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Excerpt: The maze of multiple mechanics….or the haze of multiple mechanics. Which is good? That one is bad…. What happens when you travel around town looking for one shop to cancel out what the other one said or showed you on your BMW or MINI? Here is some reality; an experienced tech specialist sees leakage on a part. There are signs of liquid residue on the part. He or she tells you about it, but you don’t believe that it means anything. (why- is another topic for another time). Then… You take it to another shop and another mechanic thinks,”It’s not…

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Excerpt: 19% of people are using the Internet while driving according to a recent survey by State Farm Insurance Co. 74% reported making or receiving phone calls at least once a week while driving and 35% who reported sending or receiving texts at least that often. That is not good news! While 11 states enacted bans on texting while driving, 30 states prohibit it for all drivers and 8 more have banned it for novice drivers. Even scarier is that the survey respondents were in their 30′s and we know the age group of cell phone users is younger….

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Excerpt: It’s July and time to celebrate our Freedom! Believe it or not, BMW was trying to ruin some of that recently by pushing a bill in California that would have essentially locked out all independent repairers from working on anything related to “security” of the vehicle. Because of the integrated electronics in your modern vehicle we are speaking of Ignitions, transmissions, etc.. This is not a security problem, as legitimate mechanical car shops are not stealing the cars they are fixing! Currently we have to show proof that the car is here with us, provide…

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Excerpt: Buying parts on-line from unscrupulous “places” is an ongoing problem. We are suggesting that you just do not do it! We will only install parts that we have sourced from BMW or reputable European import parts houses. That is the only way we can stand by our service and labor 100%. For example, we just know someone who had a control panel for an Heating A/C system that looked perfect on the outside. Unfortunately, all of the inside was not there at all! It was immediately evident to the tech who picked up the part that…

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Excerpt: Battery Registration? What does this have to do with you? No – not a DMV thing, either. There is an update process that BMW calls “battery registration” when you replace a battery on your later model BMW. Beginning on the 7 Series in 2002 and then later on with the X5′s in 2007 and on down the line with the 3 Series in 2006. (For more details, a complete list can be found in the May 2011 issue of the BMW CCA magazine the Roundel, in Tech Talk) Basically, this is another one of the reasons that you…

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Excerpt: The best motor oils for your BMW and MINI are going to be those that meet BMW and MINI specified recommendations. Pure and simple. More expensive than your run of the mill oil? Yes. Using the wrong oil such as one with a low viscosity or one that has depleted it’s maximum usage can lead to metal to metal contact of moving parts causing excessive wear resulting in premature damage to critical parts. Using an oil with a higher viscosity will cause excessive drag and the result will be less miles per gallon. For those clients of ours…

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Excerpt: For all of you in the Bay Area that are interested in AutoCross racing, it’s that time of year! The 42nd Annual “Duel at DeAnza” is being held this weekend in Cupertino at DeAnza College. The fact that his event has been held for 42 years to benefit the Automotive Technology School at DeAnza is amazing! It takes a lot of work to make this happen, so it’s always the teachers and the students that pull it all together. You will always enjoy some fantastic BMW’s at this event. The fun begins when the 1st car hits the track…

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Excerpt: About 31 years ago back in the Mid West there was a horrific accident that killed a prominent TV newsman and his twin boys. A car (far) in front of him on the highway had a muffler that was almost falling off. It did fall off and wrapped around his axle. The car became airborne and crashed through the newsman’s windshield, killing him and his children immediately. Even more gruesome was the fact that his wife was following her husband in another car behind him. She witnessed her family dying because someone chose not to…

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Excerpt: According to AAA, only 17 percent of cars have all four tires inflated to the proper level! That means that 83 percent of drivers are using more gas! Who wants to do that as these gas prices keep skyrocketing? If your tire pressure is less than optimum, you will wear out your tires faster also and your BMW or MINI will not handle as well, either. See your tire pressure listed on the The Department of Energy estimates that every 5 mph you drive over 60 is like paying an extra 10 percent at the pump. …

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Excerpt: It is the time of the year when those little critters such as mice, squirrels and yes, big ole rats are trying to stay warm and have a snack at the same time. Yes, they are getting into your BMW and/or MINI, (they have good taste) and eating wiring! For some reason, members of the rodent family love to chew on wiring. They can cause substantial damage if left to fill their tiny tummies. There are all kinds of home remedies that we have heard of over the years, (moth balls, cayenne pepper etc.). Sadly, we cannot…