BMW DIY advice, and the occasional critique of the company
Last month driving home from Silver Spring on a Friday night I was side-swiped by some guy in a minivan. The hit wasn’t major, he gave me a glancing blow as he cut me off in traffic. But it looked horrible, with damage and scratches down the back two thirds of the driver side. I…
When owning an older BMW, it’s smart to discover the small maintenance items you can take care of yourself. Of course, what is easy for one person isn’t necessarily easy for another. In fact, it’s wise to approach with caution many projects some guys on the online boards say are incredibly “easy” to do yourself….
This past Saturday I got the 530 ready for winter by putting the set of snow tires back on the car. I bought the tires last year after an early December storm had me struggling to get up a gradual incline. Last year it never snowed again, but supposedly this year we’ll see some of…
As I wrote in an August 2 post, my 2001 530 was having trouble with its AntiLock Braking System (ABS) and traction control. The codes were lighting up on the console, signaling the system was out. I had cleaned and replaced the front sensors, and that seemed to work at first. Read the original post…
This is a rare Wheels post that does not talk about either of the BMWs. Gabriele and I just sold our 2007 Hyundai Sonata, and purchased a 2005 Nissan Murano. So I thought I’d share some thoughts about how we tackled the process. It all stems from doing your homework — financial, vehicle, trade-in. Arm…
This weekend my 2001 530 got a lot of attention. It was a very productive day — a vibration issue related to new rims purchased in late April was finally resolved, and I replaced both front ABS/speed sensors. Before I dive into the details, a word about owning a BMW out of warranty. Unless you…
I bought a 2001 530 back in September. BMW made the E39 5 Series from 1997 through 2003. It is a fantastic mix of comfort and performance, and in the opinion of many the last “classic” body style before the 5 Series design went in a very different, modernistic direction. Here’s how Edmunds described the…
This month my M3 turns nine. It was built in April 1999, one of the last E36 M3s (BMW speak for the 3 series body style from 1992-1999) ever built. The design of the M3 version goes back to 1994, yet it’s still more fun to drive than 99% of the cars out there today….
Not too much news on the car front lately. And that’s not a bad thing — when you own two BMWs long out of warranty, no news is good news. There’s no escaping the fact that these cars require preventative maintenance, an alien concept to many drivers today who have no interest in owning a car for…
Paul Valliere, a guy I know solely through an Internet forum dedicated to M3 owners, just had a feature story done on his car by Bimmer Magazine. He has one of only 45 Euro version E36 M3’s imported into Canada in late 1994, and from the look of the pics it still doesn’t have a blemish….
In September of last year I bought a 2001 530, in good shape but in need of some TLC. The previous owner was a nice guy but not a car guy, so little upkeep and no preventative work had been done. I had a pre-purchase inspection done that found nothing major, the car only had 48K miles and…
