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Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I uglied up my E46's roof this week. Thank god for the slick fixed-point crossbar anchors.




Also any PNW goons thinking about going to Burgers & BMWs at the XXX Burger in Issaquah this year? Usually worth at least a quick walk through.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 20:08 on May 5, 2019

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Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Premium has crept back up to over $4/gal in the Northwest and presumably most of the urban west coast. But if you’re buying an M3 gas prices should be the least of your concerns.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

More and more I just think I’ll hold on to my 330ci forever. It’s no M3 but it’s way cheaper and still a fun ride if you aren’t hitting the track.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Big Taint posted:

Do E46s go through ignition switches like E39s do?

Not that I've ever heard of. That's not really an item on any E46 watchlist I've seen.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

blk posted:

Ugh, I forgot about BMW's disposable cooling systems. Replacement looks like a pain in the rear end.

Radiator was last done 5 years ago, water pump 3 years ago. Time to replace again?

No they are probably fine.

Yes the cooling systems are a weak point and something to keep an eye on as a point of failure, but the internet completely blows it out of proportion. If you believed the internet you’d be replacing it on a biannual basis, which is just ridiculous.

My E46 M54 is almost 120k miles and it has had its water pump and hoses replaced once, recently after 100k miles.

Years ago I had an old Ford Taurus that had a shittier cooling system than that.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Jun 23, 2019

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Do newer BMWs not have fixed point mounts? Drilling the roof sounds terrible...

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Ohhhh right carbon roof.

Hilarious that the points are still there under it, and accessible by drilling. Kind of a dick move there, BMW.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Wrap it up, BMW.

loving hell.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Applebees Appetizer posted:

So I test drove the 135i, it was a nice car and it drove really good, but unfortunately it's a NY car and i just don't want to deal with the rust. Calipers were completely rusted and the rotors were toast, all rusted and pitted so at the very least it needed pads and rotors, possibly calipers if the bleeder screws were rusted shut. Underneath lots of suspension nuts and bolts rusted, and even under the hood there was rust. The owner mentioned he had to replace the loving oil pan because it had rusted through and was leaking. I know some of you think that's normal poo poo but not down here, the way I look at it is I live in Florida and should not have to deal with any rust at all, period. Too bad because if it was a FL car I would have bought it. And MAYBE possibly if he kept the original price he had at just under 7k I might have considered it, but then he raised the price on me to 8.4k so gently caress that.

I made the mistake of buying a Miata from Ohio once and vowed never again.

Good call. It's just not worth it. Once that crap starts it is just cancer that you'll be perpetually fighting but never actually cure. That poo poo is not normal no matter what New Englanders or Midwesterners say. Cars should last decades plural, not maybe one singular decade if you're lucky.

We've got cars from the 80s still getting daily driven around here in the PNW, especially old BMWs and Volvos.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I kind of like BMW’s leatherette :shrug:

It’s durable, zero maintenance, and cleans up exceptionally easily. Sure it’s not ultra supple leather, but it is a good material for an everyday car.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I recently found some new old stock Whispbar crossbars (now part of Yakima) for my e46 because the OEM ones are an older chunky style that sit really high off the roof. Been super pleased with them for under $200.

If your car uses the newer better looking OEM bars that’s a good option, though.

Other than T-slot stuff most attachments are pretty universal and will work on anything.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Well now I'm slightly terrified of every battery I have laying around.

Serious condolences, that's incredibly lovely.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

fknlo posted:

Lmao just got rear ended

gently caress man, goondolences

This is why we can't have nice things

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

If the Alpinas were a bit more mainstream and not ridiculously expensive niche, I could definitely see choosing an Alpina over an M for a daily driver/road trip car. They seem like pretty nice GT-oriented models, instead of track-oriented.

But the prices for what you get are nuts.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

The peak of BMW can be mathematically proven as 2000-2001 because at that time you could walk into a BMW dealership and have your choice of a brand new E46, E39, or E38.

:colbert:

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

beanieson posted:

Uhhhhh you forgot about the Z3 coupe

E which was apparently the E36/8 according to internets

In 2000 you could still buy a Z3 or even a Z8 at a dealership. And maybe even still find a leftover E31 on the lot.

And none of this goofy gran coupe or coupe-SUVs or FWD poo poo was available yet.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I love the rain sensing wipers on my e46, y’all are crazy. And I live in Seattle so we get all varieties of rain to deal with. They work great.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Adaptive lights are pretty sweet. They sound like a gimmick, and if you only do city driving they kind of are. But on some dark twisty rural roads you can see them working and it is cool and good.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

beanieson posted:

That Hyundai is a much better looking car

Except for those directional wheels with the spokes going the wrong way. Worst trend on modern cars.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

beanieson posted:

What bothers me about those is when they have all 4 wheels identical, so one side of the car has the spokes going the opposite direction. VW has been doing this with the GTI for a few years and I hate it.

Yeah exactly. Directional wheels are ok but only if you have two pairs that are mirror images, such that none are going the wrong way.

But that’s more complicated than just saying gently caress it and having them all be the same with 2 always going the wrong direction.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

BMW manual shifters have always been a bit of an acquired taste, along with typically heavy clutch pedals. They aren't bad, but they might not be what one would initially expect in a sporty car. They've never been the super tight snick-snick shifters with feather weight clutches like the good Mazda & Honda ones.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Diametunim posted:

Now to fix an oil leak.


The circle of E46 life is that you fix one oil leak just in time to find another.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I run a set of PS4Ss on my E46 effectively year-round in the PNW. I have a second set of wheels with snow tires as well, but I didn't even bother putting them on this year since we got nearly zero lowland snow this year -- and a few friends got new cars recently that are better to go skiing with.

They are completely fine for normal driving in our typical 40-and-raining "winters". This is my third or fourth set of Pilot Sport series tires on this car, and I'll keep buying them because they are simply the best. But once real snow & ice is on the ground abandon all hope.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Made it 220k miles without completely falling apart, that's pretty good!

At least the ad is fairly up front about the car and realistic about the price.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Ether Frenzy posted:

Seems like a good tradeoff, and this 'little to no rust' suggestion will come as a surprise to roughly 95% of states in the USA

Rust isn't too much of a concern outside of New England or the Midwest rust belt. More people live outside those areas than inside of them. California & Texas alone are huge and largely rust-free, plus the rest of the west coast, south west, south east are all pretty much rust-free. You don't have to live in a frozen salty hell hole to live in the US. Most people don't!

The Northwest is full of old BMWs, Volvos, VWs, Subarus, Hondas, and more. Bunch of "normal" folks drive around 20 year old cars as their daily drivers because they keep going. Rust is rarely the killer as much as just sheer age and decades of wear and tear.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Ether Frenzy posted:

I was just about to tell you to machine a better driver that won't crash your car this time

:vince:

Residency Evil posted:

I don't. Pre-pandemic, I took the train to work. Driving is awesome. Driving to commute in traffic is the worst.

Ya, driving is awesome, having to drive is the worst. Not driving to commute makes my life so much better, and those weekend and evenings drives that much more enjoyable since I haven't spent hours in the car per week already.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Keyser_Soze posted:

Those V8's are a nuclear land mine.

I hear the N63 has a whole basket of potential issues including oil consumption and rod bearing failure, and a new motor is on the order of $15k.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Jun 2, 2020

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Mr. Apollo posted:

You can see the slats that open and close behind the grille.

Until about 6 weeks after the warranty runs out

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

glyph posted:

It seems like the M54, no matter the state of disrepair and/or spit shine (someone ‘detailed’ the poo poo out of that car) won’t strand us. Barring the GDCS. Thoughts?

E: the more I’m thinking about this, the more I’m growing anxious about the GDCS.

If it's not actively leaking/failed, 250 miles isn't that far. But it is the most likely "stranded" scenario on an unknown car.

Otherwise the M54 is unlikely to strand you. Keep an eye on the oil level tho.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

The i3 interior is quite nice IMO and clever with space. It is a bit different than a standard BMW interior, though, since it is trying to be more "futuristic" and uses some different "eco" materials.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

I think the die hard sports coupe guys have all migrated to the 2 series, as the 3/4-series has gotten pretty fat since the old days. Big heavy 2-doors have always been pretty niche, since at that size/weight a 4-door makes more sense for most folks. If you're looking for an actual sporty car, the 2 is a much better choice.

But if that's cool with you, go nuts and snag a good deal on a 4.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 07:20 on Jun 5, 2020

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

i've never understood the purpose of the two door three series. yes let me make this practical sports sedan less practical in exchange for it uhhh uhh looking swoopier

Back in the E30-E46 days the overall small size of the car leant itself to a coupe format pretty well. The backseat was already small, so nixing the rear doors and focusing on the front seats made a certain amount of sense for folks looking for that sort of thing.

The E90/92 was kind of the awkward in between stage. But after the F30 and certainly with the G20 the 3-series is relatively enormous and the 2-series exists, I agree the 4-series feels like it has lost the point.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

AntherUslessPoster posted:

Non m3 two door e30s are two door sedans.

is this a joke about how bmw now calls things 4-door coupes

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

As a Michigan resident, I’m legally obligated to talk about Michigan insurance rates whenever insurance chat comes up. Michigan insurance is absurd.

Ah yes, the "it's no one's fault so therefore it's everyone's fault" model of liability, but not actually socialized.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

KillHour posted:

Edit:
Why the gently caress do old BMWs cost so much for insurance :psyduck:



They don't...



That's with full 250/500/100 liability, 250/500/100 underinsured, and low deductible comp & collision. I looked into raising the deductibles but it saves nearly zero. Maybe I should drop collision at this point, though...

And that's after it went up a bit after changing zip codes.

Quoting my existing policy on a 2009 135i actually goes down $9/6mo :lol:

Guinness fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Jun 13, 2020

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

MrOnBicycle posted:

Looks nice but the amber reflexes that are mandated in the US really are a crime against cars.

They are, but fortunately easily replaced and no one gives a poo poo

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

AFAIK the B-series motors are significantly less problematic than the N-series. They've been around for a bit now and seem to have a better reputation.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Residency Evil posted:

I get the impression that driving enthusiasts have moved on from buying new BMWs.

At least with the non-M cars, I think so. The regular 3-series is a lot less of a sporty driver's car than it used to be, and a lot larger.

It's still sharper and faster than most other comfortable, practical 4-door daily drivers so it still has that going for it, but it's a low bar. BMW sells a shitload of them though, I doubt they are lamenting the loss of the handful of purists.

But also I think, as usual, the most vocal internet enthusiasts aren't the ones buying new cars of any kind.

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Clayton Bigsby posted:

Do you guys not get the 330D over there?

We did get the F30 328/330 diesels, but BMW dropped them again with the G20.

Diesel is as dead as a door knob for everything except heavy duty trucks in the USA. It'll start happening in Europe, too, they just have a lot farther to fall there.

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Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Diesel just never caught on in the states for passenger vehicles due to a comical history of diesel gently caress ups tainting the reputation. Outside of niche fanboys nobody shed a tear when diesel cars disappeared. Makes no sense to spend the big bucks federalizing those niche models. It's like manual transmissions but even niche-er.

Diesels will die in Europe as stricter and stricter emissions regulations take effect. The roadmap is already in place. The only way they pass currently are Rube-Goldberg-esque filtration and urea injection systems, which the second, third, or fourth owner is definitely not maintaining out of warranty. And without those systems functioning they are sooty, stinky messes. Petrol won't be terribly far behind, but diesel will be the first casualty.

Regardless, I've never heard that BMW diesels are known for being highly reliable.

Guinness fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Jul 20, 2020

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