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Maintenance & Repair Maintenance & Repair - Archived Discussions BMW Care & Maintenance 
115 messages, Last post on Jul 18, 2007 at 6:33 AM
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The E34 Fives are great cars. You want to see a complete service history. Was the coolant changed every two years with BMW coolant? Was the brake fluid flushed annually with a DOT4 fluid? How about the transmission and final drive? Equally as important is a thorough pre-purchase inspection by an experienced BMW mechanic. A lot of the stories about expensive BMW stories come from people who run to the dealer for every little problem, not to mention the envious know-nothings who can barely spell BMW-but who know a friend who had a cousin whose boss had a nephew who knew a guy who had a BMW. On my 1997 528i the Insp. I( 16000 mile service) runs around $150, while the major Insp. II service at around 32000 miles costs $400. I use an independent BMW tech-double those prices for dealer work. I have a friend who ran a 1989 5er to over 250,000 miles. You can easily achieve a similar mileage with a 525i; FWIW, the manuals are much preferred to the automatics. Don't let the jealous morons scare you off.
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div2 - Thanks for the words of wisdom and advise! I will print off your recommendations and keep handy while questioning perspective sellers and dealers. I have really only been looking at auto trans, you are the second person to tell me get the manual trans. Again thanks for your help, I appreciate it... RC |
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| Happy hunting! Check back in if you have any more questions. | |
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Has anyone who actually owns a new E60 experienced specific problems other than the ones that have been discussed about active steering failures? Please, no rants -- just a list. Thanks -- |
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Bentley. Please forgive me if what I report has already been discussed. It's late (long weekend) and I'm too tired to look back through the discussion thread. I've had an E60 since 12/27/03. Almost immediately noticed an occasional problem with the electronics in the audio system. Half the time when I started the car back up, the CD player would start up at the beginning of the first track (instead of picking up where it left off). A couple of times, upon start up, there would be static on the FM signal. So I'd change the station and still have static. Then I'd change to the AM band and there'd still be static. Finally, when I changed to the CD source and -- yep -- found static there, I knew it was more than sun spots! On one of these occasions, I observed that the phone was trying to make a call (do not believe I initiated it). So I wondered if that was what was causing the static. Regardless, the dealer fixed both glitches with an update from BMW. No more problems of that sort since. I've also experienced complete simplicity and ease of use with the iDrive. Based on most of the rants I've seen here, I can only assume I have a defective iDrive system. Will be complaining to the dealer soon. Heh heh. Have you got any problems to report? I am... the ATOMICPunk! |
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In problems, the only one I've seen is the CD track one issue. I'm going to have that fixed next time I send it in. As I've gotten used to I-drive, I've found it has items I don't like (in addition to comments others have made, I'd personally like to select stations, even the 12 presets, instantly and without turning a knob...but the architecture won't allow that). Also like to be able to customize the menus to my preference. That said, it pretty much does everything I care about efficiently. Also, I like that the radio and other detailed preferences reset to my wife's key when she uses it. If I had NAV, I might be more frustrated with menu switching, but no experience to say if I'm right. My needs are relatively simple, and it does all that pretty well...and I does cut down on the button clutter you see in the Audi, Volvo, etc. Take care-- |
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Hi, I'm planning to take my '03 525 for service soon to Park Ave, BMW in Rochelle Pk,NJ. Is there anyone out there who can comment on the quality of their service, or the lack of it? I didn't buy the car from them, hence have no prior experience in dealing with them. thanks Sk. |
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| The 528iA was a few hundred miles shy of the 100000 mile mark so I scheduled an appointment at my local dealer(Swope BMW) to have both the ATF and final drive oil changed. I decided to let the dealer supply the Dexron III. So anyway, I had the day off so I drove the sled into the service area at around 8:45 AM. I planned to wait on the car so I grabbed a seat in the reception area and started catching up on my automotive reading. In less than 90 minutes the 5er was ready to go. The cost? $109.69(!) For that price it's almost impossible to justify going the DIY route on those chores-especially in light of the fact that the ATF change procedure is a bit fiddly. The transmission seems to shift a bit smoother, but I suspect that the Placebo Effect is at work. It looks like I'm well on my way to finding out how long these puppies last... | |
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I have a 530i 2001 with 45000 miles on it. The car is 2 years and 7 months old. I was recently told that the brake fluid needs to be replaced (it's supposed to be done every 2 years). I also found out that it is part of the Inspection II process. Here's my question. Would this brake fluid replacement be covered under the free maintenance schedule (15000 and 30000)? Since I tool my car in last summer (close to its 2 year anniversary) for the 30000 maintenance, shouldn't they have told me about flushing and replacing the brake fluid? Thanks! |
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Hi, I just bought a 1999 bmw 528i, I notice a circle trianglar light on the dash-board that stays on when driving.I had a mechcanic tuned up the car and it runs great, but in the mornnings when i start the car it vibrates a little over normal, and when the car is swicth off and on, you would not know that the motor was on. I also have a CD changer in the trunk and when it's turned on you here the changer operating but will not work. I need a headlight cover part, and i have tried number of places and they do not have it in stock, could you reccomend a reliable auto body shop. Thanks for your help. |
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