New BMW owner. 2011 328i

[RIDDLE1]

Like the title states I bought the wife a 2011 328i. Car has 45k and is a certified pre owned. Cars is clean and runs great. I wanted to buy a cheaper car while she is in Nurse Practioner school and then get her a new one(pending this one provides us good service) when she is done. I went with an 11 because I wanted the I6 instead of the turbocharged I4.

Any tips or things I need to look for, being a first time BMW owner?

[vip9877]

I just purchased a 2011 BMW 328i xDrive and received it on Friday. I purchased it sight unseen. It is beautiful inside and out, however, it is not as powerful as I had imagined it should be. Is yours a manual or automatic?

[grussell]

Like the title states I bought the wife a 2011 328i. Car has 45k and is a certified pre owned. Cars is clean and runs great. I wanted to buy a cheaper car while she is in Nurse Practioner school and then get her a new one(pending this one provides us good service) when she is done. I went with an 11 because I wanted the I6 instead of the turbocharged I4.

Any tips or things I need to look for, being a first time BMW owner?

I would get all of the fluids changed if you don't know when they were last changed.
Oil filter housing gasket can leak, but you can see it if it does.
When getting gas, don't top it off. When the gas handle clicks off, don't add more.

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I just purchased a 2011 BMW 328i xDrive and received it on Friday. I purchased it sight unseen. It is beautiful inside and out, however, it is not as powerful as I had imagined it should be. Is yours a manual or automatic?

Have you tried moving the shift handle to the left and driving in sport mode? Just pull it to the left while in drive, if you don't manually shift gears it will still be automatic shifting and will accelerate much quicker.

[Vin328IX]

Gurusell - Why not top off the gas?

[Pyewacket69]

Gurusell - Why not top off the gas?

Because it can flood the evaporative emissions canister and render it useless, requiring a new one as a replacement.

[acf5]

If you have run flats, be careful with potholes. The low aspect ratio of the sidewall with the light alloy wheels means they bend easily and cause vibes.
Flush the fluids, check for leaks, torn boots, worn bushings.
The N52 in your car makes about 225 horsepower. It's not amazing, but it is one of the best to come from BMW in recent years. Aside from the typical oil leaks, the only unique issue is the intake gets all coked up and then it needs carbon blasting. That's after 50k miles or so

[Pyewacket69]

If you have run flats, be careful with potholes. The low aspect ratio of the sidewall with the light alloy wheels means they bend easily and cause vibes. Flush the fluids, check for leaks, torn boots, worn bushings. The N52 in your car makes about 225 horsepower. It's not amazing, but it is one of the best to come from BMW in recent years. Aside from the typical oil leaks, the only unique issue is the intake gets all coked up and then it needs carbon blasting. That's after 50k miles or so

It's the N54 with direct injection that needs periodic walnut shell "sandblasting" to clean up carbon deposits. I don't think it's much of an issue on the N52, which doesn't use direct injection.

[13texas13]

If you have run flats, be careful with potholes. The low aspect ratio of the sidewall with the light alloy wheels means they bend easily and cause vibes. Flush the fluids, check for leaks, torn boots, worn bushings. The N52 in your car makes about 225 horsepower. It's not amazing, but it is one of the best to come from BMW in recent years. Aside from the typical oil leaks, the only unique issue is the intake gets all coked up and then it needs carbon blasting. That's after 50k miles or so How much is "carbon blasting"?

[Pyewacket69]

Usually in the $400 range...

[grussell]

Like the title states I bought the wife a 2011 328i. Car has 45k and is a certified pre owned. Cars is clean and runs great. I wanted to buy a cheaper car while she is in Nurse Practioner school and then get her a new one(pending this one provides us good service) when she is done. I went with an 11 because I wanted the I6 instead of the turbocharged I4.

Any tips or things I need to look for, being a first time BMW owner?

There are two versions of the 328i. The N52 and the N51(SULEV). Do you know which one you have? The 328i engine is not direct injection, so therefore does no have the carbon build up issues that the 335i N54 has. You can look up your car on www.realoem.com (http://www.realoem.com) by typing in the last digits of your vin. You can also look at parts diagrams on the site.

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Because it can flood the evaporative emissions canister and render it useless, requiring a new one as a replacement.

And/or damage the leak detection pump on the N51.