I went test driving a few cars this weekend. One stood out above all others with the exception of two problems.

The car acts fine below 50, but when you reach highway speeds the steering wheel jiggles a little back and forth (rapidly). Is that an alignment problem or a wheel out of balance? I told em to fix it and I'd be back next week to look it over again.

The other issue was the it blew the driver's seat fuse everytime I got out of the car.

I know some people may be saying "run, don't look back", but a good deal is a good deal if these are easily fixed.


EDIT: sorry, forgot to get specific. Its a 2000 740i, sport wheels but silver trim (does that mean non-sport package?)

If you do a search you could probably find quite a few posts regarding this issue... www.e38.org (http://www.e38.org/) also has some good information for the 7 series.

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/3052

Yea the silver trim is a hint that it's not the true/complete sports package.

read about the "true" SHORTY Sport here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=739657&highlight=Sport

Ahh, such a newb mistake, I searched one half of my question, but didn't do the other half.

However, none of the threads about the 45-55 shimmy list how much it costs to replace the control arms.

Also, I found plenty of threads listing loose components as the cause for seat/wheel movement failure, but none listing the cause of it blowing fuses constantly.

Look on ebay....you can get a complete front end suspension kit down to just the control arms...go to ebay and do a search for "e38 control arms"...that will bring up the suspension kits and the control arms seperate...but you might as well do the whole front end or as much as you can now because it's going to go bad sooner or later so save yourself some time and oney by doing it now.

I get all of my suspension parts from deutschepartsusa...they have been reliable thus far...and I plan on ordering some more parts this week from them.

COST FOR PARTS: bushings and ball joints already pressed in: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Control-Arm-Arms-Tie-Rods-Sway-Bar-Links-E38-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33583QQihZ015QQitem Z250182457582QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

COST FOR LABOR: find an indy near you http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/17653
FYI, parts and labor will be costing me $100...yup deductible only thanks to the warranty i have

You could also DIY....it's not hard to do...just make sure you get an alignment when you are done.

I have the same problem and have been thinking of buying them off ebay which has a couple of stores. FCP Groton and deutschepartsusa
My problem is which kit to buy as there are a few. The 10 or 20 piece kit or just the control arms.

I have the same problem and have been thinking of buying them off ebay which has a couple of stores. FCP Groton and deutschepartsusa
My problem is which kit to buy as there are a few. The 10 or 20 piece kit or just the control arms.

my vote is to get the 20-piece total front and rear end rebuild kit. this way, you get them all done at once

I agree with kromdom....you might as well do it all at the same time...it looks like a lot of parts but it's not complicated to do if you DIY...that way you will have peace of mind when it comes to your suspension.

My car has the shimmy for about 5 to 10 minutes until the tires get
warmed up then smooth as butter. If I move the car in the driveway to rotate
the tires 180 let it sit before for a little while before I drive it no shimmy. I think these cars
are very sensitive to tire flat spots when the tires are cold.Also my friend
replaced his center link only and problem gone,his car had it bad, it was a 98
150K,with fair tires.