Subject: Re: The shimmy could be alignment and tire balancing, but it Author: sea : member since January, 2005 : 11 posts Posted on: 2005-01-20 00:24:50

Thanks for the tips on the alignment and what to check for, and where to find cheaper parts! But whjen I thought the clutch ewent out, most folks I talked to wouldn't work on it, they wanted me to take it to a specialty shop. So if anything serious goes wrong, it'll cost more to fix than a car that is more common.

If I sold it (still wavering on that), I don't know what I'd ask. I was kind of hoping to get some guidance here.

I'm in WA state. It has 175,635 miles on it. Can that be right? It doesn't seem like much for a car this old. Maybe I'm reading that wrong, or I think spedometers start over once they go so far? Maybe it started over. I need to find a car savvy person here to ask these questions. I drive it 40 to 60 miles a week. Not a lot as I only work 3 days a week in town (which is close).

It also gets great gas milage, which I wasn't expecting. It doesn't use oil either. So it is a nice little transportation car. But people keep telling me I should sell it and get something newer, in the line of a Honda or Toyota. I mean, the car is 22 years old, I'm scared something major will go wrong. But so far, so good.

I think the fact that it was babied before I got it made a big difference. The guy had 7 really nice cars, but he also had a new baby and a wife upset about the insurance bills because he liked to drive them all. So she said 3 had to go, or she and the baby were going. I felt sorry for the guy, he was obviously bummed about selling the car. The original owner was his best friend who had moved to Hawaii and couldn't take the car, so he got it. Or at least that's what he told me and he seemed honest.

He was a real freak about changing the oil (like you mentioned), so that probably helped too. But I've looked at some of the other photos people have up, and it doiesn't have fancy rims like many of those do.

On the tires, when you say "good tires" do you just mean plenty of tread, or do you mean a special brand or kind of tire?

Not being a car person (I just want to turn the key & go), I'm not real sure what to do. It has a little sun roof that cranks open that is kind of nice in summer.

It's not a fancy model because it doesn't have power windows, which I miss. Or maybe they didn't have power windows in most cars in '83? I dunno.

Someone was telling me today that there's a guy here who collects old BMW's because they use them for "Rally Cars"? I'll have to look up that term online, not sure what that means. Or maybe he collects BMWs that were Rally Cars. I'm really not sure.

Anyway, I'm interested in learning more about the car and the best way to care for it (that I can afford).

• Trying to learn - sea 2005-01-19 03:51:40 (1620 views)
  • Re: Trying to learn - 2nd try for photo url (url) - sea 2005-01-19 03:57:27 (1991 views)
    • Nice example of a 320i! - DavidC 2005-01-19 12:48:52 (2114 views)
      • Re: Nice example of a 320i! - sea 2005-01-19 15:56:09 (1697 views)
        • The shimmy could be alignment and tire balancing, but it (url) - DavidC 2005-01-19 23:52:34 (1875 views)
          • Re: The shimmy could be alignment and tire balancing, but it - sea 2005-01-20 00:24:50 (1779 views)
            • This may help you find a good independent BMW mechanic (url) - DavidC 2005-01-21 13:46:06 (6044 views)
              • Re: This may help you find a good independent BMW mechanic - sea 2005-01-21 14:19:24 (1829 views)
            • The car probably isn't worth a lot to anyone else, so I'd suggest (url) - DavidC 2005-01-21 13:36:11 (2296 views)
              • Re: The car probably isn't worth a lot to anyone else, so I'd suggest - sea 2005-01-21 14:14:25 (1757 views)
                • That wasn't a bad deal, though higher than what Edmunds.com shows. (url) - DavidC 2005-01-21 14:51:16 (1694 views)
                  • Re: That wasn't a bad deal, though higher than what Edmunds.com shows. - sea 2005-01-21 14:58:38 (1644 views)
                    • Re: That wasn't a bad deal, though higher than what Edmunds.com shows. - marinersfan 2005-01-22 15:43:02 (1676 views)
                      • Re: That wasn't a bad deal, though higher than what Edmunds.com shows. - sea 2005-01-24 19:03:48 (1610 views)