decesions,trade or keep.what would you do?

[Josh-ZN]

if you doing 30000km a year its a tough choice.

on the one hand, MP extension is going to cost a fortune.
if you dont extend your MP then you may run into costly problems with all the mileage you do.

if you have any uncertainty about the security of your job, definitely don't replace

if i were you i would keep the car, find a really good bmw mechanic who is willing to replace parts with second hand parts if needed, and keep the R20k in a savings account for just in case.

good luck with your decision

 

[moranor@axis]

sell it and buy an e46 :fencelook:

 

[JayDee]

Keep the car :thumbs: don't extend save the 20k atleast you would also get interest on it then.

 

[Karthik]

I think if you know your car will be fine in the next few month's etc and nothing is wrong with it . Keep it and put the money you wanted to use for motorplan into a savings account , etc . The E90 engines are pretty bullet proof and you can be safe I'm presuming that it would run strong and no sudden collapse at 101 000km . I'm sure even if you do have some maintenance , get a new mechanic around your area and maximum you should expect to pay is R 5000 . Its still a low mileage engine and you know your driving style and how you've taken care of her . :thumbs:

 

[Andy1GP]

Time is money and the fact that you have the uncertainty of your job lingering about makes it tough to not get MP.

In my opinion however you are eventually going to trade up or sell out of hand anyway. Will the R25k add R25k value to your car?

If it will for sure, then you're not really losing out are you?

Over the next 2 years you will probably only end up changing filters plugs and oil. Possibly the odd lightbulb and or tyres.

I honestly think you will save more by not extending motorplan and just keeping the car.

Service it with someone you trust. (Which is hard to come by - but worth more than a dealer stamp).

They can even do diagnostics for you. Preventative maintenance will keep you well clear of any "catastrophic failure" that we all dread and fear.

Moranor is also on to something, You could sell out of hand whilst on motorplan and get an E46 330i.

Only if you don't see it as a move backwards. No one wants to go backwards right? You will be going forwards quicker though :rollsmile:

 

[herr bmw]

thanks guys for all the advice.

really a tough choice,so far the diff and clutch have been replaced,as well as a bearing on the passenger front side.

i have had the two front window mechanism replaced as they were getting noisey.
i replaced tyres in december,but want to upgrade to the 18' rims i bought from mikerrollsmile: still in the garage,safe)

all the disks were replaced last year,so should last untill next year sometime.

so how much does a out of m/p service cost? calling gizmo
also water pump,what would the cost be?

also cant compare it with the navara as it doesnt get pushed hard,not that i push the bm,but the revs in sixth are total different,and so far no problems with the navara.

i really like my 323i,only one complaint,was that i didnt get an auto(knees are starting to pack up,old age)and on the open road its really a pleasure to drive,dont feel the bumps and a nice comfy ride.

so still have 6500km to decide.

once again thanks guys for your response

 

[petrivanzyl]

Had my e90 320d for 39000 outside mp, never more than R1500 service at dealer...

 

[abmi0000]

I have never purchased a BMW still in plan and never regretted it thus far.

I know that I said extend,but that was based on your own circumstances.

 

[Philip Foglar]

You must also bear in mind that servicing and having parts replaced and fitted by the agents is always (well pretty sure 99% of the time) going to be a lot more expensive than getting another qualified garage to do it, or better yet, doing it yourself if it's within ones ability. Another thing to consider, and this is something I am "bargaining" on with optimism, is that there will loads of third party suppliers for parts and services as with the E46. As it is, normal service parts are roughly the same price, so normal running costs should be the same. If you are somewhat gentle and mechanically sympathetic, things like brakes and clutch should be able to last pretty well - they are wear items, but again, in most cases I reckon these can (and should) be bought from third party suppliers since a lot of these OEM parts are brands sold by them in the first place.

Major component failures like the engine or gearbox is pretty rare (not saying it doesn't happen), electronic failures it what does scare me though, sensors and pretty much the entire car relies on these things to function properly - even being able to check the oil relies on this, which is crazy. And this is not confined to the E90, E46 is just as susceptible to this. Or in the case of my father in law's Z4, a simple R3 component failed and caused lights and other systems to malfunction - agents were scratching their heads (which still cost money BTW) while not being able to fix it. Eventually had to take the car to a local independent specialist - total cost at the end of the day was something like R12k! All for time/labour and lots of diagnostics run...

 

[Johnny8Bit]

If you want a new car and have the cash then do that.

Otheriwse keep it and don't bother with a MP extension.
If you do that is R25k definitely spent, and chances are your car's resale value won't magically go up by that amount.
If the car is in good nick the probabilty that you will need to spend R25k on repairs over a year is pretty small.

I had this issue with a previous car, kept it for over a year out of MP before I eventually sold it, worked out great. If you want to throw cash at a car put it towards the (inevitable) replacement, not the one thats being replaced.

 

[hoosain]

keep dont extend take out a motorite /bosch warranty on engine and gearbox

 

[SP33DYV]

Keep and don't extend the 'plan. My 325i now has 192k km on and still haven't spent the R25k they quoted me to extend the plan to 140k km.:thumbs:

 

[herr bmw]

keep dont extend take out a motorite /bosch warranty on engine and gearbox

do you know roughly how much?

---

Keep and don't extend the 'plan. My 325i now has 192k km on and still haven't spent the R25k they quoted me to extend the plan to 140k km.:thumbs:

R25000 is up till 120000km
for 140000km it is R51000
for 170000km it is R105000

so yep not cheap

 

[hoosain]

i think its between 5-6k for 2yrs

 

[Philip Foglar]

i think its between 5-6k for 2yrs

This could be worthwhile - but how much do they pay out if something does break? I think the problem with most of these aftermarket warranties is that they only end up paying a percentage of the cost to repair or replace...

 

[hoosain]

if i remember correctly there are limits but its adequate to cover a complete motor/gearbox rebuild

 

[Philip Foglar]

if i remember correctly there are limits but its adequate to cover a complete motor/gearbox rebuild

Thanks! Maybe something I should take a look at! :thumbs:

 

[Johnny8Bit]

The Motorite warranty is not a bad idea actually.
Expect to pay around R5k depending on your car's age and mileage.
They definitely only pay out a percentage again depending on certain criteria.

 

[petrivanzyl]

for 170000km it is R105000

f@#$ me...

 

[herr bmw]

thanks guys will defeninatly look in to it

a percentage is better than paying it all