Maintenance costs on older 3-series?

[Biz]

For those of you that have kept a 3-series past the warranty period, what did the maintenance cost you on an annual basis? Did you go to a dealership or independent shop?

I'm asking because the majority of the people on E90Post seem to lease (and therefore never pay for their own maintenance) and I only have experience with Japanese cars (maintenance running about $500/year, including tires), so going German does have me a bit concerned about upkeep long term.

Cheers!

[martieg]

I bought my car - I'm definitively replacing my car the day after the 4-year warranty expires.

[nmulax]

I think the numbers are pretty balanced between those of us who've purchased our cars, and those that leased them. I for one bought mine, and am approaching 43k miles.

The best thing would be to contact your dealer (or search the internet). See what the service/maintenance schedule is; and what their cost are for the 50k, 75k inspections. Keep in mind that most independent shops will be cheaper if you have maintenance done there.
Figure to spend about $100 per oil change, and a set of tires every 20k miles or so.

[Biz]

That's a good idea, nmulax, but I was also worried about the non-scheduled maintenance costs. It seems like the people I know with older BMWs have various minor issues with electronics and leaks that can be costly to repair nevertheless.