by Chris Keefer | Feb 7, 2011 | Independent Motorcars
OK, so Volkswagen may have had the wittiest commercial during the Super Bowl as the pint-sized Darth Vadar brought the car to life with the use of the force, but my favorite commercial of the night was BMW’s promotion of their diesel 335d with David Bowie’s ‘changes’ in the background. BMW has been making diesel cars for the non-USA market since the early 90’s but it has only been recently that they have been available in North America. I’ve been pretty disappointed with their lack of promoting the diesel product as well as dealers’ aversion to keeping them in stock. Hopefully, this commercial is a step in the right direction. (more…)
by Chris Keefer | Jan 24, 2011 | Independent Motorcars
The e46 M3 is actually one of the most reliable cars BMW has built in the last 10 years . . . unless you have the SMG option on your transmission of course. The first generation SMG (or Sequential Manual Gearbox) transmissions have not held up well over the long run and are starting to empty the pockets of their loyal owners. So if you are in the market for an e46 M3, stay clear of the SMG. If you currently have an SMG M3, this may be what you’re in for if you haven’t had the pleasure already.
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by Chris Keefer | Mar 29, 2010 | Independent Motorcars
My hope is that you’ve found this posting before AAA, or other form of assistance, has come to rescue your BMW with a dead battery. I know you only have one hour to leave work, grab the kids from practice, and pick-up dinner, but stop and just have your BMW towed. DO NOT jump-start the car and DO NOT let any roadside assistance service install a new battery in your BMW. It can be the most expensive battery or jump start of your life.
BMW’s built from 1999 through about 2003 do not respond well to a jump start, and pretty much every BMW built after 2004 needs to follow an exact procedure in order to change the battery properly. While we’ve been aware of this for quite some time, a recent customer’s troubles has exemplified what can occur if someone tries to change a battery when they are ill informed.
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by Chris Keefer | Jan 14, 2010 | Independent Motorcars
There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the parts that go into BMWs during Service and production, especially when it comes to OEM Parts vs. Aftermarket Parts. As a consumer, I feel it is pretty important to know what these terms actually mean, and how they affect the longevity of your BMW. I field an amazing amount of calls by potential customers concerned with OEM parts going into their BMW, all the while many do not understand what OEM actually defines when it comes to the description of a particular BMW part. So . . . let us expose a few terms, what they actually mean, and how they affect your BMW. (more…)
by Chris Keefer | Oct 3, 2009 | Independent Motorcars
I’ve got a bit of a disorder where I’m no longer impressed with many cars. It’s an occupational hazard that keeps me from getting excited about any BMW unless I find something to be excited about. Call it overly critical, perfectionism, or purely a case of over-exposure. It is what it is.
So . . . when I get a car like this into the shop, well, it’s just . . . impressive.
This e28 M5 came to me from its new owner who was a close friend of the original owner who had passed away some time ago. The car has a touch above 42k miles and it is super clean. Here are some pictures that show that it’s a really nice M5. You just look at it and say ‘That’s a REALLY nice M5’ Enjoy . . .
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by Chris Keefer | Apr 1, 2009 | Independent Motorcars
My buddy Tommy had me replace his seats as the seat sides were cracked and the leather was basically pealing off in little chunks. We are getting ready to load the new ones in and he claims “This sucks, you’d think that they would have used better leather” Then I proceeded to explain that he had no one to blame but himself. You MUST care for your leather, or it will not hold up over time. (more…)
