First foray into BMW

[JBimmer 0]

Hello, I've been lurking this forum for a bit and through I'd finally introduce myself.

A few weeks back I decided to purchase a 735i e32 as its been one of my favorite cars for a while, thought it'd be nice to own something tame whilst my Nissan 300zx Z32 gets fixed, the day I buy it the belt for the alternator, fan, and waterpump breaks, so I had to get it towed to my house, managed with the help of a friend to get a whole set of new belts after being given the wrong ones, and took it to Jerry Clayton to get serviced/WOF, big mistake but its the closest BMW workshop to my house and I thought they were the best, ah if only I had joined this forum earlier, I was quite pleased with the service at the time, got a new 1200 dollar windscreen, 450 more for the window rubber which had perished and got an oil leak in the sump fixed, full service etc all up 2400 including WOF.

Car runs like a dream for a week, I was using about half a tank of gas a day I drove it so much, absolutely fell in love with the car, and then one of the coolant hoses for the radiator splits, spews rusty looking water all over my engine and generally makes a mess, luckily I pulled over as soon as the dash computer told me the car was too hot, temp gauge was just under the red.

Took it to my usual mechanic this time as Jerry Clayton had overlooked the fact that my rear tail light wasnt working, and a few other minor light issues, mechanic tells me all the hoses are squishy and it was pretty obvious they needed replacing, so finally get them all done and bmw is working again.

However, he advised me that because it doesn't seem to have been looked after until I got it, the whole radiator/coolant system is on the verge of being stuffed and he thinks the engine wont last more than a few weeks =[! Not what I want to hear after spending so much money on it, pretty unsure what to do now as I love the car, have spent quite alot on said car and it still runs perfectly, any advise would be extremely helpful, he pretty much said if your going to keep the car, buy a lotto ticket.

Have done the test to see if the head gaskets gone and its all come up fine but there was alot of rusty water in my radiator, have put in corrosion inhibitor and done a full flush and change of coolant.

Moral of the story I guess is don't be so impulsive and get the damn thing checked before buying it, ah if only I hadn't sat in it =[

Also couldn't believe how fun this car is to drive, and my old cars a v6 TT, I much prefer the BMW!

[Eagle 1662]

Sounds like you have spent a bit on it considering you can get mint examples for 4-5k maybe less. I picked up a tidy '92 730i for 3.3k,170k, cream leather interior, fixed the intake leak and she was mint. Sold it for 3k

Probably be ok if you could do the work yourself otherwise gets expensive real quick as you've found out.

Guess it comes down to liking it that much you want to restore her to former glory. Whats the rest of the car like?

[JBimmer 0]

Its beautiful, blue-silver paint job, black full leather interior which needs a nice leather treatment but looks amazing and is ridiculously comfortable (especially compared to my Nissan), brand new windscreen and rubber so looks amazing from the front, but unfortunately there's a dent on the left hand side passengers door. All electrics and everything work fine, no leaks or anything wrong with it at the moment (for this week anyway), EXCEPT somehow my steering wheel got on an angle, had all the alignment and everything checked and its all fine, I literally bent the steering wheel! Did that following my friends manual 525i round a corner a bit fast and drifting it, which I must say was alot more comfortable and felt way safer and more in control than my zed, ah I love my bimmer.

To be honest I really want a 750i e32 but till I have the funds for one I want to keep this thing running, I'm currently saving for one and living at home helps alot for money otherwise I would be driving a boringly reliable toyota or something

[drifty325i 0]

Mate thats a dam shame you have had such a bad run so far, they are normally very reliable cars esp the m30 engined ones. Hope you get it sorted. welcome to the forum

Riley

[JBimmer 0]

Cheers man, mechanic and I reckon there has been next to nothing maintenance done on it, as soon as I got it I got a full service and its been well looked after and cleaned every day, I drove it every day I had it at least to sandspit and back cause I love driving up north at night, and having a sunroof is a bonus, yeah the motor idles and runs perfectly but its a shame no one maintained the radiator/coolant system it just really pisses me off to see such a beautiful car go to waste like that, hence me pouring money into it.

To be honest I just want a 750i cause then I'd feel super happy about pouring everything I earn into it, so far my current e32 has averaged a thousand dollars a week for me which is getting a bit ridiculous, hopefully after this fix/preventative maintenance run it should be a bit better but I'm scared to go sport moding' round now =[.

[Eagle 1662]

If someone hasn't taken care of the cooling system i wonder want else might of been neglected mainly in the suspension department.

You might pour everything you earn + more into a 750i, esp if you are paying someone to do the work

[JBimmer 0]

Ah but they're so beautiful! And that top speed...

I just went and got my car back, there was a 3 inch split in the hosing coming from the radiator to the engine, and the other hoses when you squeeze them you can feel the corrosion inside the hose =[, never realised how big that thermostat is in them, had the original one in it, made in west Germany lol! Polished it up and its on my desk at work haha along with my zed's old thermostat which looks paltry in comparison.

Next bit of maintenance is replacing the lot, but at least its running again, are the v12's pretty expensive to maintain? Gas I really couldn't care about, My poor M30 seems to still run perfectly for now but being heated up like that and its age/how its been maintained I'm pretty sure its not going to last long and my mech is under the same impression, but at least the coolant system is all pressurized and fine, for now.

[tire 10]

m30b35 engines are what like $500? If you think yours is ganked just slap another in! ps wheres the pics?

[JBimmer 0]

Haha here's a picture of my and my friends BMW's at the foodtown car park in takapuna, and some mean lens flare. Mines the blue silver 7, and his is the 525i manual in gunmetal.

[Eagle 1662]

Yeah. V12 is basically 2x 2.5L 6 cylinder strapped together so has 2x of alot of parts like 2x air,fuel filters, O2 sensors, distrub & rotor, ecus etc etc. It had alot of advanced engine managment systems for its day also.

Just parts aren't easy to get & cost a bit compared to 6 cylinder and are a bitch to work on.

I got the similar millage cruising in the 750i as i did with my 730i, 11-12 per 100km.

[JBimmer 0]

Oh whoa okay lol, I usually just do long range stuff as a hobby, I hardly drive my car round town unless I'm cruising with a mate, car plus open road = very happy.

Oh also, I think the engines fine as it runs smooth as, but the radiator/waterpump/pipes haven't been maintained at all, like this thing was NEVER serviced, had the original 1990 belts on it when I got it =[, which promptly split in half, all of them, powersteering, alternator, everything. Oil had been changed though, but the radiator was never flushed.

Had no idea the engines were so cheap! My friend could be keen to drop one in his e34 as he has alot more mechanical knowhow than me, I just have a mechanic and bmw handbook for everything.

If my cooling system does pack it, around how much would it cost to get all the parts? Ie pipes, radiator,

Edited December 13, 2008 by JBimmer

[bravo 35]

Got a pic from the front?

[JBimmer 0]

Heh I'll post one up when I get the time, haha last night my dip light warning came up and one of my headlights went out.

Then the right tail light.

THEN the rear fog light, and it said the front was out also but they're working fine.

And finally I get a "brake light circuit" warning. But the brake lights are both working fine!

Poor BMW =[, I tried a brand new bulb on the taillight that was out but no joy getting it to work, worked fine on the other tail light and the tail fog lights are working fine, one of my parking lights went out but its back up and working now.

[Eagle 1662]

Prob the LKM(light control module) acting up, common problem. I resolder'd some joints in the 730i one and did the trick.

Info on the net about it.

[JBimmer 0]

Ah okay, yeah I'll look it up, this is the first car I've ever taken any interest in fixing up myself after seeing how much stuff costs for them hahaha.

Ah now all I need is to wire up my amp and sub so I can have a teeny bit of bass. I wish BMW's wouldn't look so defaced with 6x9's in them as I have a nice pair of infinities but the stock sound system is alot more impressive than most of the japo cars I've owned, I've found it has far nicer acoustics than my z32, which was just aluminum and creaking noises + screaming turbo's.

[bravo 35]

6x9's are the devil.

Were you driving to sandspit in the rain on Tuesday at about midday, 1pm-ish?

[kiwi535 538]

sounds lke you are having all the e34/e32 non maintenance issues .Your latest issue sounds like the LKM ,and or bulbs.Take them all out and check the connectors and make sure thy are all clean and sound.The LKM can be repaired if it is the culprit.Its best to replace bulbs in pairs.

The brake light circuit error can sometime be the brake light switch.The coolant system will be alright now if you have bled it properly and the radiator is sound.When you look at ayour stereo be aware the e32 will prolly alrady have an amp in the boot on the lh side.The BMW wiring for the sound system/speakers is a little different to what you know.A bit of research on the internet will have you up to speed.

The 750 will cost more to run than the 735,prolly not much more gas than the 735 but it has twice as many of everything else,AND there are fewer people who actually understand them.

Sound like you pretty much have got things under control now

[JBimmer 0]

Heh yeah, I found a nice guide on everything e32 so I should be okay to rig it all up, and yeah my mechanic is sweet with the v12, he does up drag cars and whatnot and he's been doing this stuff for ages, also owns his own bimmer so that's always a bonus.

My car doesn't start so well now though =[ kinda makes a rattle then roars into life, purrs along fine though but slamming foot down + Sports mode makes a rattle at 4000rpm the evens out instantly, ah if only I had more technical knowledge about it, I'm not sure about the noises it makes and stuff because its still a new car to learn for me coming from learning to drive in a 280hp 300zx which was an amazingly bad choice for a first car but it ran nice.

Sometimes bmw starts first pop other times it'll be the second round of coughing that gets it going, is this just due to old age or is this a dying motor? Also I don't think the radiator is in good shape and there is heaps of corrosion in the old pipes too, the amount of junk that came out of it when we flushed it was scary.

Did get a super good drive out of it last night though and the temp never flinched over half way even after I drove it from Devonport to sandspit then wellsford and it ran perfectly the whole time.

Started at 11pm and went till 5am...Ah I love this car.

And nope that wasn't me driving to sandspit on Tuesday.

Edited December 14, 2008 by JBimmer

[bravo 35]

Sweet. Some jackass in an e32 was up my arse from Hatfields to Waiwera (where I used the passing lane to put a couple of cars between me and the whale - no offence), and I was hoping to vent my road rage lol. The driver turned off at Warkworth towards sandspit.

Hope you get your car sorted mate. Good luck!

Edited December 15, 2008 by bravo

[JBimmer 0]

Haha, none taken dude, when the back goes out its like drifting a boat hahahhahah.

But yeah I don't drive like a dick, haha I had some retard in a trueno trying to race me all last night and high beaming me halfway to auckland coming back from hellensville, so I just gunned it and he dissapeared after I hit 220...

And with a note on speeding, not a good idea with my lack of experience driving. Coming back from orewa in the wet and the back slid out on me, extremely lucky to have survived it, front of the car hit something which I still have no idea what the hell it was as I was on the motorway and spinning, car spun 247 meters down the road with the brakes on then stopped halfway on the motorway, halfway in a ditch.

Started the car again as I didnt really want to leave it sitting on the motorway incase some idiot like me comes speeding round the corner and reversed it into the ditch, for some odd reason the car ran perfectly and the viscous fan etc were all going fine, but the radiator got smashed up so half the coolant came out the bottom of it.

I'll post up pics of the damage if anyones interested, wouldn't believe the speed I was going in relation to the damage on the car itself.

Also any advise on what to do with the e32 now that I've ruined it would be good, I've found a few wreckers but having a hard time finding a european wrecking company, anyone know any good ones?

Current Tow truck place I have it at now is charging 15 dollars per day to have it in their yard, poor thing still starts and everything too, still a mystery where the front numberplate has gone though.

Oh well, I should hopefully have another bmw in a few months and hopefully the next one wont be wasted on me =[

Edited December 18, 2008 by JBimmer