AIB: check this thread out, its for E46's but I assume you would have an interest in it anyways.

http://www.roadraceautox.com/showthread.php?t=27442

 

^^^E30 to E46 is almost a decade in difference, lol

 

Exactly, I figured he would be purchasing E46 within the year after he gets bored of the E30...

 

Nice catch, Thai. Always scares me though when I see a car traveling sideways in the grass like that...

 

first a nickname, now infamy. such fun.

 

did anyone make it out to the sjr event last sunday?

 

When people say they wouldnt want an e46 m3 or 3XX because of the maintanence, are they usually referring to the vanos or other things too?

 

Dan, I think most people just assume regular maintenance on a BMW is just that much more expensive than anything else.

 

Thanks for the link Mike. Doesnt help me out at all but it seems like a cool site.

i only have first hand experience with an e30 (aside from doing a few small things on Dan's E36 m3), but so far maintenance is not an issue. BMW seems to have built (engineered is a much better term) the e30 with the idea it would need to be user-serviced its entire life. from what I've read/gathered on the intrawebs, they moved away from that philosophy as the years went on.

 

^ you're right about that. The e90 BMW my wife had was never intended to be touched by the owner. Complete opposite of the e30.

You could do your own maintenance but you needed BMW specific tools for some simple things and you still needed the dealer to turn off all the lights on the dash when ever you did a service.

We needed something simple and easier to maintain since it was recently out of warranty before we traded it in. Having a car with a dip stick makes life a lot easier. I have trouble completely relying on electronics to tell me what the car needed.

 

Not being able to reset your TPMS on the Evo isn't any better, right? LOL. IMO, regardless of how hard some manufactureres make it, enthusiast will always find ways to DIY things. It does take a curious mind to attempt to work on their own cars though.

 

Working on a bmw is a pain in the *** imo. They make every damn bolt a different damn size!

 

I've never had to reset tpms on my car and I run two sets of wheels. It would be annoying if I ever had to but that isn't the manufacturer, I believe all cars after 2006 had to have tpms.

Andy, changing the air filter in your car is ridiculous.

 

Dan, trying to bang you is easy

 

^ trying to get car parts from you is impossible.