128i as a fun daily driver for high mileage commute?

[NorthernDancer]

I owned my Accord for close to 22 years; great car. I now own a 128 and its a great car too and think you should get one too. Should be manual trans and sports seats. My 2nd Bimmer is coming up on 27 years old and still runs like a champ. Both cars never see winter salt/snow.

[chris82]

The 128i is a blast, love mine. Put on the PE and don't look back!

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

To answer your question on maintenance costs:

Bought my 128i 6MT in Nov 2011 with 35,000 miles. Currently at 173,000 miles. Here are my maintenance costs per calendar year:

2011 - $257
2012 - $648
2013 - $2008
2014 - $5167
2015 - $2923

I would say 80% of the costs are parts/fluids. Most work performed DIY.

BTW, here are costs per mile:

Fuel - 10.1 cents
Maintenance/repairs - 8 cents
Depreciation - 11.8 cents

Here's the maintenance performed.

Oil & Filter 35,573 37,741 45,577 52,889
60,361 67,894 75,201 82,527
90,086 97,842 105,363 112,424
120,264 127,476 135,166 142,712
149,841 157,032 163,820 171,069

Diff Fluid 36,011 60,361 91,384 128,308
161,177
Air Filter 36,406 48,644 73,037 99,076
127,400 157,032
Gearbox Fluid 36,886 69,879 98,243 128,308
161,177
Brake Fluid March-10 December-11 Sep-13 Nov-15
Coolant November-11 41,395 90,086 120,269
162,870
Power steering 36K/46K 64,010 90,895 98,243
118,992 134,707 159,373 172,702

Plugs, Coils, Belt 58,664 120,269
O2 Sensor 164,684
Cabin Air filter 28,515 36,007 60,361 75,178
98,243 118,992 142,712 164,342

Holy crap, what happened in 2014?!? Is that a typo? I don't see anything on your list that would total over $5K?

[Pkaia524]

2014 Maintenance/repair items

Tires (2) and mounting/balancing
Water pump/Tstat/pulley/coolant - no failure, just preventive maintenance
Frozen RF brake caliper replaced
Rear brake pads/rotors
Front and Rear shocks
Front control arms
Front strut mounts
Battery - again, no failure, just preventive
Door panel repair (commuting road debris damage, no accident)
120,000 mile Tune up
One headlight bulb

All other costs were other maintenance items: oil, filters, etc.

I drive 2-3X the annual mileage of the "average" driver.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

1). I would never put three kids in my 128i. Very little room in the back, and your kids are only getting bigger. This would be a deal breaker for me.

While I love my 128i, if I had three kids there is no way in hell I would try to transport them in my car.

My 14 year old complains of having to sit in the back seat and that is only with my 10 year old in the back with her. A third child would be riding the plastic insert between the two backseats, which I am pretty sure would be very uncomfortable for any length of time.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

While I love my 128i, if I had three kids there is no way in hell I would try to transport them in my car.

My 14 year old complains of having to sit in the back seat and that is only with my 10 year old in the back with her. A third child would be riding the plastic insert between the two backseats, which I am pretty sure would be very uncomfortable for any length of time.

It is not safe to have a third person in the middle because there is no third seatbelt. In the province of Ontario it is actually illegal to have more passengers than seatbelts, not sure about anywhere else but I think it is a good law here.