[uucdigest] Thursday, March 30 2000 Volume 03 : Number 541 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | For all available Digest commands including unsubscribe/subscribe, | visit the BMW UUC Digest page: http://www.uucdigest.com | Send SUBMISSIONS to [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Complaints? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you must. | Visit http://www.bubbaclub.com | www.bimmers.com - "serving enthusiasts on the 'net" | Visit http://www.bimmer.org - ultimate BMW bulletin boards! | Subscribe to the Zionsville Autosport Parts Digest: | http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/majordomo.htm ����������������������������������������� In this BMW UUC Digest: Re: [uuc] M3 4 sale [uuc] Looking for specific E30 wheels [uuc] RE: Problems wanted [uuc] Bad Winter in Boston [uuc] 96 328ic [uuc] RE: M3 4 sale [uuc] RE: E28 M5 shop visit....opinions? [uuc] E30 14" OEM wheel center cap wanted [uuc] Speeding ticket in Virginia [uuc] Re: E28 M5 shop visit....opinions? [uuc] West D.C./Alexandria pre-purchase shops [uuc] 328ci oil drain magnet? [uuc] BMW's Secret Weapon [uuc] General filter/K&N question ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 10:52:11 -0600 From: "Daniels, Jason S" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [uuc] M3 4 sale definitely sounds like a Canadian model. Could have had the A/C & roof installed. Lightweights did not have the roof and A/C. Blame Canada! They got the Euro motors. Jason Daniels - ---------- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: bmwuucdigest <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: Dan Martinez [LNOTES.N090633] <"Dan Martinez [LNOTES.N090633]%LMSAU"@evergreen-funds.com> > Subject: [uuc] M3 4 sale > Date: Thursday, March 30, 2000 10:27 AM > > Came across this the other day & it looked odd... any insite into what it is? > 94 M3? not an E36 is it? > 286 hp? > 50G's? > Lightweights don't have sunroofs & a/c do they? > > Lee > 97' M3/4 > > Year: 1994 > Make: BMW > Model: M3/2 > KMs: 54875 > Outside Color: Dakar Yellow > Inside Color: Black Cloth > Features: Manual Transmission, EuroSpec Engine: 286hp, Limited Production Car: > #22 out of 45 in North America, Airbags, > Power Sunroof, Armrest, Heated Seats, Air Conditioning, Special Alloys, Radio > Package > Vehicle Location: B-K Motors > Sales Price: $49,995.00 > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 12:25:36 -0500 From: Charlie Grafton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Looking for specific E30 wheels John Metzger wrote: >I've been looking all over the web for the wheels that are on this car. > >http://www.machschnell.com/9.jpg > >According to Ken W they are E30 knockoffs of the E34 M5 throwing star >wheels. Anybody know who makes them and where I can get them? > >Thanks, > John Those 4 lug throwing star "replicas" are the Alpha A5S's, I think Discount tire direct carried them about a year ago, I dunno if they still do. They ran about 200 a piece the last time I looked at them. - -Charlie Grafton '89 325is BMWCCA # 160735 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 11:50:34 -0600 From: "Fadeev, Alex" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: Problems wanted Juan Carlos Bruce-Novoa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asks > > I'm a Mechanical Engineering student at Stanford University and > I am working on a project analyzing the problems mechanics and > others encounter when they are working on cars. In addition to > observing people working on cars in shops and at the track I > would like to get a list of problems/needs people on this list > have encountered while working on their BMWs. I would welcome > any input on particular problems you have encountered. Why would > you want to email me your problems/needs? Well, the synthesis of > this project will be a product that may just solve your problem. Juan, Problem #1: limited budget. Are you ready to write down an account # so that you could transfer THE solution? alex f ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 09:53:01 -0700 From: "KKiely" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Bad Winter in Boston Hey on that wrecked Coupe, the paint sure held up good (pardon the bad English). - -Kevin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 12:56:50 -0500 (EST) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (John Hart) Subject: [uuc] 96 328ic Since the digest is becoming an auto sale reader zone, let me entertain my possible past car: 1996 328ic. Triple black (non metallic), leather, napa burl wood accents. Double spoke alloys=sport package. 2 month old Michelin Pilots; new plastic rear window Stealthy 12" subwoofer (effective and invisible placement in ski box area), 200w. fader Great bass top up or down! PIAA superwhite bulbs in hi/lo; Piaa "Extra" 55's in fogs; hood and mirror covers, BMW certified until April 12, 2002! Reason for sale: Gotta get an M (next year's convertible-dare to dream!) Serious offers please e-mail, thanks John all others....I showed you mine, what's yours?! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 13:02:13 -0500 From: "Fadeev, Alex" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: M3 4 sale [EMAIL PROTECTED] asks: > > Came across this the other day & it looked odd... any insite > into what it is? > 94 M3? not an E36 is it? > 286 hp? > 50G's? > Lightweights don't have sunroofs & a/c do they? Lee, Lightweights also don't produce 286 bhp. You are looking at the first generation (3.0L) Euro/Canadian E36 M3. I believe they were available only as 94 MY. Incidentally, this was used as a loophole for allowing PTG to run Euro 3.0L engines in US GT3 class. Most likely this car came from Canada. If not, make sure it is properly registered. No comment on the price since they are so rare in NA. FWIW, the UK price is listed as �23250 == $37104 at today's exchange rate(source: http://www.topgear.beeb.com/). More, including road test comments, at:< http://www.topgear.beeb.com/carchase_v3/carchooser/wotsitworth.jsp10?year=23 250%2C5&make=4%2CBMW&model=60%2C3+SERIES&trim=4715%2CM3&exactCar=12461%2C2dr +COUPE+3.0+24+Valve&topgear_id=12461&range_id=60&searchType=u&submit1.x=28&s ubmit1.y=3 > alex f > Lee > 97' M3/4 > > Year: 1994 > Make: BMW > Model: M3/2 > KMs: 54875 > Outside Color: Dakar Yellow > Inside Color: Black Cloth > Features: Manual Transmission, EuroSpec Engine: 286hp, > Limited Production Car: > #22 out of 45 in North America, Airbags, > Power Sunroof, Armrest, Heated Seats, Air Conditioning, > Special Alloys, Radio > Package > Vehicle Location: B-K Motors > Sales Price: $49,995.00 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 12:16:02 -0600 From: "Fadeev, Alex" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] RE: E28 M5 shop visit....opinions? "Rob Levinson - UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> sez: > > Whoa, whoa... Let's re-think what you're saying here. > > Beating up a dealer on the price until he bleeds or beating > up a tech on a repair is just plain dumb because these people > have the ability, if they choose, to screw you real hard. > > Shopping around for food *is* smart and will save you more > money in the short, medium, and long run. I don't know about > you, but my monthly food bill is greater than a car payment. > I can easily chop 20% or more off by clipping coupons, buying > house brands of parity items, or cooking for myself. > > I *cannot* build my own car (although those damn kit car ads > make it seem easy) but I can fix a meal. Being a tech is > often a dirty, exhausting, frustrating, and thankless job that > is spent standing on concrete floors with noxious fumes and cold > or hot air while clueless customers bitch about parts costs. Sorry, Rob, but what was your point? Nobody is forcing anyone to be a mechanic. Particularly in today's economy. If a mechanic can not survive without overcharging through the nose for the parts, he/she/it is don't something very wrong. There are plenty of honest, competent and decent mechanics out there that make a very good living without screwing their customers. They get my business. Always. I also recommend them to my friends. If you decide to patronize an opinionated @#$% who believes it is his/her/its birth right to over charge you on parts. This is YOUR free choice. You will be paying extra for the 'attitude'. You may think it is worth paying extra for. I respectfully disagree. Shopping around is mart. Always. I also recommend this to my friends. alex f ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 13:47:25 -0500 From: "Olsen, Mike (Morse TEC Ithaca)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] E30 14" OEM wheel center cap wanted Hi all, I need one used silver center cap assembly for the OEM 14 x 6.5" BBS weave wheels that came on most late 80's E30's. Anybody interested in getting rid of one off their garage shelf? Please e-mail me privately... Thanks, Mike Olsen '88 ///M3 '88 325iC ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 12:50:08 -0600 From: "Dr. Randolph R. Peters" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Speeding ticket in Virginia Hi digesters, Well I've gone and done it. After all the recent threads in this digest about tickets post-ticket procedures and the exhortations to avoid them, especially in Virginia, like a fool, admittedly a tired one after driving practically non stop from New Orleans to Washington, I got myself reeled in just outside of Washington on the I-66 doing 82mph. I immediately applied Rob's ( I think) rule # 1. "Don't let him go back to the cruiser". All I got for my appeals/entreaties/groveling was a reduction of the recorded speed to 80mph, which the cop told me is significant since it means that I would not have to appear in court. (not more than 15 in excess). I intend to follow the good advice posted a while back in this digest and hire a lawyer to plead mitigating circumstances for me. And so I would be grateful if any digesters from the Washington/ Virginia area (Prince William County is the location of the lair of my particular predator) could put me in touch with a reasonable cost lawyer (does such a species exist?) to attempt to pull my chestnuts out of the fire. TIA Randy 87 535is 89 735i(soon to be sold) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 13:58:26 -0500 From: "Rob Levinson - UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] Re: E28 M5 shop visit....opinions? My point was that a mechanic's markup on prices is part of what he figures into his labor rate. He needs (or wants) a specific income which is based on labor rate and parts markup. The labor rate may be artificially lower than a "true" labor rate because of this. The parts markup is part of his bread and butter, therefore the erjection you get when you ask him to forego that should not be met with hostility, anger, or a feeling of being ripped off. You're not ebing "overcharged" but are paying a fair price for parts as opposed to the wholesale price you can get by scrounging around. As an esteemed Master Tech posted yesterday, you can pay him $75 and he'll supply parts or yuo can pay $125 and you supply the parts. Rarely is it spelled out that simply... bottom line, the tech makes his money. It's a standard business convention that we take for granted. The tech's income comes from two sources, his labor rate and his parts markup. For those of us with our wonderful wholesale or mail-order connections where we get parts at the rock-bottom price it seems unfair... but for the vast majority of soccer moms and 9-to-5 dads out there, they want to drop the car off and get it back running properly. They don't have the time, interest, or connections to get parts on the cheap. Therefore, the business convention makes perfect sense. How would you feel if it were the opposite way? "Yep, your car needs whozit rods, plaggo inserts, a replacement shinfinberk spring, and muffler bearings. I'll start work as soon as you round up all those parts for me." Your jaw would hit the floor if you were expected to do part of "the tech's job" every time. An interesting sidenote to this is the tire business... for the most part, there's not a lot of money is first-line name brand tires (there's tons of money in store brand tires). So when you bring your shop a set of Michelin Pilots you bought at TireRack, your shop is more than happy to mount and balance them for $20 each. Ever see a trained tire technician? It almost takes longer to get the wheels off your car than it does to swap a tire... yet you smile thinking about the great deal you got mail-ordering the tires. As another example of the kind of business convention we take for granted is also found in restaurants: the gratuity. Even with bad service or good service, most people tip 15%. That 15% gets shared (no secret) between the waittress, busboys, and kitchen staff. How strange! Why doesn't the restaurant owner simply pay those people a bit more and raise the food price 15% so we can stop doing those last-minute calculations and scrounging for correct change to leave on the table? Simply because it's a convention we're used to and we accept. Those people count on you giving money above and beyond the printed price of the meal you ordered as part of their income. We accept it as the normal way that sort of service works. So if you do all your own repair work, then by all means shop around for parts. If you bring it to a trained professional (as I do for most things these days) you shouldn't be surprised to hear "we can't use your parts because we can't warranty them" as a nice way of saying "no way am I going to take a 15% discount on this job and don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya." Shop around for a tech who will quote a job with your parts. Chances are good you won't save much on the total job compared to a tech who charges you more than wholesale for his parts. - - Rob - ----- Original Message ----- From: Fadeev, Alex <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: E28 M5 shop visit....opinions? > "Rob Levinson - UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> sez: > > > > Whoa, whoa... Let's re-think what you're saying here. > > > > Beating up a dealer on the price until he bleeds or beating > > up a tech on a repair is just plain dumb because these people > > have the ability, if they choose, to screw you real hard. > > > > Shopping around for food *is* smart and will save you more > > money in the short, medium, and long run. I don't know about > > you, but my monthly food bill is greater than a car payment. > > I can easily chop 20% or more off by clipping coupons, buying > > house brands of parity items, or cooking for myself. > > > > I *cannot* build my own car (although those damn kit car ads > > make it seem easy) but I can fix a meal. Being a tech is > > often a dirty, exhausting, frustrating, and thankless job that > > is spent standing on concrete floors with noxious fumes and cold > > or hot air while clueless customers bitch about parts costs. > > Sorry, Rob, but what was your point? > Nobody is forcing anyone to be a mechanic. Particularly in today's economy. > If a mechanic can not survive without overcharging through the nose for the > parts, he/she/it is don't something very wrong. > There are plenty of honest, competent and decent mechanics out there that > make a very good living without screwing their customers. > They get my business. Always. I also recommend them to my friends. > If you decide to patronize an opinionated @#$% who believes it is > his/her/its birth right to over charge you on parts. This is YOUR free > choice. You will be paying extra for the 'attitude'. You may think it is > worth paying extra for. I respectfully disagree. > Shopping around is mart. Always. I also recommend this to my friends. > > alex f ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 13:51:59 -0500 From: Rich Beebe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] West D.C./Alexandria pre-purchase shops Beaudette, Roland wrote: > I'm considering an 85 635csi located in the D.C. area. Naturally (since I > learned my lesson from the last car), I would like a pre-purchase on the > vehicle. I know that the owner works in Chantilly, VA and lives somewhere > west of D.C. Could any listers recommend a shop which would be competent to > inspect a 6 series? While I'm at it, what kind of tests/inspections should > a competent shop perform? That is, if I have to find my a shop on my own, I > would like to know how to investigate whether a shop is up to the task. roland, since the owner works in chantilly, curry's auto service in chantilly would be perfect. they just did the pre-purchase inspection on my 95 M3. call and talk to matt curry or chris coulter @ 703.502.0400. J&F Motors in arlington, va (703.671.7757) and Alexandria Bavarian Service in alexandria, va (703.836.2002) are other good options. all these shops support the national capital chapter. rich beebe ncc ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 13:08:38 -0600 From: David Burleson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] 328ci oil drain magnet? This past weekend I changed the oil/filter in my 2000 328ci (at 3000mi... just couldn't let it go to 15K on a new engine!) and noticed that the oil drain plug had a large hole drilled into the end. On other european cars I have owned there is a magnet located here. Is this hole normal or am I missing the magnet? Thanks, David 00 328ci 85.5 944 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 14:30:54 -0500 From: "Osterbrink, Mark (AFS-Warren)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] BMW's Secret Weapon A while back, there was some discussion about German engineering and car company philosophy, and the point was made that the major difference between companies is the attitude of the people who run them. Automotive Industries has an article on this very thing, addressing the BMW board and the Z8. It's online at: http://www.ai-online.com/articles/mar00/0300d4.htm Just thought this might be interesting. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 11:36:34 -0800 (PST) From: John Stoj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [uuc] General filter/K&N question This question may be more philosophical than technical, but the recent thread on K&N and animal oils, etc. made me wonder once again why K&N is such a popular filter - supposedly used by all sorts of well-known and intelligent people and many aftermarket manufacturers. If it really breathes so much more dirt, wouldn't one expect it to have been debunked years ago? Maybe I'm asking this because I bought a K&N filtered Dinan CAI before JC's was available and I'm looking for some validation, but I think at least a little of my curiosity is genuine. Anyone have any ideas? - - John Also, as for the whole animal oil thread, I think when the original poster refered to himself as being "nausiated" by the presence of animal oils in his filter oil he WAS actually taking a stance and not simply asking a question. At least it's not surprising that people took it that way. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. _______________________________________________________ Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp ------------------------------ End of [uucdigest] V3 #541 ************************** _________________________________________ | Please visit these UUC-approved BMW parts vendors/service providers: | (listed alphabetically) | Bonneville Motorwerks . http://www.bonnevillemotorwerks.com | Circle Tire Co. (used & classic BMW parts) e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] | Curry's Auto Service . http://www.currysauto.com | Eurosport . http://www.eurosport-hp.com | Koala MotorSport . http://www.koalamotorsport.com | Taylor BMW - http://www.taylorbmw.com - Doc Bimmer! | The Ultimate Garage . http://www.ultimategarage.com | UUC Motorwerks . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com | Zionsville Autosport . http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com ����������������������������������������
