Yeah yeah yeah yeah! I know, I’m about to sound like a total snob right now talking about his foreign and expensive car but trust me when I say this is not my intention in the slightest sense. I simply would like to tell my story so if anyone else buys a BMW and has the same problem this will help.

So anyways this all started roughly about nine months ago when I purchased a German Beast known as a BMW 1997 740il Silver. I got the car at a ridiculous price and I still feel it was a steal. So within two weeks I noticed that the car started to overheat in a subtle yet noticeable manner. This is where the head ache begins.

So I took the car into a German Auto Repair (not to be confused with German Motors), who was allegedly a Certified Technician. The first thing this hack does is tell me that it was obviously the car’s thermostat. Well that was wrong $400 later, then this guy says no no no it is the car’s radiator coolant reservoir. So $600 later that was wrong. Now over a grand deep into this I started getting annoyed and talked to my brother to see if he could look at it. Understandably I was desperate because I was asking my brother who is a complete moron but is a little mechanically inclined, yet he is obviously no ‘certified technician’.

Four hours after I dropped off my BMW to him he calls me back and says hey your car is fixed. I couldn’t believe what he was telling me so I rushed back over there to see what he was talking about but low and behold the damn thing was fixed. Apparently BMW’s are extremely sensitive when it comes to coolant levels and bubbles in the line and the jerk I took the car to never once flushed the fluid.

So if you have a BMW you should either take your car to a close relative that knows very little about anything at all or you can take it to an ACTUAL Certified Technician who knows what they’re doing. Versus the guy who jipped me for a grand.

Stick a fork in it. The New Stratos is done. Reports kicking around the web have confirmed Ferrari has put the nix on any hopes of a production run. As you may recall, the New Stratos prototype was built off of the bones of a Ferrari F430. Pininfarina supplied the vehicle’s carbon fiber skin, and Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo was so taken with the project that he personally put down a hot lap in the wedge. That affection was fleeting, however. The minds behind the New Stratos have reportedly confirmed Ferrari doesn’t want to cooperate with any company that could build a direct competitor to its products.

Listen closely and you’ll hear the sound of our hearts breaking, bit by bit. There is some good news in all this gloom, however. The group behind the New Stratos has begun talks with Renault, and the French manufacturer may be keen to let the company craft a new take on the Alpine A110 Berlinette. Game on.

In a nail-biting finish, BMW has claimed the title of America’s most popular luxury automaker ahead of rival Mercedes-Benz.

The brand announced January 5 that US sales totaled 247,907 throughout 2011, beating Mercedes-Benz to the top spot by just 2,715 vehicles.

Both automakers saw demand surge 13 percent during 2011, figures showed, with healthy discounts and incentives offered on popular models such as the Mercedes-Benz C Class and BMW 3 Series to spur consumers on.

Both companies delayed releasing their December and final year results, opting to wait until all other automakers had reported and keeping analysts on tenterhooks — earlier estimates from Autodata incorrectly suggested that Mercedes-Benz had snatched the crown.

Lexus, the leader of the US luxury car market for the past 11 years, released its figures January 4, confirming a 13 percent fall in sales because of disruption following the Japanese earthquake — it shifted 198,552 models.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/bmw-outsells-mercedes-benz-top-u-s-luxury-car-brand-article-1.1001837#ixzz1iiZ4KDK0

First of all I would retighten all hose connectors. Typical leaks are under the black plastic cover drivers side where the 2 heater valves are and underneath the aux water pump (on E32). The aux hot water pump could have a crack at the bottom where the motor is inside and you will not see the small leak. Best is you use a small dentist mirror on a wire with a small LED flaslight to see underneath, also under the water pump.
Another leak can occur on the upper plastic connector on the right side (driver side LHD) at the radiator.
Also check the return hose to the expansion tank under the cap for the expansion tank. There should be a constant flow back into the expansion tank from the radiator.
You will notice that the aux water pump is out of order when the heat gets less when car runs in idle at a red signal or in traffic jam, when the RPM is low and the main water pump does not circulate so much coolant.