BMW DIY advice, and the occasional critique of the company
I’m excited today to publish the first of a two part interview with Mike Miller. Mike is a long-time columnist for both Roundel and Bimmer magazines. He’s also a former mechanic, a holder of a Master’s of Environmental Law degree from Vermont Law School and basically a lifetime lover of BMW. However, that doesn’t prevent […]
This weekend I had some first-hand experience with policing conduct online. I’m active in some BMW online forums, and I saw the car above offered for sale. But, it looked awfully familiar. In a forum focused on the E39 M5, this nice looking, low mileage 2002 was offered for private sale locally in McLean, VA. […]
I’ve been worrying about BMW reliability lately. And not about either my M3 or my 530. It’s how BMW’s quality and reliability have worsened in recent years. A little background — I don’t buy new BMWs, I like to buy lightly used ones that have been well maintained by their owners. So no one in […]
This weekend I replaced the stereo in my 1999 M3 with a more powerful head unit. In BMW parlance I went from a C43 to a CD43 radio, the stereo unit included in many BMW models from the year 2000 0n. A little background to start. It’s widely known that BMW sound systems are not […]
This weekend I tackled an irritating issue with my BMW 530i. I had a problem with the air conditioning, and the recent heat wave pushed this problem into the urgent quadrant. Summer time in DC, plus my wife complaining about it meant I could no longer use the time-tested technique of ignoring the problem. The […]
This weekend I gave the M3 a good hand wash, and I replaced the low and high beam bulbs. If you really care about your car, you should wash it yourself. Automatic car washes use recycled water, harsh chemicals and the track your car travels through the wash can easily damage your rims. If you’re […]
This month my 1999 M3 turns 11. She is one of the last E36 M3s built, since production of the M3 coupe ended in April of 1999. She has her quirks, but she’s a great car built just before cars became computers on wheels. I share how I feel about her in this birthday post […]
Last weekend was beautiful in the DC area, and a great time for a little car spring cleaning. I took the snow tires off the 530, swapped out the interior rubber mats for carpet and gave her a thorough hand washing. For the M3, I needed to wash her and then remove the lip spoiler […]
If there is one thing that working on your car instills in you, it’s a little humility. You never know when a task will be tougher and more frustrating than advertised. Such was the case earlier this month when the brake light circuit error started flashing across the display screen of my 1999 M3. The […]
The blizzard of 2009 took me a little by surprise, as it did many DC area residents. Yes, the media was reporting on the possible snow totals for a couple of days but the media here always hypes snow. Between work and Christmas shopping, I had put off putting the snow tires on the 530. […]
It’s past time for another wheel post, but (thankfully) neither the M3 or the 530 have given me much to write about lately. So I called up my good friend Rich this weekend to meet up and take a look at the black 2007 335i he purchased back in May with about 40,000 miles and […]
Over the weekend I changed the oil in my ’99 M3. It was actually pretty easy, since I didn’t have to go under the car at all. I used an fluid extractor that I picked up from Griot’s Garage. It siphons the oil out via the dipstick column. I don’t have access to a lift, […]