[Efthreeoh]

7:04 AM April 18th, 2016

The car is a 2006 325i with a manual trans. I ordered it in April 2006 with just the Sport Package, HIDs, and BlueTooth (BMW assist) and it was delivered mid-May 2006.

I hit a deer at 12,500 miles and had $4,500 of crash damage. I swapped to non-runflats on a non-staggered 8.5 x 18 wheel set up using high-performance all-season radials at 22,000 miles (I've since switched back to the original wheels at 287K). At about 80,000 miles the A/C pump died (I attribute it to poor craftsmanship from the deer crash repair where I think they left the system open too long or allowed dirt to get in the system). The T-stat went at 135,000 miles and the water pump at 150,000. Second deer hit was at 95,000 miles, she luckily only damaged the right headlight. 3rd deer hit last Friday evening at 299,921 miles. Damaged the rear left passenger door and rear quarter panel. I'm hoping paintless dent repair can fix it, or I'm concerned the insurance company will total it.

I replaced the suspension with OEM BMW sport suspension parts at 182,000 when the kit went on sale a few years ago (I stored the parts kit for a few years), and had the alignment checked and re-set. I replaced the thrust arms at that time with M3 parts (the front was starting to shutter upon braking).

All the other maintenance has been at BMW specified intervals and CBS intervals:

From new (0 miles) to 221,630 miles was on 13 oil changes @ 17,050 OCI
From 221K to 300K 8 oil changes @ 9,800 OCI. Motor runs perfect and uses a liter of oil about every 6,000 miles. Still returns my lifetime fuel consumption of just under 27 MPG.

BMW 5W-30 oil and OE filter used for all 21 oil changes.

Diff and Trans oil changes:
Transmission:
No. 1 - 89,670
No. 2 - 158,806
No. 3 - 264,914

Differential
No. 1 - 76,880
No. 2 - 158,806
No. 3 - 264,914

Brakes:
No. 1 - 75,205 (front & rear)
No. 2 - 182,540 (front) 185,723 (rear)
No. 3 - 298,190 (front & rear)

Power steering flush:
No. 1 - 151,100
No. 2 - 264,914

Brake flushes every 2 years
Engine air filters every 50,000 miles
I clean and swap the VANOS solenoids every 50,000 miles

Diff and trans are original. 3 of the O2 sensors are original. Only the right front wheel bearing was replaced 248,895. I chased down a bad driveline vibration that showed up in February 2014. Replaced the trans mounts, guibo, and driveshaft center bearing to no avail. It ended up being the dual mass flywheel.

All new hoses at 236,580 (all were in great shape and didn't need replacement)

Just in the last 7 months:
-coils and plugs (287,585 miles)
-rear level sensor (287,900)
-left rear wheel speed sensor (287,900)
-crankshaft vibration damper (288,400)
-clutch & Flywheel (293,340)
-Oil pan gasket replacement (293,550)
-HVAC blower motor (293,550) - 2nd one - 1st one at 130,000
-left rear wheel speed sensor (yes another one - story there)
-Drive belt and pulleys (297,950)
-Parts at the ready for the valve cover and eccentric shaft sensor...

My total cost of ownership to-date has been $96,204 (purchase, loan cost, fuel, and maintenance).
Total gallons of fuel - 11,188.
Total fuel cost - $36,589.56.
Lifetime MPG 26.82
Total Maintenance cost - $20,060 (most all of it DIY)
11 sets of tires

Oil Life Monitor:
On the E90 (at least for my 2006 325i) the CBS oil service indicator (oil life monitor) is programmed to stop working after 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles). The system is programmed to stop processing the oil quality data provided by the oil quality/oil level sensor that is in the oil pan. If you are not familiar with the CBS oil life monitor system, the sensor that determines the level of the oil in the engine also measures the quality of the oil though a practice of measuring the dielectric of the oil. The oil quality sensor provides oil quality data to the CBS that is used as part of the data input to the BMW algorithm used to determine when the oil needs changing. So I changed out the oil level sensor (as a DIY). The part is around $160. The new sensor did not change the behavior of the system and the CBS still would not reset. So, figuring it was a software issue, off to BMW of Sterling I went. BMW of Sterling, who was great in really trying to solve the issue BTW, had my car for 8 days. BMW of Sterling followed the procedure noted in the attached bulletin, and when that didn’t work, they hooked my car up to the BMW NA engineering network to let BMW’s NA engineering department have a crack at it. BMW NA couldn’t fix it either, and opened a PUMA case, sending the issue off to BMW AG. Since August 2014 BMW has not addressed the issue and never followed up on the PUMA case. So if BMW puts the software patch in your car, the CBS still tells you it is over due for an oil change every time you start the engine. UPDATE: In July 2016 I gave BMW one last chance and they finally came up with a fix in February of 2016. The CBS now does not report anything about OCI. Cost me $100.

I drive it 160 miles a day round trip to work. I don't drive it much on the weekends. My commute is ideal; it's 40% back roads that I hammer all the time and 60% interstate (stop and go traffic about 35 miles a day) and dual lane (easy cruising - except when deer run into you). The last 18 miles to my house is basically a race track with no traffic and the car usually is burning hot when I park it at night. So most of my miles is not "mostly highway" and I drive the car very hard on the back roads (it's a BMW after all).