BMW DIY advice, and the occasional critique of the company
This weekend I replaced the sway bar links on my E39 M5. This is a well known issue with the M5, the links can break over time. Since I was replacing one, I went ahead and replaced both the left and right side links and the rubber bushings inside them. Sway bars reduce body roll […]
BMW of North America is having a strong sales year in 2012. The Year to Date (YTD) sales numbers are out and total sales of BMW cars and trucks (excluding Mini) are up 11.3 percent. Here’s all the detail from BMW Blog. This chart details sales by BMW model: These numbers provided me two takeaways. […]
This weekend I tackled a problem I’d put off addressing for some time. The cruise control had stopped working on my 1999 BMW M3 a few months ago, but it’s a feature I rarely use. The car doesn’t go on long trips, so this wasn’t an urgent DIY project. On the other hand, I want […]
It’s always fun reading positive reviews on the car you own. This is especially true if you’re a BMW enthusiast and M car owner. Usually you can be confident the reviews will be glowing, and your car judged superior to the competition. That was certainly the case back in 2000, when my E39 M5 model […]
When an issue pops up on an older BMW, there is no reason to be in the dark as to the cause. There are many resources to help you diagnose the problem on your car, and as the expression goes knowledge is power. Even if you don’t intend to try and fix the problem yourself, […]
My 1999 M3 turns 13 this April, one of the last E36 M3 coupes produced. I usually publish a post in April to acknowledge the birthday, starting with this one in 2008. It’s description of how I feel about the car is still accurate today. This year, I decided the car needed new wheels. Last […]
This weekend I changed the oil and filter in my 2002 M5. It’s a very basic procedure that requires little to no mechanical skill, but delivers a satisfying DIY feeling. All I had to do was follow this how-to complete with pictures from M5Board. The oil change itself was simple, but this being an E39 […]
Edmund’s Inside Line recently wrote a story on the upcoming BMW M3, based on the new F30 3 Series platform. Nothing is official and no sources are named, but the story contains some interesting nuggets. What’s certain is that this will be the first M3 in history with a turbocharged engine. There’s no way to […]
I see a lot of questions coming from BMW owners — here on this blog and in online forums. When you buy a BMW to keep long-term, there is a checklist of items you need to acquire to make that ownership experience a good one. If you prefer to lease and trade-in every two or […]
I got together with a friend and fellow enthusiast this weekend. He recently purchased a beautiful 2001 Royal Red M5, and he’s a great example of enthusiast BMW ownership. This enthusiast is a USAF retiree who has been honing his auto repair skills gradually for almost 30 years. He doesn’t want his name used, but […]
Here’s a rare Wheels post that doesn’t talk about either of my BMWs. My mother-in-law isn’t comfortable driving any more and asked me to help her sell her car, a 2004 Chevy Malibu. I wrote last year about suggestions for selling a car private party. Many of us are busy, time is money and trading […]
I own two BMW M cars, a 1999 M3 and a 2002 M5. I’m a fan of the manufacturer and the M line. But BMW has muddied the M identity by producing so many models in the past couple of years. This point was brought home yesterday via a discussion on the Facebook page of […]