[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by John 070

I always thought wouldn't it be hilarious to have an alignment rack?!

Even if you're a billionaire, it wouldn't be a wise use of the money, how often would you really need it? As an experiment since we have the lifetime alignment on 2 of our cars (not the BMW), I went to Firestone 4X in a year, both cars. After the initial alignment, the subsequent ones didn't accomplish anything, even after running over a curb with my wife's on the rear right wheel.

But personally, I would love to use that equipment. When my uncle was managing a shop, both were down so I could not mount/balance my own tires. I wanted to try....

An easy way to lose fingers...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Hoody007

Depends on where you live, though. When I used to go into the office pre-COVID, my commute would take me through the pothole-infested streets of downtown Decatur and Atlanta. I have to get an alignment twice a year (2020 was the exception). Depending on pricing, an alignment machine would pay for itself. I also have to use the Costco tire warranty at least every year due to all of the construction on I-285 - I’ve had my fair share of nails in tires over the years!

With the E31, I really regret not getting a lift - that would’ve paid for itself within the 1st month of ownership!

I've paid off my lift 5 times over at least. I even saved $5K using the lift to build a double-bed sized porch swing for my wife's birthday present in 2018. Lol.

It literally saves in doctor bills too. Yesterday I used the lift to reattach the rain gutter trim that attaches to the "Hoffmeister kink". The attachment clips adhesive released from the trim piece. Getting the car at the perfect work height really helps in making repairs and keeping your back pain free.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Trust me I've thought about buying used tire equipment, but I'm afraid I'm close to mental illness at this point building a dedicated shop with a lift and air...

As a kid, my grandfather had his entire basement and the attached garage set up as his shop. He previously ran a single bay repair shop but closed and moved everything to his house, focusing on alternator and starter repair. I think he was getting too old for the big jobs. Anyway, he had a lift and a tire machine in his home garage which I remember learning to use when I was 10 or 11 years old. Fun times.

Looking back, that was a pretty wild setup for a home basement. He had a huge noisy compressor with a giant tank, along with piping to all the basement rooms and multiple points along both walls of the garage. Had a sandblasting cabinet and parts washer too. Even today there are still cabinets full of miscellaneous bolts and parts, and my family still uses that tire machine.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

So I'm not at my computer where I can access the mileage and cost information, but the unexpected repairs were (from memory for miles and cost):

- AC system repair at 85,000 miles - $2,400
- Front right wheel bearing around 200,00 miles - $90. I don't think the bearing was bad.
- Rebuild drivers seat $1,000. I did this on my E30 too because the seat cover tore.
- I replaced the diff and rear bearings at 320,000 - $230.

So I'll call $2,630 of the $34K in maintenance truly in expected. But I doubt the original AC system would last 400,000 miles anyway, so I could argue even the $2,400 AC repair would have been incurred at some point.

Tires and CBS maintenance were $12,000 alone. Brakes have Been $5,000 total and I get near 100,000 on a set of brakes. I replace rotors every time.

I've done all the oil leak prone gaskets as every N52 requires. As same for the water pump and t-stat.

So what is your bitch exactly, that I'm lying about how much I spent on operating my E90 to 400,000 miles? And why do you care? I've posted my information in an effort to help others with their E9X ownership. Granted, I have better tools than most owners have to help maintain and repair my cars, but I've also included an estimate if the work was accomplished at a professional shop, so I've been fair and open about the DIY cost. Using tire rack mostly for tires, you really save about $40 on a set of tires as compared to the installed "on-the-car" price. I use the Rack just to keep my car out of the hands of untrained technicians who try to upsell other services.

Again, exactly what is your issue?

Relax...I’m just telling you I think it’s been quite expensive and my own experience.

Drive it 800,000 miles if you want. I don’t care.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Relax...I’m just telling you I think it’s been quite expensive and my own experience.

Drive it 800,000 miles if you want. I don’t care.

According to AAA the average cost/mile for maintenance of a mid-size sedan is 8.58 cents/mile. Not knowing what exactly goes into their calculation my numbers are not far off. The average of my maintenance costs/mile is 13 cents, so a bit over 4.9 cents per mile more for the BMW tax. 36% higher, but I have no idea what AAA bases there number on as related to age and total accumulated mileage. My data shows the obvious, the cost to maintain the car increases over age and total miles.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

According to AAA the average cost/mile for maintenance of a mid-size sedan is 8.58 cents/mile. Not knowing what exactly goes into their calculation my numbers are not far off. The average of my maintenance costs/mile is 13 cents, so a bit over 4.9 cents per mile more for the BMW tax. 36% higher, but I have no idea what AAA bases there number on as related to age and total accumulated mileage. My data shows the obvious, the cost to maintain the car increases over age and total miles.

I would not be remotely surprised if AAA is averaging maintenance over the first 100k miles to get their figure. Would be the most applicable to most people but gives an artificially low number in terms of long-time ownership

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

I would not be remotely surprised if AAA is averaging maintenance over the first 100k miles to get their figure. Would be the most applicable to most people but gives an artificially low number in terms of long-time ownership

Hence the reason I keep all this data to track my cost-per-mile so I can make a judgement as to the economic viability of keeping an old, high mileage car. Is it worth my time to repair it via DIY? I need a metric to evaluate against. My data indicates the per-mile cost when the car is new and I'm paying it off is near 50 cents per mile. At this point there is no reason to replace the E90 based on the current shape it is in.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

According to AAA the average cost/mile for maintenance of a mid-size sedan is 8.58 cents/mile. Not knowing what exactly goes into their calculation my numbers are not far off. The average of my maintenance costs/mile is 13 cents, so a bit over 4.9 cents per mile more for the BMW tax. 36% higher, but I have no idea what AAA bases there number on as related to age and total accumulated mileage. My data shows the obvious, the cost to maintain the car increases over age and total miles.

Could they have factored in free maintenance? Mine was free for the first 4 years. I said hey can I get new wiper blades? Of course, etc. pads and rotors were covered. Brakes flushed without even asking, etc.

Even though the plan isn't as strong today, I feel there are remnants of it. Normal car dealers are always poking around looking for stuff to recommend needlessly--as mentioned, Lexus did this to me to the tune of over $6k (none of the work even needed).

BMW in my experience doesn't generally do that when the car goes in. One time they pointed out my boots tore in the rear shocks, but all that would do is help the shocks to deteriorate faster due to water/dirt etc., doesn't mean you need them replaced right now.

[Schmitz]

Thanks for this post. I've been waiting for it, little disappointed I only saw it now though.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Schmitz

Thanks for this post. I've been waiting for it, little disappointed I only saw it now though.

It's all good Brother. I only post it to help others gain confidence that the "core" E9X is a stout apparatus that can be depended on to provide good and long service. That obviously depends on how the vehicle is treated and maintained. I do try to break the myth that BMWs maintenance schedule is conspiringly inadequate, and I've stated over and over than doubling up on the maintenance doesn't double the life of the vehicle.

I think what is important about reaching 400,000 is I'm the original owner and have kept good record of the experience of owning the E90. So there is no bias or corruption in the data from not knowing the full history of the car. How this experience translates to current BMWs I don't know. I never expected to get 400,000 out of my car; my goal was just 250,000. Sure, my car has benefitted from a minimum run time of 1 hour 40 minutes at each leg of my commute, so it probably heat-cycles less, and some miles of the trip are not stressful, but then how many cars survive 4 deer impacts? Granted one was just a hoof-kick to the right headlight (broke just the corona ring), but the two front impacts were at 55 MPH, and the 3rd skipped down the left side from the driver's door back. And I do hammer it on the back roads almost every time I drive it. But the car has seen a lot of heavy traffic over the years too.

I need to get some pics of it to post. Hopefully this weekend. It'll be dirty. LOL.

[Nickco43]

PM me your address.

[Hoody007]

I’m curious, Efthreeoh, have you ever considered upgrading to the stage 3 intake manifold, or retrofitting the 330i brakes? Given how much you drive the 325i, I’d imagine the extra power would be nice

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Hoody007

I’m curious, Efthreeoh, have you ever considered upgrading to the stage 3 intake manifold, or retrofitting the 330i brakes? Given how much you drive the 325i, I’d imagine the extra power would be nice

Good question. I did early on, but based on the commute I wanted to get the best fuel mileage and longevity. I easily could have bought a 330i back in 2006, but the 325i was good enough. Not having DISA valves lets me sleep a little easier. Turner had a 3-stage kit in 2007. You had to pull the ECU and ship it to them, which didn't excite me all that much. The 330i uses a different clutch and driveshaft than the 325i, so I was concerned the HP increase would wear such parts prematurely.

In late 2014 I bought a '08 Z4 3.0si Coupe, so I have the DISA N52 now anyway. Great motor too, but not as linear as the non-DISA version. The regular N52 reminds me a lot of the M20 I had in my E30. The M20 is one of the best variants of the BMW on-line 6 IMO.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Good question. I did early on, but based on the commute I wanted to get the best fuel mileage and longevity. I easily could have bought a 330i back in 2006, but the 325i was good enough. Not having DISA valves lets me sleep a little easier. Turner had a 3-stage kit in 2007. You had to pull the ECU and ship it to them, which didn't excite me all that much. The 330i uses a different clutch and driveshaft than the 325i, so I was concerned the HP increase would wear such parts prematurely.

In late 2014 I bought a '08 Z4 3.0si Coupe, so I have the DISA N52 now anyway. Great motor too, but not as linear as the non-DISA version. The regular N52 reminds me a lot of the M20 I had in my E30. The M20 is one of the best variants of the BMW on-line 6 IMO.

Agree on the m20. It punches way above its weight. I prefer it to the M30 of the time, even in the heavier offerings.

[ky0u]

I saw this thread and decided to tally up my costs over the past year just to see. I now regret doing so

[lookalikehuuh]

Efthreeoh We should send your car to Scotty Kilmer since he is a BMW hater and always say they don't last. Just want to see him eat his own words.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

Efthreeoh We should send your car to Scotty Kilmer since he is a BMW hater and always say they don't last. Just want to see him eat his own words.

I'll bring my 191,000 mile Z3, 107,000 mile Z4, and 122,000 mile E46 just to make the point.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ky0u

I saw this thread and decided to tally up my costs over the past year just to see. I now regret doing so

Yeah, like me figuring out I've spent 8,800 hours in my E90...

Hurts.

[lookalikehuuh]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'll bring my 191,000 mile Z3, 107,000 mile Z4, and 122,000 mile E46 just to make the point.

We should setup a parade with all of us that have high mileage cars to drive by his house. I'll bring my 06 330i with 220K.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Yeah, like me figuring out I've spent 8,800 hours in my E90...

Hurts.

Wow. 366 days. You’ve spent over a year of your life in the e90. It’s a good thing you like it!

[Chappers 71]

Congrats on the 400,000 miles, quite an achievement....it kinda reminds me of a broom that I've had for 26 years, its had 4 new handles & 7 new heads

[John 070]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

Efthreeoh We should send your car to Scotty Kilmer since he is a BMW hater and always say they don't last. Just want to see him eat his own words.

LOL I never even heard of him until I got a Lexus. I'd like to think that people here are very open minded. The E9x is top notch, and for its time, it was way up there. Some Lexus owners have one too, but many, are like little scottys....if you don't have a toyota, you're an idiot hahahahahahahaha

Now seriously, if something is excellent, why wouldn't you want to keep it a long time?

I always point out often BMW OE parts are a fraction of Toyota OE. Like a brake sensor wire, could be $30 v. $139.