i (heart) vines, uugh.....

[ryan roopnarine]

here's the story. vines has had a 93 325i on ebay for a while, advertising a transmission compatible with either a 92 or 93 e36 or e34. aware of the fact that though all x25i cars in the us are all 4l30e's, but not completely interchangeable, i emailed him (twice, in all), asking if i needed to change ECUs or swap output flanges to use this on my 07/1991 production 525i. he said no in both instances. i bought it because it had the best warranty (6 months) and assumed that it was drop in. i could have gotten a unit that i would have had to get a new computer for and replace the output shaft in orlando for about $160 plus my labor to get it out of the car. i email him and ask him if it was possible to pick it up locally. he agrees.

here's where i f'd up.

i live in tallahassee, florida. about 300 miles away from bessemer, alabama, where vines is located. they wanted 125$ to ship it truck freight (plus the stipulation that it had to be shipped to a business address), plus $25 to put it on a pallet. i get the bright idea that, since gas is only $1.95 USD/gallon here, and since i have nothing better to do on friday, to drive up there and get it. aside from the fact that you have to drive through every bfe town in alabama to get there from my location, the bfe towns are all residential speed limit affairs (ie, 15 miles at 60mph, then 55-45-35-45-55 every 20 minutes or so). i didn't know this beforehand, but it could have been excused if things went smoothly.....

but they didn't.

after arriving in bessemer, i proceed to vines and tell them that i'm here to pick up the ebay transmission. after checking my id, the gentleman proceeds to roll out, horizontally, a bright shiny 4l30e. there is a bosch computer for something sitting on the counter, but i don't know for what. i look at the output shaft, and notice that it is about the diameter of a chocolate chip cookie...funny, considering the one on my 5 is the diameter of a 2 litre bottle. i tell the two gentlemen behind the counter that that shaft was way too small for my car. they, politely, mind you, tell me that david is out getting lunch, and that he'll be back in 30-45 minutes if i wanted to wait....

long story shorter, they blipped the output shaft nut for me with the impact, told me that my warranty would still be intact even if i had to swap my end out, and where the replacement ecu would end up going. i was over it, and drove away with it.

unable to make a dent in a 6 pack prior to driving 300 miles (not something i do....), i settle for a bunch of gas station cigars, and a fun filled 5-6 hour drive back, puffing away lest i get really pissed about what transpired.

i don't intend this as a starter post for a "jump on vines" thread, but this did happen today. nothing that i've said is an exaggeration or lie. i just needed to vent.