[Desertraptor]

My names Peter, I'm 53, I work in defence and have a great wife who is more than happy to say we bought a BMW instead of "we borta" something else.

Well it took me 30 odd years of driving to get one but for now I'm happy I did.
Purchased privately a 2006 325i with only 114000km on the clock.
Still drives like a new car. Running stock engine with 19" M3 wheels and crazy wide rubber.

I'm here for the banter and the assitance. No 2nd hand car ever comes 100% and I am finding things that need fixing.

Already fixed the cup holders as per instructions found here. Next is the passenger side mirror that does not adjust. Not a biggie since I'm the only driver and the drivers vanity mirror/visor.

So where to go for the best prices on replacement parts?

Cheers all

Peter

[BimmerNugget]

Not sure about Australia, but in the United States OE BMW parts can be found at FCP Euro, Getbmwparts.com, Pelican Parts, ECS Tuning, and a lot of others.

Also, assuming you purchased a decent condition car with no leaking valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, and oil filter housing gasket, the next thing I would do immediately is change all 6 spark plugs and coils ($180 Bosch parts, 2 hour DIY), oil & filter change ($45 7 quarts castrol edge 0w-40 from walmart, 40 min DIY), and lastly change out that water pump and thermostat if the previous owner did not do it yet. ($496 for OEM parts, 4-6 hour DIY)

*If any of the above mentioned gaskets are leaking, I would do the gaskets first before doing anything else* These gaskets are a pain in the ass, parts are cheap but the labor rate is going to bury you, unless you are great at DIY.

Purchase a Foxwell NT510 BMW scanner for about $140 USD, it'll be the best investment you ever make if you plan on DIYing alot of stuff.

Good luck and enjoy the BMW life!

[BeastMode335i]

My buddy Socket knows people in Australia who could definitely point you in the right direction bud.. Good luck!

[Desertraptor]

Originally Posted by BimmerNugget

Not sure about Australia, but in the United States OE BMW parts can be found at FCP Euro, Getbmwparts.com, Pelican Parts, ECS Tuning, and a lot of others.

Also, assuming you purchased a decent condition car with no leaking valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, and oil filter housing gasket, the next thing I would do immediately is change all 6 spark plugs and coils ($180 Bosch parts, 2 hour DIY), oil & filter change ($45 7 quarts castrol edge 0w-40 from walmart, 40 min DIY), and lastly change out that water pump and thermostat if the previous owner did not do it yet. ($496 for OEM parts, 4-6 hour DIY)

*If any of the above mentioned gaskets are leaking, I would do the gaskets first before doing anything else* These gaskets are a pain in the ass, parts are cheap but the labor rate is going to bury you, unless you are great at DIY.

Purchase a Foxwell NT510 BMW scanner for about $140 USD, it'll be the best investment you ever make if you plan on DIYing alot of stuff.

Good luck and enjoy the BMW life!

Thanks for your thoughts.
Seems I may have a leak somewhere that needs looking at. oil level was max when I purchased a week ago. Checked this morning and it was nearly quarter down. Looks like I'll be finding a local BMW service centre very soon.
An oil top up in the mean time.

As far as I know, unless the last owner had codes reset, all the servicing has been done to date. Receipts provided for water pump, radiator, hoses, brakes etc. But buying privately who knows what lies were told.
Probably should have stuck to a car dealer.
Hope I don't live to regret this buy.
Otherwise the car goes great.

[Desertraptor]

Originally Posted by BeastMode335i

My buddy Socket knows people in Australia who could definitely point you in the right direction bud.. Good luck!

Thanks. I've located what is supposed to be a good mechanic. Will pay them a visit when service is due. See how it goes.

[BimmerNugget]

Originally Posted by Desertraptor

Thanks for your thoughts.
Seems I may have a leak somewhere that needs looking at. oil level was max when I purchased a week ago. Checked this morning and it was nearly quarter down. Looks like I'll be finding a local BMW service centre very soon.
An oil top up in the mean time.

As far as I know, unless the last owner had codes reset, all the servicing has been done to date. Receipts provided for water pump, radiator, hoses, brakes etc. But buying privately who knows what lies were told.
Probably should have stuck to a car dealer.
Hope I don't live to regret this buy.
Otherwise the car goes great.

uhhh.....if my math is correct (1/4) * 6.9 quarts oil capacity = 1.7 quarts of oil lost in just 1 week.....THIS IS A SERIOUS LEAKING ISSUE. How are you not in a panic?

I would get that gasket fixed ASAP, you're looking at about a $1,200 USD bill in the U.S. if you get it done at the dealer.

[ctuna]

The electronic dip stick can fool the novice .
It only reads the top quart of 7 for the entire range.
So the whole range of the graph only measures the top quart.
If you are down a quarter of the scale its only .25 quarts.
Also you have to average measurements as it can vary from
day to day . There are big threads on this many of us wish for
a physical old time dipstick.

Also it does not update right away so if you start puting oil in a quart at a time you are all most sure to overfill it.
You need to put a little in at a time then drive it maybe three times for maybe 20 minutes each and take the average.

There are many threads on the electronic dipstick and some hate for it.

[Desertraptor]

Thanks for the input guys.
Took a better look with a torch tonight. I thin it might be the head gasket. If that's the case my $13000 car has turned into a $13000 car with a fix cost of several thousand.
I hope that's not the case. Feeling rather foolish ATM diving in as I did.

[Socket]

Originally Posted by Desertraptor

My names Peter, I'm 53, I work in defence and have a great wife who is more than happy to say we bought a BMW instead of "we borta" something else.

Well it took me 30 odd years of driving to get one but for now I'm happy I did.
Purchased privately a 2006 325i with only 114000km on the clock.
Still drives like a new car. Running stock engine with 19" M3 wheels and crazy wide rubber.

I'm here for the banter and the assitance. No 2nd hand car ever comes 100% and I am finding things that need fixing.

Already fixed the cup holders as per instructions found here. Next is the passenger side mirror that does not adjust. Not a biggie since I'm the only driver and the drivers vanity mirror/visor.

So where to go for the best prices on replacement parts?

Cheers all

Peter

There is an Australian sub section to this forum with plenty of local stuff
For example this

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1062013

Welcome to the forums Pete

[ctuna]

Head gaskets leaks are not that common the common ones
are the Oil Filter Housing gasket and the Valve Cover gasket.
around 500 and 1000 here in the US if you take it to a shop.
The parts are around 10 and 100 respectively its all labor.

Oil Filter Housing gasket is a relativly simple job.
Valve Cover not so much lots of stuff to get out of the way
and rear access is tight.

[Desertraptor]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Head gaskets leaks are not that common the common ones
are the Oil Filter Housing gasket and the Valve Cover gasket.
around 500 and 1000 here in the US if you take it to a shop.
The parts are around 10 and 100 respectively its all labor.

Oil Filter Housing gasket is a relativly simple job.
Valve Cover not so much lots of stuff to get out of the way
and rear access is tight.

Hopefully it's something as simple.
I have a Nissan Pathfinder that has a recurring oil leak. Was great until it hit 200K a great car and motor.

But a 325i with 114000 should not leak oil. Surely BMW have a reputation to up hold. Surely they build better than the Japanese?

The only oil I can see is under the intake manifold. Was very depressing to find on what's otherwise a very very nice car.

[Desertraptor]

Originally Posted by Socket

There is an Australian sub section to this forum with plenty of local stuff
For example this

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1062013

Welcome to the forums Pete

Thanks for the info. Will check it out.

[ctuna]

[GoRomeo]

Welcome Mate!

[Desertraptor]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Will be booking in for inspection. Will see what's wrong and what I can do.

[Desertraptor]

Originally Posted by GoRomeo

Welcome Mate!

cheers cobber