Hey guys, I am looking at buying my first BMW and was looking for a little advice. I am looking at buying a 1992 BMW 325i auto with 163,000 miles. I know the basics to look for when checking over a car, but I was wondering if there is anything BMW specific I need to look for. I also plan on making this my daily driver and driving it to work 1 hour, one way. I searched over the BMW forums and consumer reviews and found some information, but I figured I would check in here as well. Thanks for help.

-Devan Newman

 

OK First....

Do not waste your money on a BMW.. FYI parts for BMW's are ridiculous and maintenance is a mother fucker.

 

That's what I have heard and what somewhat worried me about even considering a BMW.

-Devan Newman

 

Stop signing your name after everything. Wait a second... You're related to RobbM aren't you?

 

actually maintenance really isn't bad on them...the m50 is pretty solid, and parts aren't ridiculous

the water pump goes, and on a car that age it will probably need bushings

 

Uhm, I after owning a couple of older beemers I would have to disagree. They were the easiest and most enjoyable cars to work on and own. Parts are cheap - rockauto/pelicanparts got you covered plus in those years a lot of parts were also provided by GM.

Aside from all of the obvious things, personally I would check:

- Rear shocks, rear trailing arms (pitman arms) and all of the bushings, mine were all crap and had to be done.
- Water pump and thermostat condition and leaks
- Belts/chains (the chains are easy enough to get to and replace)

 

Thanks for the help. I had already planned to replace the water pump and thermostat just as a precautionary measure. Never thought about the chains because I assumed they would be fairly difficult to replace. Looks like my first purchase will need to abe a haynes manual.

 

eXploited is either doing a really bad job at trolling or a really bad job at knowing things. Check the window regulators and the cooling system especially. The regulators are riveted in and are a bitch to change if the arms bend so if they look like they're straining then at least try and talk the guy down because of it. Just out of curiosity why an E36 over a Civic/Corolla if it's only going to be a DD?

 

Don't dick around with the Haynes, go for the Bentley manual.

 

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