Tag Archives: car care

Car Care

Why You Should Wrap Your BMW

We all love our BMW’s, but if you’re using yours as your daily driver, it can be difficult or even impossible to protect your paint job from the dings and scratches that come with driving down nearly every road in the world. One rock getting whipped up by the tire of a passing car can leave you with scratches and chips in your paint, no matter how careful you are behind the wheel.

One way to protect your paint job is to wrap your BMW. Why should you consider wrapping your BMW, and what will it do for your car in the long run?

What Are Car Wraps?

First, what does wrapping your car even mean?

Car wraps put a cover of formable ‘cast’ vinyl on top of your car’s paint job. A full wrap completely covers your car’s clear coat, protecting it from the elements. These wraps can last for up to 10 years — longer if your car isn’t parked in the sun — and are designed to fit over and around the curves and edges of the vehicle.

They’re frequently used for vehicle advertising — it turns the entire car into a billboard for the business that it’s representing — but solid-color ones can be a great option for protecting your BMW or any other vehicle you own.

Benefits of Car Wraps

What are the benefits of wrapping your car?

First, it can give your BMW a one-of-a-kind look. You’re not limited by the paints available for your particular model, or even the paints available on the market. You can create a look that’s completely you — whether that means you want a solid color, something flashy or to design your car to look like a Ninja Turtle…the possibilities are endless!

These wraps can also help to improve the resale value of your car. The cover creates a barrier between your paint job and the elements and can be removed without damaging the paint when you’re ready to sell the car. If you’re leasing your car, you can still use the wrap to change its color because it doesn’t violate your lease like painting does.

The benefits don’t stop there. Wraps can also let you enjoy the sleek look of a matte paint job without worrying about the paint chipping or getting damaged — matte paint jobs tend to chip because they don’t have a clear coat to protect them. And if you have minor damage or scratches on your car, a wrap can also be a great tool to hide those little nicks and prevent them from becoming a larger problem.

Whether you’re driving a BMW or an old beater, a wrap can be a great way to protect your investment while making it look awesome at the same time. Vinyl wraps are for more than just advertisements now — they can be a cost-effective way to protect your BMW’s paint job that can be removed at any time. If you’re the kind of person who would enjoy switching cars as often as you buy new shoes, you can do just that — keep the car and just change the wrap!

Car Care

How to Stay Safe Working on Your BMW

We all love working on our cars, especially if you’ve got something like a classic BMW in your garage. While it can be a great hobby that saves you a lot of money in the long run, it is important to make sure you’re staying safe while working on your car.

Have Somewhere to Work

The last thing you want is to be laying under your BMW working on something, only to have someone run over your feet because you’re trying to repair your car on the side of the road or in your driveway. Before you loosen your first nut, make sure you have a safe place to work on your car. A garage or carport is ideal, but if that isn’t an option, make sure you block off your driveway to keep people from accidentally running you over or knocking your car off the jack stands.

Invest in Jack Stands

Speaking of jack stands, don’t ever get under your car if it’s just up on a jack. Even putting it up on concrete blocks isn’t enough. If you’re going to work on your car, you need to invest in a good set of jack stands that are rated for your car’s weight. These will keep your vehicle safely off the ground, and off of you, while you’re working. Unless you want your head to look like a watermelon that someone dropped on concrete — which is what will happen if a car falls on it — don’t skimp on your jack stands.

Protect Your Hearing

Engines are loud — especially if you’re under them while they’re running. Whether you’re looking for a leak or are checking your wiring harness, one thing you should definitely protect is your hearing with some earplugs. Inside a passenger car, you don’t hear much of your car’s engine noise because of sound-dampening technology that is worked into the frame, but under the hood, the engine can generate between 70 and 100 decibels of noise. Extended exposure can result in serious hearing damage, so invest in some good earplugs.

Ditch the Butts

Smoking is a nasty habit, but it can be a fatal one if you do it while you’re working on your BMW. It doesn’t take much to ignite gas fumes, turning your car — and possibly your face — into a fireball. If you have to smoke while you’re working on your car, walk away, smoke your cigarette and wait until you’re finished before you head back to work.

Of course, you can try to quit smoking. Even vaping around gasoline fumes isn’t a good idea, because the hot coil that creates your vape cloud could also ignite the fumes.

Wait for Cooldown

For the love of whatever you deem holy, wait until your car cools down before working on it — unless you really want a radiator cap embedded in the ceiling of your garage. Your engine can reach temperatures upwards of 230 degrees, and your cooling system is under pressure until the car cools off. Water only has to be 150 degrees to cause third-degree burns.

In addition to the chance of burns, your car’s radiator fans will keep spinning to help the engine cool down even after you’ve shut it off. If you absolutely have to work on a hot car, take precautions. Kevlar gloves can help protect your skin, and pulling the relay for the radiator fans can keep your fingers attached to your hands.

Don’t let this discourage you from working on your car. Just be safe so you can enjoy this fantastic hobby without ending up in the emergency room.

Car Care, DIY

Easy Repairs You Can Do on Your Own BMW

Having a BMW is awesome, but it can be costly to maintain if you take it to the shop or the dealership. Luckily, there are plenty of easy repairs you can do on your own. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few things you can do in your own garage or driveway to keep your BMW running smoothly.

First, Have Somewhere to Work

The first thing you need to do is make sure you have somewhere to safely work on your car. If you have an attached garage, that will be ideal, but if you’re like most of us, your garage is probably a catch-all for everything you don’t have space for in the rest of your home. Before you get started working on your car, take some time to sort through your junk and organize your garage. Not only does this give you somewhere to keep your car while you’re working, but it also makes your work area safer and less cluttered, too.

Change Your Oil

Changing your oil is one of the most straightforward repairs you can do — and it can save you a lot of money in the long run. You need:

  • Fresh oil – Check your owner’s manual for the correct oil.
  • A new oil filter.
  • Tools – A wrench or socket to remove the drain plug and an oil filter wrench.
  • An oil catch pan for your old oil.

Jack the car up and place it on jack stands. Never work under a car that’s only up on a jack. Locate the oil pan and position your catch basin under it. Remove the drain plug and let the old oil drain out. Set the old oil aside and replace the drain plug.

Use the oil filter wrench and loosen the old oil filter. Remove and discard it. Put a little bit of fresh oil on the gasket on your new oil filter and screw it into place — not too tight, though. You don’t want to use the filter wrench to tighten it. Then, refill your oil to manufacturer’s specs, check for leaks and you’re done.

Replace Your Drive Belt

A broken drive belt can leave you stranded. For cars that use serpentine belts, it runs your alternator, your power steering, your air conditioner and your water pump. Replacing them is simple, though. You’ll need:

  • A replacement belt.
  • Tools – A socket wrench with a long handle or breaker bar.
  • Belt map – Usually located on a sticker under your hood or in your owner’s manual

Remove the broken drive belt. Study your belt map and locate all of your pullies. Thread the belt through the pullies as detailed on the belt map until you reach the belt tensioner. Use your socket wrench and breaker bar to pull the belt tensioner back until you can place the belt over the tensioner, then slowly release it to place tension on the belt. Done!

Replace Your Battery

This can be a little trickier, depending on where your battery is located. Some BMWs have their batteries in the trunk or under the back seat. The only difference between these and batteries under the hood, though, is that these have a vent that needs to be placed correctly.

You will need:

  • A replacement battery.
  • Tools – Open-ended wrenches or sockets.
  • A car memory keeper

First, plug in your memory keeper. This helps to keep a charge in your car’s systems to prevent problems with the engine’s computer — as a bonus, it also keeps you from losing your pre-set radio stations! It isn’t required for all cars, but it is recommended.

Once you’ve located your battery, remove your terminals — negative first, then positive. Then loosen and remove your battery hold-down. Finally, remove the battery itself, replace it with the new battery and reattach your terminals in reverse order. Unplug the memory keeper, and you’re good to go.

Taking care of your BMW is easy if you have the right tools and plenty of space to work. Take some time to organize your garage and pick up a few tools, and you’ll be turning wrenches in no time.