Freaking internet, hell yes.

glhs837

Power with Control
So, needed a utility infielder vehicle, in case one of the regulars go down for maint, and for the live-in sister-in-laws occasion use. Wife scored a smoking deal on a 2001 BMW 325i with only 135K for $1500. Minor annoyances, if you are a decent mechanic, I recommend these cars, made with the mechanic in mind. Two $25 window regulators from Amazon and some ant baits (previous owner had left enough vegetable matter gather in the fender engine bay gap for them to nest) later, ready to go. Except all of a sudden, doors wont unlock. Drivers door can be with a key, but other doors, not happening. Diagnosis, looks bad at first. General Module #5 has packed it in. Early reports are that it's a$900 fix........

Enter the internet. Some guy in CA has the right tools to replace the known weak relays. BMW guys swear by him. Module mail out express Monday AM, arrives back today, all better. And I have to say, I love wrenching on these cars. Glovebox, six screws, drops right out, enough extra wiring harness on the two light to rest it on the floor. Module is right there, connections are super easy to remove. Dont have to hold this, while squeezing that, and also pulling on the harness. Plugs are held in by camming clamps. Rotate them and it pops the connector off.
 
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FISHTAIL

Coordinating the Truth
So, needed a utility infielder vehicle, in case one of the regulars go down for maint, and for the live-in sister-in-laws occasion use. Wife scored a smoking deal on a 2001 BMW 325i with only 135K for $1500. Minor annoyances, if you are a decent mechanic, I recommend these cars, made with the mechanic in mind. Two $25 window regulators from Amazon and some ant baits (previous owner had left enough vegetable matter gather in the fender engine bay gap for them to nest) later, ready to go. Except all of a sudden, doors wont unlock. Drivers door can be with a key, but other doors, not happening. Diagnosis, looks bad at first. General Module #5 has packed it in. Early reports are that it's a$900 fix........

Enter the internet. Some guy in CA has the right tools to replace the known weak relays. BMW guys swear by him. Module mail out express Monday AM, arrives back today, all better. And I have to say, I love wrenching on these cars. Glovebox, six screws, drops right out, enough extra wiring harness on the two light to rest it on the floor. Module is right there, connections are super easy to remove. Dont have to hold this, while squeezing that, and also pulling on the harness. Plugs are held in by camming clamps. Rotate them and it pops the connector off.

Agreed. I had a 2002 330i with the premium and sport packages that I drove around for a number of years. Loved that car. It was fun to drive, got good gas mileage, and it was easy as crap to work on. Unfortunately, the maintenance schedule for the BMW's is a little steep, but nothing is hard to do. I had to replace all my window regulators at one time or another, all easy to do. Water pump as part of the cooling system maintenance? No problem, easy to remove. Ditto on the brakes (same wrench for all 4 wheels? Hell yes, thank you BMW), front LCA bushings were also easy. My only complaint about the car was that it destroyed rear tires. The factory alignment settings on the sport model ran a couple of degrees of camber out back and it always did a number on the inside edge of the tire. This was compounded by the different wheel offsets front/rear so you couldn't even rotate them to conserve tire life. I'd go through at least 2-3 sets of rears for every set up front.

I was recently looking around to see how much the 03/04 ZHP's are going for..I was considering ditching my focus ST for another E46, as I kind of miss the car. Still might..though the convenience of a new car warranty is nice.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Boys got me staring real hard at the damn 1Ms............. I think after the battleship SRT-8, my next thing might be nimble and light.... and I say damn 1M bcuase the things were so freaking good that they now cost more than when new..... and that price is a bit steep........
 

BlueBird

Well-Known Member
Boys got me staring real hard at the damn 1Ms............. I think after the battleship SRT-8, my next thing might be nimble and light.... and I say damn 1M bcuase the things were so freaking good that they now cost more than when new..... and that price is a bit steep........

Blasphemy! Please tell me you still have the Charger Bill? How's she been for you? reliable? How many miles on her? I sold my Challenger. Cool car but the two doors drove me nuts, but I loved the 5.7 and I know the SRT motor would have been even more fun if I could have afforded it! I would love to get hands on a used SRT-8 for the right price (charger not challenger though) got to have the four doors.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Still have her, taking her into work this AM as a matter of fact. Had to change the oil pump last January. Has a little over 195,000 miles. Don't plan on getting rid of it. Just starting that motor makes me smile even after all this time.

I loved light weight and high power in FWD, and now big weight and high power in RWD, think maybe it's going to be time to combine the two. I think RWD with 330ish tq and hp with a 3200lb curb weight might hit it right on the money.
 
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