Nonsense Thread

[McGyver]

What brand would that be? Every modern car is so loaded up with plastic and electronics that pretty much all of them are going to be unrealistic cars to own long term (15+ years). There are no cars made today that are as durable as something like a Mercedes W123, or older BMWs.

This is so true. I've had e30s with the original radiator that worked just fine after 20+ years and 300k miles. The plastic in my f30 radiator barely lasted 7 years and 90k miles before it started turning to chocolate goop.

Aww great now people are going to think I listen to farah I bring up the "screens are cheaper" thing, that guy annoys me. I've been saying this is a cost thing since the first teslas hit the market and really polarized people with their giant screens.

Wow, I had no idea you were a Farah fan!

[rturbo 930]

This is so true. I've had e30s with the original radiator that worked just fine after 20+ years and 300k miles. The plastic in my f30 radiator barely lasted 7 years and 90k miles before it started turning to chocolate goop.

I wouldn't be surprised if mine is original. Seems like the radiator became a maintenance item with the E36 gen and its infamous cooling system. I've never understood why the radiator would be a wear item. It doesn't have moving parts or a friction surface. I guess with the E36 the plastic OEM radiator gets fragile and cracks... okay, so put an aluminum one in it lol, why would you put another OE radiator in. Doesn't make any sense. My '53 Willys has the original radiator. It had a leak when I first got it, I think my dad simply brazed or soldered the crack and it's been fine since. Imagine that, repairing an item on a car instead of replacing it.

[2mAn]

Wow, I had no idea you were a Farah fan!

[khiobrien2]

Radiators and many other parts unnecessarily becoming wear items is reason 9387475 why I cannot own anything “modern” after having my E30. Such bullshit and it all feels like planned obsolescence for the sake of nothing but profit.

E30 dirtbag for life.

[varg]

Metal radiators leak too. I had to replace one in my old Volvo after it refused to take solder repairs.

[Panici]

Radiators and many other parts unnecessarily becoming wear items is reason 9387475 why I cannot own anything “modern” after having my E30. Such bullshit and it all feels like planned obsolescence for the sake of nothing but profit.

E30 dirtbag for life.

Newest BMW I'd ever consider owning is an E36. (With a special exception for a Laguna Seca Blue E46 M3)
Newest car in my personal fleet is an '04 Jeep TJ but was designed in the mid-90s.

I cannot stand planned obsolescence, whether we are talking about cars or appliances.

There is absolutely no excuse for parts failures on what I consider "new" vehicles (anything under 10 years old). When I hear of turbo (or more recently battery pack) failures on new vehicles I just shake my head.

My nearly 40 year old E28 still has many original parts and still technically runs, drives, and stops (even if it needs a full restoration to be even driver's quality).

[MrBurgundy]

All the new electronic wastegate shit brakes all the time and mercedes won't sell you anything but a remaned turbo, even if your wastegate failed.... 4k

e46 e39 BMW era is still very good. I prefer to skip the e36 e34 era.. the interiors of the latter is just infinitely better and lasts way longer, in my anecdotal experience.

Any rad will leak eventually, especially aluminum core/plastic tank ones..

Newest vehicle I own is my 2005 Chevy, which was peak Chevy for something that's not a classic. New cars are total dog shit.

[McGyver]

My newest car is a 2014 335i (e30 to f30). It's been a HUGE step up in comfort and features. It's also been great to have so much reliable power. Sure, there are dumb things (cooling system, gummy door handles, no map updates, 3G sunset, etc.), but I REALLY like how easy it is to get more power without putting in much work. It's also really cool to be able to customize so many features in the car by adjusting the factory settings (auto folding mirrors, how the comfort access works, seat sliding back when getting out, etc.). It's also really nice to have such comprehensive diagnostics and accessibility of information (voltage, coolant temp, oil temp, oil pressure, boost pressure, AFR, etc.)

There is definitely a tradeoff in overall reliability, but you can get so mush more. I'm not sure what I'll get after the f30, but I have been enjoying it for the last 4 years.

[2mAn]

I've said it before, and us as "old" E30 owners can attest to, currently the 00s are the E30s of our youth. They are relatively cheap being at the bottom of their depreciation and if you can find one thats been well-maintained around its 2nd or 3rd owner, its a great buy to have as a daily driver so the E30 can be driven for enjoyment. I like my current 06 TDI Jetta, it offers excellent fuel economy and is fully 'throw-away' status if something bad were to happen. I wanted a E39 530 with a manual box, but the MPG it was going to return made it much less appealing. If I commuted at freeway speeds I could've made a case for it. the MK5 had a bunch of failing plastic and an old 6-disc changer headunit but some cheap ebay switches and then a good headunit has bluetooth, and some other goodies so its now modern enough.

Good time to buy a 330 with either a M54 or even an N52. I think the turbo stuff will falter and I think eventually a 128i would be a wonderful buy

[MrBurgundy]

N52 330i e90 is next to the e39 for ultimate DD IMO

The N52 might be the best non M engine BMW has made. It beats the M54 in my book with the power they make. Their valvetronic system is soooooooooo good. Hardly done any replairs to valvetronic systems in my 13 years at the shop.

Non iDrive e90s are such awesome cars..

[Northern]

I agree with the e90 comment. Aesthetically aged well, nice interior, cheap, manual. I think an e91 would make an awesome daily, but there's a price premium over the e90.

F30s (ideally F31) seem like a good pickup, but I know almost nothing about them and I don't think they came manual or at least are exceedingly rare.

I do like having a comfy/newish daily with modern safety BS and bells & whistles, and have had relatively few issues with doing this.
When I do have issues, it's always something stupid, like my XC90's headlight leaking from some stupid locating tab being snapped off, or right now where the rear caliper piston is seized, and anywhere other than the dealer is on intergalactic backorder so I'm forced to either spend $550 on a goddamn brake caliper or take a shot at rebuilding it.

[McGyver]

F30s (ideally F31) seem like a good pickup, but I know almost nothing about them and I don't think they came manual or at least are exceedingly rare.

I've got an f30 (sedan) with the n55 and a 6-speed. I really enjoy that car.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think all US f31s are 4-cyl turbos with automatics. I've read about timing chain problems on early n20 engines, but the b48 seems to be very reliable. They are really nice cars and have plenty of power for such a small engine, I'd give it a look. I feel like my f30 is built very similar to how an e46 or e90 is put together. So although it's a little different, it's not completely alien to work on.

[MrBurgundy]

n55s are cake to work on.

Great engines

The n54 tho.... different animal for sure.

[McGyver]

The only thing that's been a major pain on my n55 has been replacing the o-ring on a turbo coolant pipe. I went through 4 or 5 o-rings trying to get the thing on, but kept slicing the ring on the sharp edge of the block because I couldn't get the pipe to go in straight.

The annoying thing is that BMWs catalog is not correct for some turbo related things. It'll pull catalytic converter gaskets for a 2013 n55 with a PWG instead of the 2014 updated version with an EWG. There are also some associated turbo coolant pipes that are incorrectly associated with the engine.

Other than that, it's been great. Just minor maintenance and repairs for known issues. I'm really happy that I bought it over another e30.

[Exodus_2pt0]

Many threads of this type have tried, none have lived.

Glad to see this thread still going.

That said, I sold my old diesel Grand cherokee that had become yard art to some random guy with a tow truck for $50. It's at the scrap yard now.

What did I do with that $50 you ask? Well, the Mrs. and I found ourselves at Costco that day so I bought 2 fat lobster tails. Never made it myself, so figured why not. Well... I made the mistake of trying to cook it to temp, and while my mind was saying (they've been in there too long), the thermometer said different. I should have trusted myself.... Totally ruined $50 worth of lobster to the point that the dogs wouldn't even touch it, and they eat deer poo....