[N0OS3]

I plan on making a cross-country road trip from corner to corner of the U.S.... what kind of money should i invest in roadside mishaps in a 325i with full coverage, no warranty?

the 325i has 62,000 miles, about 80% tread on tires, fresh oil change and recent BMW electrical maintenance, no aftermarket parts.

I have faith in BMWs (reason why i bought one) but i'm pessimistic about things like this so I "prepare for the worst and hope for the best"

[username604]

I'd have more faith in a Honda Civic than i would in a BMW to get me across the country without any problems.
325i is pretty reliable, i don't think long highway miles would cause anything serious to happen.
I would watch out for things on the ground like potholes or random things such as a tire that fell off a truck.

Are you doing this trip over the course of 2 weeks or an entire year? The longer the trip, the more money i'd "invest in roadside mishaps".

[ctuna]

Search for Mike Miller BMW on google to get a sane maintenance schedule.

Get a Tischer spare tire kit? at Tischer BMW online?

I think this is the same as asking will your car go another 10k

Need chains or snow tires?

[N0OS3]

the trip is over a course of 1 week... just strictly driving...

[BK]

IMO you'll be fine, no worries. Only potential would be an accident or flat tire. Flat tires suck on a trip with RFTs, but you can at least drive the car to get another tire.

[hipnotic]

good luck

[Ajs76]

I wouldn't sweat it. Lots of people have driven MUCH older, junkier cars across the country with 0 problems. I drove an old honda prelude about 2k miles in 3 days and did the same trip 3 times in my M3 with like 100k miles on it and I guarantee you that your 325i is more reliable.

Getting a spare isn't a bad idea, but fix a flat at a minimum (which obviously would be useless vs. a full on blow out). Have any buddies with BMWs that you can swipe a spare wheel from?

[N0OS3]

Originally Posted by Ajs76

I wouldn't sweat it. Lots of people have driven MUCH older, junkier cars across the country with 0 problems. I drove an old honda prelude about 2k miles in 3 days and did the same trip 3 times in my M3 with like 100k miles on it and I guarantee you that your 325i is more reliable.

Getting a spare isn't a bad idea, but fix a flat at a minimum (which obviously would be useless vs. a full on blow out). Have any buddies with BMWs that you can swipe a spare wheel from?

nope...i'm in the navy...i drive the 3rd luxurious car in the building (following a Mercedes SL69 AMG (our CO has $$$$$$$$$) , and 135i (some E7) and no one has a tire with the same specs as my 325i they're willing to lend me...

oh well... what will a [common] tire cost anyway - <$85? no worries...

[chromisdesigns]

If you have BMW Assist you might make sure it's up to date and working. Some places in the country you can be a LONG way away from the nearest BMW mechanic...Assist will take you there, no matter if it's 20 miles or 200 -- other road services will just tow you to the nearest shop, which probably can't fix much on a modern BMW.

[JayKay335i]

I've driven my 335 cross country twice. No big deal. Just have a flat tire repair kit and AAA.

[ThreeseriesFTW]

This might be off topic, but I'd highly recommend an intake. After 4000ish miles (corner to corner is about 4k, right?), the intake will have paid for itself in gas, especially with highway miles.

Sounds like fun, regardless! What's the goal, if you don't mind me asking? Moving? Touring the country?

[Express]

a flat tire is the last thing i am worried about when im driving. you are more likely to have the water pump fail than get a flat tire.

[Tom K.]

I've done cross country trips in 4 different BMWs and the only problem I ever had was a sulphated Z3 battery in the Canadian Rockies. Some bystanders help me push start the car & I made it into the nearest town where I put a used $25 battery in as they didn't have one that fit correctly. That got me 200 miles to Edmonton and a BMW dealer for a proper replacement.

You might get AAA or another motor club coverage if you are nervous.

Tom

[N0OS3]

my USAA insurance company provides full roadside assistance and they pay for everything if it breaks down (though i have to pay it back the next billing cycle)...

[ChipB]

In my 30+ years of driving BMWs I've been stranded road-side just 4 times:

1. Ran out of gas once (I trusted the "range" rading on the OBC of my old 528e, which said I still had 7 miles of gas left. Doh!)

2. Broken fuel pump (also the 528e)

3. Bad comfort relay caused the car to stall and not restart (also the 528e - notice a pattern?)

4. Blown rear diff in my 328i - caused by an indy service shop that changed ny rear diff fluid as part of a servivece and forgot to refill it. I can't blame the car for that one (the shop replavced the diff for free).

AAA came to the rescue each time. In that time I've also had only 2 flat tires. If you consider that I've driven over 250,000 miles in BMWs I'd say your chances of making it cross-country without serious mechanical mishap are pretty good. But it's always wise to carry a AAA card and a cell phone.

[ENINTY]

Dude stop being a pussy and just drive the frickin car where you want to go. Having a spare tire is not going to increase or decrease your chances of a complete tire failure. The car is not even a quarter of the way though it's lifespan, it will be fine; if something is going to break it's going to break and no amount of recent maintenance, inspection, or hope will change that. If you are staying on major highways you will have cell service just about everywhere and a place about every 20 miles to get help. If you are really worried, just get BMW Assist for $16/month and help will just be a push of a button away.

Life is full of risks, live a little.

[N0OS3]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

Dude stop being a pussy and just drive the frickin car where you want to go. Having a spare tire is not going to increase or decrease your chances of a complete tire failure. The car is not even a quarter of the way though it's lifespan, it will be fine; if something is going to break it's going to break and no amount of recent maintenance, inspection, or hope will change that. If you are staying on major highways you will have cell service just about everywhere and a place about every 20 miles to get help. If you are really worried, just get BMW Assist for $16/month and help will just be a push of a button away.

Life is full of risks, live a little.

lmao... nice mature attitude, "dude."

[AlexH]

Originally Posted by corb

This might be off topic, but I'd highly recommend an intake. After 4000ish miles (corner to corner is about 4k, right?), the intake will have paid for itself in gas, especially with highway miles.

Sounds like fun, regardless! What's the goal, if you don't mind me asking? Moving? Touring the country?

Really? Do you have anything to back up this claim? Sounds that easy, right? And car makers have been spending millions to improve a few miles to increase their CAFE standard. Why didn't they think of intake? Improve power and fuel economy at the same time, hm....

[N0OS3]

Originally Posted by AlexH

Really? Do you have anything to back up this claim? Sounds that easy, right? And car makers have been spending millions to improve a few miles to increase their CAFE standard. Why didn't they think of intake? Improve power and fuel economy at the same time, hm....

i had an aFe Intake for a while, it did absolutely nothing for performance or fuel economy...just made my 2.5ltr engine louder and made the steptronic shifting more "jumpy"... the stock BMW intake is more efficient in my opinion
According to the spokesperson for BMWseattle, all of the fuel economy comes from engine block design and computer engineering, not a simple-designed air intake...

[TommyK]

i cary one of those fix a flat things in my car at all time and invested in buying a air compressor for the car too just incase. i dont have RFT anymore and i have gotten 2 flats and needed to used the fix a flat stuff both times and worked great.