New Member "hopefully" new owner soon - need some help though picking the right car SOON

[Kimber]

Hello everyone! I love the forum, lot's of great info. I have been reading for days! I have learned a lot so far! I am looking at 2 cars in the next couple days:

04' vert AT with around 100k miles - private sale- CA for 4 years (45k miles) then MD for rest - 2 owner - most records - no accidents (prod. date 07-07-2004)

05' vert AT with around 75k miles - dealer - PA for 5 years (20k miles) then NY for rest - 4 owners - no records besides autocheck - 1 accident last summer (prod. date 04-05-2005)

The 05' wants about $1500 more for the car than the '04

I looked up both VIN for the option list and the only differences are that the 05 has a couple extra things (which I am not even sure I care about):

464 SKIBAG (which i don't even know what that is, but i don't ski anymore...lol)

488 LUMBAR SUPPORT (which I don't think I really care about)

502 HEADLIGHT WASHER (which again seems like just another thing to repair at some point, do I really need it??)

251 RUN FLAT INDICATOR (can't I just check my own tire pressure??)

Now the '04 has the 639 COMPLETE PREP. CELLULAR PHONE where the '05 has the 640 CAR TELEPHONE PREPARATION.....I'm not totally sure what the difference is even after tons of googling and reading. Hopefully you guys know the difference.


So here are my questions (sorry there are so many):

What differences are there between the '04 and '05 years? Is there any body changes or anything I should know that makes one better than the other?

Are the 25k less miles and the couple options (above) that the '05 has over the '04 worth $1500 difference in price?

If they haven't done the cooling system, belts, pulleys, and control arm bushing replacements what is a rough estimate on cost for all that work?

What about DISA and VANOS which it seems everyone talks about replacing. Is that something I should do and again rough cost?

How about fluids (brake, dif, trans, any that I am missing). Should I just do them all so I am starting fresh when I buy the car and again rough total cost?

I am planning on keeping the car a long time (10+ years) so i want to make sure it's top notch and ready!

There is a local BMW shop near one of the cars that quotes me $100 to look the car over before I buy it. Is that normal price? (I'm still looking for a shop near the other car)

Thank you everyone for any advise/info you can offer!!

[BMWCurves]

First of all, welcome!

Next up, I'll try and answer your questions as best as possible. With regard to the phone prep stuff, I have no clue. Someone else can chime in.


What differences are there between the '04 and '05 years? Is there any body changes or anything I should know that makes one better than the other?

As far as I know, there were no significant changes in the E46 model between model years 2004 and 2005. The big aesthetic changes occurred between 2002 and 2003 for sedans when they had visual changes and became "facelifted." A similar change occurred in coupes and convertibles in 2004.

There should be no significant differences in what options/features were standard for ZHP convertibles between 2004 and 2005. The only change I can think of is that late production 2005 models and all 2006 models had leather steering wheels, shift boots, and parking brake boots instead of alcantara, but I believe that was after the 2005 model you're looking at.


Are the 25k less miles and the couple options (above) that the '05 has over the '04 worth $1500 difference in price?

It really depends. Personally, I try and stay away from any car that has had an accident and no maintenance records. The ski bag and headlight washer options of the 2005 are indicative of the "Cold Weather Package" which usually includes a headlight washer system (not particularly useful in my opinion, as the system was prone to leakage and malfunction), a ski bag (it's a bag that you put your skis that folds out of the rear armrest so that your interior doesn't get wet and dirty after skiing. I wasn't aware that convertibles could have them), folding rear seats (again, not sure it was available on a convertible), and heated front seats (could be selected as a stand alone option). The lumbar support in sedans/coupes were only available as a part of the "Premium Package" which had the aforementioned lumbar support (some people like the added lower back support, others don't need it), an auto-dimming rearview mirror, leather upholstery and not sure what else. The run flat indicator I think came standard, but I can't be sure.

Personally, I prefer the 2004 car you mention purely from the details you have provided. If you don't ski or need the lumbar support, then you'd be fine.


If they haven't done the cooling system, belts, pulleys, and control arm bushing replacements what is a rough estimate on cost for all that work?

If you do it yourself, about $1,000 in parts or so, maybe less. If you have a mechanic do it, expect double or more. $2,500 total to be safe. You can also save some money by shopping for the parts yourself online. It takes a little longer but you'll know exactly what brand and part is going into the car while saving money in the process.


What about DISA and VANOS which it seems everyone talks about replacing. Is that something I should do and again rough cost?

Can't help you with this one, I have no personal experience or knowledge. I will have to do it in the future but I have not done it yet. Someone else can help you with that.


How about fluids (brake, dif, trans, any that I am missing). Should I just do them all so I am starting fresh when I buy the car and again rough total cost?

My estimate was lumped into the earlier estimate I gave. I would say yes, definitely replace all those fluids just so you start fresh and know that they're all new unless the owner has records of when any of those fluids were changed and with what specific fluids. It's cheap maintenance that will keep the internals in good shape. You should change brake fluid, differential fluid, transmission fluid (I'm out of my element on this one though since the car you are looking at is an automatic, and I'm only familiar with manual transmissions. Again, someone can help you out that knows more), power steering fluid, coolant (if it's old), and probably an oil change.


I am planning on keeping the car a long time (10+ years) so i want to make sure it's top notch and ready!

If you're in it for the long haul, I would say definitely do the above. Also, if you have the means (space, tools, time, etc), consider learning to wrench yourself if you don't already. It's very rewarding and you'll save money on labor costs.

You might also consider shocks/struts if they haven't been replaced by the previous owners. The set that came on the car are only really good for about 50-60k miles. If you buy Konis (I have them and love them), you can get the parts for about $550 shipped, not sure what the installation cost would be but again, expect double, so $1,200 or so total.


There is a local BMW shop near one of the cars that quotes me $100 to look the car over before I buy it. Is that normal price? (I'm still looking for a shop near the other car)

$100 for a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is pretty standard. BMW specialty shops with guys who know BMWs are a big plus. They'll know the ins and outs of E46s and what to look for like cracks in the subframe (not as big an issue on later year E46s), worn bushings, etc.


Thank you everyone for any advise/info you can offer!!

Our pleasure, we like to help each other out. Let us know how your search turns out!

[Kimber]

Thank you so much BMWCurves! That is exactly what I was looking for! So to make things even a little more interesting I found another car. I'm thinking this one might be the ticket. What do you guys think putting this in the mix with the above 2 cars:

06' vert AT with around 91k miles - Private - East Coast car - 3 owners - some records but bought from BMW dealer - no accident - (prod. date 10-17-2005)

All the same options as the others except this one adds:

431 INTERIOR RR MIRROR (not sure i really care)

488 LUMBAR (again not a big deal to me)

609 NAVIGATION SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL (not a big deal, could use my phone for nav)

639 COMPLETE PREP> CELLULAR PHONE (again not sure what the difference is between this and the 640...something with Bluetooth I think)

251 RUN FLAT


Has done some maintenance items like bushings, starter, battery, new brakes (10k miles on them), new continental extremes (15k on them), some hoses, top cover gasket, mechanics of soft-top replaced (has 2 year warranty on it from BMW dealer)

about same price as the '04 !!!!

[BMWCurves]

No problem, hope it helped! That third ZHP sounds pretty good from the description. The option 431 is an auto-dimming mirror. It's really nice to have at night. I retrofitted one into my car from an E90 that had a compass and HomeLink built in (garage door opener).

Someone else can weigh in on the navigation unit. I'm not sure how up to date the most recent maps are for the system so it might be so-so on the utility front. I really wanted one, but decided I can just use my phone.

Mind PMing me the links to the cars, if there are link? I can take a closer look at them if you want.

[Sicily1918]

Welcome... I've been on the board for about a week! ;) (but have owned E46s since 2003).

Lots of good advice from the members here... I just bought a ZHP two weeks ago -- check out my thread to see some of the things you'll want to do...

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?18057-New-(to-me)-ZHP-Coupe

Personally, at near 100K mi, (or 50K -- doesn't matter), here's what I'd do immediately unless the previous owner already did these:


Change all fluids, unless the previous owner shows you some recent maintenance (e.g., change of oil 5000 miles or less than one year ago, tranny oil change 12K mi, etc.) Remember that these cars are 10 years old -- if the owners believed in that whole 'lifetime fluid' lie, the fluids are 10 years old, regardless of miles on the car... my ZHPs tranny fluid came out gray and completely opaque at 65K mi.

You're looking at automatics (both of my E46's are autos -- the ZHP has a GM transmission) thus you want a Dexron VI oil. I've used RedLine oils in my 325Ci since it had 40K-some miles (so for 80,000 so far) and it runs like new.
I just did the ZHP's first change to RedLine D6 and man, did it make a difference! And I know the previous owner, who babied the car... but never did a tranny service.
Don't forget to change the differential fluid, too.


Change the water pump and belts (you're supposed to do this every 60K mi).
Change all filters that you can (oil, tranny, air, cabin, fuel).
Replace the spark plugs (use NGK (3199) BKR6EQUP -- all other 'fancy' plugs seem to screw with the M54/56 engines, sometimes small, sometimes big).
Clean the MAF sensor (mine threw an SES light... cleaned it and it's behaving beautifully; again, the MAF had probably not been cleaned for 10 years.
I'd run the best gas I could find (out here it's Chevron or Shell) and dump at least one full bottle of RedLine SI-1 cleaner per tankful for at least three fill-ups (according to the MSDS, SI-1 has a TON of Techron in it, unlike most other cleaners nowadays).


I'd say I just went through about $3000 in parts/labor to get my car up to spec (my specs) -- I don't think you'll be that bad (again, read my thread to see what I did/am doing -- I'm a little gung-ho, though :eeps ).

Good places to get OEM or better equipment:

www.bavauto.com (http://www.bavauto.com)
www.getbmwparts.com (http://www.getbmwparts.com)

and

www.realoem.com (http://www.realoem.com)

to get the part numbers for ANYTHING in the car, even the license plate screws.

[ELCID86]

Thank you so much BMWCurves! That is exactly what I was looking for! So to make things even a little more interesting I found another car. I'm thinking this one might be the ticket. What do you guys think putting this in the mix with the above 2 cars:

06' vert AT with around 91k miles - Private - East Coast car - 3 owners - some records but bought from BMW dealer - no accident - (prod. date 10-17-2005)

All the same options as the others except this one adds:

431 INTERIOR RR MIRROR (not sure i really care)

488 LUMBAR (again not a big deal to me)

609 NAVIGATION SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL (not a big deal, could use my phone for nav)

639 COMPLETE PREP> CELLULAR PHONE (again not sure what the difference is between this and the 640...something with Bluetooth I think)

251 RUN FLAT


Has done some maintenance items like bushings, starter, battery, new brakes (10k miles on them), new continental extremes (15k on them), some hoses, top cover gasket, mechanics of soft-top replaced (has 2 year warranty on it from BMW dealer)

about same price as the '04 !!!!

Good advice above. WRT the nav it's not a bad head unit for sound, but the nav is dated as you can expect. You can find the disks on eBay or check the x5outpost for more info.
Hopefully the run flats have been replaced by now.

[Kimber]

Thank guys!

ELCID86 the current owner of the '06 put Continental Extreme on about 15k miles ago and brakes 10k ago. I don't know much about those tires, but i assume they are fine for this car.

Sicily1918 thanks i will go over your post, but it seems like I will want to do the same as you. I want to keep this car for a while so I want everything to be as good as it can be. I'm budgeting about 2k for maintenance/fluid changes/small upgrades/etc so i am hoping when I get the car checked out that a bunch of stuff has ben done already that i can check off my list. :)

Thanks again guys! Keep the info coming!

[ELCID86]

Continue Extreme is a good tire. DW or DWS. [emoji1360]

[Kimber]

Continue Extreme is a good tire. DW or DWS. [emoji1360]

I didn't ask which one, what's the difference?

[san]

I didn't ask which one, what's the difference?

DW is a summer tire good for dry and wet...
D - dry
W - wet

DWS is a performance all weather tire, not as good as DW in the dry but really good all weather tire, even on a couple of inches of snow...
S - snow

I have the dws 06 tires on my Zhp and I have been pretty happy with them...

[BMWCurves]

I have the DW tires and love them for the mix of dry and wet performance (I live in Portland, so we get a good mix of both throughout the year). They're a summer tire that grips very well, but also have good ride comfort and low noise level.

[Kimber]

Yeah they are the DWS ones. I'm assuming not the 06 because they were purchased like 2 years ago. i think from my google search the DWS06 came out last year.

They have like 15k on them, so at least i won't have to budget for tires soon. that's a plus!

[Sicily1918]

Thank guys!

ELCID86 the current owner of the '06 put Continental Extreme on about 15k miles ago and brakes 10k ago. I don't know much about those tires, but i assume they are fine for this car.Oh, yeah... Contis are great tires!
Sicily1918 thanks i will go over your post, but it seems like I will want to do the same as you. I want to keep this car for a while so I want everything to be as good as it can be. I'm budgeting about 2k for maintenance/fluid changes/small upgrades/etc so i am hoping when I get the car checked out that a bunch of stuff has ben done already that i can check off my list. :)Yeah, you're in it for the long-haul :thumbup

I've pretty much stuck to OEM stuff with the occasional 'upgrade' (e.g., Powerflex bushings or license plate LEDs). Almost all of what I posted that's being done to the ZHP, I already did to the 325 at some point in the past.

Incidentally, some people upgrade the water pump with a metal impeller one (usually Meyle or Stewart -- the latter's very pricey); I've found that it's not worth it -- just get OEM (or the OEM manufacturer; e.g., Lemfoerder for control arms, Mahle for the fuel filter, or Saleri for the water pump). Bavauto has a good selection of non-BMW branded OEM equipment to get you acquainted.

BTW, the power-steering "turkey-baster" method I mentioned in my post is here: http://www.linquist.net/motorsports/bmw/maf -- basically, you use a turkey baster (buy a cheap one) to replace the ATF in the power steering (yes, these cars require Dexron III in the power steering -- I use RedLine D4, although D6 should be OK, if more expensive). So far, I'm on my second quart of D4 and I still can't see through the fluid, but the steering's gotten so much smoother. Every morning (or when the fluid's not hot), I remove some and replace... eventually I won't need to do that anymore, but so far I'm about 7 days in.

[fredo]

Welcome ! You will love this forum.

[Kimber]

I bought the '06 today. Details to follow, it's been a long day, but so excited! Thanks guys!

[Sicily1918]

I bought the '06 today. Details to follow, it's been a long day, but so excited! Thanks guys!Thus the following smiley:

:worthless

Congrats!

[Kimber]

25435

[fredo]

That's a keeper ! :thumbup

[danewilson77]

That's a keeper ! :thumbup
+1

Welcome

Sent from an S6 Edge

[BMWCurves]

Awesome, the car looks great!

Now post more pics! :begging

[Kimber]

I will get some more pics up soon.


Quick question so I don't have to search, but Mobil 1 is doing a rebate right now on their 5qt synthetic with their filter and you get $15 back on rebate. Which weight and "brand" should I be buying for this car now?

Can I use Mobile 1 filter or is their a better option. (the rebate is $12 if you don't get the filter as well)

Thanks!

[BMWCurves]

I've always thought you stick with MANN filter (the whole kit is like $5 on Amazon). As for Mobil1 synthetic, a lot of people use it, 0W-40.

[Snuffalufigus]

Beautiful! Welcome :)
25435

[ELCID86]

I've always thought you stick with MANN filter (the whole kit is like $5 on Amazon). As for Mobil1 synthetic, a lot of people use it, 0W-40.

This.

[Kimber]

Thanks for the oil info guys, so I am looking for the Mobile 1 0w40 that says European Car Formula on the bottle correct?

I'll look up the Mann filter on Amazon now.

[BMWCurves]

Thanks for the oil info guys, so I am looking for the Mobile 1 0w40 that says European Car Formula on the bottle correct?

I'll look up the Mann filter on Amazon now.

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Mann-Filter-HU-925-Metal-Free-Filter/dp/B000CB7DG6?ie=UTF8&colid=SYNOBYSMYXA7&coliid=I1I6YIZHCPPZKF&ref_=gl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl

[Kimber]

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Mann-Filter-HU-925-Metal-Free-Filter/dp/B000CB7DG6?ie=UTF8&colid=SYNOBYSMYXA7&coliid=I1I6YIZHCPPZKF&ref_=gl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl

OK thanks!

[cakM3]

Welcome to the Mafia Kimber... you got yourself one fine looking vert! :thumbsup I love the color! :)

[johnrando]

A belated welcome... beautiful car.