Hi guys, I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada and drive a 1990 bmw 525i. Because of the snow last week, I had the mishap of running over an island divider at 30-40km with my front driver tire and the left-side rear tire. At first, it seemed like it only messed up my alignment. Then after a few days of more driving, when I accelerate the car above 60km and maintain 1800rpm, the car will start to shake like a roller-coaster (as if the car is going to fall apart). I took the car immediately to two mechanical shops in Richmond and their observations were quite different which troubles me. This one guy tells me that the lower control arm is bent, shocks are gone, cross member is broken, and the bushings are gone. The second mechanic tells me that he doesn't see the lower control arm as being bent but pointed out that I am leaking engine coolant and this is due to the water pump. He also tells me that I am leaking differential fluid in the back.

I didn't know what to do at that point but still needed to get around like driving to work so I drove for a few more days and did my best to tolerate the shaking but on one day, when I took the car out of the garage, I found the front driver-side tire to be flat. I have searched all over the internet for a fix or how this has happened and the fingers are pointing to a broken tire-belt or cord which caused the shaking and a bent rim which caused more shaking and then suddenly, loss of air the tire or total destruction. I am running P-Zero Nero's 235/40/18 on 18inch after market rims. Right now I am in head over heels with trouble and haven't been able to get to work. I am wondering if anyone out there knows a reputable mechanic who has dealt a lot with old bmw's and won't be in just to rip me off or tell me to fix something when that issue is not the problem.

I live in Vanocuver, BC, Canada near Oakridge Center Mall, close to the downtown area. However, I have BCAA who will tow the car up to 160km if needed but I only get 6 free tows. Right now, my car is 17 years old, 108,000 miles and it's from the United States so re-sale value is quite low (3-4k maybe?). I really dont want to spend more than 1k on this because it doesn't make any sense financially to pay more than that since the value of the car is quite low. I have the option of buying a 3000 dollar 1991 mazda miata to help me get around but I really don't want that option as I really enjoy this car, despite all the problems. The car insurance route is not an option for me as the premium increase will kill me.

In addition, if I am going to fix up the current damage, I am probably going to fix the tail-light problem because I had issue where the bulbs kept shorting out and somehow, it got so hot in the rear tail-lamps that it got deformed. I heard it had nothing to do with the bulbs and cuz the car is so old, water probably seeped into the wires and shorted out the electrical system in the back. I have no tail-lights and always get pulled over by cops which is not pleasant. The driver side door-lock is messed up because it doesn't unlock properly and I always need to open the rear door and stick my hand in to pull the lock up (it looks like Im stealing my own car). The handle in the back door left side is broken because the spring doesn't work anymore.

I am so sorry I rambled on for this long but this is the jist of my problems and I really need some good advice from all you bmw experts out there. I am currently looking into buying an old set of rims and tires to have them mounted because I heard that this is the first step in order for any technician to see what kind of damage I have caused. I really need an experienced bmw technician who lives around my area and has dealt with a lot of these old cars, and TRUSTWORTHY. A friend had given me a business card to Ingo Bludau's Shop in Shaughnessy St. who doesn European cars but I don't know the guy and so I'm not sure if he's reliable or will charge me an arm and a leg.

Any advice regarding what I should do, if it's worth fixing my car in the current state, or any technicians with experience in old bmw's will be of great help to me.


Thank-you KINDLY.

I can be either pm'd, emailed @ alexyip83@hotmail.com, or phoned at 604-537-7752

Wow dude... that was a bit of a long read. First of all what you need to do is figure out if it's going to be cheaper to fix this car or get a cheap beater car. Beaters can be had for hundreds of dollars or less, and are a decent investment to drive for a few months at a time while you save to fix your car. Next you need to figure out what safety items need to be fixed. Those will be your priority.

To be honest, you can't afford to fix your lights but you can afford the tickets? Sounds to me like you can't afford the car. Part it out and buy something in your price/fix range.

My eyes hurt. Friendly suggestion is to break that up into more paragraphs. :)

Find a good independent mechanic that specializes in BMW, mercedes, etc and take it to them

LOL at opening the driver's side door from the rear. i have that problem too but on the passenger side. it is not a hard fix though. the lock actuator has to be adjusted is all.

when you hit the divider you most likely bent the rims. and with over 100K your suspension parts need replacing anyway.

Sounds like a lot stuff needs to be fixed, but the mechanics need to check for damage that would cause what you're describing. All the other stuff will have to be dealt with eventually if you keep the car.

Did you try Henneken Auto on Marine Way? They do just BMW & Mercs (mostly the latter as they break down more.) They're a bunch of German guys and seem to know their stuff.

You've probably bent a rim and busted the cords in the tire causing it to seperate that caused it to leak, or the weight of the car on the bend in the rim caused it to lose air when the car rested on it.
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/pts/487670252.html
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/pts/498052143.html
get the 18s off of there and make the car driveable just until you get the other stuff sorted out
http://www.cgmotorsports.com/
The guy's name is Chris and he's honest and extremely knowledgeable

if it was not at insane speeds im guessing bent wheels. but if your car has high mileage and never changed any parts of suspension system might as well get that checked by someone you trust.

guys, you are all awesome. i really appreciate and respect the help because im in a really crappy situation. i have nothing to offer for all the advice but if this helps, i work for my dad in a lounge called Zodiac as a bartender in Richmond. If any of you guys ever come to Vancouver, feel free to drop by the lounge and mention that you were on the bmw bent wheel thread and id be happy to grab you a beer. in my current situation, i really don't have that much to fork out in fixing the car, probably like 1k max since it's xmas and all. i will definitely check out the place on Marine Way, thnx BorisBLASTovski! regarding the tailights, i heard that the wires need to be re-wired which is a lot on labor... anyways, the emergency things comes first. and sorry about the long paragraph and painful eyes guys, i will edit it and break it up.

any more advice, this way plz.

thank-you to ALL

ttt

You can also try Norlang auto in Langley. They are the preferred mechanics for the Vancouver 8 series club and the owners drive a couple 5 series e34's too. I have not used them because doing my own work is much cheaper but my Brother in law took his 3 series to them and was happy with their service.

a couple more thoughts for you.

i also recommend finding a cheap set of wheels and tires to replace the bent ones. i'd recommend not driving on 18" wheels in the winter, more for potholes, but this is a pretty good reason too!

it sounds like you have a few good recommendations on places to take the car. i hate to say it but you might have bent or twisted the frame/unibody, in which case you need to get it fixed or scrap it. at the minimum i expect you've bent something in the suspension, but you'll need a good shop to tell you what.

if you've got time and a garage, suspension work isn't hard if you have a repair manual to follow, as long as you don't have to press in bushings. if you've got bad bushings take it to a pro.

finally, you need to figure out how much to spend on the car to get it up and running again. don't think in terms of what the car is worth, think in terms of what it will cost to fix this one, vs. what it will cost to buy something else that's reliable. if you know $1k will fix it i'd do that rather than spend $500 on an unknown car.

good luck, maybe we'll run into you when we're in VC this winter!

hi everyone, im back with a new set of rims and continental extremecontitact tires. everythings is mounted now but unfortunately, the problem is still there... the car still shakes like a freight train above 60km and it is becoming more frequent. i am wondering now if this could be drive-shaft damage? i took it to an autobody today in richmond and the guy said to replace the driver-side control arm, shocks, and the rest of the works... however, what do you guys think? i have basically eliminated the possiblity that it is the bent wheel and broken cord in the tire cuz now with a new set of rims and tires, it's still messed up with the same problem. i don't want to spend like 600 bux and have the left side control arm, shocks, yada yada replaced and then realize the problem is still there. if you guys have any advice or have encountered this problem with "shaking like a bitch" over 60km and found the solution, please let me know. i really want to get this fixed asap. so right now my guess is drive-shaft in the rear since there is no drive-shaft in the front: minor damage to this i heard will cause it to shake at a certain speed/rpm. 2nd guess is a bent axle causing this problem but then, it should be shaking all the time. 3rd guess is the "ball-joint" which means that if i replace all the shocks, control arm, etc., the problem should be fixed. at this point, i really don't know.

ttt

The thrust arm would probably be the first thing to get damaged if you hit a curb hard, and it's not that big a deal to change those. Did you have the alignment checked?