LA and General E39 resources FAQ
By:k j [jj10000@hotmail.com]'99 540iA Sport
Black/Black
Valentine 1

 

A.      L.A. Mechanics:

  1. Bimmer Clinic. 18417 Gault St., Reseda, CA. (818) 342-8048. George.  Expensive but excellent work.

  2. Burbank Motor Works. (818) 848-1656. Bob Leo.

  3. GT International. 2221 Colby Ave. (near Olympic and Barrington) (310) 575-4249. John Norris.  (Rec. by Gio)

  4. CheckPoint Automotive Grand View Blvd., Mar Vista, CA (310) 391-9774 Chris or Steve. Santa Monica.  Not ASE certified but 21 yrs dealer exp.

  5. Bob Mirman’s Westcoast Tire and Service. 2239 Pontius Avenue, W. LA. 90064. (Sepulveda&Olympic)

 310-477-7057 (Scott).  CHEAP!

 

B.      L.A. Auto Body Repair:

  1. Platinum Auto Refinish&CollisionCtr 4065 Glencoe Av. MarinaDelRey, 90292 310-577-6118.Gio Rec.SueYeung

  2. Crayford Coachworks in Marina Del Rey. 310-577-9830 Ask for Peter

  3. Marcos Auto Body Shop (Pasadena) 626-795-7500

  4. MGM Body Washington Blvd. East of Sepulveda (? Reputation.) 310-559-4641

  5. Autobahn in N. Hollywood (?expensive) 818-765-8777

  6. Holmes Body Shop (Pasadena)

  7. ?Avio Coachworks (10 & 405) (expensive but good) or is it Arhi Classic CoachWork (LaCienega)310-841-6503

8.                 Spectrum Collision. 20 McLaren in Irvine. Phone number: (949) 597-8200  (Div of Shelly BMW.  BMW authorized (rare)  Extremely. Good!   With all the hi tech equip. Probably Expensive.

9.     New Tech Auto Body, Inc. 3436 San Fernanado Rd. Glendale (818) 241-1376 (refered to by Pacific BMW)

 

C.      Towing:

  1. Triple A (AAA) – ( 800) 400-4222 in CA or (800) 222-4357

  2. Road America (800) 325-9028. Part of warranty plan.

 

D.      L.A. Dealers:

Positive: Alexander BMW (Dwntwn LA), Center BMW (Sherman Oaks. Chris-Sv. Adv., Dave-Foreman), South Bay BMW (Hermosa Beach)

+/-:  Shelly BMW (Buena Park CA), Beverly Hills BMW (Stuart Ross Rec. Laurie Downs, Gio Rec. Gerd Stegmann)

Negative: Santa Monica, Irvine, Rusnak (Thousand Oaks), Van Nuys, Century West (N. Hollywood)

 

E.       L.A. Misc. Repairs:

Alignment:  West End Alignment. 18008 S. Vermont Ave., Gardena CA.  Darrin-owner. High Rec. CCA Discount.

Windsheild Repair:  Roeland (949) 459-0994

Dents:  Beach Cities Paintless Dent Removal. Jeff Magil 888-DENTS-OUT.  Comes to home/work

               Dent Pro. David Gilman 800-774-2121

Tint: Tint Connection (Orange Cnty), Custom Window Tinting (W. Covina), Tint Factory or Formula 1on La Cienega,

Tint Shop(East Side); ABC Auto Sound, 562-867-1514, 9012 E.Artesia Blvd. Ste A, Bellflower, CA 90706 ($140)

F.       L.A. Detailing:

  1. Frank 626-564-2532. Rec by Andrew

  2. Steve’s Detailing (Tillium Building garage)Canoga (S. of Victory)WoodlandHills nxt to Hilton.RecBy StuartRoss.

  3. Canyon Service. 7th street. N. or San Vicente. (across from the famous “stairs”)

  4. Detail 301. 440 N. Rodeo Dr. (basement of rear parking garage) $150.

 

G.      Parts:

  1. PacificBMW.com for cheapest with BMW CCA discount (online only). 800-909-PART (Duane)

2.          Alexander BMW will give counter discounts for CCA members. 1-800-800-NICK (David is very helpful)

 

H.      Extended Warranty:

  1. Autoconnection.com – broker for A+ rated co. Exclusionary policy with $0 deductible was half of Auto1Source.

Nicole Oleaga @ (888) 332-5745 or (602) 992-5576

 

I.         Books:

  1. Going Faster – Mastering the art of race car driving.  Skip Barber Racing School

  2. Drive to win by Carroll Smith

  3. Secrets of Solo Racing by Watts

  4. Winning Autocross Solo II Competition by Turner & Miles

 

J.       Radar Detector:

  1. Valentine 1

 

K.      Maintenance:

BMW recc. Synthetic oils of 0w30/40 or 5w30/40.  (Mobile 1, AMSOIL or Redline are popular).  Though BMW says 15K before changing, it is probaly better to change every 7-8K.  Do not reset service lights on maintenance computer between the extra oil changes.  7 Qts.  BMW Oil Filter part # 11-42-7-510-717.

 

Inspection 1 @ 30K and Inspection II @ 60 K ($400-$600)

 

Charcoal Microfilter (64-110-008-138) ($22.80) should be changed every year or so. Filter for air venting into cabin.

 

Timing Belt change @ 60K – 80K. approx. $250 by dealer.

 

Tires: Front- 235/45 17” Z, Back- 255/40 17” Z. Dunlop SP 2000E (factory) $168 or 5000 $129 @ Tire Rack.com) or ?9000.  Mounting: $8.50 at Bob Mirman’s WestCoast Tire and Service.

 

Torque specs for Lug Bolts is 80 ft. lbs.

 

Brake Fluid (DOT 4) should be changed every 2 years.

 

Brake Pads: (usual problem is with excessive brake dust or warping of rotors)

Positive: PBR/Axxis Deluxe Pads (so far only made for rear brakes).  BMW OEM pads (dusty)

Neutral: EBC Red Stuff., Porterfield R4S (noisy & expensive)

Negative:  EBC Green Stuff. Mintex-C

 

Rotors:  Balo. Every 30-50K.

 

Spark Plugs: NGK (’97 & ’98 were Bosch)

 

Battery:  BMW battery ($300) is a renamed Douglas type 49-675 ($90).  Only fill with Distilled water if needed.

 

Ask about Water pumps needing to be changed at 50K.  Earlier models would break down and overheating would occur.  This may have been corrected by the ’99 model.

 

Condition the leather interior.  It’s very prone to crack and ware down. (leatherique.com) Lexol Cleaner and Conditioner. (http://www.bariaur.com/e39/detailing.html)  (carcareonline.com) 

 

Transmission Fluid: consider Dexron III Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF)

 

Thermostat (11 53 1 437 040 or 11 53 0 139 877) located under front bumper in front of right wheel.  Frequently dislodges causing misread temps.

 

Floor Mats: (82-11-1-469-759) Front and back

 

M5 Rear Spoiler: (51-71-7-901-594) not painted

 

Black Leather sliding storage front armrest: 51-16-2-427-367

 

Front bumper strip with license plate base 51-11-8-174-849 (for 540I sport)