Guess who’s out there in my office motorcycle parking area despite two inches of standing water and Zeppelin-wrecking winds? Once you read the articles in this week’s roundup, you’ll know the answer. (Hint: It ain’t me!)
Brother Bark took me to dinner last week in his rental Trailhawk. I was working in Palm Beach, he was working in Miami. Yeah, we’ve got it rough. But Bark also took time to suggest that a BMW might match a Camry for reliability, if all conditions are met. And since he’s made Miami his second home, so to speak, it seemed reasonable for Bark to write an open letter to Florida, as well.
At TTAC, I recounted an encounter with a honky and waved goodbye to a trusty race car.
For R&T, I told the story of an adventure biker who is ready to give up the adventure and showed you how to avoid speeding tickets using this one weird trick discovered by a (guy who has slept with a) female schoolteacher.
This weekend, I’ll be coaching drivers at Summit Point, so stop by and say hello!
“There’s no substitute for a motorcycle.” It pains me to read that, exactly one week after I sold my last motorcycle to help fund my budding autocross and HPDE habit.
Meanwhile, here at ACL, your future third wife’s singing her tunes.
You mean Corinne? Wish I was there.
I can testify about work trucks being invisible, especially if they’re white. I’ve run my F-350 dually at triple digits and never a ticket(hope I didn’t just jinx myself). One thing that helps is STAY OUTTA THE LEFT LANE. Pass and get back over. More than a couple times I’ve done that and in the middle of passing saw a cop. No issue, no blue light special, no nothing. My cars, I’ll stay with the traffic flow, bikes 10-15 over(the flow of traffic) for the most part. I used to get a letter yearly from the DMV showing my points accumulation and how close I was to losing my license. Been 3 1/2 years since my last ticket, see if I can keep it up.
Your bro will be back. No serious rider just quits - barring some major life event.
I liked your article about speeding in trucks - I’m always amazed at the leeway I get when I’m wearing a nice shirt and driving an older, clean 4 door japanese sedan relative to the short leash people with wings on their cars get. Do you think that minivans get away with more or less than chromed trucks?
You guys going to the Jalopnik kart racing event?
Blue 1990 Chevy work truck, got pulled over for no seat belt once. On Christmas Eve, got pulled over for speeding. I think I was doing 30 in a 25 or some such crap. Mind you, there is nothing particularly special about this truck; it’s like a million others (OK maybe 10s of thousands) just like it.
Pretty good luck with the family car though, a plain old ’02 Passat GLX wagen. It looks so conservative you don’t even see it.
Oddly, never been pulled over in the Corvette *knock wood*
Thats because only old men who go 8 over drive vettes!
This is just me being jealous
Re Barks’ BMW recommendation: Please feel free to share with Doug, I just don’t post on TTAC that often.
I’ve owned two E90s in the past approximately seven years: a 2006 325i (2.5 years, ~45k miles driven) and a 2008 335i (just under 5 years, ~70k miles driven), both automatics, unfortunately. The 325i was purchased from a generic import specialist lot while the 335i was purchased certified from a BMW dealer. Both were sold because I realized that maintenance costs moving forward would be more than could be justified given their depreciated value, even with me doing a lot of my own maintenance, particularly in the past 18 months with the 335i (I even had a scan tool).
They’re truly wonderful cars, and, from some of what I’ve read, better drivers than the following F30 generation. I’ll likely have a third one at some point. But they can kick your ass big time, and both of mine stranded me on several occasions.
The four biggest problems with E90s generally are: (1) battery replacement; (2) cooling system failures; (3) automatic transmission maintenance; and (4) BMW’s idiotically lackluster maintenance schedule. The problems aren’t insurmountable, but you have to keep your head on a swivel and act proactively. If you don’t, they will bite you (it happened to me).
Battery replacement through a dealer costs $300-500 and replacement through an independent probably costs $300 because you have to “register” the battery to the car using a scan tool (I shit you not). The battery should last 3-5 years, but I was going through batteries in my 325i once a year (part of the reason I got rid of it). If the battery dies on you, you’re probably fucked and will need a tow to a shop unless, if you’re lucky, you can let the car sit long enough to fully “power down” and try again. Notably, in seven years and at least three batteries in two cars, waiting only worked once. In short, if it sounds like its taking longer than usual to crank, replace the battery ASAP or you risk getting stuck some place you don’t want to be.
The cooling system components in the N5x engines are designed to enrich the pockets of BMW dealers and parts manufacturers I believe. There’s a heavy reliance on plastics throughout and the plastics steadily degrade. Water pumps and thermostats are the two biggest offenders and should be replaced in pairs even if only one fails. I paid $700 once for a thermostat replacement and was told that my water pump replacement under warranty would have cost at least $1000 if it had been on my dime. There’s also this stupid little return line running across the top of the cooling fan. Once the car gets over 80k miles, the plastic comprising the center of the line is basically shot and will fail at the slightest disturbance. Basically, on E90s, substantial portions of the cooling system should be considered wear items and part of scheduled maintenance. Expect to get 60k out of the water pump and thermostat and consider any mileage beyond that a gift and borrowed time.
Automatic transmission maintenance should not be neglected even though it’s not part of any factory maintenance schedule. It’s a lifetime fill, but that’s bullshit unless your idea of lifetime is “likely to fail past 100k miles.” Fluid exchanges should be performed every 50k miles with certain parts replaced at each change. The big parts replacement involves replacing certain clutch pack items (I think) and failure to do that maintenance can result in the car eventually stranding you.
Finally, the factory maintenance schedule is simply inadequate. Oil changes should be performed at 7500 miles instead of the 15000 miles recommended by BMW and the car’s computer system. Additionally, power steering fluid and differential fluid should be replaced at intervals of at least 30,000 (I think you can go longer). The spark plug replacement interval is probably ok (100k miles in NA cars, 50k miles in turbo cars), but it may be worthwhile to replace coils every other spark plug change. Also, valve cover and oil filter housing gaskets are known to leak and the belt tensioner tends to fail past 80,000. Finally, several of the control arm bushings are fluid filled and will fail, but can be remedied by replacing the entire control arm (ball joints are not removable BTW) or replacing the fluid bushings with urethane and waiting for the ball joints to fail (what I did). Comprehensive, enthusiast-centered maintenance schedules are available online.
There are other potential failures, including various sensors, selenoids, bushings, etc. And the turbo motors have the own set of unique problems.
All that said, if you’re willing to put up with the above-described bullshit (and then some), I highly recommend the E90. I sold my 335i last month with the intent to buy a Porsche, but I’m already missing my old car and may wind up with another E90 and/or an E85 (Z4) instead. To anyone in the market for an E90 with the intent to keep it long term I have following recommendations:
Buy a manual
Get a PPI even if it’s just from the dealer
Buy your own scan tool
Either buy a ridiculously low mileage car or try to buy one that’s had the water pump and thermostat replaced
Try to buy one that’s had oil changes performed more frequently than every 15,000 miles
Buy a car with sports package
Don’t buy a car with navigation
If you buy a 335i, be aware that N54s, while easier to modify are more maintenance intensive, N55s I’ve heard are easier to live with long-term.
I’m probably forgetting a half-dozen things, but they’re really great cars, honestly :-).
Owning a BMW seems like being married to an abusive spouse. “No, it’s okay, replacing failed parts is just ‘maintenance!””
Maaaaan, I’ve never had the urge to get a bike before, but reading these articles the last couple months have made it real hard not to start shopping for one.
Just received an email from Michael Jarrah regarding some comments you made on TTAC in early September. Was he really one of the worst people you know? Surely Bertel was much worse. I am curious because Jarrah seems ok, if a bit bland.
Michaell Karesh (damn auto correct)!
I don’t like the ethics of TrueDelta. Never have. It was a constant issue when we were both at TTAC. I didn’t understand why we promoted a guy who claims to impartially review reliability of the same manufacturers he begs for press cars, airfare, and lodging.
Thanks for the reply. That makes sense.