to do 60K mile service on '99 328i or not to?

[neesheeth]

As i mentioned in another thread, i'm considering buying a '99 328i that has 57K miles on it. I'm just estimating the upcoming maintenance costs that I would be incuring in near future. One of the things that comes to my mind is the 60K mile service. Is it a must to get this 60K mile service done or do u think i might be fine without it? Also, all the 4 tires were replaced at 32K miles, so these tires have 25K miles on them. How long do you think I could go with these set of tires?

And another question and concern. On this forum i saw posts from folks who say beamers would easily run 200++ K miles if maintained well. Well, i'm not a literate in automobiles. So wondering, whats meant by 'maintained well'? I don't abuse a car and usually drive it with respect. Is the regular one year/15K oil change enough? What other maintenance is required on old bmws like the one that i'm considering and how expensive are these. Any estimate would help me making a better informed decision.

Thanks guys!!

 

[frolf]

maintained well just means fresh fluids when needed, and premium gas. 1999 isn't by any means an old bmw.'

i'm not sure, but i think your 60k service is the Level 2 inspection, which for me was about $750.

 

[neesheeth]

so in that case, the maintenance just means a few hundred dollars, right?

once again, i'm such a novice when it comes to maintaining a car. so pardon my ignorance.

Thanks!

 

[frolf]

a few hundo should cover you.

 

[VANCE]

i took mine in @ 60,000 expecting a pretty hefty bill...much to my suprise the service writer came out and told me i only needed an engine service...it was $200

 

[neesheeth]

thats a super pleasant surprise. I thought that the dealers charge a basic 60K service fee (which i would imagine is around $600-$700) and then would charge for anything else that needs to be changed/repaired.

 

[Section_8]

regular maintainance means - look in your manual, and take the car in at every milage interval it says and do to it what it says. And don't let any alert indicators sit blinking at you for days/weeks/months straight before getting it checked out.

BMW's can go a loooong time, my wife finally put her old L7 to rest last year - with 360,000 miles on it! (She got it used at around 280,000 I believe) Hated to see it go, but I just didn't want to put so much money into a car (fine ride nonetheless) without it being a *sports* car of some sort.

 

[Abdoman]

You can find the list of things that the inspections cover and do some of them yourself to save money. I had an inspection 2 done on my car a few months ago. It required changing the radiator fluid and a tune up, which means replacing the spark plugs. Both of these jobs are easy, so I did them myself and let the dealer do the rest of the items listed. You can find the inspection items list on the www.bmwusa.com website.