New 325xi owner intro

[5001craig]

Hey there guys. New to BMW's and this site. Wanted to introduce myself. Hope this is the correct place to do this. If not, feel free to move.

Last weekend we bought a 2001 325xi from my neighbor for my son to drive when home from college. Car has 228K miles on it and my neighbor had it for around 175k miles (he said don't be afraid of the miles as these things run forever--he's had quite a few). His wife drove it and she smoked in it (like a chimney lol). We cleaned it a bunch and my wife and I took it for a drive. I have never really been around a BMW--especially one this old with this many miles on her. We were impressed to say the least. Lots of maintenance has been done recently. My son picked it up last Sunday and in conversation asked me if I thought it would be OK to drive to Cincinnati to visit his bud in college there. I was a little hesitant with the miles and lack of history with the car but ended up telling him to do it. Saw him today and he said it drove like a champ and got great fuel mileage.

The car was rust proofed (by Ziebart I believe) when new and has absolutely zero rust that I found except for a couple spots above the rear tires where the bumper meets the fender. Front has a lot of stone chips, though.

Wife and I took it for another drive today and we love this car. Probably the only thing she needs are struts. Been looking on the interweb and not really sure what I should get for replacement. Will continue looking on this site as I just became a member. Purchased some spring compressors so just need to get the struts.

Sorry for the rambling but I am impressed with BMW in general and this car specifically. Here's a pic as we all like pics.

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[MIKYZZ4]

Welcome!
If the vehicle has been well maintained, it should remain relatively trouble-free,
but preventive-periodic maintenance should continue.This is not your maintenance-free commuter Honda.
Since I don't see a need for track level performance I'll make a simple,reliable,
but excellent recommendation for your purposes:
https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-3...ks-struts-kit/

[legobumb]

Hey there! I too am brand new to owning a 2002 BMW 325xi! We're neighbors in spirit haha. I drive a ton of long distance for my job (highway mainly) and my car has over 206,000 miles on it to this day. It also drives like a champ without any issues aside from the bumpiness of the coilover suspension the previous owner had installed. I sincerely recommend you stick with stock/OEM suspension like MikyZZ4 said.

Take care of the cooling system! Aluminum block engines like ours are very susceptible to heat changes.

[5001craig]

Thank-you for the reply and recommendation. The B4's were what I saw after doing a little research. Will be ordering them soon.

[Honolulu]

Well shoots, my '02 xi has just over 100,000 last month so alles gut, ja? Got 'er for $500 plus two tires, one half shaft and one sway bar link, no extra charge for all the filth the PO left in the car. Crossing my fingers about coolant matters since the PO's maintenance may have been spotty. Nice car but a little too small for 6 '6" 280 lbs yours truly; but fine for the kid since she's 5'8" and maybe 140 lbs.

Gotta look into a 5 series, like the E34s but have seen their suspension needs... typical for all older bimmers IMNSHO; they are getting a little long in the tooth.