new owner new member

[foxthewhite]

Hey guys.

Just got my 97 ti for about a month now, has been and still am working on it. I found a lot of useful information on this forum.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

You guys are doing a great job.

now talking about my car... This is my first BMW. Where I live there is few BMWs and the nearest dealer is like 4 hours away so go figuer...

anyway I bought it for only $1k. That's because the rear end has been hit and I needed to work quite a lot for it to drive normally again. But it's worth it. Although it has 180k miles on it the engine and transmission is still doing their wonderful job. Shifting is as smooth as slicing a knife through a soft tofu. I love driving it everyday.

the works done:
replaced worn out old steering wheel, got a Euro M wheel
changed engine oil, tranny oil, diff oil, spark plugs, all kinds of filters, tires, trunk support struts, etc
replaced front control arms and bushings
replaced rear subframe and trailing arms(crash damage)
right front ABS wheel sensor(I can write a story about it...)
cleaned old window tint, fixed regulator and sliding piece problem
polished headlights
replaced muffler, changed back to stock, dumped fart pipe
replaced downstream O2 sensor
upgraded radio unit

next steps:
fix right rear quarter panel(crash damage), put rear bumper back on
replace front struts, leaking a little bit
power steering system leaking... steering feels not bad though
AC

It's been a busy month, did some work myself, others like suspension jobs I go to a mechanic friend of mine who runs his own garage

now it drives wonderfully only with an ugly butt...

[Ralliart10]

Congrats and welcome to the forum
got any pics of your ti?

[foxthewhite]

pics to show you the broken ass? LOL

I'll take it to a body shop probably next week, they quoted $600, not bad

[SNOWti]

1. Replaced front control arms and bushings

2. Replaced rear subframe and trailing arms (crash damage)

May I ask how much did each one of these jobs cost you? Did you do the work yourself? Or a shop?

Thanks!

[foxthewhite]

front control arms and bushings bought at pelican

rear subframe and trailing arms bought used on ebay, around $700
trailing arms came with all brake parts, so did some rotor/pad swap also, bushings also from pelican

did these at my friend's shop, took both of us almost a whole day
he did most job, I paid him $200

I live in an apartment so obviously it's impractical to do these major work in the parking lot... anyway I can't imagine how much I would be charged if I sent it somewhere else...