*^$# this car!!!

[94_e34_525i]

So my piece of crap BMW needs a new transmission.....Wow after I babied this car since i owned it it breaks down on me with only 108k miles. What a piece of crap. I changed the fluid and after 4k miles this happens. Bmw's are gay.

[Ross]

Your profile tells me you were probably nine years old when this car was built. So, I'll speculate that you are not the original owner and not responsible for most of this car's maintenance. Chances are good your fluid change may have been the first.
Was the fluid changed in response to trans problems?
It's a French built GM trans that doesn't cost a ton to overhaul, if your car is as nice as it appears in your sig then probably well worth the expense.
Your frustration would be better directed at the car's previous owner or perhaps the kind of use it's had. That chip and K&N aren't for "babying" a car.

[Dave M]

Sounds vaguely familiar............

see advice provided here

[Dragunov]

It's an auto tranny. I heard those die at around 100k miles.

[infurno]

Yeah, I was under the impression that the expected lifetime of an auto tranny is 100k miles.

[whiskychaser]

I'll speculate that you are not the original owner and not responsible for most of this car's maintenance. Chances are good your fluid change may have been the first.
Was the fluid changed in response to trans problems?
It's a French built GM trans that doesn't cost a ton to overhaul, if your car is as nice as it appears in your sig then probably well worth the expense.

x1. They dont come out of the factory fkd. Like any other part either something wore out or wasnt maintained properly. Shame its LHD. I'd have given you scrap value for the shell

[repenttokyo]

This just in: 14 year old cars tend to break down. Sources say they "may not" be as reliable as a new car.

[AngryPopTart]

Are you guys speaking specifically about his transmission, because this stuff about automagicals going out after 100k, I've never heard nor experienced that. (Except with our minivans; STUPID CHRYSLER TRANNY'S!)

[AngryPopTart]

Also, people don't seem to realize that cars such as BMW's are not like Honda's. A Honda is made of cheap, easily obtainable parts, which break much more often than a BMW. A BMW may be expensive to repair, but it doesn't break down often. It's just that when it gets old, and everything is finally to the point where it's probably going to need servicing, then it gets expensive. This is why maintenance records are actually important when buying a BMW, as opposed to the Honda which is going to lose a coil pack without question for whatever reason.

Hey, this is no attack on Honda. I would love to own a cute little Honda, but let's not kid around; they are cheap cars, made to be cheap, made in inordinate numbers, and parts availability is high, which is good because they tend to break often; much more so when they are not cared for. And it's fun to take such a car and make it fun to drive with lots of goodies.

[nirvana19]

our 02 town and country's tranny blew at 75k. Replaced under warranty along with some parts of the cooling system, the entire air conditioning system, both sliding door motors, two engine computers, and a host of other things I don't even remember. DAD drives it, and its still actually better riding/handling than japanese ones. AND dad still thinks its a decent car, though with 95k its soon to be replaced with a ML320 bluetec (diesel).

if the tranny in my car dies, I will cry. If the headgasket blows, I will cry. If both of those die AND the radiator craps out, I'll go sit in a corner for a day. But the next day (maybe actually week or month), I'll fix it (or overhaul the engine and do a 5-speed swap)