In your opinion, what is the single best <$100 repair / i

[RetiredDoc]

I can think of a bunch of great things I've done for under $100, but replacing all the fuel hoses gave me the best combination of personal satisfaction and peace of mind. Three meters of BMW fuel hose, and all new BMW hose clamps cost $40.96.

[ddstl]

Front and rear chrome windshield molding--$35 . Everyone should do it. Buy two fronts and cut--save a few bucks.

[RonW]

I don't know what the full subject line of your post was, so I'll assume the word "upgrade" is in there somewhere...

-JC Whitney keyless (IC Dynamics 2RTA, with 3-button fobs). I rigged it so the trunk button turns on the overhead light. Very handy in the rain. The instructions even got the wire color right. Long range, and the fob battery lasts a LONG time. About $40.

-Power windows work when car off, if a door is open. This handy feature is semi-built-in on most e28s. All you need to do is fish around under the carpet for a couple of wires, do a little crimping, and put a relay in an existing socket.

-Resurrected large central vent that BMW disabled from mid '86 on. Parts are next to nothing from a junkyard. Super easy.

-Remote mounted the NiCd batteries for the SI lights. Now if they ever fail again, I can replace them in a few minutes.

-Fumoto Engine Oil Drain Valve F109N and Adapter ADP109. The adapter is necessary for the 535i oil pan. I got a suction oil changer with a tube that fits over the nipple on the F109N (the "N" indicates it has the nipple). This device is made of brass, so be gentle installing it or you WILL strip the threads. If you don't use a suction device, it takes a LONG time for the oil to drain out.

-Removed 3 screws from top of A/C vent, for easy servicing. This disconnects the A/C vent from the radio & vent control surround. Now you can remove that upper surround without also removing the parking brake and A/C vent covers.

-OBC display backlight replaced with LEDs. They'll never burn out again.

-Chime unit sounds if lights are on and driver's door is open. This has saved my battery many, many times. I start my morning commute in the dark, and if I arrive after the sun comes up, I'll forget about the lights.

-Window washer tee replaced by a brass unit assembled by Shawn Doughtie. No more washer fluid all over my engine when BMW's cheap part fails again.

-Wooden shift knob replaced the old destroyed leather one. The BMW dealer had no idea what car it was for, so they sold it to me cheap.

-AGLA wheel cover, self-installed using my own stitch pattern. Actually this was pretty expensive, but the leather feels better than stock, and my stitch pattern doesn't leave a lot of thread touching your fingers, like the OEM pattern.

[Edited 8/24/2008 to enable BBCode]

[Mark 88/M5 Houston]

Ron W. A question sir, do you have the details on the power window setup you mentioned above?

[Threeshifter]

A new trunk seal for about 65$ is probably one of the best low cost repairs. I can sleep at night knowing that the seal will be keeping that foul water out.

[RonW]

Originally posted by Mark 88/M5 Houston
Ron W. A question sir, do you have the details on the power window setup you mentioned above?

Most of what you need is already in place- I guess this was a feature available in Europe but not the US.

There's an empty relay socket on the firewall above the driver's kick panel. It has a red wire that goes to two terminals, two brown & violet wires that go to one terminal, and two green & red wires that go to one terminal.

Here's all you need to do:
-Find the other ends of the brown & violet wires, splice one into the brown & violet wire at one of the door jamb switches, and tie off the other one so it can't short against anything. I attached it to the unused trunk lock wire on my keyless unit, so the trunk button turns on the interior lights. On my car, one of the floating brown & violet wires was tucked below the passenger's footwell speaker. The other was under the driver's footwell carpet, near that speaker- I think it should've been tucked into the speaker compartment, but it wasn't. For splicing, I used some quick slices you can find at Radio Shack or auto parts stores.
-Put a regular relay (like the power window relay) into the socket.

You're done! When you open a door, you should be able to adjust the windows. In Europe, you had to open either of the two front doors, but on U.S. cars you should be able to use any door. If you have illuminated switches, they should turn on when you open the door.

PS- The sunroof is NOT on the same circuit- you still have to start the car to use that.

Shifty gets it working.

[Edited 8/24/2008 to enable BBCode]

[Steve Haygood]

nice info....had that feature on my 79 635 and it was nice to have

[Manuel]

There are several repairs under a $100 but my favorite was the power headrest one. Price: couple of pieces from a wire hanger for both headrests.

[RonW]

Originally posted by Manuel
There are several repairs under a $100 but my favorite was the power headrest one. Price: couple of pieces from a wire hanger for both headrests.

My last post was upgrades. In the repair department, here's what I can remember:
-The headrest thing, using a coat hanger, as you did.
-Some other power seat motors.
-Fixed my instrument cluster circuit board with a soldering iron, and got my SI lights, tach, and fuel economy gauge working.
-Rebuilt the heater valve, as many have done.
-Repaired the temperature controller. This involved getting a new transistor from Radio Shack and bending the legs around on it to replace the one that exploded.
-Modified my radio so it was immune to resetting when I hit the brake.
-Replaced all the little light bulbs in the dash.
-Fixed my trunk lock with loads of penetrating lubricant. It's been working for 13 years since then. What did the original owner do to it in six years to screw it up?
-Fixed the odometer (broken gears).
-Completed the toolkit- got a blue rag from the dealer at the last minute.

[Edited 8/24/2008 to enable BBCode]

[RetiredDoc]

As long as we're going beyond one repair / upgrade / modification (but still less than $100 cost for each) I feel compelled to list the installation of new door buffers for less than $30, which stopped the creaking and squeaking of all four doors. That was a really inexpensive repair for maximum gain, and took all of thirty minutes.

Also the installation of new front window channel seals, which stopped most of the wind noise. A two hour project with a bit less than $100 in parts.

[a]

a hunnerd dollars? gooood Lawd, thas a lotta money Ive got 3 etas. 2 parts cars were well worth the outlay. I just harvested a left motor mount for the Borman6 today. Due to the 82 being very picked over already, It took less than 10 minutes to take it off. I would have spent more time ordering one on line. This summer I snagged an 85 for 100$ that was in good working order until the timing belt broke. I reaped a harvest of recent parts. Brakes, front end parts,, tires and many other parts have been put to use keeping the fleet roadworthy. I stashed the harvest in my shed and hauled the rest away. Another worth while and free upgrade is swapping the front seats . I used this as an opportunity to get the headrests going. Short money is needed to repair/upgrade the fuse box with an auxilliary ACO blade fuse block . My job was ugly compared to Robert in LA's job. But I moved the fuses with melted plastic and any other 25 amp circuits to ACOs. No fusebox troubles in 3 yrs since doing this. Last but prolly most important is R+Ring fuel lines if you smell gas.

[Aaron from Aus]

Well as im not sure what cataegory we have here..i will give you 3:

1/ Repair
Door Rubbber Buffers and door adjustment is quite satisfying if you have suffered this problem.
Practcally nothing..cam from parts car.)

2/Modification
Home made strut brace. Some Good Key whole saws, a Bench drill, Cutting oil..and the RIGHT measurements...Very satisfying. very close to $100 for the Key holes saws

3/ Looks
Chrome window surround...Plus., removing front plastic grilles, bonnet grilles, Wipers and spraying with black enamel about $35

[C.R. Krieger]

Originally posted by RetiredDocI can think of a bunch of great things I've done for under $100, but replacing all the fuel hoses gave me the best combination of personal satisfaction and peace of mind. Three meters of BMW fuel hose, and all new BMW hose clamps cost $40.96.

Well, fixing those power headrest cables for nothin' is one of my own favorites, but I assume, since you're talking $100, you mean for us to spend money on somethin'. In my book, that comes down to:

Door buffers. Splurge and buy all four of 'em at once. If you have to pay for shipping from BDPP, it might run you over $5.

[Spark]

Lets see..

Clays extra brake light trick / $10.00

Functional center vent / $25.00

New trunk gasket / $64.95

All for under $100.00
:p