Reply With QuoteSo how much gas did it cost you?
3 Grand Master
i (heart) vines, uugh.....update--withholding judgement for now
here's the story. vines has had a 93 325i on ebay for a while, advertising a transmission compatible with either a 92 or 93 e36 or e34. aware of the fact that though all x25i cars in the us are all 4l30e's, but not completely interchangeable, i emailed him (twice, in all), asking if i needed to change ECUs or swap output flanges to use this on my 07/1991 production 525i. he said no in both instances. i bought it because it had the best warranty (6 months) and assumed that it was drop in. i could have gotten a unit that i would have had to get a new computer for and replace the output shaft in orlando for about $160 plus my labor to get it out of the car. i email him and ask him if it was possible to pick it up locally. he agrees.
here's where i f'd up.
i live in tallahassee, florida. about 300 miles away from bessemer, alabama, where vines is located. they wanted 125$ to ship it truck freight (plus the stipulation that it had to be shipped to a business address), plus $25 to put it on a pallet. i get the bright idea that, since gas is only $1.95 USD/gallon here, and since i have nothing better to do on friday, to drive up there and get it. aside from the fact that you have to drive through every bfe town in alabama to get there from my location, the bfe towns are all residential speed limit affairs (ie, 15 miles at 60mph, then 55-45-35-45-55 every 20 minutes or so). i didn't know this beforehand, but it could have been excused if things went smoothly.....
but they didn't.
after arriving in bessemer, i proceed to vines and tell them that i'm here to pick up the ebay transmission. after checking my id, the gentleman proceeds to roll out, horizontally, a bright shiny 4l30e. there is a bosch computer for something sitting on the counter, but i don't know for what. i look at the output shaft, and notice that it is about the diameter of a chocolate chip cookie...funny, considering the one on my 5 is the diameter of a 2 litre bottle. i tell the two gentlemen behind the counter that that shaft was way too small for my car. they, politely, mind you, tell me that david is out getting lunch, and that he'll be back in 30-45 minutes if i wanted to wait....
long story shorter, they blipped the output shaft nut for me with the impact, told me that my warranty would still be intact even if i had to swap my end out, and where the replacement ecu would end up going. i was over it, and drove away with it.
unable to make a dent in a 6 pack prior to driving 300 miles (not something i do....), i settle for a bunch of gas station cigars, and a fun filled 5-6 hour drive back, puffing away lest i get really pissed about what transpired.
i don't intend this as a starter post for a "jump on vines" thread, but this did happen today. nothing that i've said is an exaggeration or lie. i just needed to vent.
Last edited by ryan roopnarine; 11-23-2008 at 02:26 PM.
Major Contributor
So how much gas did it cost you?
BMW E34 1992 525i Touring
RIP Touring...probably never going to drive you again...
3 Grand Master
about 40 or 50. the worst case scenario, if gas was 4$ a gallon, was that i'd let them freight ship it. if i got it, like that, after paying 150+, i'd be a lot more pi$$ed off...Originally Posted by bad_manners_god
4 Grand Master
How much did they want for the transmission?
3 Grand Master
3 Grand Master
after checking the etk for my specifc car, the output shaft looks closer in diameter than i thought. i'm 250 miles away from the car, so i can't say for sure, but i'm going to withhold judgement for now. i'm not trying to slander vines unnecessarily. it is just that the guibo on there looks a decent bit smaller than mine.
4 Grand Master
Mmm... what year is your car? Thinking of manual tranny conversion?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-5...QQcmdZViewItem
3 Grand Master
You mean you were daft enough to drive 600 miles when you could have had it delivered for £75? You cant drive for a living. I'm surprised the output is different as I'm using a 325i box. I can imagine you are well pissed off because they dont match but why would the seller know that?
3 Grand Master
the seller is one of the largest, most prolific bmw strippers in america. after surveying their junkyard, the only thing that they have there is bmws, i didn't even see a mercedes, though they sell parts for them. i don't know if this will work for you, being in the uk (likely default to uk ebay) and all, but here is their ebay store:
http://stores.ebay.com/Vines-Automotive
they are like native americans and buffalos, if there is a part that attaches to a older bmw with at least 1 screw, they've taken the initiative to post an ebay auction with it at some point. he knows (or could find out in about 3 minutes from a tech or etk) if something will fit or not, hence the descriptions that he writes for his ebay auctions.
i was figuring that gas would get cheaper as i went towards alabama, but it stayed within 10 cents/us gallon of the prices where i live. i wouldn't have minded so much if the speed limit had stayed even remotely consistent on the roads that i had to travel to get there, but, like i said, the bulk of them were surface streets that went through the middle of the city center in several places.
ps....i see tiger's suggestion below. vines currently has 5 speed conversion kits, with all of the possible parts you'd need for about 800$. they'd have to know what fits and doesn't to sell something like that.
Last edited by ryan roopnarine; 11-23-2008 at 07:42 PM.
3 Grand Master
this whole thing is taxing on my mind at this point. if i was allowed to have another parking space where i live, i would have likely converted it already. i am just too far away from the vehicle to try something like that.
Posting Permissions
