discussion Is my BMW E90 N46 far gone?

[Sabretooth tiger]

Bud honestly based on your post on current financial situation stay away from BMW's until that improves. As much as certain BMW's are very reliable you do have to spend on maintenance from time to time and preferably with oem or good quality parts which can be costly.

You need a Toyota Corolla 160i GLE or something along those lines that are cheap as chips to maintain and super reliable.

Solid advice this

 

[Mr Krabs]

Bud honestly based on your post on current financial situation stay away from BMW's until that improves. As much as certain BMW's are very reliable you do have to spend on maintenance from time to time and preferably with oem or good quality parts which can be costly.

You need a Toyota Corolla 160i GLE or something along those lines that are cheap as chips to maintain and super reliable.

Thanks. We have considered options like a Suzuki or a Toyota, but the lack of run flats is a deal breaker for my parents. Run flats are beneficial for the roads my mother drives along. I found that on cheaper cars, there's no run flats?

 

[Mr Krabs]

I daily a tuned B48. 15 000km since the tune and the car is flawless. I just keep up with regular maintenance as in service every 10 000km and the car is now on 115 000km and never skips a beat. Get a well maintained car, and if its only had the BMW services immediately service it and again soon after. 20 000km service intervals has never been a good idea.

When you mean by immediately servicing it again. Do you mean an oil service or a full scope service and inspection? I saw a lot of F30s are under some sort of technicl campaign? Is that the airbag or the coolant one?

 

[Sabretooth tiger]

I'm fairly sure you can fit runflat tires to just about any car. Has things improved to the point you are able to maintain a out of plan BMW vs a Corolla added to the installment of the new car? For example. My gearbox service was around R8000 a year ago for example.

For my own peace of mind I serviced it again 5000 km after BMW did the 94 000km service before Motorplan expired. Regular services helps prevent sludge build up. You can take the VIN of any BMW to them and they can check for any outstanding campaigns on it.

 

[KPM3_30]

Thanks. We have considered options like a Suzuki or a Toyota, but the lack of run flats is a deal breaker for my parents. Run flats are beneficial for the roads my mother drives along. I found that on cheaper cars, there's no run flats?

So change the wheels to something that will support run-flat tyres..?

 

[Mr Krabs]

So change the wheels to something that will support run-flat tyres..?

From what I understand, run flats could only be put on a car with a working TPMS. The salesman for the cars we inquired, don't even know if it has. So yeah...

 

[Mr Krabs]

I'm fairly sure you can fit runflat tires to just about any car. Has things improved to the point you are able to maintain a out of plan BMW vs a Corolla added to the installment of the new car? For example. My gearbox service was around R8000 a year ago for example.

For my own peace of mind I serviced it again 5000 km after BMW did the 94 000km service before Motorplan expired. Regular services helps prevent sludge build up. You can take the VIN of any BMW to them and they can check for any outstanding campaigns on it.

When we inquired with BMW, they said they can only release service information and details about the campaign if the car is in our name. Which I find super strange. We just want to know what was done on the car. They cited POPI act.

 

[Mr Krabs]

I'm fairly sure you can fit runflat tires to just about any car. Has things improved to the point you are able to maintain a out of plan BMW vs a Corolla added to the installment of the new car? For example. My gearbox service was around R8000 a year ago for example.

For my own peace of mind I serviced it again 5000 km after BMW did the 94 000km service before Motorplan expired. Regular services helps prevent sludge build up. You can take the VIN of any BMW to them and they can check for any outstanding campaigns on it.

We currently have finance approval from the bank for around R6500 a month on a car. But I don't think we can afford to pay like 30-80k to fix a problem on a BMW, if it occurs frequently, like our E90 recently.

 

[KPM3_30]

From what I understand, run flats could only be put on a car with a working TPMS. The salesman for the cars we inquired, don't even know if it has. So yeah...

No such thing.. Always important to do your own research and draw your own conclusions. Then sense check them with the right people to make sure you're well informed.

Relying on someone that could quite possibly, know even less than you, is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Mr Krabs]

Car is back. No more smoke, and it runs well. Valvetronic motor was replaced under warranty, so that was a plus. Looking to plan the next year or few months to inspect and clean fuel injectors, and perhaps inspect/replace the control arms and engine mounts.