This weekend saw over 60 5 series cars at the Annual St. Patrick’s Day gathering for a bunch of guys and girls who feel much like I do – the best BMW Series over the years has been the 5 series. It has great lines, is available in various formats and power ranges, and is the most versatile of the BMWs. It was a great event organized by one of my customers and I got to see some great cars and to show off my latest project . . .
While at your BMW Service Center you might have overhead a lot of “e” words, and possibly some “f” and “s” words, but terms such as e36, e60 and e28 have a distinct meaning to BMW technicians and enthusiasts. For instance, if you have a 2003 330i, it is termed an e46. These ‘e’ terms are used to identify BMW Body style design depending on the look and year of your BMW. E is short for “Entwicklung” which is the German word for development, or to link the ‘e’, evolution.
If all these terms are Greek to you, here is a list that should prove helpful in determining the code name of your BMW. (more…)
Buying tires for your BMW can be expensive, and with so many brands these days that it can be hard to find what’s best for you and your car. In San Diego we have it easy; all we use are High Performance Summer tires and never really have to worry about wet weather or snow. If you live in an area that is subject to foul weather, my first suggestion is that you pick up another set of wheels and have all-weather tires mounted and keep them in your garage for when the weather gets bad. (more…)
This is my car, a 2000 BMW M5, which I love, except the fact that all M parts are extremely expensive, especially for the M5. The only other thing I dislike about it is that I have to measure my fuel consumption in ‘smiles per gallon’ as it gets about 12mpg around town and 22mpg on the freeway if I’m lucky. . .
 I’m going to fill up my tank this morning and I thought it would be fitting to speak about gas and your BMW. With the average price of regular gas in California sitting at around $4.57/gallon many are feeling the pinch, especially those who have long commutes or vehicles that are not fuel efficient. Luckily I only have a 4 mile commute, so I haven’t had too much to complain about. However, I’ve seen many BMWs complaining over the past few months about their owners choices in gas. BMWs have strict gasoline requirements, and this is what you want to know before deciding on your own that ‘regular should be fine.’ (more…)
If you are driving around right now and the words ‘Inspection -3458 miles’ shows up, chances are that you are due for a major tune up or Inspection II. This is another example of what I call the BMW language barrier. I grew up in New Jersey. In New Jersey when you need an ‘Inspection’ that means you’ll be heading to the local DMV testing station where they test your brakes, lights, and run an emissions test. In California, ‘Inspection’ means nothing, so many ignore it. What it should read is ‘Tune-Up.’  Some ‘places’ have an interesting philosophy as to what should be done during the Inspection II, these same ‘places’ also tell you that you only have to change your oil every 15,000 miles. So, what exactly constitutes a proper tune-up on a BMW?? (more…)