one last bit of car drama for 2023 (hopefully – a flashback)

i tried to go further back today but time, ironically, isn’t on my side…

…the bit from fifteen years ago was about some xmas tree mountain dew project, complete with pics that i no longer have, so it didn’t make as much sense. the bit from ten years ago was about my dogs, past and present, again with headers and graphics that have been lost to time. and then, there was the bit five years ago…

nervous, bmw style (fin)

2001 BMW 330ci convertible (aka “Mr Grey”) – when we last left him, the top fix was $800 in comparison to my $500 budget, but i found their $300 part used on eBay for $140 shipped and had it in hand in forty-eight hours, so all got wrapped up for south of the budget when all was said and done. the washer fluid issue ended up being a connector that got knocked loose, as evident by filling it with water after all was re-seated to test for a leak…and a couple months later the water is still there. of course, now i have to pull it all apart to drain the water…

that’s the good

2011 BMW 535i sedan (aka “Betty”, short for “Black Betty”) – when we last left her, we were getting a turbo fix done…but it turns out the turbo wasn’t the problem, but rather something ATTACHED to the turbo, so i paid a $150 diagnostic to tell me what, ordered the part for $75, and then haven’t gone past that point because i’m not quite sure how to reach the fucking part, so it’s just sitting in the trunk and the acceleration problem persists. and now she’s crossed 101,000 miles so the warranty is dead, and the k&n is back on. as for the issue with that, lifetime warranty – all i had to do was call and the parts were at the house no issue and no cost in three days with brand new hardware. done and done.

that’s the bad – but here’s a pic of the two so you know they at least look nice:

2015 BMW X1 SUV (aka “Quinn”, short for “Harley Quinn”) – turned out my suspicion of it being the valve cover gasket was partially right – the actual valve covers are made from a recycled plastic (per german environmental regulations) that don’t do well in texas heat, warp, and corrupt the gasket seal, causing oil leaks. $1,000 repair all in, so we bought the part ($280) and the ufc, my buddy that runs the bmw shop, and myself all thought i could do the labor. and i did the bulk of the tear down only to discover the last part that had to come off before the valve cover, the vacuum pump, was inaccessible with hands my size. i had already taken off multiple wiring harnesses, the ignition set up, the fuel rails, etc, etc…only to have to call it at the one yard line. we had her flatbedded up, and this kicked in, apparently…

…because even though i had pulled a lot apart, and grouped and labeled all i’d removed, we were still charged $663 in labor, which adds up to $943, a savings of barely fifty bucks. but at least it’s done.

this, obviously, was the pricey.

now hopefully it’s just fun shit we pay for with these things for a while…you know, twenties and shit!