BMW Independent Specialist

[borris-bear]

Anyone know of a good BMW independent specialist in the Godstone, Redhill, Gatwick area?

I'm looking at buying a 1993 325i coupe but theres a few things i'm worried about and would like it inspected first.

The main problem is a noise from the rear of the car which i'm unsure whether is the exhaust knocking (its a stainless steel one) or the rear axle mounts which i've heard can fail and is an expensive job.

The other problem is that the cars been lowered onto 17" wheels however on the drivers side there seems to be no space between the arch and the tyre wheras on the passenger side i can easily slip my fingers up into the arch - any ideas wht this might be?

The car has 110'000 miles with FSH do these cars have a cambelt or chain?

[bluechim]

Munich Motors at wokingham are really good, if thats not too far for you. They are good guys who know waht they are doing and they will look after your car as it gets older and less dependant upon main dealers

[rich_b]

It'll be belt driven. Dont go to Munich Legends, they are far too expensive.

All E36's and I think the E46 sit lower one side than the other. Go have a look at another in a car park, its true.

GCS (German Car Specialists) is an excellent little place. Its just outside Horsham and since using them numerous times, i'll never go anywhere else (apart from a bmw dealer of course )

>> Edited by rich_b on Sunday 28th March 23:38

[liquidken]

The knocking noise could be any number of things.

One thing to look out for is rear subframe mounts. The floor pan at the rear can literally rip away. Its not uncommon for 325's and 328's to be affected by this.

With regards to the ride height, the handbrake needs to be adjusted. Again, a common problem with the E36 coupe, and easily fixed.

[borris-bear]

Is there an easy way to check the mounts to see if they have started to come away or have damaged the boot?

[leebuchanan]

Yes - Munich Motors (not to be confused with Munich Legends) in Wokingham are great, if you can travel that far. I was down there at the weekend with my M Coupe, and they sorted me out.

Lee

[rich_b]

leebuchanan said:

Yes - Munich Motors (not to be confused with Munich Legends)

Oops sorry

[XM5ER]

I've read on various forums that the most common cause of knocking from the rear, is shock top mounts, which are a cheap easy fix with later model parts.

But dont quote me.