E46 service parts and fluids

[James777]

Folks

First post and looking for some help and advice from your knowledgeable BMW people!! Just gone and bought a 2003 318Ci M Sport for the wife and it's due an Inspection 2 service in the next 1500 miles. From what I can find, the Inspection 2 service is:

1. Oil and filter change.
2. Cabin filter change.
3. Air filter change.
4. Spark plug change.

Is this everything included in an Inspection 2 service? It also requires a brake fluid plus coolant change.

Now, I'm a tight Scotsman who likes to buy his own parts and I tend to buy from Carparts4less or Eurocarparts, as I'm not going to pay BMW prices!! So, my many questions are:

1. How much oil do I require and what would you recommend?
2. What spark plugs would you recommend?
3. What volume of brake fluid do I require?
4. What volume of coolant do I require and what would you recommend? Is it worth flushing the system?
5. When does the fuel filter get changed?
6. When does the gearbox fluid get changed and what would you recommend?
7. When does the diff fluid get changed and what would you recommend?
8. Are there any other websites you would recommend for service parts?

The car has a documented FBMWSH and only has 43K miles on the clock. The plan is to keep the cat for the long term, so as this is the first service with me, I want my garage to carry out a full and comprehensive service on it.

Should I be replacing anything else while it's in the garage?

Any thoughts, advice and comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation.

James

[Greydog]

Hi James 

Welcome to the Forum

Great find, such a low mileage car, I have a Glaswegian friend who say's Scot's are not tight just careful he also say's a Yorkshire-man is a Scot with the generosity squeezed out !!

To help in your Quest for value and correct parts, I use www.realoem.com search by model or put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up a complete list of parts for your car. I also use www.newtis.info for how too's and technical infor mation. Once I have the correct part number I can search for the best deal (see not just Scot's are careful) I use Eurocar parts plus their Offer codes when they are on to get filters and oil ahead of needing them. Coolant and Brake fluid changes I get done by my local BMW Specialist don't discount BMW dealers for parts as they often have deals on our "older" models.

Like you when I got my X5 it had a complete history yet many service parts had clearly never been changed, on the X5 the fuel filter is behind a cover under the car by the amount of mud, crud and debris when I removed the cover it had never been changed. Like wise the cabin filter mine was black and literally fell apart when pulled out yet it easy to access, doesn't make sense sometimes. I use Magnatec 5-30 oil which meets BMW spec with the gearbox and diff oils BMW say "sealed for life" ZF who make the box in my X5 say service every 80-100k Km (60k miles) so I found a ZF specialist and had the box serviced, I drained and refilled the front and rear diffs and the transfer box.

I hope this helps

Dave