2004_blue_zhp
11-25-2011, 08:01 AM
Guys,
I've had my ZHP 8 months now, and it's the first car I've owned. As I approach the 1y mark, I want to take care of a few things that have been bothering me, and wanted to check in before doing anything stupid or wasting money.
1) I've got the whistle described in this thread (http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?2594-Whistle-at-low-throttle/): I gather the solution will be to throw some new intake boots (both upper and lower) at the problem. Not so bad for $40. I am a complete mechanical novice, have no tools on hand and live in the middle of NYC (so no space to work). How much would it cost to have the existing boots checked and (if I buy the parts) replaced? I assume I should go to an Indy rather than the dealer for this. Can anyone recommend someone who knows our cars well in the area?
2) My idle is a bit "unstable". I.e. at idle, the tach will wander up or down a couple hundred RPM. Usually settles in somewhere after a minute or so...but it's annoying. Reading up, this sound like I just need to clean my ICV. But, as I said above, I'm really not comfortable DIY'ing this stuff. If I go to an Indy, how much do you think they'd charge to take care of this? Again, any recommendations in the NYC area for someone who would know what they're doing?
3) I've got a scrape on one of my trim pieces, and it's slightly bent. Would like to buy a new one and get it painted. It's part number 3 here (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BD53&mospid=47713&btnr=51_3686&hg=51&fg=20). I've never interacted with a body shop before. My car is Mystic Blue. I assume a good shop would have OEM BMW paint, rather than just trying to match the color, right? How much should it cost to either respray my piece or spray a new primed one. BMW charges $27 for the primed part or $81 for the painted part. Is $54 fair to pain 12 inches of plastic? Also, to install the new part will I need to order any of the accessory clips, etc? As above, any suggestions for a good shop near NYC for this?
Lastly, a general question: when I have someone address the first two things above (whistle/intake boot replacement and ICV cleaning) what else should I ask them to look for? Are there certain things that would make sense for me to ask them to look at "while they're in there"? For example, I keep seeing things about addressing DISA issues when under the hood for other issues. Similarly, anything that I should expect a less-than-awesome mechanic to recommend that is obviously nonsense?
Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.
I've had my ZHP 8 months now, and it's the first car I've owned. As I approach the 1y mark, I want to take care of a few things that have been bothering me, and wanted to check in before doing anything stupid or wasting money.
1) I've got the whistle described in this thread (http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?2594-Whistle-at-low-throttle/): I gather the solution will be to throw some new intake boots (both upper and lower) at the problem. Not so bad for $40. I am a complete mechanical novice, have no tools on hand and live in the middle of NYC (so no space to work). How much would it cost to have the existing boots checked and (if I buy the parts) replaced? I assume I should go to an Indy rather than the dealer for this. Can anyone recommend someone who knows our cars well in the area?
2) My idle is a bit "unstable". I.e. at idle, the tach will wander up or down a couple hundred RPM. Usually settles in somewhere after a minute or so...but it's annoying. Reading up, this sound like I just need to clean my ICV. But, as I said above, I'm really not comfortable DIY'ing this stuff. If I go to an Indy, how much do you think they'd charge to take care of this? Again, any recommendations in the NYC area for someone who would know what they're doing?
3) I've got a scrape on one of my trim pieces, and it's slightly bent. Would like to buy a new one and get it painted. It's part number 3 here (http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BD53&mospid=47713&btnr=51_3686&hg=51&fg=20). I've never interacted with a body shop before. My car is Mystic Blue. I assume a good shop would have OEM BMW paint, rather than just trying to match the color, right? How much should it cost to either respray my piece or spray a new primed one. BMW charges $27 for the primed part or $81 for the painted part. Is $54 fair to pain 12 inches of plastic? Also, to install the new part will I need to order any of the accessory clips, etc? As above, any suggestions for a good shop near NYC for this?
Lastly, a general question: when I have someone address the first two things above (whistle/intake boot replacement and ICV cleaning) what else should I ask them to look for? Are there certain things that would make sense for me to ask them to look at "while they're in there"? For example, I keep seeing things about addressing DISA issues when under the hood for other issues. Similarly, anything that I should expect a less-than-awesome mechanic to recommend that is obviously nonsense?
Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.