump and they put it in. I think it was under $600 after parts & labor. It is a somewhat common issue, but I've never looked any further into it.
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Mar 28, 2008 18:40
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      That is all 
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Mar 28, 2008 19:20
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miklm posted:Parts: I have a 1997 M3 Sedan that currently has just under 160,000 miles on it. I've owned for two years now and it's been a great car all around. I've brought all of the maintenance up to date, including suspension and cooling system. The only things bothering me right now are the ride (Bilstein sport struts up front and I which I had gone Koni adjustable or OEM Sachs instead) and my door cars, which are working their way loose. Here are some pictures I took last week after my regularly scheduled Zaino application.   
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Mar 28, 2008 19:56
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I am the proud owner (along with the bank) of a 2002 M Coupe. I am currently in the process of turning it into a car that is only fit for the track, but I've gotten a bit behind on the "installing things" compared to the "buying things". Since the picture below was taken, I have installed coilovers, giving a drop of about 1.25 inch all round, replaced the yellowed headlights with new aftermarket projectors, changed the M gills to Z3 gills, and removed the badging on the rear end. There's a lot else done to it, but that's the only thing you'd be able to see, looking at it.
The Prong Song fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Mar 28, 2008 |
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Mar 28, 2008 20:03
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I'm currently looking at a very nice white '89 E30 M3 with 180k miles, everything original (no engine mods at all) except for drivers seat & upgraded bilsteins, with a very nicely maintained interior (no dash cracks.) No accidents, a few dings. Is that too many miles on a 19 year old car to make this a reasonable buy at $11500? It's got a new intake manifold, new air filter & new plugs and new tires, and the owner says he has a shitload of maintenance records from the 1st owner (he's the second.)  Anyone with any thoughts as to whether continuing to pursue this is a stupid move or not?
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Mar 28, 2008 20:07
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Ether Frenzy posted:I'm currently looking at a very nice white '89 E30 M3 with 180k miles, everything original (no engine mods at all) except for drivers seat & upgraded bilsteins, with a very nicely maintained interior (no dash cracks.) No accidents, a few dings. Is that too many miles on a 19 year old car to make this a reasonable buy at $11500? Is this going ot be your primary/only car/daily driver, or a weekend toy to keep in the garage? If the former, I couldn't advise going through with it, but that's a perfect example for the latter. I certainly doing think its ever going to go down in value unless you abuse it. You could enjoy that without worrying about putting a few miles on it. Also, that paint scheme (alpine white with M stripes) is what I plan on doing to my track car down the road. I love it, although most I see go across the hood/roof as well and to the opposite side. That's a neat effect just going up on fender. Are they mirrored on the right side?
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Mar 28, 2008 20:14
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Ether Frenzy posted:I'm currently looking at a very nice white '89 E30 M3 with 180k miles, everything original (no engine mods at all) except for drivers seat & upgraded bilsteins, with a very nicely maintained interior (no dash cracks.) No accidents, a few dings. Is that too many miles on a 19 year old car to make this a reasonable buy at $11500? 11.5? Buy it, buy it now.. go.. quickly.. fast.
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Mar 28, 2008 20:15
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frozenphil posted:
Mileage and is it for sale?
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Mar 28, 2008 20:23
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Scrubed posted:Mileage and is it for sale? 144k and yes it's for sale. I'm not actively trying to sell it, but if someone shows me the money it's theirs.
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Mar 28, 2008 20:26
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Whoring out? Consider me in.... My 325 TDS SE   It may have neither the economy or performance of new diesels but I've loved every mile I've put on it, I got it earlier this year for £1000. Just fitted to some E46 wheels, i'm going to sort the suspension out (it rolls like a ship full of whales) and maybe chip it. It had 136.5k on it when I got it and I've taken it up to 139k now, which is pretty low compared to most of the other ones I've seen on ebay. Fuel computer currently read 36.2 UK mpg average (30 US mpg), which seems a bit low, I'm not sure if perhaps there is something wrong with it or if I should just lay off the LOL pedal. Out of interest what mpg do you guys see out of your petrol models?
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Mar 28, 2008 21:06
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stump posted:Fuel computer currently read 36.2 UK mpg average (30 US mpg), which seems a bit low, I'm not sure if perhaps there is something wrong with it or if I should just lay off the LOL pedal. Out of interest what mpg do you guys see out of your petrol models? I run about 20 in town, and 26-27 on the highway with the 328is. I also need new oxygen sensors so that could be hurting my MPG too. The 325is did 25-26 no matter how I drove, but I've moved since and have a lot more stop and go driving now, which sucks and really kills the MPG. Some days when traffic is really bad I'd almost like an automatic. People here can't drive at all.
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Mar 28, 2008 21:22
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I posted these elsewhere, but I wanna post in here anyway! I'm convinced that this car is the epitome of perfection. Under $50k, anyway. If you've been thinking about getting Projector46s and don't already have factory xenons, I'd highly recommend it. I'd also recommend getting a kit to put HID bulbs in the factory fogs (assuming you have the M-Technic fogs and not the awful square ones). Also, if you're shopping for BMWs, BUY ONE WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. Seriously. These cars are a BLAST to drive and you miss out on half the fun if you're letting the car drive itself.
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Mar 28, 2008 21:25
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miklm posted:Is this going ot be your primary/only car/daily driver, or a weekend toy to keep in the garage? If the former, I couldn't advise going through with it, but that's a perfect example for the latter. I certainly doing think its ever going to go down in value unless you abuse it. You could enjoy that without worrying about putting a few miles on it. The paint scheme continues on the passenger rear quarter panel, midway between the B & C pillars. I really love how this car looks and drives (and all the mechanical details seem pretty solid so far.) It would be as a track toy/3rd vehicle/occasional 10 mile drive to work. My main hesitation is that I'm lacking in garage space to keep it (Which is kind of a drag, because this car needs garage love but I don't really have a slot to swap out, unless I banish my wife (MY WIFE) to the street which I'm sure will go over just smashing.) Ugh. I'm kicking myself to go ahead and pull the trigger, but I'm also quietly tabulating the cons in my head also. Stupid parents, teaching me to make reasoned decisions.   The guy takes lousy cellcam photos for showing this car off (which is why it hasn't been snaffled up yet, I'm thinking) 
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Mar 28, 2008 21:29
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stump posted:Fuel computer currently read 36.2 UK mpg average (30 US mpg), which seems a bit low, I'm not sure if perhaps there is something wrong with it or if I should just lay off the LOL pedal. Out of interest what mpg do you guys see out of your petrol models? I get about 24-25 combined city/highway, if I keep it on the highway I get 32+ easily if I do 60-70. Which I never do. I get 26-27 mpg at a steady 80mph.
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Mar 28, 2008 21:33
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miklm posted:What's that "special tool"? A 13mm socket and a hammer? That's all I see you need to "adjust" it, but you can't get any serious camber that way regardless. I don't know, I'm not sure where I would look up that number. Also, forget everything I said, I'm a moron. I misread it to say that you could adjust it by 5 degrees either direction, not 0.5. After getting all excited about this I may go through with the camber plates though. That seems like a pretty straight forward alternative.
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Mar 28, 2008 21:33
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stump posted:Fuel computer currently read 36.2 UK mpg average (30 US mpg), which seems a bit low, I'm not sure if perhaps there is something wrong with it or if I should just lay off the LOL pedal. Out of interest what mpg do you guys see out of your petrol models? I get around 21-22mpg with 50/50 stop and go/highway at 70-80mph. I had been getting less than 18mpg before I changed my O2 sensor. This is a '92 325is so it's a Non-Vanos. As I understand it Vanos increased fuel economy by 1-2mpg.
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Mar 28, 2008 21:52
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frozenphil posted:Owning a BMW is like owning any other car. You get used to people cutting you off and not letting you merge because you're an rear end in a top hat in a BMW. I can't overstate this effect - the difference from driving a beige Maxima to my Bimmer is night and day. Nobody lets me into traffic anymore and it seems like more people speed up to block me out of a space in traffic. People just assume you're a jackass and treat you as such.
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Mar 28, 2008 22:59
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miklm posted:First post slightly updated; thanks Mad Dragon for the additional E codes. I just copied the info from another site and it was obviously a few years old. Included 1-series, and MINIs as acceptable thread fodder. If you want to know almost every E code ever, look here: http://tinyurl.com/7m3od It doesn't cover a lot of the newer cars, but the classics are in there.
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Mar 28, 2008 23:08
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VacaGrande posted:I can't overstate this effect - the difference from driving a beige Maxima to my Bimmer is night and day. Nobody lets me into traffic anymore and it seems like more people speed up to block me out of a space in traffic. People just assume you're a jackass and treat you as such.
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Mar 28, 2008 23:09
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QUESTION: Yeah, I put that in all caps. I'm in the market for a replacement daily driver. So I noticed there are three types of BMWs for sale: a)New BMWs b)Used BMWs with less than 65,000 miles on them c)Used BMWs with more than 143,000 miles on them I think someone who doesn't have any kids or grandkids of driving age has to die for thier BMW with 66,000-143,000 miles on it to go on the market. Are BMWs just so reliable that people refuse to sell them until they hit 144,000 miles? What happens at 144K that causes people to sell so quickly? I remember the magic number for old RX-7s was 189K as the apex seals were always about ready to blow. I noticed a few posts up that someone keeps smashing up their cars and buying BMWs with 144,000 miles and has no problems with them. Is it pretty common to drive these 144K BMWs till they die/get too expensive to maintain? It sounds like that magic number floats between 220,000 and 250,000 miles. It's a little frightening to see another 12 year old 3 series for $7,000 with 172,000 miles on it on craigslist every three days or so. *somebody* has to be buying these cars... Is a 145,000 mile 1997 BMW a safe bet for a daily driver? What major expenses will I see between 145 and 220K miles? Any links to other excellent "So you wanna buy a beater bimmer" threads? Hadlock fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Mar 29, 2008 |
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Mar 29, 2008 00:30
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Hadlock posted:QUESTION: Those cars sound extremely expensive. For comparison I snagged a 97 540i6 with full records and 75,000 miles for $12k USD when the CAD was higher than the USD. The only cars that should be around that price are E36 M3s (100k~), E46s (100k~). Yes a lot of them are not let go until 100k+ but I would try to keep it under there, and I would never buy a BMW without full service records. COOLING SYSTEM MUST BE REPLACED ALREADY. Never forget that. You can find good guides on Bimmerforums or the like, and use autotrader/craigslist/ebay to find some median prices. The BMW forums also have decent cars once in a while, but most of them are going to be very expensive in my opinion.
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Mar 29, 2008 00:40
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Kruzen posted:
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Mar 29, 2008 00:48
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Xenoid posted:COOLING SYSTEM MUST BE REPLACED ALREADY. Never forget that. Beyond a certain few models, that's not universally true. The E30 didn't really have cooling issues, but the timing belts need attention at about the same interval. The main cars with cooling issues are E36, but that's also possibly the most common BMW being purchased by enthusiasts on the cheap these days so you hear about it the most. Just throwing that out...
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Mar 29, 2008 00:48
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My first exposure... I swore I'd never buy a BMW until I was in the market for my first sports car. After 6 months of searching (I'm terribly OCD with cars), I found my baby. I think this car is the best bang for the buck at almost any price range. Couple it's general awesomeness with the 4yr, 50k pay-for-nothing warranty, and you have EPIC WIN. I love it and would only get rid of it for an M6 or 1989 930 turbo. That's not happening anytime soon. Here's a pic:
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Mar 29, 2008 02:24
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miklm posted:Beyond a certain few models, that's not universally true. The E30 didn't really have cooling issues, but the timing belts need attention at about the same interval. The main cars with cooling issues are E36, but that's also possibly the most common BMW being purchased by enthusiasts on the cheap these days so you hear about it the most. What the hell is so bad about the E36 cooling system?
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Mar 29, 2008 02:37
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Hadlock posted:What the hell is so bad about the E36 cooling system? Up until about 96, all the water pumps were made with plastic impellers, which destroy themselves at 50-80k. The mechanical fans like to break over time, sending fan blades into the hoses and/or radiator. Radiators necks tend to break, most likely by 100k.
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Mar 29, 2008 03:03
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I got off my lazy arse and reuploaded all the pictures from my threads back in the day. If you like destroyed BMW's getting repaired then the link below is for you, theres also a mini limo and a mclaren F1 or something, enjoy. http://diz.mcmonkey.net/index.php?cat=3
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Mar 29, 2008 03:17
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BraveUlysses posted:Up until about 96, all the water pumps were made with plastic impellers, which destroy themselves at 50-80k. The mechanical fans like to break over time, sending fan blades into the hoses and/or radiator. Radiators necks tend to break, most likely by 100k. The coolant overflow/reservoir is a plastic bottle that will eventually break. Some of the thermostat housings were made of plastic. Basically, if you just budget $350 to buy the whole kit and replace everything soon after acquiring your E36, you'll never have a cooling problem.
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Mar 29, 2008 03:19
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DiZ posted:and a mclaren F1 or something, enjoy. What's that, some Ferrari with a body kit? Why is it in a BMW shop?
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Mar 29, 2008 03:40
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miklm posted:What's that, some Ferrari with a body kit? Why is it in a BMW shop? MR2 with a ferrari kit that has a another kit over that.
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Mar 29, 2008 03:48
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VacaGrande posted:I can't overstate this effect - the difference from driving a beige Maxima to my Bimmer is night and day. Nobody lets me into traffic anymore and it seems like more people speed up to block me out of a space in traffic. People just assume you're a jackass and treat you as such. I've had a somewhat different reaction. I just got a 2001 330Ci (need to make a post soon), switched from a LS400, and I almost feel like I get treated like a cop. I do a lot of night driving, and i see people slowing down around me, or holding off their speeds. Not sure exactly what the deal is, if people are worried about accidents with expensive cars, or this is just normal and I was used to something different. Either way, there's definitely something different. (Although occasionally I had that feeling in the lexus, that people thought I was a cop). Also, maybe this makes a difference, I'm driving a white car now versus a silver car.
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Mar 29, 2008 03:54
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miklm posted:The coolant overflow/reservoir is a plastic bottle that will eventually break. Some of the thermostat housings were made of plastic.... Quick Cooling question: I've got a 110k 94' 325i that has a small cooling issue. I used to leave a small puddle of coolant in my parking spot every once in awhile - really small like a few ounces. I started noticing this right after I did a coolant flush a month ago. So I figure I have a leaky hose or something. But then the puddles went away, and my "check coolant level" thing started flashing. I topped it off with some extra water/coolant and then the puddles came back for a week. Then they stopped and my check coolant light came back on. Any theories? I took a picture under the car and noticed GREEN coolant. My coolant used to be green but is now BLUE:  Also do any e36 owners have any coolant bleeding techniques?
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Mar 29, 2008 12:20
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People posted:20-27 mpg
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Mar 29, 2008 12:57
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snowsrfr posted:Couple it's general awesomeness with the 4yr, 50k pay-for-nothing warranty, and you have EPIC WIN. The car is awesome, but please do not go 15k miles between oil changes like BMW thinks is appropriate. They're insane unless your driving is all 55mph steady at 2500rpm. Get it changed at least every 7,500 miles. BMW won't pay for it but it's worth it for the life of your engine. My local German car repair/race prep shop tells me stories about the horrors they see in late model BMWs after years of 15k-mile oil changes.
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Mar 29, 2008 16:42
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