how to care for my new 1997 528? (secrets to long car life?)

I recently got a 1997 528 with 63k miles. The dealer checked it out and
said it was in good shape.

I REALLY want to take good care of this one - my 1990 525i gave up after
243,000 miles.

What are the secrets to keep this car going for years and years, miles and
miles.

Thanks you in advance for your input!

"AGH!" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> For the paint work, after waxing apply a silicon resign polish which
> seals the paintwork from the elements. Do this 2 to 3 times a year.
> I've used Auto Glym Super Resin polish in the past, not sure if you can
> get it in the USA.
>
> For the interior, protect from bright sun light as much as possible,
> valet once or twice a year.
>
> For the mechanicals serviceing by the book from a BMW dealer or
> independant specialist who knows what they are doing. Always keep in
> mind that the majority of engine, gear box etc. wear occurrs when the
> car is below operating temperature, i.e. in the first few miles of
> driving. Avoid short trips, do not warm up the car by idling it on the
> drive, this is the most damaging thing you can do to the engine. In
> winter try to garage the car so it does not get so cold. If the
> winters get really bad consider an engine block heater, popular in
> Canada and Northern states. Some taxis are know to rack up 500,000 to
> 1,000,000 miles before dieing, This is because they are running 24x7,
> so the engine is never cold.
>
> Lastly financially plan for replacing this car once it as about
> 250-300,000 on the clock. What ever you do it will not last forever
> and get expensive to maintain. I'm still really impressed you got 243K
> miles and 16 years out of the last car.

Thanks for your advice. When you say "valet" the interior, is that the same
detailing it? (Clean & protect the leather, clean carpets, dust,...)

So when you start the car, you should immediately start driving? And you
should take it easy on the throttle until it gets above the blue mark on the
engine temp?

Regarding my old car, I bought it with 190,000 on it in 2000 and put the
remaining mileage on it. It was a good car and I really like the look of
it. I miss her but this newer model heelps keep my mind off of it.

Thanks again!

Change the oil and filter every 3000 miles using a quality reccomended oil.
A lot of advice can be found at http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/home/index.htm
For any car.

Notgiven wrote:

> I recently got a 1997 528 with 63k miles. The dealer checked it out and
> said it was in good shape.
>
> I REALLY want to take good care of this one - my 1990 525i gave up after
> 243,000 miles.
>
> What are the secrets to keep this car going for years and years, miles and
> miles.
>
> Thanks you in advance for your input!

Already see that you are getting conflicting advice on oil changes, so I might
as well stir the pot some more.

I have a 97 328 - same engine - and follow the service interval lights.
Engine runs like a dream at 128K now. My recommendation for oil, and I think
this is the secret, is to use the 15W-40 dino oil recommended in the manual.
Several reasons....

1. These oils are diesel rated - more antiwear additives etc.
2. My oil is still quite clean even at the 7500-8000 mile intervals that the
service indicator comes up with.
3. I use the Castrol, and this oil clings very well to the engine parts even
after the car has been sitting for over a week. Absolutely no tappet noise,
or whatever upon startup.
4. I think it extremely important to have the recommended viscosity (40
weight) as this affects the oil spray pattern to the pistons, across the
camshaft etc.
5. Most important, the single step Vanos on these engines appears to be more
reliable than the later, continuously variable, dual vanos, as it apparently
does not need as high a pressure for operation. Mine works seamlessly, and I
think much of the credit goes to using the 15W-40 oil. Again, these oils are
diesel rated, and when you pour it in, you'll notice it is quite different
from either 10W-30, or 20W-50 oils rated for gasoline engines only. I just
think the clearances and vanos system on these engines are designed for this
oil. Using it (plus premium gas) just makes the engine emit a mesmerizing
soft purr between 4 and 5K in 2nd and 3rd gear.

There, that's my advice for what it is worth. I'm going for 200K plus miles
too.

Frank

In article >,
aston > wrote:
> Change the oil and filter every 3000 miles using a quality reccomended
> oil. A lot of advice can be found at
> http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/home/index.htm For any car.

Total ********. 3000 mile oil changes went out more than 50 years ago. Get
real.

Using the recommended oil, a '97 528 will do between 7 and 12,000 miles
(approx) according to usage between changes.

--
*How many roads must a man travel down before he admits he is lost? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

>Thanks for your advice. When you say "valet" the interior, is that the same
>detailing it? (Clean & protect the leather, clean carpets, dust,...)
>So when you start the car, you should immediately start driving? And you
>should take it easy on the throttle until it gets above the blue mark on the
>engine temp?
>Regarding my old car, I bought it with 190,000 on it in 2000 and put the
>remaining mileage on it. It was a good car and I really like the look of
>it. I miss her but this newer model heelps keep my mind off of it.
>Thanks again!
Ah, I've just learned the term "valet" never made it into US English.
Yep, "detailing" stop the grime building up

>So when you start the car, you should immediately start driving? And you
>should take it easy on the throttle until it gets above the blue mark on the
>engine temp?
Yes, start up and get moving as soon as possible, take it easy until
normal operating temperature somewhere well above the blue mark.
Modern engine management control systems minimise fuel use at idle
(better than old carbertters) which means at idle the engine stays cold
for much longer, which means more time for the engine to wear.
Synthetic oil is very good, I noticed a small improvement in fuel
economy and perfromance when I started using it on my last car.
Probably best to stick with what the manual says as that will be the
oil the engine is designed for.
Change oil every 3000? Mmm no thats a waste of perfectly good oil. I
agree with the "stick with what the service indicators say" advice. I
have a new E91 3 series 320d (Diesel) with 3500 miles on the clock, the
service indicator is telling me 18,000 miles(!) (or at 12 months) for
the next service.

AGH! wrote:

> Ah, I've just learned the term "valet" never made it into US English.
> Yep, "detailing" stop the grime building up
>

Actually, it did, but has a different meaning when applied to cars.
Here, it means to have a paid attendant park the car for you, and
retrieve it on your return. ...as in "valet parking".


--
-Fred W

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
> In article >,
> aston > wrote:
>
>> Change the oil and filter every 3000 miles using a quality reccomended
>>oil. A lot of advice can be found at
>>http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/home/index.htm For any car.
>
>
> Total ********. 3000 mile oil changes went out more than 50 years ago. Get
> real.

The only way that 3000 miles makes sense is if that is how far you drive
in a whole year...

>
> Using the recommended oil, a '97 528 will do between 7 and 12,000 miles
> (approx) according to usage between changes.
>

Perhapss , but the car doing 12,000 miles between changes might have
more difficulty going 300k miles. A more aggressive schedule, (such as
the lower end of what you quote), would be more likely to produce the
longevity desired.

--
-Fred W

Raybender wrote:
> Notgiven wrote:
>
>
>>I recently got a 1997 528 with 63k miles. The dealer checked it out and
>>said it was in good shape.
>>
>>I REALLY want to take good care of this one - my 1990 525i gave up after
>>243,000 miles.
>>
>>What are the secrets to keep this car going for years and years, miles and
>>miles.
>>
>>Thanks you in advance for your input!
>
>
> Already see that you are getting conflicting advice on oil changes, so I might
> as well stir the pot some more.
>
> I have a 97 328 - same engine - and follow the service interval lights.
> Engine runs like a dream at 128K now. My recommendation for oil, and I think
> this is the secret, is to use the 15W-40 dino oil recommended in the manual.
> Several reasons....
>
> 1. These oils are diesel rated - more antiwear additives etc.
> 2. My oil is still quite clean even at the 7500-8000 mile intervals that the
> service indicator comes up with.
> 3. I use the Castrol, and this oil clings very well to the engine parts even
> after the car has been sitting for over a week. Absolutely no tappet noise,
> or whatever upon startup.
> 4. I think it extremely important to have the recommended viscosity (40
> weight) as this affects the oil spray pattern to the pistons, across the
> camshaft etc.
> 5. Most important, the single step Vanos on these engines appears to be more
> reliable than the later, continuously variable, dual vanos, as it apparently
> does not need as high a pressure for operation. Mine works seamlessly, and I
> think much of the credit goes to using the 15W-40 oil. Again, these oils are
> diesel rated, and when you pour it in, you'll notice it is quite different
> from either 10W-30, or 20W-50 oils rated for gasoline engines only. I just
> think the clearances and vanos system on these engines are designed for this
> oil. Using it (plus premium gas) just makes the engine emit a mesmerizing
> soft purr between 4 and 5K in 2nd and 3rd gear.
>
> There, that's my advice for what it is worth. I'm going for 200K plus miles
> too.
>
> Frank
>

That's good that this seems to be working for you, Frank. But all kinds
of actual scientific evidence shows that what you say is wrong. While
the oil you use is among the best available *petroleum* oil, full
synthetic oil of the proper grade will run circles around it in
performance and longevity.

In fact, there is only one negative about using synthetic: cost.

However, in light of how infrequently the oil actually gets changed
(let's just say 10k miles, round numbers), and the impact it has on the
engine longevity, the actual operating cost difference is not
significant IMO.

8 quarts X $1.50 = $12.00 vs. 8 quarts x $4.50 = $36.00

Consider that over the same 10k miles you will have bought more than 400
(US) gallons of gasoline (roughly $1,000) and you see what I mean...

--
-Fred W

In article >,
Fred W > wrote:
> > Total ********. 3000 mile oil changes went out more than 50 years ago.
> > Get real.

> The only way that 3000 miles makes sense is if that is how far you drive
> in a whole year...

With fully synthetic it's a two yearly change if the mileage limit isn't
reached before.

> >
> > Using the recommended oil, a '97 528 will do between 7 and 12,000 miles
> > (approx) according to usage between changes.
> >

> Perhapss , but the car doing 12,000 miles between changes might have
> more difficulty going 300k miles. A more aggressive schedule, (such as
> the lower end of what you quote), would be more likely to produce the
> longevity desired.

Well, if it's only doing 3000 miles a year, a life of 300k is a bit
meaningless. ;-)

However, I've yet to see any firm data that changing oil early has any
effect on the life of an engine.

--
*He who laughs last has just realised the joke.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.