THSCC Forums

If I were looking for answers to my honda questions, I'd go here and Honda-Tech.com. Where would I go for BMW answers?

I bought a 98 M3 sedan last week and this is what needs to be done soon.
- Headlights fog up when raining. I think it's the lense itself, but I could barely see without the bright lights on. Anyone else have this issue?
- Where to get BMW factory parts? For honda's, I bought from a dealer in RI and got honda parts.
- Is there any benefit to becoming a BMWCCA member?
- Do I NEED to get a service reset tool. Any options here besides going to the dealer? I plan on doing my own maintenance.
- It didn't come with keyless entry and I want it. I've been told only to go to BMW. Suggestions? The car has the pkg, I just don't have the key fob.
- Is there an alternative to Azenies? They don't make tires for either the front or rear, I can't remember which.

BTW, I don't miss my Type-R anymore.

Phil

Phil,

well, I've got a load of BMW's, but nothing newer than a '95 5 series, and NO //M cars.

Can't help much with the headlight issue- but I would assume the headlight is either cracked, or the seal between the lens + the reflector has failed....a good used one should not be very expensive, especially if you get it from someone who has "upgraded" to some POS wannabe xenons or something.

For BMW OEM parts, try someplace like BMA (www.bmaparts.com)- they are fairly knowledgeable and helpful- they offer lots of various discounts to various BMW message boards- I have heard that they will usually give you a better deal if you call and talk to someone rather than order on their website- but YMMV. There are other places as well that are reputable- most seem to get their parts from either Worldpac (Adam- care to comment?) or one of the other warehouse distributors.... Of course- you can always try Adam at Blackforest in Cary- a club supporter, and even though he's a VW guy, he can probably help you out- I know they get stuff via Worlpac as well. There are quite a few dealers out there who are willing to give good parts prices and ship parts if you find you need a "dealer-only" part.

BMWCCA membership is worthwhile to me, but I've been one for ~20 years now, so.... You are supposed to get a % discount from the dealer on parts, etc- but I've found that Leith BMW marks their parts prices UP about 15-20% over BMW suggested list price for "retail" customers- then you will get a ~10-15% discount off of that with your BMWCCA membership- not exactly a great deal. If you plan to do a BMW CCA Driver's school hosted by the Tarheel chapter, you better be a 'CCA member, or it will likely fill up before non-members are considered. The club magazine (ROUNDEL) is worth the membership $$$ to me.

Not sure about the '98 M3, but most older BMW's can have their service lights reset by carefully shorting out the correct pins on the diagnostic plug for a few seconds. The local 'CCA has the reset tool available on loan, or you can probably find someone who would loan it to you when needed.

Keyless entry parts are available online, Ebay or some of the BMW messageboards should be able to help you. I would stick with the original system, especially since you already have most of it.

Not sure what size tires you have, but I thought Kumho made tires that seemed to be popular on the E36 M3's for cheap. I guess it depends too on what you want the tires to do. Tirerack.com maybe?


A couple of the more active sites are:

www.bimmer.org
www.bimmerforums.com (VERY E36 centered)

I'm sure there are lots of others, but these 2 ought to get you started.

Bret.

Can't help much there. I have never found a good technical and helpful M3 board. Bimmerforums seems about as good as they get, and searches there almost always seem to give an asnwer to my questions.



Must not be common. Take 'em out and take them apart! Fix, reinstall.



I get 90% of my replacement parts from Adam at Black Forest. Best prices, often OEM packaging. The "rest" of the stuff, I usually end up at Leith BMW since they give ac 15% BMWCCA discount. There are probably some "online" BMW dealers who will sell for less but last time I looked I didn't find anyone after a quick search.



1. Roundel is a good magazine but seems to be less interesting to me every year I get it 2. Leith BMW discounts 3. BMWCCA raffle (the one time per year I gamble)



I have gotten by without. I just ignore the red/yellow lights. There are people in the area who will loan you theirs.



Get a Roundel and start calling these online dealers that advertise. Price compare with Leith. Bet it needs to be a factory part, but I'm not sure. I have the Stellar/Autoloc keyless unit in my M3, cost was $150 for the whole thing.



Street? I have been quite happy with my ES100s, even for autoctoss. Not sure what is out there that is "autocrossable". FYI put 245's on the front also for autocross.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

club sponsor Dave's Automotive. won't oversell you something you don't need done. i do the minor stuff myself, but i had Dave do my track upgrades and mechanical fixes. he buys parts from Turner Motorsports & Bimmerworld mostly i think. and he sells them @ internet price.

and as Mike said, Adam is in cary and gets parts quickly, if he doesn't already have them in stock.

and finally, Mark @ Hubcap Heaven has been very helpful also with some work on my 328.

good luck, and welcome to the dark side hope to see you @ VIR in february. steve

Another Internet place for parts is www.pelicanparts.com. Mostly OEM stuff and quick shipping.

If you're looking for a mechanic (or maybe just some one to talk to about BMW), check out Shade Tree Garage in North Raleigh - www.stgbmwservice.com A great group of guys and all they work on is BMW.

Other benefits to being a CCA Member: occassional hospitality tents and/or discounts at races; Leith just had an open house w/ free lunch and door prizes; Oktoberfest (was in Greensboro this year).

Enjoy the M3!

That's not been my experience with Leith. They are pretty much spot on regional retail prices before you get the 15% discount. The local dealer that DOES mark up prices is Performance BMW in Chapel Hill (then they give you 10% off that marked up price). Pacific BMW has great prices and quick shipping but not for anything heavy. Hendrick BMW in Charlotte gives 20-25% off list to members for mail order parts sales only.

Leith also gives 15% off labor if you have them work on your car. They have some very good techs there like Conrad, Richie, Ken and Adam.

The CCA membership is a great deal. I've saved thousands of dollars over the past 26 years as a member including the BMWNA/CCA member rebate when buying a new car.

Chuck

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

FWIW, my boss uses the BMWCCA to get parts discounted for his vintage M6, and yet has never paid the dues ...

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

hmmn, "paid their dues" kind of reminds me of an experience i had at leith. by no means do i mean to blame the dealership for its clientle.

i had my 97 in for a computer flash, and as usual was dressed rather slovenly. i was in the service writers office mid-conversation when thru the closed door another customer burst into the office and began carrying on a conversation. albeit with himself. no excuse me was uttered, no apologies offered. the "gentleman" apparently felt whatever he had going on was far more important than whatever the rest of the world happened to be doing at the time. and i am not sure when, but on a similar trip to leith i was admiring a nice red 04 M3 in the service bay when its owner walked out and gave me the largest and most evil look of disdain i believe i have ever experienced. (my Z06 was within eyesight but i doubt he was basing his opinion of me on that)

my point is mostly that, vette guys catch a huge amount of shit, but i am not so sure they as snooty as the penultimate bmw urbanite.

but, back to the subject. leith has always been very helpful and proffessional whenever i have needed to visit the dealership. and hell, its closer than the ashboro zoo. rate it a 10 for entainment value. steve

My opinion is that 90% of the first owners of BMWs are the snooty type, with 10% actually appreciative of something other than the car's prestige. Once the car is on its second or third owner, the numbers seem to reverse - 90% are enthusiasts and 10% are badge grabbers. YMMV and if you own a BMW and disagree, please just put yourself in the percentage you want.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

i havent tried it yet, but from i read w/ the '96+s you can reset the maintenance light by shorting Pin 7 on the data port under the hood to ground. id search bimmerforums.com to double check that.

i'm looking for a new brake light switch and Leith BMW wants $34 for one. the most expensive i could find on the internet is $18 and Black forest still hasnt replied to my email about it. any other local options? i'll probably just order one soon.

nice car! i just got a '97 M3 Sedan yesterday! hah its pretty sweet but is almost opposite of the R32 in many ways.

This is a nice resource: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do to look at for not only decent prices but to figure out what you might need. Also Hendrick in Charlotte usually gives 20-25% off list: 866-676-1402.

Chuck

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

Yes, Realoem.com is a great resource- basically it's the BMW ETK (electronische teile katalog or electronic parts catalog) which you can also purchase from any BMW dealer and many independent BMW parts dealers. Take the prices with a grain of salt though- they even have a disclaimer on the site stating that the actual prices will be different than what is shown on the site- but I have found the prices to sometimes be WAY higher and sometimes WAY lower than what you actually can buy the parts for. BTW- Realoem.com does not sell parts......yet.


Bret.

ROTFLMAO. I just changed this on my sister's 318ti over Thanksgiving...I noticed the brake lights were not working after looking into poor radio reception for her iTrip.

I had to break the !@#!@#$ thing with pliers to get it out (usually not my approach to fixing stuff but I already wasted 30 minutes trying to remove it the "right" way). We got it from Flow (in the Triad) for about the same price.

--Ashraf

^yeh it seems to be a pretty common problem. i'm getting the "BRAKE CIRCUIT FAILURE" error on the onboard computer. my brake lights still seem to work fine, its actually the circuit for the tester that brakes. the irony.. hah

Another point of failure with the brake light switch is the little plastic "plunger." It will sort of.. bind, causing the brake lights to stay on for a while after you let off the pedal, and even come on when you hit the clutch. A zip tie around the top of the brake pedal is a quick easy fix (<--- see that? Owning a dozen VW's has taught me something!)