bmw engine life?
9 Answers
I would expect 300,000 - 400,000 kms before a overhaul was needed.
I think it depends on how well maintained it is. I bought a 2002 325xi wagon and the engine blew within 2 months of owning it. All things considered, the most important part is to not let you engine overheat. Have you owned BMWs before? Just know that they can be very sensitive and need to be very well maintained. I'm not sure if your car would have this problem too, but I've heard from many people that in my particular engine (which I believe is different from yours considering mine is an AWD) the reservoir that holds the coolant can easily crack and cause a massive leak. I'm not sure if this is what happened to my car, but before I even knew it was overheating it got so hot that it killed the engine (for some reason in my particular case the heat gauge never registered until after it had already overheated to the point of killing the car. Good luck! Truly. After my experience I will never by another one, but you may have a much different experience and maintenance seems to be key with these cars.
Even though maintenance was not really an issue in my case since I only had it two months, but it is possible that it was poorly maintained before I owned it. Also, I recommend taking it to a BMW mechanic before or right after buying it to ensure there are no problems. If I had done this they may have been able to catch the problem but I'll never know now. I bought it from a VW dealership, not a BMW dealership...
I currently own three BMWs:1988 735i (267k miles), 2002 525i (135k miles)and a 2002 325i (140k miles). My first BMW was a 1978 320i that I bought in 1980. I have never had engine issues in any of them. Since 1990 I have driven a 1988 735i and turned 267,000 miles on it this past weekend. The engine still "purrs" and starts every time. This one has been my daily commuter car since 1990, and less than 10 percent of the miles on this car have been on the interstate in the past 12 years. So, the miles on this car are of the worst kind: city driving less than five to ten miles at a time. Given this, I wholeheatedly endorse BMWs for their engines. I change the engine oil in my cars every 5k miles and have never had an issue with the engines in any of them. The advice given to have the car inspected before you buy it is very important. Please do that BEFORE - NOT AFTER you buy a car. Afterwards might be too late and too expensive.
replace your water pump asap with the upgrade. replace your expansion tank to new and make sure NEVER to overfill ET. Follow the correct refill procedure. Do regular Oil changes with synthetic. Make sure to top up oil filter housing and pre lube oring before re-threading cover. Aim to log half a million miles!
Yes, Replace the timing belt and water pump every 60k and keep the fluids up and fix the little things as they crop up and you will have a great car for life. I do know that Bimmers of that era had a real bad window regulator problem. Two of my moms have busted, and when I was looking for one of that gen, I saw several that had broken window regulators. So that a biggie. Otherwise pretty great cars.
im changing my 2001 bmw 325 clutch and flywheel looks good can i put it back with minor burns?
Is a 185k miles on a BMW 328 xi a good deal for $4k?
