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Honestly, he probably didn't harm your parking brake much at all. I'd be more worried about the thousands of miles he burned off your clutch.
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Dec 30, 2013 23:54
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Powershift posted:Your minimum wage is double what it is in the states, and 50% higher than most of canada. A base model focus(and that's the hatch) is $19k aud, or 1188 hours at minimum wage. A base model focus hatch is $16,810 USD(the hatch is $18,600), which is 2318 hours at minum wage, or 2565 hours at minimum wage for the hatch. With the 2565 hours at minimum wage an american has to work for that focus hatch, an aussie can buy a falcon XR6 turbo. A new car in the US is the same price as a 3 year old car here, and used cars don't attract a LCT. You really think new 335i's are bought by people on minimum wage? Or do you think that it takes an extra 400 salesman hours (about 2 months?) to sell each new car? And why do parts cost literally 600% more here than in the US? It's called "price gouging". I know they just charging the price that people are willing to pay, but it still sucks to be on the wrong end of it.
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Dec 31, 2013 00:09
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So, as previously posted, I just got my 2000 540i back from the shop, who did a blistering $3,600 of work replacing the timing chains, guides, etc... I just bought a house, and between those two things and the holidays, funds are tighter than I'd like. So of course the Friday before last, during a very heavy fog at night, I hit a massive pothole at about 30 mph. I thought I'd blown a tire at first, but I didn't. I noticed the car was making a noise as I turned the steering wheel. Today, I jacked up the front and took the driver's side wheel off, and saw this:  It looks like one of the control arms (I'm not sure which one that is... educate me please!) took the damage, and the stud is bent. As the wheel pivots around the damaged stud, it makes the noise - after awhile, I imagine it'd break, though the wheel wouldn't come off right away as it's still supported by the shock (which is also damaged, the boot tore off), the tie rod and the other control arm. Here is another image showing the angle. It's causing the backing plate to sit at a weird angle as well, perhaps the entire knuckle is.  Here is the damaged shock boot, which I'm hoping can wait:  My questions are: Can I continue driving the car safely? How quickly must I get this fixed? How difficult is it to replace that one control arm? It looks like I could replace it without removing anything else (and using an open-ended wrench at the knuckle), does this sound right? Will I need an alignment afterward?
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Dec 31, 2013 01:34
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I went from e46 to an e90, and while I had my 325 I didn't think I'd ever want the newer ones at the time. Then I had an opportunity to get an 08 335xi, it's all the little things about it that's great. I love the folding in side mirrors, the adaptive headlamps, climate system (while similar to my old ones',it just works so drat well)and, the sport seats. I've had people stop me while getting into my car at night in parking lots amazed that the door handles light up when I unlock it. Despite being almost 6 years old now and 53k miles, it starts up perfectly and sounds great, even in single digit weather. Meanwhile my coworkers newer cars around me -when we're all leaving at the same time- engines sound like they're slowly dying and straining when they turn the key. I even like how if you unlock the doors, and don't get in right away, it'll relock them automatically. I've owned many cars in my life, couple new ones, but nothing I've had or driven compares to my BMW. But I love all of them on the road. I love talking to people who own them, no matter what model. I'm probably the kind of owner half of you hate, but I still love reading here and trying to absorb everything I can about BMW's in general, since I'm definitely hitting high levels of obsession with them.
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Dec 31, 2013 02:17
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Captain Postal posted:A new car in the US is the same price as a 3 year old car here, and used cars don't attract a LCT. Used car prices are influenced by new car prices. Do you expect the first owner to just eat the entirety of the LCT? The minimum wage comparison is to show the difference in wages. Can you provide an example of parts costing "literally" 600% more? Looking at this http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/parts_guide/default.aspx for parts i've replaced on mine, your prices are pretty much in line with canada.
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Dec 31, 2013 02:53
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Powershift posted:Used car prices are influenced by new car prices. Do you expect the first owner to just eat the entirety of the LCT? Going from memory here because I got a quote to fix some stuff from BMWAus when I first got the car and said "screw that", but: Power steering hose is ~$650, RSM ~$100, Oil level sensor ~$400, Ignition coil ~$100, O-rings for solenoid valves ~$15... Things like O-rings are easy to buy elsewhere, luckily parts that commonly fail like oil level sensors have grey market importers (clickable are amazing to deal with but have a limited range), ignition coils were under warranty for me and the P/S hose I bought from a wrecker instead.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:21
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That's BMW being BMW. not australia getting singled out. They wanted over $800 for the MAF for my e39.
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Dec 31, 2013 04:46
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CornHolio posted:So, as previously posted, I just got my 2000 540i back from the shop, who did a blistering $3,600 of work replacing the timing chains, guides, etc... I just bought a house, and between those two things and the holidays, funds are tighter than I'd like. Talk to your insurance company about getting it covered on comprehensive. Some road hazard programs cover stuff like that, and/or you may be able to force your municipality to pay for the repairs.
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Dec 31, 2013 06:52
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Das Volk posted:Talk to your insurance company about getting it covered on comprehensive. Some road hazard programs cover stuff like that, and/or you may be able to force your municipality to pay for the repairs. Called them yesterday, didn't sound like it'd be worth it with my $500 deductible.
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Dec 31, 2013 12:19
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CornHolio posted:
Yes, that is the control arm. IIRC you'll need a gear puller or something to press it out with to remove it. I would go ahead and do the shock boot while you are in there. If you're doing the control arm already it's not that much more of a pain in the rear end to get the shock out. Here is a decent DIY on control arms, I don't have one handy for shocks but they aren't that hard.
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Dec 31, 2013 15:13
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TheStig posted:Cayman just got knocked out of Evo's car of the year for lifeless EPS. Having taken my dad's current Boxster S for a spin when I was visiting for the holidays, I'm inclined to agree. The new GT3 has the only system that has been called good. Disclaimer: I've driven none of these cars, but have been tracking Porsche/BMW EPS commentary in the mainstream automotive press with curiosity. It seems to me consensus is that decent EPS is possible, and that Porsche is doing it right and BMW is doing it wrong. Any source for the Cayman/Evo bit? They seem to like the steering just fine here and here.
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Dec 31, 2013 17:23
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swampnutz posted:Disclaimer: I've driven none of these cars, but have been tracking Porsche/BMW EPS commentary in the mainstream automotive press with curiosity. It seems to me consensus is that decent EPS is possible, and that Porsche is doing it right and BMW is doing it wrong. Toyota/Subaru are doing it right too - the FRS/BRZ/GT86 has EPS and I have yet to see a single review of it that complains about the steering. It's basically everyone buy BMW doing it well.
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Dec 31, 2013 18:01
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Das Volk posted:Talk to your insurance company about getting it covered on comprehensive. Some road hazard programs cover stuff like that, and/or you may be able to force your municipality to pay for the repairs. It'd be a collision loss all day and has a good chance of being at-fault. Unless you seriously destroyed your car, a pothole claim isn't usually a great one to claim. Edit: removed something that makes no sense Literally Lewis Hamilton fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Dec 31, 2013 |
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Dec 31, 2013 21:55
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Bovril Delight posted:It'd be a collision loss all day and has a good chance of being at-fault. Unless you seriously destroyed your car, a pothole claim isn't usually a great one to claim. Different states have different laws regarding the condition of the roads and their culpability in damage to vehicles as a result of neglect or incompetence. That's why it's worthwhile to check, eg: http://www.dot.ca.gov/damageclaims.htm
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Jan 1, 2014 00:02
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It wouldn't be a comp loss though. It's usually like pulling teeth to get cities to pay up.
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Jan 1, 2014 02:44
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Viper_3000 posted:Yes, that is the control arm. IIRC you'll need a gear puller or something to press it out with to remove it. I would go ahead and do the shock boot while you are in there. If you're doing the control arm already it's not that much more of a pain in the rear end to get the shock out. This isn't true - all you need is a Big Fucking Hammer. Particularly since the arm you're removing is trash. If you're keeping the arm and need to take the spindle off for another reason, you have to be careful about damaging the threads in the stud. Unthread the nut on the balljoint until the top of the nut is flush with the top of the stud - this gives you more hittin' area. Spray is down with some PB blaster or something, then start hammerin'. Apply the blue wrench if it won't budge.
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Jan 1, 2014 03:27
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For those who might have seen my post in the stupid questions thread, I've gotten gainful employment after university and are looking into a more driver oriented ride compared to my 10 year old civic, and been pointed towards/ thinking about picking up a manual E36 coupe as a first car that would mean more to me than a driving appliance, because an FR with more than a little horsepower in a smallish coupe sounds kinda like my bag.I also hope to take whatever I buy eventually to events as I learn wrenching off of it, especially hearing from a more senior colleague in my field that it is totally possible since he did it when he graduated with a Subaru WRX. I fully accept that there will be maintenance costs and I'm only looking it now that I finally have disposable income, and I don't need a super dependable car for commuting thanks to how all the amenities and work fall together at my current employment.I'm hopping the thread to ask some more targeted question in the BMW thread. Oh and for what it's worth, I am living in New Zealand. I'm hoping to hear from owners what it's like to drive/own one, especially since all I've been told about BMW's in general is that they are luxury cars that run great until the warranty runs out and they spontaneously combust in the driveway. But essentially the brief list of questions that I'd love to run past the resident AI BWM-havers are: -How painful is keeping a BMW on the road in terms of garage time and expense? -How enjoyable is it to drive? -I'll mostly want a car for inter city driving and weekend driving for fun -How hard are they to work on/ upgrade as I learn more about cars? And if I do end up looking for one: -Any particular years or models to look for? I assume that I only really want an I6 model, or since I should engine swap, it doesn't matter if I get an I4 version? -How much mileage is too much mileage/ too old for a beginner to take care of
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Jan 1, 2014 13:23
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quote:-How painful is keeping a BMW on the road in terms of garage time and expense? quote:-How enjoyable is it to drive? -I'll mostly want a car for inter city driving and weekend driving for fun quote:-How hard are they to work on/ upgrade as I learn more about cars? quote:And if I do end up looking for one: quote:-How much mileage is too much mileage/ too old for a beginner to take care of
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Jan 1, 2014 14:54
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First, I wouldn't touch an e36 318. They're just too heavy to be fun with 140hp. And don't count on any big power upgrades until you're spending a lot, ie starting to get in to the 1k range.
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Jan 1, 2014 15:39
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Trambopaline posted:Stuff about buying a BMW The two most important things when buying a BMW are maintenance records/condition, and getting a quality pre-purchase inspection done by a trusted shop. This basically tells you exactly where you are with the car if you want to buy it, and how much money you're going to dump into whatever non-fun maintenance parts that the last owner hasn't done yet. The problem with BMWs in general is that people buy them, drive them, and then don't do the maintenance on them because it's more expensive than it was in their civic, and then dump them onto someone else...basically as a ticking time-bomb of poo poo that's about to go wrong. This is exactly what you have to try and mitigate when buying one. Also whatever you do, if you don't have a proof that the GOD drat COOLING SYSTEM™ was replaced within the past 60,000 miles, then drop the money to replace it off the bat.
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Jan 1, 2014 16:16
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I ended up getting a cheaper e36 M3 over a newer e46 M3 this past summer for similar reasons. I wanted to go with the cheaper car that I could dump some money into learning how to wrench on. So far the e36 has been awesome, it's probably one of the easiest cars to work on and there is a ton of free information online for doing just about any upgrade/maintenance. Check out Pelicans technical articles and the miriad of forums dedicated to BMWs you'll more than likely find a great guide with pictures. You might also try looking into the e30 if those float your boat. They are a terrific car to mess around in and learn what people really mean when they say "the ultimate driving machine". BMWs have a lot of driver feedback, you really feel more connected to the road. I am on my second e30 (now my winter car) and they are still a blast. You'll get that with the e36 as well, but the e30 is another option if you're looking for more cheap easily modifiable cars.
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Jan 1, 2014 18:02
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What's up BMW friends. E30 heater valve. #64111386707. Does ANYBODY have this? It's back ordered into infinity every place I've looked and even the dealer is like LOL, NOPE.
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Jan 1, 2014 21:57
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Here is the 2011 335 I picked up for $30k last month.....$1500+ later (repainted front bumper/ding repairs/full detail paint correction/wet sanding/opticoat) later. I greatly underestimated how much damage to the paint the stupid bitch who owned this poor car allowed to happen. She only drove the thing from Mar 2012-Oct 2013 and it looked 1,000 times worse than my 10+ year old E46. I thought I could handle it with just my porter cable 7424 and a bunch of compound/polish but it didn't even make a dent into the swirls. Virgin bumper...gonna feel bad when I have to attach a plate to the front after getting 5 tickets in a week and/or tasered and beaten on the side of the road.  
Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Jan 1, 2014 |
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Jan 1, 2014 22:43
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Get a license plate mount for the tow hook. I got mine from rho plate.
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Jan 1, 2014 23:19
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Better yet, move somewhere that doesn't require a front plate.
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Jan 1, 2014 23:31
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Is it that big a problem? I haven't had the front plate on my e36 since July here in Wisconsin. I only got told to put the plate on once on my e30 by a bored highway patrol cop, though I did eventually put the front plate on that car.
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Jan 2, 2014 02:21
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I got pulled over by a bored cop for no front plate. Ended up getting a ticket because I didn't put in my new insurance card. What a coincidence his computer said I had expired insurance. Ended up getting rid of the ticket, but it ended up costing me the gas to drive out to Cibolo, TX from west San Antonio and back. I got a Rho Plate and thought I'd just put it on whenever I drove out to Houston as I've never had any issues with cops in San Antonio. Then I just gave up because that would be a lot of effort to put it on and take it off every few months so I've left it on.
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Jan 2, 2014 02:27
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Hell, in California I got a front plate ticket on my then 330 coupe over 10 years ago WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED AT THE MALL. It was from a local police dept. Oh, also someone has reported getting a ticket for the tow hook version as well since it's not in the "required" spot. So states/cities like the funds but Red Light Camera operator companies need a picture of your mug with the FRONT LICENSE plate of your car to send you a ticket - hence the big push to enforce. It's popped up in Texas and other states as well (maybe cameras on the toll roads?). All of a sudden BOOM, everyone getting pulled over for it right after all the camera's get up and running or some company gets a new contract. I'd guess it's only a matter of time where you get tickets in the mail for speeding without even getting pulled over (oh wait that already happens). Some states are fighting back though and state judges are tossing out some of the tickets/agencies but it's only a matter of time before they come back and we are blanketed with camera tickets under the guise of some superpac funding a "Protect Our Children" bill or some other poo poo. Keyser_Soze fucked around with this message at 04:15 on Jan 2, 2014 |
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Jan 2, 2014 03:18
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Keyser S0ze posted:but it's only a matter of time before they come back and we are blanketed with camera tickets under the guise of some superpac funding a "Protect Our Children" bill or some other poo poo. You already get those tickets ad nauseum without a front plate in GA, where we don't have front plates, the cameras just take an extra snap of your behind. Luckily they're pretty much all programmed for 66mph+ exposures only.
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Jan 2, 2014 04:39
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Cojawfee posted:How many loving hours of labor is that? 1300 dollars of labor to replace gaskets? Labor on replacing the oil filter housing gasket alone is generally in the 1.5 to 3 hour range, model specific of course. $1300 in labor would be a a little under 11 hours at our shop
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Jan 2, 2014 05:52
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CornHolio posted:So, as previously posted, I just got my 2000 540i back from the shop, who did a blistering $3,600 of work replacing the timing chains, guides, etc... I just bought a house, and between those two things and the holidays, funds are tighter than I'd like. talk to your city about covering it. take pictures and use a ruler to show how large and down the street to show you can't see it so you couldn't avoid it if they don't do anything about it then, a nice letter from an attorney works wonders. source: had a buddy hit a manhole cover improperly placed and it came up vertical as he was going over it and dented the poo poo out of his car. city paid out with no qualms
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Jan 2, 2014 22:44
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I think I bought the last decent e30 in the midwest. Been looking on Craigslist for my cousin who has been wanting one for awhile and there is just nothing. I got mine a few years back in great condition with 100k miles for $4k. Everything I've seen lately is well over 100k miles and turning into rust buckets with high asking prices.
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Jan 3, 2014 17:35
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Popete posted:I think I bought the last decent e30 in the midwest. Been looking on Craigslist for my cousin who has been wanting one for awhile and there is just nothing. I got mine a few years back in great condition with 100k miles for $4k. Everything I've seen lately is well over 100k miles and turning into rust buckets with high asking prices. They're out there, but finding them is the hard part. Clean ones are becoming more and more rare.
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Jan 3, 2014 18:37
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Oh god so I did a thing. I bought a '93 E36 325i coupe today. It's mechanically sound and it runs great. It's a huge step up to just drive around town compared to my last driving appliance and I'm ridiculously excited to start owning it and making it my car. First couple of things that I've noticed about it now that I have taken it home that I'd like to sort out to make the car a lot more liveable with rather than just strapping performance parts into it. Sorry, I fully realise that these are probably dumb questions but I'm starting out and AI seems like the voice of reason. The A/C didn't work. Well it blows and the controls change the fanspeed but it doesn't cool or heat. It looks like there is just no belt on the compressor. Would it be worth trying to just installing a belt on to the pulley system just to see if driving the compressor will make the A/C blow cold again? If I were to do that, is it as simple as the servicing books make it look? Loosen the pulley with a wrench and slip on a new belt? Do I just call up the nearest dealership for a new compressor fan? Secondly, pretty much all the window and other sealing stuff is crumbly junk. Is it just as simple as tracking down some new seals to put into the car, pulling out the old mess and pushing in the new ones? All the guides make it look like a 30 minute job without any special tools needed. Again, do I just call the local BMW dealership and ask for a set of E36 seals? Finally, the door cards are saggy and it looks like somebody at some point replaced the passenger side with a left hand drive drivers side door card. Reading online the common issues are that the door pins are likely a bit worn and there might be some of the glue disintergrating. How much would it take to dismantle the door interiors, and generally how tough would it be to track down a replacement door card, from just general reading it seems that the best option is just tracking down one at a junk yard? These are all minor issues that doesn't really affect the function of the car, but I would be happier getting a more put together cabin and cabin experience before I wrenching on the gut proper of the car myself. Trambopaline fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Jan 4, 2014 |
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Jan 4, 2014 12:09
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You're probably better off trying to just buy better door cards. If you want to repair yours, buy a bag of new pins, and BMW released metal repair clips for the upper rail attachment area to reinforce the cardboard. They're expensive but worth it. If the edges are peeling I had good luck by glueing them and then clamping with the big office paper clip clamp thinggys, I used like 10-15 per door. The belts are put on/off using a hydraulic tensioner, iirc there is a torx bolt that you put a 1/2" breaker bar on to loosen. If you don't have heat OR cold, I'd work on fixing the heat first because that's much more important. Try bleeding the coolant first, if that doesn't do it, then look into the heater control valve and hope to god it hasn't been bypassed because of a leaky heater core. All the seals I've replaced have been simple press-on and usually there is some pre-applied adhesive in the new seal. Don't go to the dealer for anything but coolant, ever. Go to realoem.com and find the part numbers for things you need and then paste the part numbers into pelicanparts.com.
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Jan 4, 2014 14:43
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Haha, BMW coupe door seals. Post back here when you've checked the price on coupe door seals 
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Jan 4, 2014 15:19
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Crustashio posted:Haha, BMW coupe door seals. Post back here when you've checked the price on coupe door seals Oh god don't remind me...for what is effectively like 15 feet of rubber the price is absolutely outrageous. Also, installation is (in the E46) an all-day exercise in frustration, even if you're a pro. My mechanic buddy at my preferred indie shop walks the other way any time there's an E46 door seal job. And to top it all off, the mousefur will still come unglued the first time you look at it wrong! 
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Jan 4, 2014 17:22
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I have to do the door seal on my E30 coupe and you guys aren't giving me a lot of confidence...
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Jan 4, 2014 17:23
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rscott posted:I have to do the door seal on my E30 coupe and you guys aren't giving me a lot of confidence... If its anything like the E34 its a lot easier. They just pop on and off.
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Jan 4, 2014 17:31
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E30s don't have frameless doors on the coupes so it won't be expensive or hard. On the e46 you have to remove the A pillar trim panels to change a seal because it has an electrical connector for the anti pinch wiring.
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Jan 4, 2014 18:59
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