Questions and Answers

BMW 325i Has A New Owner Q. Greetings, You are just the man I wanted to talk to! I've just purchased a 1992 BMW 325i V-6, 5 speed. It has 134,000 miles on it. I have two questions for you. With normal maintenance, how many miles could I expect to get out of this model? Also, I notice the engine hesitates a bit out of first and second gears.

Example, I'm at a stop light, when I put it into first and accelerate, the car goes but it takes a second or two then I really take off. I hear a sort of bubble sound coming from the exhaust. It does it in second gear sometimes also.

You know when you just turn on the car you have that strip of green, yellow and red indicator lights. I guess they are to notify you when it is time to service the car, well two of the green lights are off. I was hoping maybe I just need some routine servicing.

I thought of one more question for you. As a new owner of this car, what should I have checked out for my own piece of mind?

I greatly appreciate your time,
Chris

A. First let's start with your maintenance required lights. The green lights turn off in between service intervals one by one, then when it's due for service, the yellow light activates, when it's overdue, the red light turns on.

There's no telling how many miles you can expect to get out of a particular vehicle, however, I've seen models similar to yours go over 200k miles without major repairs.

Your hesitation can be caused by many different things. I would perform a visual inspection for vacuum leaks, check the knock retard sensor by tapping on the block near the sensor while the engine is running and listen for a change in engine note. Verify the quality of the plug wires and spark plugs, and probably stop by my nearest Autozone and see if they will pull the codes for me.

Knock sensor for cylinders 1 to 3 is located beneath temperature sensors, near the ventilation spigot on the alternator.

Knock sensor for cylinders 4 to 6.

The things to look for when buying a used car are many. Signs of neglect or faulty repairs are universal to all cars. Cleanliness of the oil, obvious leakage, excessive pedal wear when mileage is low, unusual tire tread wear, loose or worn suspension components, body quality or fitting of doors, trunk, and hood.

There are very few unique idiosyncracies to be mindful of on a BMW with the exception of perhaps the torque coupler on the drive line. This is a composite disc which connects the output shaft of the transmission to the drive shaft. A visual inspection of the quality and condition of the coupler is a good idea to give you a feeling for when this will need to be replaced. If any cracks, tears, or fraying is visible it's best to plan on replacement as soon as possible.