DIARY OF A BMW 635CSiA: aka ‘HELGA’
– Part 2
Pretty picture as 635 prepared for sale in Summer 2012
March 29 2011. Oil and filter service, reset service indicator. £109.
May 5 2011 (159,570-159,600 miles). Pass MoT attend to leaking ATF Sphere (no washer - legacy of another specialist). Another spell of non-starting. Two visits to Auto Services, £300 bill before returned with full service, MoT completed and sphere leak fixed. Paint looks patchy now after months away on panel repair being pushed in and out of repair shop.
July 8 2011 (160,368-160,401 miles): 2 visits to Protyre to replace track rod ends, plus two ABS sensors (ex-Alun Parry). Track rod bill was £138 versus BMW dealer estimate of £597! Also needed 1 Conti fitted and tracked post-rod repairs at £138.88 during this period.
November 8 2011 Front discs, 1 caliper & pads @ Protyre for £404.
December 12 2011 (163,589 miles): Owner high pressure clean underneath + Auto Services Waxoyl to protect panel investment. £128.40p.
January-Feb 2012 (164,862 miles): Owner DIY spray of engine air filter box, wiper motor protection plate and rear under bumper, all matte black. £5 in cans!
March 17 2012 (163,980 miles): Non starts again, Auto services FoC check. 25.6-29 mpg on runs with 97 octane unleaded.
April 2012 (164,721): Full service including oil change and filter + safety check and MoT passed after headlamp adjustment, replacement seat bolt. Failed to start post MoT. Then, 30 mins later OK (suspect heat sink). New Bosch starter (£189) Big £536.07 bill.
Failed to restart again in May 2012 post Silverstone Classic Media day: pouring with rain, of course! JW got it going after delays and a soaking.
May 24 2012 (165,980]: Finally, a fix for non-starts that has lasted to June 2013. Wired direct battery starter feed to beat any voltage droop. Really don’t know why it works—but it has!
July 9 2012: prepared for sale at Aidy’s Coachworks Longbridge Deverill—including minor rust attention front bumper inlays, rear window and more. £450.
November 2012 (165,567): returned unsold from Chugga Boom, Warminster—who had lost their dry storage.
April 2013 (166,739): Major service with all oils, fluids & filters + spark plugs replaced; ATF for auto transmission. Has used Synthetic 4 Racing Oil last three years, very little topping up ever required.
May 2013 (168,002): Passed MoT, sheared differential bolt replaced. 5 forward issues reported! Bill, £267.74p. Consequent on this, two rear Conti 5s fitted by Protyre costing £274.87p.
June 2013 summary at 168,616 miles. Last trip of 218 miles to FAVO Day Warwick was at 29.1 mpg of 95 octane, averages in 50-60 mph maintained. Exhaust blowing slight at manifold and two brake warning lights up with intermittent service interval indicator display when running. Sound drive (despite brake warnings!), but has body issues again, external rather than stressed panels, plus paint fade driver’s door and boot lid. NO chance of a dealer sale now.
MoT mileage analysis shows 13,415 miles covered May 2010 to May 2013. Peak year, 2011-12 at 5140 miles, lowest (for sale Aug-Nov) at 3287 miles.
DIARY (from 154,000 to 168,616 miles)
May 2010 (154,590 miles): Passed MoT after 5,327 miles 2009-2010. Now had a Sprite to look after March 2010-March 2013.
January-27 March 2011 (158,744 miles): Estimate £3500 for major panel work all around engine bay, including rusted out top spars both sides, sills and front footwells. Photo record. Picked up at same mileage after a lot of standing outside and complete strip out of front and lower side panels. Proprietor left immediately for NZ, work done by ex-TT Restorations artisan, Colin Skard. Because of extra work when they dug into the rust zones, final bill was £4,200…