M3 Vanos gone, im off to the 'ring on Thurs!

[Jam Rock]

ok so this happended on the way to the garage (Darren Wood BMW) last night for a final inspection before the trip. i rolled to halt with a lump idle outside Darren's and it was clear for the boys to hear that there was something wrong....

within a couple minutes Mike had the car hooked up to the diagnostic computer and was runnning checks which confirmed the vanos has gone. Quick call to Mr vanos had mike whipping out the solenoids and trying some black magic cure, then refitting them.... alas.....the cure didnt work...and the car was still lumpy as hell by this time it had already gone 7 pm so we called it a day and the guys got to go home but only after making a couple of other calls to try and source a fix for me.


so now i dont have a car for the trip, though im tempted to buy something and sell it when i get back....mmmm not much time to think about it tbh, but at the same time i dont want to rush into buying something incase it turns out to be a shed! well we will see what happens, worse case scenario, i will be taking the diesel van!!! lol

so i guess i am throwing it out there, anyone in PH land have an interesting performance car for sale upto £12k? e39 m5's? boxster s? e46 m3? any other suggestions?

This isn't the first time Darren and Mike at Darren Wood BMW have gone above and beyond to help me out, infact over the years i have lost count how many times they have sorted my car issues from annoying little things to fitting my bbk to last minute servicing before a trip to sorting issues out with my OH's car on a Saturday morning without an appointment!
Their attitude towards their customers is amazing, and i have in 5 years yet to have a problem with any aspect of their work....i trust them totally with the car.....now how many garages can you say that about? Rest assured, they will be sorting out the vanos issues in my absence, and before anyone says, i am not on their payroll, lol, i'm just a chap who really appreciates and is grateful of the service they provide. If you live in the northwest and have an ///M car or indeed any BMW and you want a first class service then Darren Wood BMW is the place to go. I have used all the other indi's in Manchester before i met Darren and they don't even come close....


cheers darren and Mike,



Jam rock

[sprouting]

It may not be your first choice of gearbox but looks to be in fair condition and good price.


http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2738717.htm

[thegreengoblet]

Re the Vanos... check out Sean over at Iridium Engineering

http://www.iridiumengineering.co.uk/

[-Z-]

Crap situation but stop-gap cars I would look at are:

£8995 32k miles


£12750 69k miles

[david_h]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, hope you get it fixed soon.

there is an E46 M3 that's just popped up on M3 cutters, guy is desperate to sell asap.

http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=319...

Not sure if you can see the advert unless you login, so have pasted it below:

[i]Details:

2001/51
M3 private plate included in sale
Carbon black
Black leather interior
SMG
78k ON THE CLOCK
FULL SERVICE HISTORY (Serviced just today)
DVD
TV
Electric, heated memory seats
CSL reps, good tyres
Carbon badges and carbon peddles
Carbon dash interior (have full spare set of interior trim with car plus the 3M vinyl to wrap if you wished or sell on whichever)
LED rear lights
2 keys
Harmon Kardon sound system upgrade
Climate
Cruise control
All other usual M3 delights

Some marks on front spoiler. I have booked the car into my local bodyshop on May 9th to have the entire front spoiler painted and the whole car machine polished and buffed so will look great. I really need to sell before then so will deduct the cost qouted for that work (£250).

I also have 3 18" tyres from my previous wheels which would be good for winter wheels or track days which I will throw in with the sale too.

I also hae a large collection of BMW magazines which I have gathered whilst i have owned the car which I am also willing to throw in with the sale.

PM and email for pics as for some reason I cant seem to upload at the moment. I will email them directly to you.

I am looking as close to £9k as possible. Reall needs to g this week so I will listen to sensible offers.
Thanks[/i]

[joesnow]

Fly, and hire a caged clio or one of their BMWs. Its what I'd do.