Brief word of warning- Preemptively have your water pump replaced at 50K miles. I was on my way down to New York from Boston a few weeks back and my water pump went at 80 mph. Unfortunately, I didn't notice as the fan, driven by the water pump pulling that now had no real bearings to speak of, leaned into the radiator and shredded itself. The fan shredded itself, that is, and not the radiator, which is a minor but brilliant design point by BMW that saved me hundreds of dollars. Anyway, the temp gauge never moved, but I finally realized what happened when I slowed for some traffic and noticed steam from the engine. I had to get the car towed to a service station in Greenwich on a Friday and the water pump, belts, etc, done by Sunday so I could pick it up on my way out of town.
$1,000 later, my car was done. Joy. To know that I could have done the water pump and belts in my backyard for $65 in parts burns me everytime I even think about it. I've done a bit of reading since and it sounds like a lot of people know you need to get the water pump done around 50k miles and the radiator around 75k or 100k, but just a word of warning, don't procrastinate!
$1,000 later, my car was done. Joy. To know that I could have done the water pump and belts in my backyard for $65 in parts burns me everytime I even think about it. I've done a bit of reading since and it sounds like a lot of people know you need to get the water pump done around 50k miles and the radiator around 75k or 100k, but just a word of warning, don't procrastinate!