525tds concerns

Maybe the old ones had worn out tyres, so not much more to upgrade.

Could be a buckled wheel. 17s will show vibration more than 16s as there's less sidewall to absorb shocks. Also aftermarket alloys are often of softer / inferior construction and can buckle more easily.

The airbag light must be reset by the dealer, or with a special tool. You need to have the fault diagnosed.

Sounds like self levelling rear suspension.

The 525tds has less bhp but more torque, of course the car is a good bit heavier. You can have diesel BMWs chipped very effectively.

See my site's garages review page. Have a pre-purchse inspection performed.

thanks for the reply John. I do believe it does have self levelling rear suspension do you know what the dashboard light being illuminated would indicate?

A malfunction due to an oil leak or low fluid level perhaps? My techie bought a 93 525iX touring with this system, he had to replace some of the rear pipework due to rust.

Sorry what I was trying to ask is does this light indicate a fault with this system or the fact that it is operating ?

Yes. The most likely cause is worn radius arm bushes. Happens at around

Most would have had 'new' wheels balanced before fitting them?

The only way he could be sure is if he'd had it checked by a dealer. And that check would include a reset, which is a dealer job. So I'd be cautious.

That's what warning lights usually mean. ;-)

Buying a car with faults such as these is a gamble. Prudence would say they haven't been fixed because of the cost, and that's why it's being sold.

. It is next to the ASC tell tell

I don't have self levelling suspension, but every other warning light is there to indicate other than the norm. Even main beam and fog lights, etc.

"John Burns" wrote

In the US, when a Russian (Bulgarian, etc.) repairs a crashed car, it is quite common for them *NOT* to replace the blown airbag, because they're expensive. Be careful, look for front-end repair tell-tales.

Floyd

Do you realise how ignorant this sweeping generalisation makes you look?

wrote

In shopping for Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys with my brother a couple of years ago, we saw about 15 cars. 4 of them had been repaired after front-end crashes. All were being sold by Eastern European persons.

Up yours.

Floyd

You do yourself proud, by your own figures:

- 'Eastern European persons' are as likely to replace the airbags as not.

- You've no data on the habits of people of other ethnic origins.

And you still don't think you look ignorant?

Oh, and by the way I'd wager your data was invented to support your sweeping generalisation.

wrote

Wrong. Now don't you look stupid.

Floyd

"fbloogyudsr" wrote

Look, snipped-for-privacy@burnt.org.uk, here's the REAL intent of my message, which we have gone off-topic onto stupid postings (and the intent of my posting was definitely *NOT* stupid). BTW, it's protocol on Usenet to sign with real names, not some bogus screen/email name. I can't address you properly because you've been too lazy to sign your posts.

If the car was in an accident that fired the airbag, and subsequently repaired or rebuilt - *often* the hallmark of low-end shops or someone trying to eek out a living by buying "totaled" cars and making the look new - the airbag *should* be replaced. However, because they're expensive (~ $500 or more), fly-by-night outfits with less than sterling morals often omit their replacement. This is a possible/likely indication of a car that a buyer should be wary of.

Satisfied?

Now, as far as the E.Europe comments go, it is true that I made a generalization from small sample. A *better* comment would be something like: "Many recent immigrants seem to be involved in rebuilding totaled autos, and some percentage of this industry is without normal morals, or reflect the (different) morals of their heritage, which are different than the morals that have evolved in the US. It is likely that there is a higher percentage of recent immigrants involved in the shadier parts of the rebuilding of salvaged automobiles than the general US population. IME of looking at Honda and Toyota cars with my brother, many of the cars that we saw that had been re-built were owned by recent immigrants, and both that were missing airbags were owned by E.Europeans (apparently Russian or other former USSR/ Soviet-bloc)."

Satisfied?

Floyd