How many miles on a BMW without big repairs?

[C_Dogg]

OK guys, this is my first BMW. So far I love it. At what point can I expect to start putting in some serious cash for repairs? It's a 2001 330CiC with 18K on it now. I will be out of warranty soon and I'm trying to get a picture on what to expect in the future. I see some people here with cars that have high mileage. How high are they good for, and how much to maintain?
Tnx in advance.

[Celsdogg]

well i dont have an E46, but BMW says that you should be ablt go 100k with minimal maintence, mostly fluids, fliters, etc. . .

but i dont know, thas just what i hear!

[BMWTECH]

Hey C, Its a hard thought for how long it will last because it depends on how good its taken care of. I have seen over 400k on a E36 and a E28 before. So as far as mileage goes, it can last awhile.
As far as maintenance goes, it goes down hill after the warranty expires. Meaning that you have to start paying for stuff you never did. So any money invested to me is downhill. Brakes I have seen go from 12k mi to 46k mi. So that depends, well it all depends on how you drive and how good of shape you keep it in.

[Max Rockatansky]

After your factory BMW warranty expires, you can always look to an after market extended warranty if you are afraid of expensive repairs.

I just bought a '99 328i and purchased a 4 year/ 48K mile warranty. I bought the extended warranty from the garage that services all our cars. I hope I never have to use this warranty but should I have to, I'll be covered. Interesting that if you are on a trip, this extended warrty will cover a small amount of hotel expenses.

[BMWcruzer]

Hello...you have a 2001...so you still have PLENTY of warranty left. 4yr/50k miles. Also, if you just purchased your BMW...more than likely it is a CPO BMW meaning it has a BMW extended warranty to 100k miles full coverage. Call: 800-831-1117 chose "Automotive questions" and give the person the last 7 digits of the vin# and they can tell you EVERYTHING about your car from original MSRP to options and warranty!! THIS IS AWESOME...BEST WARRANTY BMW HAS!! If your car has 99,999.9 miles on it and your engine blows, for $50 you get a new engine! Yep thats right. If you dont have the CPO warranty...don't sweat...BMWs will last longer than any car I know of...if you treat them right! Have fun and hope you enjoy your car!!! YOU WILL! Ohh...DONT DETAIL THE ENGINE EVER!!! If BMW catches you doing so they will void warranty and charge you a ton to fix anything!

[Filehorse 525i]

For what it's worth, I had an '89 E30 (325i) and I put 174,000 on it before I sold it this summer. I kept the car maintained well and I never had a serious problem. Auto transmission was still crisp and tight; the engine still pulled strongly until the rev limiter woke me up and I never had the head, intake, or oil pan off the car - never needed to.

There is a big difference between driving a BMW hard and abusing a car. Drive it as hard as you want and if you keep it maintained, it will serve you well long after the warranty is only a memory. If you abuse a BMW for any length of time, you better have deep pockets.

Enjoy the ride.

[hotice318ti]

it's always good to have warranty 'til 100k

dunno about e46, i have e36 ti n i just did my inspection 2... i had to spend about 1200 ... well actually the inspection alone costs about 750 or so but they did other things like changing the breaks and bla bla bla... and it came out to be 1200..

i'm a student n now i'm broke feel guilty when parents paid 1/2 of the bill

[Celsdogg]

Originally posted by Filehorse 525i
For what it's worth, I had an '89 E30 (325i) and I put 174,000 on it before I sold it this summer. I kept the car maintained well and I never had a serious problem. Auto transmission was still crisp and tight; the engine still pulled strongly until the rev limiter woke me up and I never had the head, intake, or oil pan off the car - never needed to.

There is a big difference between driving a BMW hard and abusing a car. Drive it as hard as you want and if you keep it maintained, it will serve you well long after the warranty is only a memory. If you abuse a BMW for any length of time, you better have deep pockets.

Enjoy the ride.

why did you sell your e30? i plan on never selling mine, i love it too much.

[Filehorse 525i]

It was one of those rare opportunities where I could move up to a 2002 525i Sport/Luxury without the dreaded "car payments." I sold the 325i for $4500 and both the buyer and me got a good deal. I would have loved to have kept the E30 as a "project car" but a 3-car family with a 2-car garage -- the math just wouldn't add up. The really good news is that every time I get in my 525i, I'm continually amazed at how far BMW has come with their engineering and overall quality since I bought my original BMW in 1989. For sheer driving pleasure, I still think everyone else is jockying for 2nd place!!

[h0lden2000]

I just got a 1987 325i convertible with 212,000 miles on it, but it seems to run as if it has 50,000. I plan on this being my car for the next 10 years or more, doing whatever repairs/restoration is needed. The previous owner maintained this car well, but I'm wondering: does there inevitably come a time when an engine must be completely replaced (expensive), or if you take good care of it, can you count on just continuing to make repairs like valve jobs, etc without an entire engine replacement?

PS, this car rules so much...never knew how fun BMWs were to drive!

[EMAXX]

Like people said, it depends on how good you treat it. I've seen a few here with about 200,000k miles and they still run great. There are also a few teenagers here that run them to the ground and they only have like 50k miles and they are having problems.

[thehemi]

Almost any late model vehicle, cared for correctly,
should be able to handle 150K or more w/o issues.
Bread and butter cars should be able to near 200K.

[mj.dempsey]

i have 90k on my e46,,, just replaced spark plugs this week, first time... the car runs great, little jump in the idle from time to time

[BmrLv]

Originally Posted by h0lden2000

I just got a 1987 325i convertible with 212,000 miles on it, but it seems to run as if it has 50,000. I plan on this being my car for the next 10 years or more,
PS, this car rules so much...never knew how fun BMWs were to drive!

That's so cool....I did almost the same thing last October! I bought my first BMW. A 92 318iC (convertible). It had 135k on it. I couldn't believe I was shelling out 5 grand for a 12 year old car with that many miles. But I knew that I could count on BMW engineering. This car has been maintained and it drives like a million bucks. I've fallen in love with it and like you plan to do whatever it takes to keep it on the road. I enjoy it so much...I will most likely stay in the BMW family.
Cheers!

[ironman502]

Yeah, BMW's seem to be addictive. After driving my 325 for 3 weeks I had to put it away for winter, and I went back to driving my Dodge (4 cyl. auto). Man, that car felt boring like you would not believe. The smow is finally starting to melt again, and I can't wait to pull out the driving machine!