[MthreeMthree]

Originally Posted by express705

i sent you the SIB i used to get my brakes covered. try another dealer.

My brakes have a mind of their own, could you send me the SIB as well? thanks

[ShastaMan]

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

Not true, you just have to make sure you connect the vent tube.

Exactly!! Why do some people continue to post misinformation about these cars. There are only 3 battery manufacturers in the world, Johnson Controls being one of the largest & they make the batteries for Autozone, Walmart, & many others including Costco. Connect the vent tube & save big$$$$.

[iflyjetzzz]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

If you like to do light maintenance work, I'll assume you have a decent set of tools. Why not just get a BMW scan tool that interfaces with the computer modules in the car, and register the battery when the time comes to replace it? It would be a lot less expensive than loosing so much depreciation on your BMW. Also, I don't understand the logic of buying a Porsche knowing that it is a huge maintenance beast, but selling a BMW because you didn't know it was such a maintenance beast. And if you can afford a Cayman or 911, what in the hell is so burdensome about paying an independent mechanic a few bucks to register a new battery?

I will get a BMW scan tool. 'Registering' a battery is not intuitive. Just look at how much debate there is on this board as to the necessity of registering one.
As far as depreciation on my car, I bought a 2008 328i w/40K miles a couple of months ago. A comparable 2011 would sticker for ~$48K; I paid $22.9K. The car will depreciate over the next year whether I sell it or keep it.
As far as buying a Porsche over BMW, I was under the impression that the BMW was a reliable car that wouldn't cost an arm & leg in maintenance costs. If I've got to spend a bunch of money for maintenance ($384 for a stinkin' battery), I'd rather be driving a Porsche. My standard joke (as a former Porsche owner) is that the price of the car is a down payment; your monthly payments are in parts and labor. And BMWs don't hold a candle to Porsches as far as drivability.

But I think that you're missing the larger point that I was trying to make. Why would you even build a car that requires the battery to be registered? I've never heard of such a thing until I started reading this board. As far as I can tell from a google search, BMW is the only company that requires batteries to be registered.

That said, Porsches also have their idiosyncracies. For instance, if your battery's dead on the Cayman, you can't open the hood without jury rigging a power supply to it. http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-open-p...t-battery.html
Painful. But it's a great driver's car.

[iflyjetzzz]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

It is actually for weight balance and moment of inertia chassis design purposes, and an added benefit is the battery is subject to much less vibration and temperature extremes. It's been a design philosphy of BMW for at least 35 years now.

The battery location in the trunk vs front of the car isn't going to change the weight balance that much. Moving it back under the hood and putting a spare in the trunk would fix the balance problem. And fix the run flat problem.

[Chriztofor]

^ Not to mention battery weight balance means nothing when you include the weight of a 250 pound driver.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by iflyjetzzz

I will get a BMW scan tool. 'Registering' a battery is not intuitive. Just look at how much debate there is on this board as to the necessity of registering one.
As far as depreciation on my car, I bought a 2008 328i w/40K miles a couple of months ago. A comparable 2011 would sticker for ~$48K; I paid $22.9K. The car will depreciate over the next year whether I sell it or keep it.
As far as buying a Porsche over BMW, I was under the impression that the BMW was a reliable car that wouldn't cost an arm & leg in maintenance costs. If I've got to spend a bunch of money for maintenance ($384 for a stinkin' battery), I'd rather be driving a Porsche. My standard joke (as a former Porsche owner) is that the price of the car is a down payment; your monthly payments are in parts and labor. And BMWs don't hold a candle to Porsches as far as drivability.

But I think that you're missing the larger point that I was trying to make. Why would you even build a car that requires the battery to be registered? I've never heard of such a thing until I started reading this board. As far as I can tell from a google search, BMW is the only company that requires batteries to be registered.

That said, Porsches also have their idiosyncracies. For instance, if your battery's dead on the Cayman, you can't open the hood without jury rigging a power supply to it. http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-open-p...t-battery.html
Painful. But it's a great driver's car.

I'm sure there is someone in the world who wouldn't understand why a Porsche has the ignition key on the left side of the steering column. Would it make any sense for them to say, "well I've never heard of such a thing, I think I'll not buy this Porsche because the ignition is on the wrong side." So the battery registration costs a few dollars more, big deal. It's certainly not a reason not to buy a car (or to sell a recently acquired car and lose the depreciation). Why is battery registration any more unusual to have in a car as having a throttle-less intake system where manipulation of the intake valves controls the engine idle and fuel air ratio?

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

^ Not to mention battery weight balance means nothing when you include the weight of a 250 pound driver.

Unless you consider the weight of the driver in the design of the chassis for weight distribution in the first place, and you use the battery as part of the weight balance scheme to counter-act the body weight of the driver...

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by iflyjetzzz

The battery location in the trunk vs front of the car isn't going to change the weight balance that much. Moving it back under the hood and putting a spare in the trunk would fix the balance problem. And fix the run flat problem.

I think it is obvious that the reason BMW ditched the spare tire is to make room for the large mufflers used in the 335i and even the 328i.

[spiike32]

Just for some clarification... using the BT Tool to "register" the battery will have the same result as from the dealer?

[cb1111]

Originally Posted by spiike32

Just for some clarification... using the BT Tool to "register" the battery will have the same result as from the dealer?

yep

[iflyjetzzz]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

I'm sure there is someone in the world who wouldn't understand why a Porsche has the ignition key on the left side of the steering column. Would it make any sense for them to say, "well I've never heard of such a thing, I think I'll not buy this Porsche because the ignition is on the wrong side." So the battery registration costs a few dollars more, big deal. It's certainly not a reason not to buy a car (or to sell a recently acquired car and lose the depreciation). Why is battery registration any more unusual to have in a car as having a throttle-less intake system where manipulation of the intake valves controls the engine idle and fuel air ratio?

No; it's not the only reason why I'm disappointed with the car. I've had a list of items that have bothered me; no single one enough to enough of an annoyance, but they've added up quickly. Starting with run flats. Add in BMW's decision to not change oil annually under the maintenance agreement. Continuing with BMW's refusal to cover my battery replacement while the car's still under warranty. Top it off with the car being unfriendly for the weekend mechanic.
It's a nice car, but it's not exceptional enough to be worth it if it's going to be a maintenance hog. And after reading a lot of threads around here, I've noticed that the 3 series has a lot more maintenance problems than other high end cars that I've owned - I'm comparing the %age of problem threads on this forum compared to other car forums that I've been on. I expected BMW to build a hassle-free car; so far, it doesn't appear that way.
My license plates expire next November; perhaps I'll feel differently before then.

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by iflyjetzzz

Top it off with the car being unfriendly for the weekend mechanic

Speak for yourself. I changed my engine oil/filter, coolant, and trans fluid all in one shot. This car is cake to work on....so far.

Originally Posted by iflyjetzzz

And after reading a lot of threads around here, I've noticed that the 3 series has a lot more maintenance problems than other high end cars that I've owned - I'm comparing the %age of problem threads on this forum compared to other car forums that I've been on.

Most of the problems are from 335s, take those threads out and it will get really boring.

[PiZauL]

Originally Posted by ShastaMan

As I have posted before, I use a portable voltmeter to check the charge rate. It has been a consistent 13.7-13.9 volts since the car was new. When I have to replace the battery I will check to make sure the charge rate is the same. If not, I will probably have it registered. It will be a cold day in hell if I ever pay $400 for a battery for a BMW or any other car when I can buy one from Auto Zone or Walmart for $77.

This will be good info once you change the battery. Awaiting results!

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by ShastaMan

As I have posted before, I use a portable voltmeter to check the charge rate. It has been a consistent 13.7-13.9 volts since the car was new. When I have to replace the battery I will check to make sure the charge rate is the same. If not, I will probably have it registered. It will be a cold day in hell if I ever pay $400 for a battery for a BMW or any other car when I can buy one from Auto Zone or Walmart for $77.

Yeah, but read the 1st post, he had problems with his car by not registering the battery. I am sure you're not in your trunk while you are driving to make sure it maintains a consistent charge. Now, the only way you will probably not need it to be registered is if you change the battery with the exact same specs while it is still holding a charge. Once it is dead that is where the car needs to be registered. So if you change your battery every 3-4 years as preventative maintenance you might be ok. My 2 cents.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

Speak for yourself. I changed my engine oil/filter, coolant, and trans fluid all in one shot. This car is cake to work on....so far.



Most of the problems are from 335s, take those threads out and it will get really boring.

100% Agree with you. The car is not hard to work on. The plugs are a bit of PIA since you have to remove half the engine bay to get to them, but at every 100,000 miles, I can live with it.

[ShastaMan]

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

Yeah, but read the 1st post, he had problems with his car by not registering the battery. I am sure you're not in your trunk while you are driving to make sure it maintains a consistent charge. Now, the only way you will probably not need it to be registered is if you change the battery with the exact same specs while it is still holding a charge. Once it is dead that is where the car needs to be registered. So if you change your battery every 3-4 years as preventative maintenance you might be ok. My 2 cents.

Read my post again: I said IF the charge level on the voltmeter was NOT THE SAME I would probably have the battery registered. The portable voltmeter is plugged in the 12volt socket in the armrest right next to the driver's seat, so I don't have to go in the trunk for anything!

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by ShastaMan

Read my post again: I said IF the charge level on the voltmeter was NOT THE SAME I would probably have the battery registered. The portable voltmeter is plugged in the 12volt socket in the armrest right next to the driver's seat, so I don't have to go in the trunk for anything!

I didn't even think about doing that.

[allenct]

The 335 is far from easy to change fluids. The coolant is nearly impossible to drain from the block, the transmission fluid has to be sucked out and not drained. The differential fluid is extremely hard to get to. I don't know if anyone has actually done these jobs, but I do know that BMW makes them much harder to do.

[cb1111]

Originally Posted by ShastaMan

Read my post again: I said IF the charge level on the voltmeter was NOT THE SAME I would probably have the battery registered. The portable voltmeter is plugged in the 12volt socket in the armrest right next to the driver's seat, so I don't have to go in the trunk for anything!

So what you are measuring is the voltage coming out f the cigarette lighter socket - not necessarily what is actually going into the battery.

That said, many of you are missing the point - and are doing so intentionally.

Several of us have given valid reasons (including scans from the Bentley manual) that explains why a battery should be registered. If you want to ignore that, then it is on your dime since it is your car.

Your problem may lie down the road.

With that, I'm out of this thread. This constant bickering is giving me a headache.

[Chriztofor]

Originally Posted by cb1111

So what you are measuring is the voltage coming out f the cigarette lighter socket - not necessarily what is actually going into the battery.

That said, many of you are missing the point - and are doing so intentionally.

Several of us have given valid reasons (including scans from the Bentley manual) that explains why a battery should be registered. If you want to ignore that, then it is on your dime since it is your car.

Your problem may lie down the road.

With that, I'm out of this thread. This constant bickering is giving me a headache.

^ LOL maybe that is why I never heard of doing it that way.

[iflyjetzzz]

Originally Posted by Chriztofor

Speak for yourself. I changed my engine oil/filter, coolant, and trans fluid all in one shot. This car is cake to work on....so far.

I've done the oil change. I like the filter placement; makes life easy.
But I'm calling BS on coolant and trans fluid changes. This is AGAIN a Rube Goldberg machine according to the DIY guides.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367729
Do you really find having to pump in new transmission fluid underneath the car with a transfer pump as easy?

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248187
Coolant change? Again, not easy. (How many tools are listed just to change the coolant?)

These are fairly simple tasks that can be done with easily on most cars. Not so with BMW.

And don't get me started on lifetime fluids; that's a sure way to kill a car in under 200K miles. But I think that's their plan...

[Weaselboy]

I would like to add one piece of info to this discussion.

I see a lot of comments along the lines of... "why pay the dealer $400 when I can get a new battery for $90!!"

Modern BMWs come with a absorbed glass mat (AGM) battery that is far better quality than the old style lead acid battery. AGM batteries cost quite a bit more than lead acid batteries, so if we are going to make this about price we should compare like batteries.

A little Google-Fu turned up this http://www.odysseybatteries.com/battery/pc1220.htm link for a group 94R AGM battery that will fit a new 3-series. As you can see the battery is $268. If you go to the dealer you will be getting a AGM battery. Not really fair to compare that to the $90 lead acid battery from Walmart.

If you factor in the cost of an equivalent AGM battery, the dealer prices we are seeing quoted in this thread do not seem to unreasonable when you add in labor to R&R the battery, plus hooking up the computer to do the registration.

I'm not normally one to defend dealer prices, but I thought this was important enough to be pointed out.