[calswan7145]

I love my car to death but its up over 120000 miles now and has recently developed a power steering leak. Also last month I hit a pothole so hard I sheared a control arm bolt clean off. I'm considering selling the car based on the increased maintenance cost of an older high mileage vehicle. That being said I would probably only get 6K tops out of it. Any insight into why I shouldn't sell it or maintenance I should be expecting in the near future is greatly appreciated. I would love to keep the car but its cost me a lot of money recently and I can't help but think its going to get worse before it gets better.

[bimmerzeit]

1. 120,000 miles is nothing! My 328i is at 269,500 miles.
2. Watch some DIY videos and cover what maintenance you can tackle yourself.
3. FCP Euro has lifetime warranty on all their parts, change once and then free$ change outs going forward

[Denny347]

Meh, fix it.

[CTinline-six]

The cost to repair your car will be less than a new car. There aren't many cars out there that have the driving dynamics similar to the E90, and it is the last N/A inline 6.

All cars will break and need maintenance. I'd rather maintain a car I love that is paid for instead of a boring appliance I'm making payments on.

[Volasko]

Originally Posted by calswan7145

I would love to keep the car but its cost me a lot of money recently and I can't help but think its going to get worse before it gets better.

You know whats more expensive than a few small repairs..... depreciation!! I personally can't stand the idea of a spending $60k (CAD) on a new 3 series that will be worth 1/3 of that price after 3-4 years and 80k km's of use. Now I do most of my own repair work so maybe I'm biased but I'm convinced buying a new BMW is for suckers.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

The cost to repair your car will be less than a new car. There aren't many cars out there that have the driving dynamics similar to the E90, and it is the last N/A inline 6.

All cars will break and need maintenance. I'd rather maintain a car I love that is paid for instead of a boring appliance I'm making payments on.

even if its equal, imo its better to repair/maintain.

I'm always shocked to see how many great looking cars are in ''u-pull'' salvage yard. Most of them probably need few $$ of repairs. I personally know people who salvage cars because of the trouble of selling it...

A friend just slavage a running/no-check/no rust 2004 subaru impreza wagon, 180 000km, only because he need new winter tires, oil change and new windshield. What a freaking waste !!

[pedro2u]

and that pothole that sheared off your control arm? It probably sheared off the control arm of that brand new car right behind you too - which cost him even more to get fixed than your car

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

A friend just slavage a running/no-check/no rust 2004 subaru impreza wagon, 180 000km, only because he need new winter tires, oil change and new windshield. What a freaking waste !!

And those are the people who wonder why they are in an endless spiral of car payment debt.

[Fritzer]

120,000 are rookie numbers in these parts. As long you maintain these cars properly the mileage won't matter. It's not nearly as expensive as you feel like it is. E9x is the last true 3-series, it all just depends on what you value. If you want to get a 2020 Civic or Corrola lease then go ahead, but you'll miss the E9x forever.

[Efthreeoh]

So you mean it broke the ball joint of the control arm. Shearing the control arm bolt would damage the subframe, so I just want to make sure my assumption is correct. At 120,000 miles, I'm sure there have been other service and repairs done on the car and that you own it free and clear with no monthly car payment.

As Fritz said, 120,000 miles is nothing for an E90 if it has been reasonably maintained and repaired with quality BMW, or OEM parts. Have you repaired, or does the engine have any of the 3 common oil leaks? Have you replaced or scanned for water pump codes? What transmission does the car have? By this time the spark plugs, trans and diff fluids and coolant all should have been changed at 100,000 miles. My car has well over double your mileage and I still daily drive it 170 miles a day.

[calswan7145]

I took delivery of my car around 50,000 miles, second owner with an automatic transmission. Around 60,000 miles I replaced the spark plugs, cabin air filter and the intake filter. Around 80 to 90 thousand I replaced the blower motor and the power-steering pump in a parking lot. I have fully redone the front and rear suspension with new struts and springs since Ive had the car. Last winter I did the oil filter housing gasket and the valve cover gasket in my garage. I have also replaced a rear wheel bearing and I bought the kit instead of renting so I can tackle that in the future. The car has had regular oil changes about every 5,000 to 8,000 miles full synthetic with only Castrol oil. Also somewhere in my ownership the car got an Injen intake, BMS powerbox, exhaust, some nice rims for summer, Eibach sway bar in the rear, LUX angel eyes, color matched reflector inserts, front bumper splitters, carbonfiber ducktail, wrapped carbonfibre trim, and black kidney grilles. I'm sure im forgetting some stuff.

If I keep the car I plan to do tranny fluid and diff fluid very soon. The problem I have is the power steering rack needs to be replaced and I don't have time to do it right now so I'm paying a shop to tackle that for me. Problem is I don't want to run into any major issues in the future even though I may miss the car dearly. But based on all of your thoughts I'm leaning toward keeping it. I'm aware Ill probably have to do a water pump and maybe a oil pan gasket in the future among other things but I'm pretty good around a car and everything I listed above was done by yours truly. Thanks for talking me out of selling it!

[whyzee125]

Those are hardly reasons to sell. Just fix it and now you’ll have fresh control arms.

[marvinstockman]

The cost to repair will probably be less than the total of sales tax, title and registration fees, and dealer fees.

As people have been saying, cars today are at least 200K mile cars. Now if you want and need advanced safety features, or a van instead of a sedan, that is another story.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by calswan7145

I took delivery of my car around 50,000 miles, second owner with an automatic transmission. Around 60,000 miles I replaced the spark plugs, cabin air filter and the intake filter. Around 80 to 90 thousand I replaced the blower motor and the power-steering pump in a parking lot. I have fully redone the front and rear suspension with new struts and springs since Ive had the car. Last winter I did the oil filter housing gasket and the valve cover gasket in my garage. I have also replaced a rear wheel bearing and I bought the kit instead of renting so I can tackle that in the future. The car has had regular oil changes about every 5,000 to 8,000 miles full synthetic with only Castrol oil. Also somewhere in my ownership the car got an Injen intake, BMS powerbox, exhaust, some nice rims for summer, Eibach sway bar in the rear, LUX angel eyes, color matched reflector inserts, front bumper splitters, carbonfiber ducktail, wrapped carbonfibre trim, and black kidney grilles. I'm sure im forgetting some stuff.

If I keep the car I plan to do tranny fluid and diff fluid very soon. The problem I have is the power steering rack needs to be replaced and I don't have time to do it right now so I'm paying a shop to tackle that for me. Problem is I don't want to run into any major issues in the future even though I may miss the car dearly. But based on all of your thoughts I'm leaning toward keeping it. I'm aware Ill probably have to do a water pump and maybe a oil pan gasket in the future among other things but I'm pretty good around a car and everything I listed above was done by yours truly. Thanks for talking me out of selling it!

Geezus, sounds like you have a well maintained and nice looking E90 that's way too good to let go over a leaky power steering rack. Anything can happen, however the likelihood of a "major issue" in the future is very low, especially since it's a N52 engine, and even less so since it sounds like you've already addressed the common maintenance items.

If you need any more convincing, remember that the cost to have a shop replace the power steering rack is still less than two payments on a new car!

As for water pump and oil pan gasket, I wouldn't worry. From everything I've read, the water pump usually gives early warning that it's about to fail triggering some codes. Oil pan gaskets are nothing to sweat either. There are 235K miles on my car and the oil pan gasket is leaking however still not to the point where anything even drips on the ground.

[tcphoto]

If you can read a manual, do a little research online and have a reasonable set of tools a 3 Series will cost you about $100 a month to maintain. After ten years between an E46 and E92, I average $94 a month and still love the car. Talk you out of it? I see that you’ve been her for nearly three years and have made 30 posts, that’s a lot of lurking and contributing very little. Perhaps a Prius or Camry would be a better fit.

[Fritzer]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

I see that you’ve been her for nearly three years and have made 30 posts, that’s a lot of lurking and contributing very little. Perhaps a Prius or Camry would be a better fit.

[Efthreeoh]

OP, despite the stupid comments about switching to a Camry or Accord, it seems you have made modifications to your car that you will not capture any resale value for, or worse, actually detract from the resale value.

Thinking about it more, it seems to me the incident with the pothole damaged the suspension AND the steering rack. Your comprehensive insurance coverage may cover that damage.

My advice is to contact your insurance agent and discuss with him if your policy will cover the damage to the suspension. If you can recover the costs for repairing the suspension and steering rack, the financial picture regarding your decision to keep the car may change.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

If you can read a manual, do a little research online and have a reasonable set of tools a 3 Series will cost you about $100 a month to maintain. After ten years between an E46 and E92, I average $94 a month and still love the car. Talk you out of it? I see that you’ve been her for nearly three years and have made 30 posts, that’s a lot of lurking and contributing very little. Perhaps a Prius or Camry would be a better fit.

It's not clear what you are trying to say.

[mainbearing]

If you can DIY the transmission filter and diff/xfer fluids those are not too bad. Access on AWD might be an issue.

Wondering what a steering rack replacement would cost if a shop does it?

Many people were talking down about the newer F30. Maybe talk to your dealer about what it might cost to move to an off-lease 3-series or X1 first before you decide.

Regarding the bearing tool. How hard was it to remove the old bearing? I have seen videos where people use a long breaker bar, but impact wrench would be preferred.

Originally Posted by calswan7145

I took delivery of my car around 50,000 miles, second owner with an automatic transmission. Around 60,000 miles I replaced the spark plugs, cabin air filter and the intake filter. Around 80 to 90 thousand I replaced the blower motor and the power-steering pump in a parking lot. I have fully redone the front and rear suspension with new struts and springs since Ive had the car. Last winter I did the oil filter housing gasket and the valve cover gasket in my garage. I have also replaced a rear wheel bearing and I bought the kit instead of renting so I can tackle that in the future. The car has had regular oil changes about every 5,000 to 8,000 miles full synthetic with only Castrol oil. Also somewhere in my ownership the car got an Injen intake, BMS powerbox, exhaust, some nice rims for summer, Eibach sway bar in the rear, LUX angel eyes, color matched reflector inserts, front bumper splitters, carbonfiber ducktail, wrapped carbonfibre trim, and black kidney grilles. I'm sure im forgetting some stuff.

If I keep the car I plan to do tranny fluid and diff fluid very soon. The problem I have is the power steering rack needs to be replaced and I don't have time to do it right now so I'm paying a shop to tackle that for me. Problem is I don't want to run into any major issues in the future even though I may miss the car dearly. But based on all of your thoughts I'm leaning toward keeping it. I'm aware Ill probably have to do a water pump and maybe a oil pan gasket in the future among other things but I'm pretty good around a car and everything I listed above was done by yours truly. Thanks for talking me out of selling it!

[fastboatster]

I guess I'd base this decision based on whether you still get excited driving your e90 or there's another car you are really excited about and want to drive.
It looks like your e90 is in good shape and has most of the common problems resolved. Trans fluid shouldn't be too expensive if you try to look for a good Indy mechanic. I'd drive it until the wheels fall off since non-6mt e90s are a dime a dozen these days and you won't get much money if you sell it. I see them all now going for 4, 5 grand, maybe even 3. Might not be enough for a down payment for a new econo shitbox.

[vilord]

Take a look at what you'd pay in car payments for a newer car.

Put that money in a separate account at your bank.

Use it to fix your car, it will be less in the long run, IMO.

[F30lolz]

Keep the e90. Avoid the f30/f36’s like the plague.

Anyone who owns a f30/f36 isn’t a car enthusiast for sure