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2010-07-16 : Had MOT done on the car today, it failed. One front shock absorber on the left needed replacing, after that, it passed. Cost all in, £189.98. Not bad, might have to replace the other shock absorber later in the year. Mileage: 110,830. I think hitting that pothole probably caused it to fail. 2010-07-08 : Replaced the front left tyre as hitting a large pothole around a blind bend had ruptured the outer wall. Invoiced for £116.32. Mileage: 110,655. Bad luck :p 2010-06-18 : Last week, put in exactly one litre of oil as the dipstick was at the notch requiring adding just one litre, how neat is that? One green light disappeared at 110,107 miles today this afternoon. Must not forget MOT next month. 2010-04-01 : At 108,183 miles, car was serviced. Invoice was £414.07. Apparently sticking brake calipers on the front was responsible for the excessive fuel consumption, new calipers, new ventilated brake discs and pads have been fitted along with new fan belt. Bit happier now that the car's using less fuel, we'll see how it gets on! Looks like I've spent £1,500 on servicing and repairs since I bought the car. 2010-03-16 : Was looking through a specialist BMW website and I've had an idea. If the engine (it's a Nikasil) dies, maybe I could just get a M62 V8 and a E34 V8 5 speed gearbox fitted to replace it. It'd be awesome! 2010-03-15 : It's time to get the car serviced again, as the on-board computer has indicated a service is now due, at 107,183 miles. Awaiting confirmation before booking it in for its inspection 2 service. Ribbed v-belt needs replacing at the same time, and checks need to be made to see why the car is only doing 25 mpg on long motorway runs, it should be at least 30 mpg or better. 2010-02-15 : Updated page with all work done on car since 2009-12-04. Mileage stands at 104,800 miles. Two green lights left on dashboard before next service becomes due. Think I'll get the drive belt replaced at the same time, and get them to find out why fuel consumption is a bit excessive. 2010-01-06 : Had tracking alignment done on car; cost £40 and all sorted. Performance in wet now very good! 2009-12-21 : Had both front wishbones replaced at local garage, £315.10 all in. Car much better now. 2009-12-14 : Spent £190 on a pair of new Vredestein Sessanta Ultracs 225/45R17 Y tyres on the front. Mileage approx. 101,600 on odometer. 2009-12-04 : Spent £265 on a pair of new Continental Sport Contact 3 245/40R17 Y tyres to go on the rear. It turned 101,010 on the odometer today, I kid you not! 2009-11-01 : Mileage just turned 99,000 today! 2009-10-22 : Had the car serviced and inspected this afternoon, £103 all in, for consumbles and labour, 50% / 50%, it's quite decent really. All five green service indicators are all active now. The garage pointed out that there would be a few things that needs doing (i.e. bushes and wishbones on front), parts are cheap enough to buy and replace. Mileage at 98,413. 2009-10-13 : This morning the car asked me to put it in for its oil service! It's now been booked in for a service next week. 2009-10-10 : Bought a pair of new windscreen wipers for £16 as the old ones couldn't wipe properly at all on my way home the other night! 2009-09-11 : Took the car to an independent BMW garage in Sheffield to have the bonnet latches replaced as the bonnet could not be opened. They did the repairs and the bill for that was £135.75 in total, £90 for two hours labour. It's a very decent price when you consider that the BMW dealership actually quoted an eye-watering and wallet-busting £351 for the same job. Mileage on bill is 96,448. 2009-09-08 : The fourth service indicator on the dashboard disappeared this morning. Only one left until servicing becomes due! Mileage now at 96k miles. 2009-08-17 : Decided to replace the light bulbs in the dashboard, replace the worn and broken rubber grommet on the aerial, replace the broken lightbulb under the ashtray. Bought the appropriate replacement items for just under a tenner, and fitted them all to the car, taking about a hour to do all the work myself. Pulling out the dashboard was quite tricky, but not too difficult, just undo a pair of torx screws, attach a rubber plug to the dashboard, and pull the whole thing out whilst rotating the steering wheel with the greatest of care, making sure the three different cable connectors on the rear were pulled out carefully. Used a pair of needlenose pliers to unscrew the old light bulbs, and replace with the new ones. Once the dashboard was put back in, and the above procedure performed in reverse, the illumination in the dashboard was so much easier to see at night, definitely worth all the trouble! 2009-08-09 : Went to my local BMW dealer and bought two items; a spring clip for the fuel flap as it wouldn't close properly, and an ashtray to replace the missing one in the car. Only 22 pence for the clip and nearly £18 for the ashtray. Hmm, perhaps I have my priorities wrong, but I just don't like bits that are missing, though! It was very easy fitting these items, and I've also joined Bimmer Forums for technical advice and help! 2009-08-07 : On that day I bought a 1998 BMW 323i convertible, in silver with a black soft top, for £2,900. She has 95,000 miles on the odometer, and there are two little green lights left on the service indicator, so not due for a service for about four or five thousand miles, most likely an oil service will be all that's needed. She has a straight six cylinder engine, with a displacement of 2,494cc. |
