5 Series wing repaired!

With all the mechanical work on the E60 of late I would normally have relished a bit of body work to change the pace but, as the damage occurred at work and my company has several body shops at their disposal, I figured it was best to accept a free professional repair.

Not a bad job I must say. J Howarth's in Pensby, Wirral did the work. They are now officially part of Wallasey Fleet Hire and have recently renamed as such, but here they are on Yell - http://www.yell.com/biz/j-howarth-and-son-ltd-wirral-1163983/. I would have to second the comments in the Yell review. This is where our more specialist jobs are sent to at work and I trust the guys will do a clean, thorough repair and look after my car, so I waited a couple of weeks to get it done there and it was worth it. The E60 turned out to be quite an involved fix, as ever. The wings are alloy, not steel, so the car had to be taken somewhere after prep to have a blob of TIG weld put in the split [below] before being ground, filled, primed, painted and lacquered. Never the less, the car was ready for me by the following afternoon. Due to the extra work required they couldn't stretch to sorting the scuff on the back bumper after all, so I will have to break out the T-cut, but I am no position to complain - the wing is indeed like new.

Argh... Simo hit my wing!

Oh dear, some more bodywork already. Simo at work is not the world's most careful drive and yesterday he decided to park his Transit van next to the 5er and in doing so scraped down the M-sport bumper and dented the wing! Nightmare, but at least work are paying for the damage. It will be going into Howarth'a body shop in Pensby (Wirral) next week and they will be sorting the scuff that my mate did to the back bumper with his Volvo, so I guess that's the silver lining...

Repair in this post.

The Compact is up for sale!

With the E60 alive again and a new house project costing the earth, I can't justify keeping two Beemers on the road so the stalwart E36 Comp will have to go. It's been a great car for me while the 5er has ben off the road, so if the practicality doesn't draw buyers in, then the E46 Coupe arm-rest / centre-console sure will...

I've paid £15 to list it as a classified on eBay here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181669438132?ss

And also stuck it on Gumtree here - http://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw/2000-x-bmw-316i-compact-e36-/1100726371

It's your for £450 or near offer!

Advert text (being as honest as I can):

BMW 316i Compact. Titan silver, 164k miles. MOT until end of may, tax until end of April. Good solid reliable little car.
Blow from exhaust, nothing some putty can't fix and the passenger window does not open, but the glass just needs remounting to the regulator frame as it still works and can be heard going up and down without the glass. 
Brakes, chassis, suspension all good, as are all tyres. Bit tatty inside and out, but no major dents or damage at all, there are no rips or tears in the seats. It has the larger, later 1.9 engine from the E46 and is the later spec with front fog-lamps, traction-control and air-conditioning. It features the twin front arm-rest and centre-console from an E46 coupe.

E60: Replacing headlight-washer caps / hinges!

Despite how it looks, you can't replace them with the bumper on. This is best done while the whole front bumper is off the car, but thesis the quick and dirty method, of course.

1. Lift each cap out of the bumper on the hinge and remove them by depressing the clips at the back and sliding the lugs out of the hinge.

2. Remove the screw holding each corner of the bumper to the wing using a 10mm wrench.

3. Pop the corner out of the wing and bend it out enough to reach behind the headlight-washer cap.

4. Remove the hinge / lever by bending one side out and unhooking it from the outer lugs, the other side should then come away easily.

5. Remove the spring by squeezing the coils towards each other and unhooking them from the inner lugs.

6. Fit the new spring as a reverse of removal.

7. Lift the spring up forwards and fit the new hinge / lever as a reverse of removal, then release the spring ensuring it is tight against the flat-bar on the hinge.

8. Refit each corner of the bumper.

9. Lift the hinges / levers out of the bumper and fit the caps.