Uriel

Aaaaargh! Elms have told me the gearbox needs replacing with a price of £4380!!!! I didn't even pay that for the car! I've found this place in Tottenham who have quoted me £1400 to remove, overhaul/repair and refit the autobox...but Tottenham is a fair way from North Hertfordshire. Does anyone know of anywhere in Herts, preferably the Stevenage area, that can do a repair?

Thanks chaps. I had a look at the discs before it went off to Elms. The nearside front wheel is covered in brake dust and the disc is scored to buggery and beyond, so it looks like the root of one problem has been found.

A couple of days ago my car started shaking. It's not that annoying vibration when a wheel needs balancing; I mean the car was shaking, like if I grabbed you by the shoulders and shook you back and forth an inch or so at a time. Ten minutes later, after checking the car and finding nothing visibly wrong, it was fine. My mechanic had a brief look but could see nothing. He assumed something had stuck to the wheel and had been shaken off again. Today we spent a rather filling afternoon at my in-laws, who live about 30 miles away from us, straight down the A1. On the way home, at 70 mph, the car started shaking again. It's actually more bearable at high speed but I wasn't silly and pulled straight over. Something smelt hot; it was that smell of trains, so possibly a brake pad. My car's an auto but if it was a manual, I'd say it smelt like a burning clutch too. If it was a sticky caliper, I would expect the smell. What bothers me, though, is that the car didn't pull to one side, it just shook like crazy. On reflection, I would say that the shaking was being transmitted directly through the steering column - the steering wheel was actually moving left and right, like an unbalanced wheel on steroids. I have had no warning lights come on. Something else that may or may not be related: when I put my foot all the way down, the car kicks down but then has trouble changing back up. If I don't keep my foot on the kickdown button, it will change gear normally. I can accelerate just fine, but not if I use kickdown. This has kind of screwed Christmas. :( Any ideas guys?

I'm picking the car up tomorrow, and will have a root around in the CD changer compartment. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be able to run an aux cable from there up to the front of the car. The changer has no amplifier - that'll be in the head unit - but it must have an output to one, so I should be able to splice something in at that point.

Thanks guys.

Yeah, just a tad...and for 2 - 3 times less fuel, too!

I want to remove the original BMW stereo (cassete player and radio) from the dashboard and fit my own, but I have a couple of questions... Is there any way to make an AUX IN socket that will connect up to the original stereo so I can plug in my MP3 player? Can I get a fascia panel that will allow me to fit a standard DIN sized hi-fi? Can I buy some kind of adapter so that I can still use the wheel-mounted controls for the new hi-fi, or is there a BMW compatible h-fi that I can buy? Can I use the fittings in the boot (for the CD multichanger) to connect a bass box to the stereo, or would I be better off running new cables into the boot?

Hi all. My Toyota Hilux Surf died last week...so today I bought a 2002 530D to replace it! I pick it up on Wednesday, and I can't wait...