Is the forum dead?

So is it dead? No more proud owners of these cars.

wow 8 views. i should become a local mode for this part of the forum. he he he he.

2002s still rate a monthly column and plenty of race and feature coverage in the BMW CCA magazine "Roundel".

there are brother, it isnt dead, I am here so are you, we can handle this, I dont think this is such an issue for us.

there are brother, it isnt dead, I am here so are you, we can handle this, I dont think this is such an issue for us.

Thanks for your message, you are correct as long as a moderator doesn't jump on us for answering "an old ((two years or more) thread"!

IMO the newer Bimmers have gotten too heavy and over-laden and -dependent on electronics. Consensus among "Roundel" (BMW Club magazine) columnists is growing that the E30 cars (the small, boxy 1984-91 3-series and M3) were the peak of the BMW experience, from the standpoints of reliability and owner self-service. They have electronics that are simple and often diagnosable with a paper clip.

Stock E36s, when autocrossed or run hard on a track, show a disconcerting tendency to have their rear axles rip free of the trunk floor. E46s are hard to service at home, my wife's 2004 325ic has the oil drain plug located DEAD CENTER under the engine block. With the low "Sport" suspension on her car, you really need a lift to get at it. And the newer M3s have an electric pump in the oil pan that is needed to get the last bit of old oil out; only dealers have the special electrical connector to activate the pump.

The rise of Asian luxury brands in the late '90s scared Mercedes-Benz and other European high-end manufacturers into putting lots of electronic capabilities of questionable value (and sometimes safety) into their cars. Just because you can put a new gadget into your product doesn't mean you should.