Subject: Re: 1990 bmw 525i Damage from Driving Over island/curb in Richmond, HELP Author: m5ly : member since December, 2007 : 1 post Posted on: 2007-12-06 21:28:30

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 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 root 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 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 ramble 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

• Re: 1990 bmw 525i Damage from Driving Over island/curb in Richmond, HELP - m5ly 2007-12-06 21:28:30 (901 views)