97 bmw 528i?

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INJEN78

INJEN78

HS LEGEND
Ask Wil

guys wants to trade one for my del sol. its got 236k on the body and supposedly 12k on the engine. im usually against bmw but just wondering if theres anything i should look out for. im going to most likely drive it for a couple months and trade it for something else, if i do the trade.
 
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wouldnt trade.

you would be getting the shit end of the stick.
even if it has a new engine, the suspension, bushings, and all other components have over 230k on them. they are due to fail. even if they have "been replaced recently" as im sure they will tell you.
and those arent cheap to work on. the bearings are an expensive bitch.

keep the sol, you will be much better off and happier.
 
They are SWEET cars. But I wouldn't do it. They're soooooo old. And typically you have to buy most of the parts from BMW so you get raped on replacements. They drive almost as smooth as a Cadillac, (when the suspension is in good condition).

I would stay away from it as well.
 
not going to do it.feel free to lock if desired.
 
If the seller of the BMW is on a forum (Which I suspect he is, BMW owners LOVE talking to other BMW owners about owning BMWs and doing BMW stuff with their BMWs and sharing the BMW results with the other BMW owners)

See what they are saying on those threads.
 
In all fairness, These are apples and oranges. Maybe he's just a guy who does more city driving and would appreciate a top-off 2 seater sports car than his limo.

And if Injen is looking to go more to the freeway, the 7 series at least won't drone his eardrums into bleeding because he's doing 5500 rpm at 80mph.

Having experienced both (I'm not a fan of that particular gen of BMW) the BMW is a significant car. The Del Sol is a toy.
 
And while we're on the topic : A little bit of a BMW / Honda rant:

Everyone talks about the maintenance cost of a BMW. But honestly, look at what those engineers have built:

The technology and ultra-cool systems in your typical BMW, were they applied by American manufacturers, would require the body of a Ford Excursion. There is SO MUCH stuffed into that design, that it boggles the mind that they have built a car that only weighs as much as it does. And handling ? Braking ? Superlative. You can mod the shit out of a more pedantic car and not come close to what BMW gives you with just your signature and a promise.

If Honda were to make a car that followed German principles, it would be the NSX. Think about that for a sec. It would be a DelSol that cost $100k.

When I owned my Civic, and the ticking in the head got louder, the water pump needed replacing, and the timing belt and all that came with it - I sat at a catalog, with my bored head resting on my bored hand thinking "I'm just gonna replace the engine." and then "Oh god.. B18C5, or C1. Ugh... this is so boring." I did that because I, and we all, have come to realise that Honda engineers are brilliant - But they are focused on economy and costs. If you screw up their equations, you'll always wind up with a faster Honda, that consumes slightly more fuel.

But with a MB or a BMW that work is already done. The hardest thing for someone like myself (And I bet - you all too) is that you can not, and should not, fuck with a BMW . The engineers have already done utterly everything they could to that car to make the best effort. If you so much as swap out the radio the car just starts to go downhill. And all of that tech comes at a price. When it needs to be worked on, working on it yourself (Unless you have the YEARS of experience and know-how) will only guarantee a panicked trade-in to a dealer for a Honda because you've been avoiding a $3500 repair bill.

I have been trying to learn - Neigh - just figure out - VANOS over the past few days. And I've learned only one thing: Wil's phone number. He deserves every fucking penny he charges. I worked in a European specialty shop for over a year. I get a lot of the things that are going on here, but if you're going to stuff 10 pounds of shit into a 2 bag then you're gonna get mystified when it comes time to pop the hood.
 
Celerity said:
And while we're on the topic : A little bit of a BMW / Honda rant:

Everyone talks about the maintenance cost of a BMW. But honestly, look at what those engineers have built:

The technology and ultra-cool systems in your typical BMW, were they applied by American manufacturers, would require the body of a Ford Excursion. There is SO MUCH stuffed into that design, that it boggles the mind that they have built a car that only weighs as much as it does. And handling ? Braking ? Superlative. You can mod the shit out of a more pedantic car and not come close to what BMW gives you with just your signature and a promise.

If Honda were to make a car that followed German principles, it would be the NSX. Think about that for a sec. It would be a DelSol that cost $100k.

When I owned my Civic, and the ticking in the head got louder, the water pump needed replacing, and the timing belt and all that came with it - I sat at a catalog, with my bored head resting on my bored hand thinking "I'm just gonna replace the engine." and then "Oh god.. B18C5, or C1. Ugh... this is so boring." I did that because I, and we all, have come to realise that Honda engineers are brilliant - But they are focused on economy and costs. If you screw up their equations, you'll always wind up with a faster Honda, that consumes slightly more fuel.

But with a MB or a BMW that work is already done. The hardest thing for someone like myself (And I bet - you all too) is that you can not, and should not, fuck with a BMW . The engineers have already done utterly everything they could to that car to make the best effort. If you so much as swap out the radio the car just starts to go downhill. And all of that tech comes at a price. When it needs to be worked on, working on it yourself (Unless you have the YEARS of experience and know-how) will only guarantee a panicked trade-in to a dealer for a Honda because you've been avoiding a $3500 repair bill.

I have been trying to learn - Neigh - just figure out - VANOS over the past few days. And I've learned only one thing: Wil's phone number. He deserves every fucking penny he charges. I worked in a European specialty shop for over a year. I get a lot of the things that are going on here, but if you're going to stuff 10 pounds of shit into a 2 bag then you're gonna get mystified when it comes time to pop the hood.
Click to expand...

I.... Agree.
 
Celerity said:
The hardest thing for someone like myself (And I bet - you all too) is that you can not, and should not, fuck with a BMW . The engineers have already done utterly everything they could to that car to make the best effort.
Click to expand...

Nah. But then again, we engineers like to fuck with other engineers' shit. :D
 
They're great cars, really...and when you actually break it down, they aren't very expensive to maintain at all.

The most common problems on those cars are, in no particular order:

-Valve cover gasket leaks
-Oil pan gasket leaks
-Vanos oil supply line banjo bolt on back side of oil filter housing loosens slightly
-crankcase ventilation valve goes to shit, requires replacement of CVCC and all hoses
-Lower control arm bushings/ball joints fall the fuck apart (every 100k or so)
-Radiator expansion tank crumbles and goes to shit, lower radiator hose coolant temperature sensor leaks
-Power steering hose clamps leak, need to be replaced with regular screw-type hose clamps

And really, for the most part, that's it. All of those are going to happen every 100-150k or so. As far as services, every 10k or so you'll need to change the oil and/or do a 'Service 1', 'Inspection 1', or 'Schedule 1' (Depending on who you ask - Inspection 1 is the proper term) - which is really just a glorified oil change. I charge $160 for an Inspection 1. From time to time the vehicle will call for an Inspection 2, which is the same as an inspection 1 buy adds air filter/cabin filter/fuel filter and spark plugs, in addition to the oil change. The maintenance computer will vary the exact mileage by your driving habits - it's average for a 'from new' vehicle to call for its first Inspection 1 in 15-18k miles and then an Inspection 2 at around 45-50k. I charge $325 for an Inspection 2. Typical 'Dealer' charges are $300 for Inspection 1 and $650 for Inspection 2, most independents charge about a hundred bucks less than the dealer.

Outside of that, you'll need to do a transmission service every 60-70k or so. BMW shows the transmission fluid in theses as 'lifetime' fluid, but people forget - as far as BMW is concerned, the 'lifetime' of the vehicle is only as long as their warranty on it. These call for a fancy fluid, which is really just Dex III. I use synthetic Castrol Global Multi-Vehicle ATF when customers opt for non-OEM fluid (which, literally, IS Castrol synthetic), however I use the Castrol stuff in my personal vehicles. Just like BMW OEM synthetic oil, it's Castrol. I charge $275 for a transmission fluid/filter/pan gasket change. Some people have issues with them leaking after a fluid change, but that's because you didn't torque the pan right or you didn't use an OEM gasket. That's another thing - gaskets. You HAVE to use OEM gaskets on these vehicles. HAVE to. Anything else WILL leak.

Outside of that, they're really good and really reliable cars. The 5 series has a bigger chassis, so there's a lot more room around the engine than in the smaller 3 series...they get mid-20's MPG, depending on the condition of the car and your driving habits. There can be some quirky issues with the interior wiring, but the 5 series didn't get the MOST bus bullshit until 2003-4, so the E39's are still a relatively easy system to work on. There's a lot of voodoo 'woo woo scawwy' stuff floating around out there about changing out the stereo systems, but I have no idea why - I've got aftermarket speakers being powered by the factory amp with an aftermarket head unit that were all just plug-and-play; in place of the factory head unit is an Alpine single din, with an OEM BMW Euro single-din radio bezel. I'm also running a cheap-o Fusion powered sub that I got off of eBay that's tapped into the factory amp.

I've got cheapo eBay coilovers in the front, and stock self-leveling airbags in the back that I modified the height sensor links to set it lower. I made a black tip and powder coated it and welded it on; I painted the exterior trim black and put an aftermarket eBay cheap-o M5 front bumper on, and replaced the headlight lenses with $60 aftermarket lenses, and at the same time installed new eBay headlight adjuster arms (this was actually kind of a pain in the ass). Wheels are Concept Ones with spacers to sit the wheels right...and that's pretty much all I've got in the car. I picked the car up for around $1400 or so, may have been a bit more, I don't really remember...fixed some body damage, got it running, did some catch-up maintenance, and now I've got around 220,000 miles on it, and I drive it daily and take it from Houston to Dallas every single weekend. Gets 24-25mpg on the highway and is an all-around comfortable-ass car to drive. I think I've got less than $4500 in the whole car, including buying the car.

I don't think you can even buy a fucking Civic with clean interior and decent wheels for 4 grand.

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I did the interior in textured 3M carbon fiber vinyl on Friday after I shut the shop down for the weekend, took me about 3 hours but it came out pretty damn perfect - other than getting the weave the wrong direction on the console. Easy fix though, I'm going to wait and see how this holds up over the next few weeks before I re-wrap any of the pieces. This is the first thing I've EVER wrapped, and I didn't watch any how-to videos or anything...just got after it the way I thought it would work best.

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The day I bought it:
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Best fucking car I've ever owned, and also the cheapest. I will NEVER sell this car.
 
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I like those. Only thing it's missing is the 3rd pedal. Can't complain for what you have in it though.
 
My ultimate honda project:

Step one. Procure 1987-1991 Honda of my favorite design.
Step two. Install twincam motor.
Step three. Upgrade wheels, brakes, suspension, exhaust.
step four. Acquire and install custom interior bits. Seats, Wheel, Shifter, Electronics.
Step five. Apply necessary body work to repair years of rot to a japanese car. Choose and apply paint.
Approximate estimated costs: $10,000 and about 200 hours of labor

My ultimate bmw project:
Step one. Acquire 2000-2004 330CI
step two. Drive it.
Estimated costs: $7000
 
Wil,
if a customer had brought you that 5 series, in the exact condition you bought it in, how much would you have charged them for everything to get it to where it sits now?
 
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