u/yawningbeaver

I’m 18 years old and really want a BMW as my first car. Some background: I still live with my parents, I don’t have any bills to pay, my school is already paid for, and I have a very stable part-time job. I make around $1200/month and basically all of it gets saved.

I really like the E90/E92 328i. I know people will hate me for this, but I honestly love NA cars. An M3 just isn’t in the budget right now.

I’d also be doing maintenance myself. I’ve been watching repair videos, learning about the platforms, and I genuinely want to learn how to work on cars properly instead of taking everything to a shop and paying 3x more.

The N52 honestly seems amazing to me. My goal would be to keep the car long-term and daily it to school, hangouts, road trips, etc. I’d probably keep it until very high mileage if possible. I really like the E92 coupe, but I know the E90 sedan is more practical.

I’d love to hear from actual BMW owners:
- How has your N52 experience been?
- What major problems have you had?
- Would you trust one long term?
- Manual or automatic for a first BMW?

I also like the F30 generation. I know the N20 has timing chain issues, but if you replace the timing chain and the common failing plastic parts early on, does it become a good long term daily? Or does it still end up being more problematic overall than an N52 car?

And yeah, I know everyone says “just get a Toyota/Honda at 18.” I hear it constantly But I want something I can genuinely be enthusiastic about and learn from mechanically. I know myself, and I just wouldn’t care about the car the same way.

Would love to hear your experiences and opinions. Thanks guys :)

I’m 18 years old and really want a BMW as my first car. Some background: I still live with my parents, I don’t have any bills to pay, my school is already paid for, and I have a very stable part-time job. I make around $1200/month and basically all of it gets saved.

I really like the E90/E92 328i. I know people will hate me for this, but I honestly love NA cars. An M3 just isn’t in the budget right now.

I’d also be doing maintenance myself. I’ve been watching repair videos, learning about the platforms, and I genuinely want to learn how to work on cars properly instead of taking everything to a shop and paying 3x more.

The N52 honestly seems amazing to me. My goal would be to keep the car long-term and daily it to school, hangouts, road trips, etc. I’d probably keep it until very high mileage if possible. I really like the E92 coupe, but I know the E90 sedan is more practical.

I’d love to hear from actual BMW owners:
- How has your N52 experience been?
- What major problems have you had?
- Would you trust one long term?
- Manual or automatic for a first BMW?

I also like the F30 generation. I know the N20 has timing chain issues, but if you replace the timing chain and the common failing plastic parts early on, does it become a good long-term daily? Or does it still end up being more problematic overall than an N52 car? Where I could’ve just had 335i e90 for the same amount of problems?

And yeah, I know everyone says “just get a Toyota/Honda at 18.” I hear it constantly But I want something I can genuinely be enthusiastic about and learn from mechanically. I know myself, and I just wouldn’t care about the car the same way.

Would love to hear your experiences and opinions. Thanks guys :)

I was wondering if there’s a way on the BMW 3 Series (E90) to keep the original OEM screen/iDrive system, but also add wireless Apple CarPlay.

I’m not really interested in those full Android replacement screens where the car boots into some laggy android auto aftermarket system with random startup “odd Chinese name” logo instead of the BMW startup screen. I’d really like to preserve the OEM BMW feel/interior.

Ideally what I’m looking for is:

-car starts normally with BMW startup/logo
-then automatically boots into Apple CarPlay
-keeps original iDrive controls/buttons functional
-wireless connection for Apple maps, Spotify, etc.

I’ve been reading about MMI boxes/modules and I’m wondering if that’s the best route?

Also, on an E90 without factory Bluetooth, would wireless CarPlay still work directly through the MMI module itself for things like:

-Apple Maps
-Spotify
-calls/music audio

or do I still need some separate Bluetooth setup?

I’d love to do long road trips in the car eventually, and having reliable CarPlay navigation would make a huge difference.

Thanks guys, appreciate any help/advice.

I was wondering if there’s a way on the BMW 3 Series (E90) to keep the original OEM screen/iDrive system, but also add wireless Apple CarPlay.

I’m not really interested in those full Android replacement screens where the car boots into some laggy android auto aftermarket system with random startup “dumaexpress” logo instead of the BMW startup screen. I’d really like to preserve the OEM BMW feel/interior.

Ideally what I’m looking for is:

-car starts normally with BMW startup/logo
-then automatically boots into Apple CarPlay
-keeps original iDrive controls/buttons functional
-wireless connection for Apple maps, Spotify, etc.

I’ve been reading about MMI boxes/modules and I’m wondering if that’s the best route?

Also, on an E90 without factory Bluetooth, would wireless CarPlay still work directly through the MMI module itself for things like:

-Apple Maps
-Spotify
-calls/music audio

or do I still need some separate Bluetooth setup?

I’d love to do long road trips in the car eventually, and having reliable CarPlay navigation would make a huge difference.

Thanks guys, appreciate any help/advice.

Hey guys I'm just wondering, If I do something like Psychology for 2 years at U of Winnipeg. would I be able to transfer all those credits to U of Manitoba and finish the last 2 years and graduate from there?. I'm just wondering how that works, thanks all

I’m from Canada and I’ve recently become really interested in learning Russian. My goal isn’t just basic phrases I’d love to eventually be able to speak, read, and write comfortably, and hopefully visit Russia one day and actually explore and communicate with people there

The problem is I have zero exposure right now. No Russian friends, no environment, nothing so I’m starting completely from scratch

I wanted to ask, what’s the best structured way to go about this?

Should I start with something like Duolingo (I know Duolingo is sometimes bs “the crocodile goes to the theatre”), or is that too surface level? Are there any good textbooks or courses that are actually well structured and can take someone from beginner to conversational?

I’ve also heard people say to watch cartoons or TV shows like kids do when learning a language, does that actually work for adults, or is that more of a supplement?

Basically, if you were starting from zero again, how would you do it as efficiently as possible?

Any advice, resources, or personal experiences would mean a lot. Thanks!

I’m from Canada and I’ve recently become really interested in learning Russian. My goal isn’t just basic phrases I’d love to eventually be able to speak, read, and write comfortably, and hopefully visit Russia one day and actually explore and communicate with people there

The problem is I have zero exposure right now. No Russian friends, no environment, nothing so I’m starting completely from scratch

I wanted to ask, what’s the best structured way to go about this?

Should I start with something like Duolingo, or is that too surface level? Are there any good textbooks or courses that are actually well structured and can take someone from beginner to conversational?

I’ve also heard people say to watch cartoons or TV shows like kids do when learning a language, does that actually work for adults, or is that more of a supplement?

Basically, if you were starting from zero again, how would you do it as efficiently as possible?

Any advice, resources, or personal experiences would mean a lot. Thanks!