E34 repair story I'd like to share (long)

[Jason]

The weekend of the superbowl my battery went dead. This was particulary frustrating since I had just replaced it 6 days prior. Add the fact the override for the door locks didn'work and the car sat for 7 days before I was able to get in and get it to The Little Garage to find the drain. Trying to open the doors from the outside resulted in $230.00 worth of repair. Turns out there was no drain, i just got a bad battery. I had them fix the heat since there was none from the center vents or to the feet and the fan only worked on the "4" setting. Apparently, it was not the the $30.00 resistors but the sword so it wasnt cheap. They also fixed the brake lights and the rear deforster and some miscillaneous stuff. After all was said and done, the total was a bit high due to labor rates at $1400.00 and the car had been out of comission for an additional 4 days. I was shocked by the total at first, but the work was done well (and with a 1 yr gurantee) and the car was washed and vaccumed when I got it back. I'm happy to have the car back, and I still love it, but this is just one of the downsides of owning a car like this when you can't perform all the maintainence yourself. These people also want $850.00 for my upcoming insp. II which sounds steep to me even though this is a reputable shop. I was under the impressions that it would be around $450.00. I guess its just part of the ups and downs of owning an older BMW....

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

IMHO, you got to learn to do some of that work yourself. It's very satisfying, and you can save yourself a ton of money. Money for mods!

[Hector]

love-hate relationship with my '90 535i. I love how the car feels, looks, rides and able to hack it for modifications but I hate the cost of repairs. My only saving grace is that I have some mechanics skills otherwise I'd be up sh!t creek with bills coming out of the wazoo!

Right now, my car has been sitting in the parking spot for about 3 months now. Things that I'm working on: repairing cylinder headgasket, replacing oil pan gasket, replacing timing chain guide rail where I need to pull the vibration damper pulley off (could be a major pain in the keister) , replacing the oil filter canister and lost of old odds and ends that broke/ripped when I was removing engine parts to get the cylinder head off.

So I figure in parts I'll be spending about $1000 but I'll be saving about $1500 to $2000, or maybe more, in labor... and I'm taking my time in doing the reapirs too. If I didn't mind doing car work, which is somewhat a questionable hobby for me, then the time I'd be spending on car work would be valuable time wasted in my life. Like most others on this board, I have accepted the "growing pains" of dealing with a car like this.

All this has made me realize that to own an e34(m30), you have to go the distance and make some sacrifices whether financial or physical to keep the car in tip-top shape. Despite all this, I have no desire whatsoever to get rid of the car--I'd be like losing a rare jewel!!

Hector

[G Feller]

My Inspection II was $650 plus a little more for fluids, etc. That was at $80 per hour here in Atlanta. Total bill at the shop that trip was $1700 ('95 540).

When I decided to buy this car, I budgeted $2k per year for maintenance and repairs but none for mods. The goal is to spend less than that and spend the difference on mods.

Obviously, I need to get a little more familiar with the inner workings of my car too, just a little too much going on in my life lately to go there. But I keep reading the board so the knowledge is in my brain and will perhaps seep to my fingers when I am ready!

[Jason]

I live in NYC and don't have a garage.... makes things pretty difficult

IMHO, you got to learn to do some of that work yourself. It's very satisfying, and you can save yourself a ton of money. Money for mods!

[scott540]

G was that price at ta dealer or indy?. I know I can do at least some of the stuff myself but I'm just curious.

My Inspection II was $650 plus a little more for fluids, etc. That was at $80 per hour here in Atlanta. Total bill at the shop that trip was $1700 ('95 540).

When I decided to buy this car, I budgeted $2k per year for maintenance and repairs but none for mods. The goal is to spend less than that and spend the difference on mods.

Obviously, I need to get a little more familiar with the inner workings of my car too, just a little too much going on in my life lately to go there. But I keep reading the board so the knowledge is in my brain and will perhaps seep to my fingers when I am ready!

[NoSpeedLimits]

Local BMW dealer Inspection II = $800 +/- ('94 540IA)

[G Feller]

Not the dealer, but an independent BMW-only place called Buckhead Motor Works that uses only BMW-spec parts and fluids and that won't let you supply your own parts.

Cheaper than the dealer by quite a bit, but I'm still looking for the good indy here in ATL who will allow me to supply the parts.

[scott540]

I had a good place like that in Minneapolis. Way into the club, track stuff etc. Really knew their stuff. They wouldn't let you bring parts in but they were still really good and they didn't gopuge on the parts either. Need to find one here .

[632 Regal]

and spend a weekend, we could between us get the whole kajumble done. just an idea but I'm up in Michigan so no one comes this way.
just an idea tho

free pizza and beers

jeff