[mrichter]

Just bought a 2006 325i. Has 86000km (53 miles). Not a lot of service history included. Had it inspected and everything came back ok before purchase. Just wondering what i should be looking at first in terms of preventative maintenance. I can do a bit of my own work and am no stranger to BMW, however, after 4 X5's this os my first car...definitely a little different. Any help would be great.

Thanks!!

[Asianoak]

Well by not a lot of service history I'm assuming you mean actual paper records. I just bought an '07 and it was the same story. The first thing I always do with a BMW is bring the key down to the dealer and have them run in. They'll be able to tell what's been done by any dealerships during the warranty period since it is automatically saved to the vin information which they look up via the key fob. Next I got a carfax. With luck, any reputable repair shops and dealers will have reported any service they have done on the carfax although it typically won't list any details. Once you have the carfax it's simply a matter of making a few phone calls to determine what's been done out of warranty. Naturally this won't include any diy work but it gives you a great starting point.

In my case I was able to determine that all the fluids, filters and such were up to date. Tires had been replaced as well as wipers and brakes. And the all important lifter replacement had been performed. I was also able to get some great information on what had been recommended but NOT done... For example a cel caused by a radiator. In this case the warranty had just expired so previous owner declined to have radiator replaced. However, knowing this I was able to check out the vehicle thoroughly and determine that the radiator had indeed been replaced. I'm guessing the owner having been told his warranty was expired went ahead and paid an Indy to replace it.

Once you have some idea of history the next step is to search for known issues. The n52 is fairly reliable.

Off the top of my head things to look for in the next 10-30k miles would be:

Tranny fluid
Thermostat and water pump
Suspension bushings
Probably shocks and struts
Clean the Vanos solenoids
Clean the maf sensor
Do the inspection II
Brakes

Hope that helps.

[mrichter]

Yes very little paperwork.

Thats great information. Unfortunately in Canada with carproof, we dont get any mechanical information, only accident and estimate info. What is the 'all important lifter replacement?'. Is it a recall or warranty issue? I have an indy where i live called Dancia Motors...i have a service appointment with him next week. Ill have him check it all out.

Thanks for the great information.

[ctuna]

For a guideline google Mike Miller BMW
Download his old school maintenance schedule.
If you do half of what he does it will be twice as much
as what BMW does under the free maintenance program.
Most people here that do there own maintenance or
care about maintenance will do there oil at 7500 miles or
less and change out there lifetime fluids well before 100k.
(when they say fluids are uptodate you can drive several
cargo ships though that gap)

You can get a coding setup or one of the diagnostic apps
or programs like bmw logger or the new one bmwhat for your
phone. BMWhat allows you to reprogram some of the features
on your car .

The subforums on this site are highly useful

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16

http://www.e90post.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=378
The lifter replacement was probably for valve ticking see the sticky
at the top of the page.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13504

Water Pump and Thermostat are the most show stopping failures.
Next is leaky gaskets Valve Cover and Oil filter Housing gaskets.
Followed by Eccentric Camshaft Sensor and Vanos Solonoid.
All covered in the DIY section.

Also a low battery can cause some odd stuff to happen and the battery life is about 6 years. The car can turn some stuff off when
the battery starts to go bad rather than just not start.
You must inform the car it has a new battery when you change
it called registering the battery there endless threads on this.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.cGU&cad=rja

[mrichter]

When should the water pump and thermostat be changed? Is this a diy?

[techietaichi]

Originally Posted by mrichter

When should the water pump and thermostat be changed? Is this a diy?

If you have the tools, the time, the patience and the mechanical acumen, of course you can DIY it. There's lots of posts across the internet that can help you along.