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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:The BMW thread. Pimpin' is factory. You're thinking of the VW thread 
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Dec 28, 2012 08:03
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Crustashio posted:Thanks to kijiji I just discovered that purple interiors were a factory, non individual colour on some e39s. Goddam I want it, too. A friend has a eggplant-colored 2002(?) Audi A6 with a purplish interior, but that E39 pushes it to ridiculous levels.
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Dec 28, 2012 14:55
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I'm going to pick up my first Mini tomorrow (a 2013 Hardtop Cooper S) and I'm stupidly excited. I know they're not 'proper' BMWs, but I fell in love with it at first drive over the summer. Any advice for the first time hybrid English/German-car owner? Long test drive story: Prior to going I had test driven some other cars, like the Subaru BRZ, the 1 and 3 series, Hyundai Genesis Coupe. I wanted something small and fun, preferably a hatch. I went to check out Mini because I know they've got a dedicated following. While I enjoyed driving the 1-series it was just missing something, and they don't sell the one I actually want in the US anyway (the 3-door). Plus the Mini dealership was (naturally) across the street from the BMW dealer so I decided to pop over and check them out. My last car was a 2003 Matrix XRS 6-speed manual with an engine like a mosquito that I loved nonstop for ten years, but given that most of the driving I do these days is city, I'd already decided to go back to an auto. My father is a car fan who negotiates for a living so he had come with me on my long days of test driving. When walking to the first car to test drive (a stock Cooper) I said to my father "I'm afraid I'm going to like this car too much." So I strapped in and with the (very large) dealer in the back and my father in the passenger seat, I took the Cooper out onto the highway, thrashed it about a bit and hated it. The Cooper really needs a manual, to be honest. Sure it handles fine but that's because it barely moves. It's lacking any sort of torque unless you put it in Sport mode; the weak engine coupled with the auto just sucks. Upon returning to the showroom I admitted to the dealer that I just didn't get what all the fuss was about, and asked if I could take a Cooper S out next. I did the exact same run with the exact same people. I'll miss my manual (I can fake it with the paddles in manual mode, but eh), but the auto does a fine job when paired with the stronger engine and Sport mode is just icing on the cake. The word I use to describe the driving experience is "eager". I am told I had a smile on my face the entire time. I don't remember this because I couldn't properly think the entire time. My first words upon getting out of the car were "Ok, I get it now." The fear I expressed to my father turned out to be true: I ordered a Cooper S on the spot. In the end due to an evolving work situation I ended up taking my deposit back right before the car hit the dealer lot. It's a good thing I didn't take delivery over the summer, as Sandy made short work of my Matrix. I suddenly found myself in the market again, this time blessed by the gods of Geico with more than triple the money I had previously been offered as a trade in, and with better finance rates through the dealer to boot. One custom order and six weeks waiting later, I take delivery tomorrow. One Mini Cooper S, black on black with black wheels and white turn signals, an exterior completely devoid of color, the most emo-looking little car.
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Dec 28, 2012 15:29
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Model Camper posted:One custom order and six weeks waiting later, I take delivery tomorrow. One Mini Cooper S, black on black with black wheels and white turn signals, an exterior completely devoid of color, the most emo-looking little car. In Manual trim, I hope  Glad you had a good experience, they are fun little cars at an AutoX. A little bit of tire goes a long way.
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Dec 28, 2012 16:18
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Beach Bum posted:In Manual trim, I hope I stuck with Auto (blasphemy, I know) but given the state of driving/parking in NYC my left leg will thank me in the long run.
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Dec 28, 2012 17:47
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As an autocross/rallycross car, would a 1984 318i be worth considering? I know it won't be fast, i'm more looking for something reasonably fun to drive...
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Dec 28, 2012 19:41
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Well anything can be fun to drive if you're autocrossing it but an 84 318i is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to E30s in America.
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Dec 28, 2012 20:16
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Initially I was going to respond "Not unless you plan an M50 swap or a turbo", but I thought about it and you could probably make it fun by doing the following: -Absolutely stripping everything you can. Backseats, carpets, sound deadening, radio, door panels, etc. Make the car as light as possible. Can probably get in the area of 2000-2200lbs. -Swap the front brakes with 325i, and the entire rear trailing arm assembly from a 325i. This is required to get rid of the awful drums and get manageable brakes. Trust me, the 318i brakes are terrible. I drove a turbo'd 318i with stock brakes and it was scary. -3.91 LSD so you can actually get some acceleration out of the M10 -Decent suspension (spec e30?) and bushings all round. -Really sticky tires It will still be a slow car, but it should handle pretty well and be able to carry speed. Of course it will be awful to drive on the street but so is a stock 318i. That said, I'd buy any of the following over a 318i if I wanted to stay in a sane class and be competitive: -318i/iS (M42 motor) -325i/iS -e36 325i/iS -e36 328i/iS My money would actually go for the e36 325i. Early E36 prices are rock bottom and don't have the bullshit enthusiast tax from everyone wanting one. Also, a dual purpose autoX/RallyX car is probably going to be really bad at one, or just kinda bad at both. Personally I would go for autoX. RallyX is fun but it will destroy your wallet, and your car. Crustashio fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Dec 28, 2012 |
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Dec 28, 2012 20:28
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I have started looking into the E53 X5, and the 1999-2002 models seem to be in my price range. However I do not know much about them. Since we are in Norway, my choices are the 3 liter diesel or petrol, no V8s. What do I need to know about running costs and reliability, what are common issues to check for, and are either the diesel or petrol a non-choice?
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Dec 28, 2012 23:00
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evobatman posted:I have started looking into the E53 X5, and the 1999-2002 models seem to be in my price range. However I do not know much about them. Since we are in Norway, my choices are the 3 liter diesel or petrol, no V8s. What do I need to know about running costs and reliability, what are common issues to check for, and are either the diesel or petrol a non-choice? X5 E53 (1999 - 2006) http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22
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Dec 28, 2012 23:28
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Crustashio posted:Initially I was going to respond "Not unless you plan an M50 swap or a turbo", but I thought about it and you could probably make it fun by doing the following: Thanks for the input... definitely things to consider. Here (Saskatchewan) there is not much for E30s or E36s for a reasonable price, in fact the only E30 is the 318i. (Though i can't complain too much about the market as I sold my b5 a4 for 8k...). Bringing in a car from Alberta is an option, but then it has to pass an inspection, so it could get expensive.
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Dec 29, 2012 01:14
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evobatman posted:I have started looking into the E53 X5, and the 1999-2002 models seem to be in my price range. However I do not know much about them. Since we are in Norway, my choices are the 3 liter diesel or petrol, no V8s. What do I need to know about running costs and reliability, what are common issues to check for, and are either the diesel or petrol a non-choice? The strait 6 is pretty stout.... I think the transmission is about the only thing to worry about, and it was just only limited to the GM sourced transmissions and not the ZF's. Other than that, typical BMW poo poo, cooling system, bushings, etc.
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Dec 29, 2012 04:27
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Timmy Cruise posted:As an autocross/rallycross car, would a 1984 318i be worth considering? I know it won't be fast, i'm more looking for something reasonably fun to drive... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-YCbF15FI4 Watch for the white car and tell me an '84 318i isn't hilariously fun  (It's me)It's down on power, but the brakes weren't THAT bad. With a pad change (HP+) I thought they did pretty drat good.
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Dec 29, 2012 11:15
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Is there any way to get the bluetooth pairing PIN from the car once it's been set other than taking it in to the dealer to have them pull it? Also, is there any way to remove previously paired phones from the bluetooth? I have an 09 M3 if that makes any difference.
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Dec 30, 2012 05:07
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mastermind2004 posted:Is there any way to get the bluetooth pairing PIN from the car once it's been set other than taking it in to the dealer to have them pull it? Also, is there any way to remove previously paired phones from the bluetooth? I have an 09 M3 if that makes any difference. Uh, if it's like the non-M E90s, I just deleted the prior owner's pairings, and set up my own. It had me choose a pin, and I had to enter that on my phone. I think I chose all ones, expecting a default, but when I set up my Dad's car after, I made up a number (hell if I can recall it now). No i-Drive, but I can't see how i-Drive would have less functionality.
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Dec 30, 2012 15:55
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Yeah, just go and "delete" the existing paired phone and then set up yours.
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Dec 30, 2012 16:39
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Model Camper posted:I'm going to pick up my first Mini tomorrow (a 2013 Hardtop Cooper S) and I'm stupidly excited. I know they're not 'proper' BMWs, but I fell in love with it at first drive over the summer. Any advice for the first time hybrid English/German-car owner? Also, most people think that the free maintenance program means they need to do absolutely nothing until 15k miles (I think they changed it to 10k now). The earlier models were very oil sensitive, leading to timing chain issues. The factory claims it is resolved, but check your oil level regularly. I'd also recommend changing it every 5k instead of the factory interval 10k.
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Dec 30, 2012 19:47
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The new ones still eat oil, check it regularly and always keep a quart in the trunk.
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Dec 30, 2012 19:57
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I have a bad ground in the driver's side tail light of my 2000 328Ci that causes my headlights to flicker when it's connected. I understand that I need to rewire the ground from the electrical connector to the aluminum frame on the tail light assembly, but in all the DIYs I've read the frame has a tab that is used that does not exist on my assembly. I've linked images of my assembly below, can anyone tell me how to appropriately reground this wire? 
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Dec 31, 2012 01:22
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Alarbus posted:Uh, if it's like the non-M E90s, I just deleted the prior owner's pairings, and set up my own. It had me choose a pin, and I had to enter that on my phone. I think I chose all ones, expecting a default, but when I set up my Dad's car after, I made up a number (hell if I can recall it now).
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Dec 31, 2012 01:30
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On the topic of the god drat cooling system... Today I was driving to the store and had inadvertently left the climate control turned off from a previous drive where I was trying to locate the source of a noise (rock in the tire). The car had been running for a few minutes while I cleared the snow and I got a few miles down the road before realizing the heat wasn't on, so the engine was warmed up enough to be reading normal straight vertical on the gauge. Pretty much the exact moment the heat started blowing from my vents after turning it on my low coolant light came on. I pulled over about a block down the road and sure enough it was low. I grabbed the jug of premix I keep in my trunk and topped off, then started the car and let it run for a bit with the heat on and blowing warm. The level didn't drop, so I put the cap back on and continued on my trip. I checked the level again at my destination (about 10 miles down the road) and once more when I got home, in both cases it was fine and I had been getting nice hot air the whole time. Any idea where I'm losing coolant? There's no sign of it in the oil nor any sweet smell in the exhaust (my Crown Vic pretty much drank coolant so I know that smell well), but I'm not getting puddles either. I'm thinking heater core due to the timing with the heat coming on, but I don't really know how this cooling system is set up. This is a nearly 140,000 mile E46 on the factory cooling system of course, so everything is suspect at this point, but with no signs of where it's going I don't even have a good place to start guessing. wolrah fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Dec 31, 2012 |
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Dec 31, 2012 01:52
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wolrah posted:On the topic of the god drat cooling system... If there was something wrong with your heater core, you would probably get that familiar coolant smell, along with your windows fogging up to some extent, so I might look elsewhere (it's also not the most straightforward answer either). Depending on where and how much you're leaking, you might not ever see it; it could dry into that blue crud before it ever forms a puddle. Pull off your aggregate shield and look for evidence of leaking, and check your hoses - the small ones running down the drivers side of the engine block that nobody ever bothers with - for leaks at the ends and where they go into the block, as well as the heater valve. EDIT: failing that, you might have one of the more traditional cooling system failures, so it wouldn't hurt to look that over too. MrChips fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Dec 31, 2012 |
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Dec 31, 2012 02:26
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wolrah posted:On the topic of the god drat cooling system... The timing of the leak with the heat coming on could just be a coincidence. I'm leaning towards it being the water pump. I have a Jeep Cherokee that had very similar symptoms as what you are experiencing - no coolant in the oil, no sweet smell in exhaust, and what drove me nuts - there was never a puddle under it, but the coolant kept disappearing at a pretty good rate. That is, until I pulled into a gas station one day and the water pump poo poo itself right when I pulled up to the pump and dumped all of the coolant. Replaced the water pump and haven't had a problem since.
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Dec 31, 2012 13:10
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GOD drat COOLING SYSTEM! My e34 530 for the past few days had been throwing the serpentine belt. When I was putting it back on yesterday, I noticed the water pump pulley was wobbly. So that's probably why it chucked the belt. FWIW, the car hasn't had any cooling problems. When I got the car, there were 2(!) extra water pumps in the trunk. One is the original BMW, the other is aftermarket. Is there any way to check if they are bad? The bearings seem to be good, and they don't show any obvious damage. The shaft on the BMW one turns fairly well, but the aftermarket one is hard to turn. Does anyone have experience with Graf of Saleri water pumps? They are like $90 on Pelican Parts.
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Jan 1, 2013 16:29
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rear end in a top hat Bicycle posted:Does anyone have experience with Graf of Saleri water pumps? They are like $90 on Pelican Parts.
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Jan 1, 2013 21:15
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My car decided to give me a present for New Year's. This is the '04 330Ci that I was having a starting issue with and putting a new battery in it seemed to sort it out a few weeks ago. Anyway, I got in to drive to my parents house this evening and the car started up fine. It wasn't until driving a few minutes and getting on the highway that I noticed the speedo not working, it was just sitting at zero. A minute or two after that, the radio went off (Nav unit). The radio then came back on, but a few lights on my cluster came on too: The Traction Control light, the BRAKE light, and the little cog with exclamation point next to the gearshift indicator. The other two went away after a minute, but the cog next to the gearshift indicator stayed. I've done some reading and it seems the transmission went into limp mode, and that matches with what the car was doing. It didn't downshift, pulling away from stoplight was very slow. Once I got to my parents house (maybe 10 minute drive total from mine to theirs), I parked it and then tried to start it. It seemed like the starter was trying to turn over but didn't go all the way. I waited a while then tried it again, and the cog light had gone away but it still isn't fully turning over. I guess I just wanted to post and see how hosed you guys think I am. Car's going to the dealership tomorrow. My extended warranty either expired at the beginning of December or I have one more year on it, I have to check on that in the morning too. 
GentlemanofLeisure fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Jan 2, 2013 |
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Jan 2, 2013 02:18
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You need an alternator. Possibly a battery also. More importantly.....if you're out of warranty why the hell are you going to the dealer? You should figure warranty status out FIRST.
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Jan 2, 2013 02:31
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Posting up in this thread because I'm a dumbass who knows next to nothing about cars but needs some help anyways: So I managed to bust out a tail light cover on my 93 525i and I was trying to find the easiest way to repair it without doing the super ghetto red tape bullshit. The assembly as a whole still works fine and only the bottom right/center right portion of the cover is busted out. Should I just go to an autoparts store and buy some red plastic to fit to it (Again I'd like it to not look awful so if that "fix" would then scratch that) or is there a place I can buy just the red plastic that fits in the assembly? Or if that's not an option is there a cheaper price for the assembly than $65 shipped? I don't know if this whole thing should go in stupid questions thread, but I figured the BMW enthusiasts would probably know best. Edit: Left tail light cover, as the assembly linked is as well. KettleWL fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Jan 2, 2013 |
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Jan 2, 2013 02:56
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The first question that springs to mind for me, at least, is "why are you driving a BMW if you can't afford to spend $65 (which is actually pretty cheap, all things considered) on a new part?" I mean, they're great, fun to drive cars and all, but nobody will ever tell you that getting parts or doing maintenance on them is 'cheap'. (you should just buy the new taillight, anything else you do will look like poo poo)
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Jan 2, 2013 03:58
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Motronic posted:You need an alternator. Possibly a battery also. As an aside, I asked for a Bentley manual for my car for Christmas and ended up receiving a Haynes Manual. What are the differences, and is the Haynes worth a drat? I checked out the Alternator Replacement and it seems to be the same as what I've managed to scour up online. All the alternator DIY's online are bad though, maybe I'll try to document mine fairly well and post it up.
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Jan 2, 2013 04:41
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HotCanadianChick posted:The first question that springs to mind for me, at least, is "why are you driving a BMW if you can't afford to spend $65 (which is actually pretty cheap, all things considered) on a new part?" I absolutely can afford the new part, and yeah it's really cheap for anything BMW. But just because I can afford a $65 part doesn't mean that it'd be a good idea to buy it if I could get the piece of plastic that goes into the part for $10 when the light fixtures etc. all function just fine. But if that's not a possibility then yeah, new taillight.
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Jan 2, 2013 04:48
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KettleWL posted:Posting up in this thread because I'm a dumbass who knows next to nothing about cars but needs some help anyways: Buy it. Its from an Bavarian Auto Recyclers, which means its OEM. OEM is ALMOST always better than the aftermarket, especially when it comes to tail lights and head lights. Quoting Ed China Ed China posted:Recycled parts are never anything to be ashamed of, its cheaper, and its greener. Or something to that effect. Also visit https://www.car-part.com it is worth a look to see if any yards in your area have parts.
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Jan 2, 2013 05:12
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BrokenKnucklez posted:Or something to that effect. Also visit https://www.car-part.com it is worth a look to see if any yards in your area have parts. What an awesome resource, thanks a lot. Judging by that if I want to drive 60 miles each way I can save 20 whole dollars! Ordered the part! Thanks, and thanks to HCC as well for that matter.
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Jan 2, 2013 05:20
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A wild 2005 M3 appeared (as spotted by my fiancee). I don't know a lot about Bimmers yet, but it had me thinking. What sort of mechanical nightmares would usually lie in wait for a 2005 if this thing is selling for such a modest price? http://www.autotrader.ca/result/AdDetailInfo.aspx?srcID=19&frnID=6342634 Is this too good of a deal to be true, basically?
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Jan 2, 2013 20:01
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Kachunkachunk posted:A wild 2005 M3 appeared (as spotted by my fiancee). I don't know a lot about Bimmers yet, but it had me thinking. What sort of mechanical nightmares would usually lie in wait for a 2005 if this thing is selling for such a modest price? http://www.autotrader.ca/result/AdDetailInfo.aspx?srcID=19&frnID=6342634 A 2005 M3 with only 42k KM on it for CAD$15,400?  That has got to be too good to be true. I don't know about Toronto prices but usually M3s of similar years with such low miles go for ~USD$20k here in the Seattle area.
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Jan 2, 2013 20:07
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Yeah, tempting, isn't it? That package isn't exactly super common, either. No sign (yet) of aftermarket tweaking and modding. It's especially tempting because I currently drive a 2008 inline-4 Honda Accord sedan. Good package, but overweight, large, and slow. And not without issues, being the first of its generation. I only really know Audi S4s and S5s, and even then it depends on the generation and how early/late into one you're talking. It looks like the 2005 M3 in question is pretty much mid-generation, which is good. Lots of time for refinement, etc. I'd have to probably check out some owner forums for some known top gotchas. I'm really hoping she'll go with something like an M3 instead of a Mini Cooper (ugh ugh ugh). Edit: Low KMs on an older car tends to make me worry that it was either babied (not so bad), city-driven, or tracked all the time, so I am leery about this. And it's a private sale. I would sort of lean towards getting a high-mileage, late-model vehicle, since it could be mostly highway KMs. I also noticed that Canada seems to be pretty intolerant of mileage, compared to the American market, which is interesting. Anything creeping over 100,000 KMs seems to get a lot of scrutiny from my peers and family but I don't really see a problem with it when I look at mileage of various cars of interest in the states. Kachunkachunk fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Jan 2, 2013 |
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Jan 2, 2013 20:13
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GentlemanofLeisure posted:Yeah, I am going to figure out the warranty status first. But if the most likely failure is the alternator, I'll just order one up and replace that. They look to be around 300 or so from Pelican/BAV Auto including the core charge, so that's not TOO bad of a hit to take. Why are you going to throw parts at it? This is really simple: - Warranty status first. If in warranty, go to dealer and say "fix it". If out of warranty, continue on to.... - Diagnostics. Figure out what is wrong before ordering parts. Any decent parts store will actually test both your battery and alternator for you, either in the car or on the bench. If you have a multi meter and can get it just started you can at least check the alternator yourself. - Last: order/replace parts.
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Jan 2, 2013 20:20
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Kachunkachunk posted:A wild 2005 M3 appeared (as spotted by my fiancee). I don't know a lot about Bimmers yet, but it had me thinking. What sort of mechanical nightmares would usually lie in wait for a 2005 if this thing is selling for such a modest price? http://www.autotrader.ca/result/AdDetailInfo.aspx?srcID=19&frnID=6342634 scam scam scam scam scam. That is a 25-30k e46 m3, especially with the cloth seats. It isn't even hard to due your diligence on an ad like this, why would a car in toronto not have a front plate? Crustashio fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Jan 2, 2013 |
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Jan 2, 2013 22:34
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Motronic posted:- Warranty status first. If in warranty, go to dealer and say "fix it". If out of warranty, continue on to.... Thanks for taking time to reply to me.
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Jan 2, 2013 23:16
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I have this illusive slight yellow gunk that seems to randomly show up under my oil cap, in a 2003 330i. It happened again this afternoon, a couple weeks after I did a fresh oil+filter change with Mobil 1 0W-40 and put in a new valve cover gasket with some Hondabond in all the magical places.  This was after a 45 minute trip, about 20 minutes through stop and go traffic. A few hours later I drove for another 45 minutes home and the yellow haze was gone. I'm not short any detectable coolant, nor have I gained or lost any oil, and no yellow haze on the dipstick. What in the hell is going on here? I keep assuming this is small amounts of coolant - is it possibly oil frothing, or something else entirely?
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Jan 3, 2013 05:28
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