Having just bought a K reg 525i touring on ebay for £750 I reckon its the
steal of the year. New starter motor £60 and £10 to fit. Oil service with
plugs and filters etc £110. Had full diagnostic and no faults found. That's
the good news.
Failed heater quote £550 due to aftermarket aircon and screw fittings
only allowing dashboard access rather than via engine bay. Getting that
done next Tuesday. Cheap apparently as winter is the best time to get
your aircon sorted - the market being slow. (Mind you know anyone who
can do it cheaper?). Plus its a well know fact that whilst the body and
engine are tank tough the electrics on these old cars are something else.
So next project is to get to a reputable car electrician to sort the tailgate
wires. These are affecting the twin sunroof which works intermittently.
My £1500 budget just about right but never thought I'd spend a good
part of it on a heater! (Oh and some bugger keyed three panels up the
west end so I've got to bringforward the respray). I'll post my picture
then!
Some golden rules I picked up from the site and confirmed by my indy BM
mech. Regular annual oil service with a quality oil no cheap stuff - Castrol
over 75k special! And make sure the coolant reserve looks clean. Watch
the thermo needle. As soon as it twitches into the red zone get thermo
checked / preferably changed.
Forget classic - function rules. I love my BM for that - best car I've owned
and driven. Looking forward to takin it 100k miles to 250k.