[RogeM3]

Great story, thanks for sharing! do you have more pics of the car, outside and inside?

Thanks!

[spacemonkey1112]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Why not just buy the Bentley service manual? It has all the information you need. I racked up almost 100,000 miles before the Bentley even was published in 2009/10, so I went to the BMW TIS site and reviewed and downloaded a lot of E90 service information. Basically the CBS tells you when to do service. Everything else is at 100,000 mile intervals as stated elsewhere in this thread. Or you could read the owners manual like I did.

thanks, i'll go ahead and look into that!

[Desert_Fox]

Awesome story, thank you for sharing! I don't think my e93 will make it to 200k, but then again my car has a more unstable motor and a retractable roof. This proves the NA I6's are bulletproof.

[demontwinz]

thanks for sharing. if this was a 335i .. i'd be super hopeful

[Straightbimming35]

160 mile commute must be crazy! Congrats!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Straightbimming35

160 mile commute must be crazy! Congrats!

It's actually pretty awesome because I get to drive on roads meant for a BMW. Great stress relief.

[pruettfan]

I'm at 150,000 miles on my 06 330I. It has held up far better than my Nissan Murano that has less miles and has been driven far easier. I am shooting for 250,000 miles so we shall she in a few years. I drive about 30,000 miles a year these days.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Well on an E92 you've got me beat in miles per year I'd say. Good luck to you.

As far as lifts go, I have a Rotary SPOA10, which is a 10,000 pound, asymetrical two-post lift. My advice is go with a commerical-brand, American-made, ALI (American Lift Institute) certified lift. You need a 12-foot ceiling height for a standard auto lift like mine, but they have lower ones as well. Worth EVERY penny. I paid $3,500 for it installed back in 2004. I found a local distributor who had them in stock.

I found the dealer by asking a local Indy shop where they got their lifts from. Funny thing was the lift dealer was right across the street from the Indy.

Thanks for the info!

[SniffyMcPropane]

NICE!! way to go! I have an e90 and I enjoy taking it on the MD back roads!! Wishing you many more miles with your e90!

[hickoryE92]

"My last BMW was a 1989 E30 that I took to 250,000."

Sorry if this is a repeat post, I didnt read all the pages but the e30 is my favorite BMW... do you have any pics of it?

One day I want to get my hands on an E30 M3.

[Dozhdbog]

Originally Posted by hickoryE92

"My last BMW was a 1989 E30 that I took to 250,000."

Sorry if this is a repeat post, I didnt read all the pages but the e30 is my favorite BMW... do you have any pics of it?

One day I want to get my hands on an E30 M3.

Whilst shooting for a spot involving an Audi R8 at Willow Springs, I got to park next to this beauty.



Later on I chatted with the fellow who owned it. Very nice guy. He helped run a BMW racing school or something.

[uscdigital]

I just bought a pretty dinged up 07 328i and this story makes me feel like I made a good DD decision. Grats on the 200k, OP.

[Sara504]

Amazing

[hickoryE92]

Originally Posted by Dozhdbog

Whilst shooting for a spot involving an Audi R8 at Willow Springs, I got to park next to this beauty.



Later on I chatted with the fellow who owned it. Very nice guy. He helped run a BMW racing school or something.

that is absolutely gorgeous... such a beautiful machine.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by hickoryE92

"My last BMW was a 1989 E30 that I took to 250,000."

Sorry if this is a repeat post, I didnt read all the pages but the e30 is my favorite BMW... do you have any pics of it?

One day I want to get my hands on an E30 M3.

This was it at 256K when I sold it.

In hindsight I should have kept it. But the issue is where I live, if you don't drive a car regularly, the varmints move into it and tear it up right quick. After you've owned a car since brand new, even one that is now classic, for 18 years and 250,000 it is nice to have a change. When I got my brand new E90 back in May 2006, I was like a kid with a new toy and just never stopped playing with it, so I knew the E30 was going to sit and rot; and back then I didn’t know I was going to start racking up 33K a year on the E90.

I sold the E30 to my neighbor across the street (so it was close by at least), but he let it deteriorate by not taking it to a BMW trained mechanic, so it eventually overheated at 295,000 miles. I bought it back from him in 2009 for a buck with the hopes of making a track car, or just building it, but he had let a kid drive it one day who put it through a fence down the street and messed up the right front. The chassis was just never the same after that. I had put tons of money in that car over the years, like you do any car to get it to that level of mileage, and just decided that since the body was not perfect anymore (it had never been in a major accident during my ownership), and the motor was toast, it was going to be a $10K minimum to restore it and I just didn't see the point since I had my time with it. I traded it to a guy who helped me around the house for a few weeks. He was going to refurb it, but since sold it.

From what I know the car is still local, and I could probably get it back for dirt cheap (lately been thinking about it – I don’t think it is in running condition). When I bought it back in 2009 it sat for a long time and mice really tore up the wiring harnesses in the engine bay, so it needed a lot of work just to get the electrics right. If I buy it back a second time I could have the body redone by the shop who rebuilt my driver's seat on the E90, but it's still a money/value issue thing. That shop does mainly VW bugs; with a few that have been featured in magazines, so their quality is excellent. But once you do the body, then the driveline needs to be put up to snuff (i.e. totally redone) to match the new body, then the interior (I had already done the seats once in it), then the suspension (which I already had been through once), then … I’d rather part with my money on something like downpayment on a new C7 Vette.

[Smooth 330i]

Originally Posted by hickoryE92

that is absolutely gorgeous... such a beautiful machine.

Beautiful!!

The e36 M3 is a classic and a beautiful machine. A perfect example of less is more. They rule in HPDE.

[ska325xi]

Congrats, i have a 325xi since 2005 and still love it. I only have 50k miles on it as my commute is only 20-30 miles per day. There're little things to fix but its been a solid ride. Just recently my turn signals blink sound is gone.

[amtex]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Have an indy do it for you. I doubt a dealer would even bother. They'd replace the parts rather than clean and swap them.

Thank you for sharing your great story! I wish mine - 2008 328i (at 86,500 miles currently) could do the same.

I have a couple of questions:

1. It looks like many guys here in e9post.com do their cars maintenance by themselves. Unfortunately I can't say that about myself, though I would love to do the basic stuff myself, but I am just not that experienced and wouldn't like to break something in the car like BMW. So I go to to a dealer or indy shop. What would be your estimate of the maintaning cost if you wouldn't have done many things that you've actually done by yourself?

2. About the solenoids. Why would you swap them? Did you use BMW original oil?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by amtex

Thank you for sharing your great story! I wish mine - 2008 328i (at 86,500 miles currently) could do the same.

I have a couple of questions:

1. It looks like many guys here in e9post.com do their cars maintenance by themselves. Unfortunately I can't say that about myself, though I would love to do the basic stuff myself, but I am just not that experienced and wouldn't like to break something in the car like BMW. So I go to to a dealer or indy shop. What would be your estimate of the maintaning cost if you wouldn't have done many things that you've actually done by yourself?

2. About the solenoids. Why would you swap them? Did you use BMW original oil?

1) Good question about the maintenance cost. I looked over my records and estimate about $7,300 (so I've paid for the lift twice over already). Keep in mind that includes tire rotations about every 5,000 miles at an estimted $45 per event, so that's about $1,800 of cost most people would not incur. BMW does not recommend tire rotations. I used $50 savings for oil changes. Based the labor estimates on $100 per hour (an average between a Dealer rate and an Indy rate). If I didn't DIY I'd never take my car to a dealer for routine maintenance and repairs (like brakes) since any BMW Indy can handle that stuff with ease.

2) I recommend swapping the VANOS solenoids because I think it allows them the wear more even and not get clogged up as easy. If you think about it, the intake cam and the exhaust cam are adjusted with different profiles, but the VANOS solenoids are the same part number, so each solenoid runs though the same adjustment profile over and over for the location it is in. When you swap the locations then the solenoids are then running through a different adjustment profile and will wear differently and possibly stay cleaner. This is just my theory. I've decided to swap mine every 50,000 miles.

I've only used BMW 5W-30 oil and OEM oil filter. I get my oil change kit from Tischer.

[DUI Elite]

Reminds me of this:


Considering I've felt the same way in regards to "repairs" and being more okay with spending coin on the repair than replacing the car, I can only imagine how OP can relate.

[Manny_World]

Motivational

[SneakyDeeky]

Awesome! Wish I could do that, but I know I couldn't keep myself from thinking the grass is greener for more than 20-30K miles.

Keep up the good work!