Oceanside Auto Repair

What does it really cost to go out and buy a new car? We recently did a comparison between keeping your current BMW 3 series or going out and buying a new one. The results were surprising! First we’ll calculate maintenance and repairs on your current car. This is a 2006-2010 BMW 328i that you’ve owned for at least 5 years and has about 75,000 miles. So what is it going to take to maintain it for the next 5 years and another 75,000 miles? We went a little overboard quoting our maintenance and repairs to overestimate rather than under estimate. We included everything your car could possibly need between 75k and 150k (even some repairs that should have been taken care of before that). Here’s the summary with details below that – Total cost to maintain your current car for the next 5 years or 75K miles based on a 2010 328i – Total – $16916.21 Per Year – $3,383.24 Per Month – $281.94 Per Mile &ndash ... read more

Today we found the perfect example of a worn thrust arm bushing on a customer’s BMW. BMW thrust arm bushings are responsible for dampening most of the back and forth movement of the front wheels of your BMW. When they wear out they can make a clunking sounds as you hit the brakes and can also cause a vibration. We inspect these bushings at every service and prefer to replace them before they get this bad. The bushings we install are stronger and we guarantee them for life so you’ll never have to pay for them again. This same style bushing is also used in 335i, 325i, 328i, 528i, 550i, 545i, 525i, M5’s, and M3’s. Let us know if you’re having any issues with your steering wheel vibrating or shaking, or any kind of front end clunk – Chances are these bushings could be worn. #bmwthrustarmbushings #Steeringwheelvibration #trustyourmechanic

Last weekend a bunch of our friends and customers took their BMW’s out to the race track. For us that means a busy week of maintaining the race cars, ensuring they would all have a fun and successful weekend. During the week the shop was full of BMW M Coupes, BMW M3’s, BMW E30’s with newer bigger engines, and a few M5’s. By Friday they were all running beautifully, freshly washed, on the trailers and on their way to Buttonwillow Raceway where everyone had a very fun weekend of racing (in the rain!)

Where is the tipping point? How long does it take for the higher cost of purchasing a new vehicle to be justified by the growing expense of maintaining the current vehicle? Even if only the basic maintenance has been performed the vehicle should still be in good operation long after the odometer has reached the sixty or even one hundred thousand mile mark. We continually observe the odometers on vehicles we service to be in the two hundred thousand mile range or even higher. Many times we find vehicles in operation long after the owner was contemplating the sale, most of the time it is years after. Keep driving “old reliable” and you save not only due to lack of car payment also due to lower insurance premiums and registration fees, not to mention the tax and licensing associated with the new vehicle sale. *On an average to recuperate the purchase of a new vehicle, it will need to be kept for ten years. * *Not having to write a check for a car payment each month amounts to ... read more

Oil service­­ – This is not just a drain and refill, this is our chance to go over the vehicle that has been on the road for the past six months. In that amount of time there are a lot of things that can arise without any warning at all. Identifying with the possible failures before they occur is much less costly and avoids surprises, for example, engine damage due to overheating, tow trucks and the inconvenience of having the vehicle control your day. On top off verifying your vehicle is safe to drive we service it with the best products available from the fully synthetic european engine oil and original equipment oil filter we install. The engine oil is one of the most important fluids in your vehicle which is why we put in the best oil. The Europeans have a much higher standard for oil than the states do which is why we use it. Not only does the oil eliminate a lot of consumption concerns we see, it also does not break down as fast providing better lub ... read more