Frequent Questions

It depends. Some vehicles are designed in ways that can be more easily repaired than others. Access to parts and information will vary depending on a particular year/make/model’s popularity. Prior maintenance, climate, and driving environment will also play a role.

Every vehicle has its Achilles heel. For the E46, it’s the cooling system: an expansion tank susceptible to failures, a buffered temperature gauge from the factory (the needle will always point straight up between 75°C and 115°C), and an aluminum block that doesn’t handle overheating well. This trifecta can pose a serious risk if ignored and not properly mitigated. Preventing the issue is cheap; paying for the consequences of ignoring it isn’t—every second in the red on an overheating engine is $1,000.

In my experience, European vehicles are aren’t expensive to own when they’re properly maintained. If you research DIYs, tackle some of the repairs yourself, and are proactive in your maintenance, you’ll be ahead of the curve and will have a more enjoyable experience compared to paying a repair shop every time something breaks. You’ll learn more and spend less as an active and engaged owner.

I do. Every vehicle in my life has its maintenance logged and meticulously tracked. It’s become an easy habit to maintain, and I no longer worry about whether there’s something that needs doing. It frees my mind up to focus on other things. These systems and health reports have also been useful when selling vehicles and can complement a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) nicely. It’s always refreshing to find someone who cares as much about the same things as you do.

One of my side projects is building a more flexible and holistic solution that can be deployed at scale. Spreadsheets have their place, but I’d like to offer a better user experience. If you’d like to be notified when that project launches, please visit www.partbreak.com. (If you’re interested in collaborating and supporting that initiative directly, let’s get in touch.)

In the meantime, the maintenance section of this site covers some of the features you can build yourself and how a structured approach can help you get the most out of your data. It might spark new ideas that fit your needs.

For now, despite the offers made at stoplights and gas stations, I have no plans on parting with the car. Too many people lament the loss of a vehicle they shut the door on too soon. If I ever get to the point of parking and not looking back, maybe then I’ll reconsider.

For all things personal and professional, you can reach me here.

Thank you!