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Reliable BMW Mechanics on Hong Kong Island

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  1. #1

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    Cool Reliable BMW Mechanics on Hong Kong Island

    Hi all,

    I might have missed a similar thread, however I've not been able to pull up anything on BMWs on the search function here. Could anyone point me to a reliable BMW mechanic for an old BMW (2000s) located on Hong Kong Island? There seems to be a ton of workshops around however I've been warned by colleagues not to walk-in without a recommendation from someone you know ...

    You can PM me if this thread will be in breach of forum advertising rules...

    Many thanks in advance!


  2. #2

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    What work are you requiring on your beemer.


  3. #3

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    Thanks chuckster, I'm looking for help with general servicing, fixing electrical gremlins as and when they pop up. For example, I have a "low coolant" warning sign when the coolant pump turns on, even though I've just gotten the coolant tank replaced at a reputable BMW mechanic in the Hung Hom area - it's too inconvenient to back-and-forth across the harbour, leave the car there for an entire day to sort out the problem as I have previously done


  4. #4

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    Any luck with this? My coolant light just popped up. I'm also on hk side.


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by loser:
    Any luck with this? My coolant light just popped up. I'm also on hk side.
    have you guys checked your oil for coolant contamination, it’s possible the oil cooler has shit itself and it’s been drawing coolant into the sump. Anyway it’s a BMW they do a lot of stuff like this when they’re 10 years or older, so better have an experienced mechanic, because you will be seeing them often. Wait till the crankcase ventilation module and the trans plus the engine O ring seals all go too. All part of the fun of owning a used BMW. It might just be a sender electrical fault if there isn’t a milkyness to the engine oil.

    As to who can fix and maintain it at a reasonable price, then I’d recommend Fookie motors in Chai Wan as the owner worked for BMW Singapore.

    next would be HP cars as they fix a lot of expat used BMWs and know what goes wrong with them.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    have you guys checked your oil for coolant contamination, it’s possible the oil cooler has shit itself and it’s been drawing coolant into the sump. Anyway it’s a BMW they do a lot of stuff like this when they’re 10 years or older, so better have an experienced mechanic, because you will be seeing them often. Wait till the crankcase ventilation module and the trans plus the engine O ring seals all go too. All part of the fun of owning a used BMW. It might just be a sender electrical fault if there isn’t a milkyness to the engine oil.

    As to who can fix and maintain it at a reasonable price, then I’d recommend Fookie motors in Chai Wan as the owner worked for BMW Singapore.

    next would be HP cars as they fix a lot of expat used BMWs and know what goes wrong with them.
    another thing, if there are no signs of an obvious coolant leak, another thing could be the early development stages of a ruptured head gasket if it isn’t a faulty sender unit. Any signs of rats having a good chew on any any cabling in the engine bay? I’ve had rats chew on stuff under the bonnet in Hong Kong. Always good to let off a couple of insect Fumigation poison bombs resting inside the engine bay with the Hood down and car cover pulled over killing everything that might have made a home in there. Obviously you do this outside when you do.

  7. #7

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    Not sure if it just needed a top up. I poured some premixed coolant. Went for a drive -20kms or so. Let the car cool down for 2 hours, popped the hood and checked the coolant indicator and it seems like the coolant level is holding steady. I took a photo to make sure.

    Thanks for the comments, @Skyhook

    Skyhook likes this.

  8. #8

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    Thanks for the recommendation mate! I'll give them a call and keep you guys posted!


  9. #9

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    There are quite a few car repair shops at Tai Hang (HK Island, south of Victoria Park, nested in the valley below Jardine's Lookout), most of them are experienced at handling BMW issues, since the brand is popular in HK and parts are easy to get from suppliers, unlike less common brands.


  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by Coolboy:
    There are quite a few car repair shops at Tai Hang (HK Island, south of Victoria Park, nested in the valley below Jardine's Lookout), most of them are experienced at handling BMW issues, since the brand is popular in HK and parts are easy to get from suppliers, unlike less common brands.
    Yep that's all fine and dandy, but do they know how to use a professional scan tool properly and know how to isolate and test for electrical/electronic faults, without just replacing every part that came up on the diagnostic report ? Most don't !

    I diagnosed a mates mk 6 VW Golf, with my professional scan tool, Sunday 2 weeks ago and came up with a few fault codes 5 in total that included throttle position sensor, ECM, ABS, Map/MAF low air pressure and an Evap Purge valve fault. After a bit of process testing with a multi meter and doing a live channel test of the ABS, I gradually whittled down the main culprits of the faults that were generating an on dash engine light and a sporadic indication of the traction control light coming on ie deactivation of and the car would drive like a pig when faced with any decent incline .

    Last Saturday I replaced the Manifold Air Pressure Sensor and the Evap Purge Control Solenoid, reset the ECU killing off the old fault codes and then took the car for a test drive, and happy to report that the car is running back to normal. Total parts cost were $65aud for the EVAP Purge valve solenoid and $130aud for the MAP sensor, which were both original made in Germany Bosch parts.

    VW and especially i-Drive era BMW's need folks working on them that know how to electrically test components and ' NOT ' just replace everything that the diagnostic got fault codes for, as some components affect a number of other systems in the car and will cause them to fault too. The net result is to only replace the main defective part that caused the other faults, which is environmentally/financially a lot more favourable than replacing EVERYTHING in the code report !

    Had we just replaced everything that had a code on the diagnostic we would have had to replace:

    The Throttle Position sensor
    The Abs Wheel Sensors
    The ECM
    on top of the actually faulty Purge Valve control solenoid and Map Sensor.

    So instead of a reasonable $200aud solution, it would have been considerably more expensive, replacing perfectly functional parts that didn't even need replacing!

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