318i SE 96 - problems...

can someone please tell me what the overall final opinion is off this...

ive just brought one, my first bm, and i love it, however, i keep reading
mixed reports?

also, i have experienced some problems, although its under warrenty i
wondered if u knew

a) in the cold its not idling properly, any ideas?

b) it has a full bm history, however it is a 96 car and done 90k so i didnt
think it was worth keeping up as bm wanted £300 for a service?

thanks

toby

Toby wrote:
> can someone please tell me what the overall final opinion is off this...
>
> ive just brought one, my first bm, and i love it,

Toby, you have been ripped off. Your car is missing the "W" (as in BM*W*)


> however, i keep reading
> mixed reports?

Best bet? Stop reading.

>
> also, i have experienced some problems, although its under warrenty i
> wondered if u knew
>

So you have a 1996 model year car (over eight years old) and it came
with a warranty? Consider yourself lucky.

> a) in the cold its not idling properly, any ideas?

2 ideas:

The temp sending unit for the ECU may be bad. This has the effect of
not enrichening the mixture enough (or too much) during warm up. If
this were the case it would settle right down as soon as the oxygen
sensors got warmed up and the system reached "closed loop" condition.

Other (even more likely) possibility is a small vacuum leak anywhere in
the engine. This results in a "too lean" condition, again until the O2
sensor provides feedback to the ECU, after which the closed loop will
compesnsate for a minor leak. If the leak is major the engine will have
trouble idling even after it has warmed up completely.

>
> b) it has a full bm history, however it is a 96 car and done 90k so i didnt
> think it was worth keeping up as bm wanted £300 for a service?

No? Why not? It has a full history now andthat makes it valuable to
you, but you would consider not keeping it up? Or do you mean that you
will bring it to a non-dealership mechanic (highly recommended)?

If the latter, I would only encourage you to just keep your own good
records as the BM*W* dealership will not have them.

Good Luck with it,
-Fred W

> a) in the cold its not idling properly, any ideas?

VAcuum leak or bad temp sensor.

> b) it has a full bm history, however it is a 96 car and done 90k so i didnt
> think it was worth keeping up as bm wanted £300 for a service?

Agreed. See the list of garage reviews on my site for a good local
mechanic.

--
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