Post up your latest purchases!

[m_bisson]

No carpet? How does it sound in the room? Might need some treatment.

[ricola]

Costco? How much?


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[SomeGuy]

No carpet? How does it sound in the room? Might need some treatment.

Seriously? Who gives a sh!t? It sounds perfectly fine for having some tunes on in our great room while we cook/entertain. At least it's not a god damn bluetooth speaker like most people use.

[ricola]

Seriously? Who gives a sh!t? It sounds perfectly fine for having some tunes on in our great room while we cook/entertain. At least it's not a god damn bluetooth speaker like most people use.

Hey man, those free Budweiser Bluetooth speakers are the best!


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[SilentJay]

Costco? How much?

I believe they were marked down to $35 each

[SomeGuy]

Costco? How much?


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Check out the ones at TSC...they're 4500 lumens, bit more expensive but super bright.

[SirWanker]

nice stubby, too bad about the beer!

[alhope34]

A rear motor mount for my Yaris. Amazon has almost everything.

[optiklenz13]

Bilstein and Swift springs for the ND.


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[Default User]

Bilstein and Swift springs for the ND.


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You ain’t messin around, eh?!

[optiklenz13]

You ain’t messin around, eh?!

Lol. I already have a 4x4. I don’t need another one.


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[FD22]

[m_bisson]

@FD22 you better use your turn signals.

[S.F.W.]

Damn

[FD22]

@FD22 you better use your turn signals.

Use my what? Not sure what this is you speak of

Damn

I'm probably gonna need another plate cover lol oddly enough, I can't find anything that suits my OCD needs quite as well as the TM3 covers.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

N54?

[FD22]

N54?

Yup! Am I mistaken, or were you one of the many TM3ers that moved onto this platform as well?

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Yup! Am I mistaken, or were you one of the many TM3ers that moved onto this platform as well?

welcome

yup! there are a number of us with an N54 of some sort from a 1er to a 3er.

great car stock.. just be prepared for the common maintenance items if they haven't been taken care of my the previous owner

[FD22]

welcome

yup! there are a number of us with an N54 of some sort from a 1er to a 3er.

great car stock.. just be prepared for the common maintenance items if they haven't been taken care of my the previous owner

Thanks!

Nice. I'll probably get in touch with you soon. Despite endless reading online the past couple weeks, I'm still fairly clueless on these cars lol tons to learn.

Yea, I tried to do my research beforehand. The cars not in the mintiest shape cosmetically (despite the picture lol), but one of the big reasons I jumped on it was the well maintained history. Checked most of the boxes as far as common N54 issues go.

[Flagrum_3]

welcome

yup! there are a number of us with an N54 of some sort from a 1er to a 3er.

great car stock.. just be prepared for the common maintenance items if they haven't been taken care of my the previous owner

From my research, (although I have to admit I really love these cars), I would not buy a used one simply because there are some serious known issues with the N54. Oil consumption issues, and very expensive premature component failures to name some.

Anyways, I'm no expert on them either just researched them as a workmate had one for sale recently, which I ended up passing on.

@McGuyver_3 Would be the guy to talk to on this as I believe he still works at BMW and works on these things everyday.

@FD22 Good luck on your new purchase, she looks pretty nice.


_3

[MajesticBlueNTO]

From my research, (although I have to admit I really love these cars), I would not buy a used one simply because there are some serious known issues with the N54. Oil consumption issues, and very expensive premature component failures to name some.

Anyways, I'm no expert on them either just researched them as a workmate had one for sale recently, which I ended up passing on.

@McGuyver_3 Would be the guy to talk to on this as I believe he still works at BMW and works on these things everyday.

@FD22 Good luck on your new purchase, she looks pretty nice.


_3

it's just like with any used car... you do your research and see if you're willing to accept the risks. no used car is perfect and, while the N54 had its share of issues in the first few years, they were mainly taken care of by BMW through recalls or service bulletins.

If the previous owner has taken care of the car and also had the issues taken care of, then it is an acceptable risk.

but you have to know what you're getting into and expect to fix the common maintenance items if the previous owner has not done any of the following:
* valve cover and valve cover gaskets
* oil filter housing and oil cooler housing gaskets
* oil pan gasket
(oil consumption is mainly related to the gaskets above leaking)
* electronic water pump and thermostat
* vacuum lines - from pressure solenoids to wastegates, from pressure solenoids to vac canisters, from vac canisters across motor to vac line on the driver's side
* ignition coils
* spark plugs
* coolant lines (the one that runs across the top of the rad especially)
* serpentine belt, tensioner, pulleys

That list above is not uncommon for high mileage cars. Most of them happen to be more apparent on the N54 because this motor runs hot (120C/248F is when the oil cooler thermostat opens) and, as a result, everything rubber starts drying out and cracking with heat and age...and some of those items, like the water pump, will leave you waiting for a flatbed tow truck when they fail.

There was an issue with the HPFP and/or fuel injectors but those have been taken care of, for the most part, by BMW dealerships while the car was under warranty. In my 4 years of reading the N54 forums, there hasn't been many (if any) threads about dead HPFPs. Fuel injectors are the one expensive part that will leave you cussing but shop for deals (like you would with any used car) out of parts places in the USA or even RockAuto.

If you're not willing to put up with those maintenance items, then yes, do not buy a used one but, again, that goes for pretty much any used car. Find a good BMW garage and you'll see that the pricing is no different than what you'd pay for a Mazda.

There's one N54 135 within this group that has seen probably 100 HOURS of track time so far without an issue to the motor. The one issue was maintenance related - a water pump that failed around the expected 90-100,000 kms mark.

If you're willing to roll around with almost 370 whp from just a tune and fmic (e.g. less than $1500), and almost 400 whp from just a tune, fmic and downpipes (e.g. less than $1800) with a 50/50 weight ratio and stock handling that cannot be touched by any Mazdaspeed3/Mazda3... then definitely consider one but, as always, caveat emptor.

[Flagrum_3]

^ As I said, I'm no expert on BMW issues and I agree with most of what you stated except "If you're not willing to put up with those maintenance items, then yes, do not buy a used one but, again, that goes for pretty much any used car. Find a good BMW garage and you'll see that the pricing is no different than what you'd pay for a Mazda." ....I would argue BMW would still be quite a bit more expensive to repair. But to each their own.


_3

[MajesticBlueNTO]

^ As I said, I'm no expert on BMW issues and I agree with most of what you stated except "If you're not willing to put up with those maintenance items, then yes, do not buy a used one but, again, that goes for pretty much any used car. Find a good BMW garage and you'll see that the pricing is no different than what you'd pay for a Mazda." I would argue BMW would still be quite a bit more expensive to repair. But to each their own.


_3

have you owned a BMW?

I do and can tell you that, at an independent shop, labour cost is similar to a Mazda independent shop... and parts can be cheaper as BMW shares parts across different model lines and generations.

In my case, having owned both the Mazdaspeed3 and a BMW, there are some repairs on a Mazdaspeed3 that will cost way more than the comparable on a BMW, and there are some repairs on a BMW that will cost way more than on a Mazdaspeed3.

By and large, it is a wash.

If you don't have personal experience with both, why sully FD22's purchase decision (or anyone's BMW purchase decision) with conjecture?

[Booter22]

all i want to say is i like it and im jelly good job dude!

[Flagrum_3]

have you owned a BMW?

I do and can tell you that, at an independent shop, labour cost is similar to a Mazda independent shop... and parts can be cheaper as BMW shares parts across different model lines and generations.

In my case, having owned both the Mazdaspeed3 and a BMW, there are some repairs on a Mazdaspeed3 that will cost way more than the comparable on a BMW, and there are some repairs on a BMW that will cost way more than on a Mazdaspeed3.

By and large, it is a wash.

If you don't have personal experience with both, why sully FD22's purchase decision (or anyone's BMW purchase decision) with conjecture?

Excuse me, but my intention was not to sully anything just putting my 2c in. This is a forum right? I did wish him good luck and praised the car, didn't I. So I don't see why the hostility. Anyways I don't think I need to actually own both vehicles to be aware of issues or costs. I can read and I do know alot of people that have these and/or work on these cars. But as I said I believe twice now, I don't claim to be an expert on them.

I wish you guys all the luck with your N54s.


_3