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Local BMW independent?

Anyone know of an independent BMW garage within say 30 mins drive of East Grinstead please? I need to bite the bullet and get a variety of work done on my 1996 328i SE Auto. Main Dealers like Cronks or Vines are within that distance but for this scale of work I just can't afford their likely charges.

ITEMS MENTIONED BY LOCAL GARAGE

  1. "Power steering pipes to rack heavily corroded."

  1. "Underbody corroding; front exhaust mounting corroded."

  2. "Nearside front top suspension starting to split from ???."

  1. "Slight play in o/s and n/s lower steering swivel joints"

  2. Replace distorted front disks. Bad vibration when braking. (And some pulling.) I think this was mentioned at last MOT.

OTHER FAULTS?

  1. New front shock absorbers/dampers? For a long time, the front has 'wallowed'. Driving briskly down into a dip in the road, whooshing sound often heard, presumably mudflaps dragging on road.

  1. Despite several wheel balances by different garages, the last time being when I had new rear tyres fitted a couple of months ago, I still get some vibration. Seems to be from front. Noticable in particular if I take up slight play in steering wheel.

  2. Just generally doesn't feel as 'tight' as it should. I'm not savvy enough to suggest causes! Maybe it's just down to item #6 above?
Reply to
Terry Pinnell
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i dont know of any BMW independants in that area, but why have you let the car deteriorate so far? NONE of those above issues would have suddenly appeared overnight, or indeed in less than 6 months.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim..

AMC

668-678 Garratt Lane London SW17 0NP

020 8944 9966

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Thanks Dave. If I don't find anyone closer I may give them a try - although I'd be doing very well to make that trip in an hour, much less 30 mins ;-)

I've been searching without any success. Surprising, given that I'm on the border of Surrey and West Sussex, with Kent and East Sussex very close too. I'd have thought the area might have several independent BMW specialists.

Another alternative may be to use my local garage, who have done my routine servicing and MOTs for some years. What put me off a bit was that, despite the 'BMW trained' certificate I saw on the wall, they didn't know how to remove the Climate Control Unit. After research I'm now hoping to do that myself, and either open it up or send it off for repair. Alternative at BMW dealer would be several hundred pounds.

Reply to
Terry Pinnell

My reasoning was that it's a single bus ride to a station on the Brighton Line, and you'd have to leave the car, so perhaps not that inconvenient. And they are decent and honest - I use them. And you're facing a large bill for those repairs.

What is the problem with it?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Never used them myself, but there's Own Autos, in Copthorne. Tel 01342 714952 Mob 07759234833 Or James Paul in Bucks Green

01403 822651
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Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

Thanks Mike.

Reply to
Terry Pinnell

Erratic intermittent failure. Display disappears and all functions stop. Even when 'working', it never seems to reliably maintain temperature set. Research shows its a common problem with E36. Often apparently caused by one failed capacitor, or its solder contacts. As always, it's *access* that's the major obstacle to repair!

Reply to
Terry Pinnell

TBH for the sort of work your car needs, you don't need a specialist garage. A competent mechanic shouldn't need any specialist tools to carry out the repairs on your list.

I recently had some work done on the rear brakes and suspension of my 528i by the Bishopric Garage in Horsham. A small garage tucked behind some shops in the Bishopric. Virtually a one man band. Only 2 or 3 mechanics including the owner. Seemed very competent with reasonable prices. Around £35 an hour IIRC.

If you want to save more money, I would recommend buying pattern discs, pads, and dampers to have fitted by your chosen garage. I bought the new discs and pads for both my E34 and E39 from :-

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problem with the braking on either car, after over a year on the E34, and about 3 months on the E39.And a pair of rear shocks for the E34 cost around £70 from :-www.gsfcarparts.com.Looks like the front strut inserts for your car are from £62 each.HTH Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

Thanks, that's very helpful. In fact I was thinking along similar lines and last night gave my local garage that list above and asked for a quote. If they *can* do the work competently, it would be great, as they're 5 mins walk from here, quite apart from the 'relationship' factor.

Reply to
Terry Pinnell

I'm sure any half competent garage could do normal maintenance and repairs with no problems. Where it gets questionable is if it's a difficult fault to trace or a job that needs special tools and you end up paying to 'train' the mechanic whereas a mechanic with relevant experience could have done the job in a fraction of the time.

Personally I'd rather pay a specialist 45 quid an hour than a general garage 35.

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