Customer Reviews

BMW 5 Series (E34) Service Manual: 1989-1995

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book does not baby feed you BUT IF YOU USE IT AND FIX COMPONENTS IN YOUR CAR BY YOURSELF YOU WILL SAVE A BUNDLE!!
To make a long story short, I had 4 problems with my car, wouldn't start half the time, heater would only do maximum air push or nothing (no 1,2, or 3), back window got stuck half way, belt buckle cracked.
A supposed import specialist charged $68 just to tell me that the battery needs to be changed, and the heater's blower resistor had to be replaced. Oh and that it would cost $240 for the battery (part $100, labor $140!), resistor $370 (part $280, labor $90), belt $180 ($100 part, $80 labor).

Basically they were going to take me for a ride for a bill over $800!!! I finally set THAT IS IT! I stomached the $55 bill for a used copy of this book. AND after working on the car for a few hours a day for 3 days I REPAIRED EVERYTHING ALL BY MYSELF!

The parts purchased on my own (battery $105, resistor $22 from BMW itself (NOT $280 by a long shot!), and belt used for $60) came to only $180! I saved over $500 BUCKS in BS labor charges!!
This book paid for itself 10 fold within days of getting it! I better diagnosed my car with this book than that rip off import service station did with my $68!

The book does not really baby you, so you have to read it carefully and get a feel for your car yourself. But I tell you once you start fixing all these problems which are exaggerated by the standard con - mechanic for 1/4 the cost adn putting in the parts yourself, you can really get impowered.

I can tell you one thing I dont think I will ever use a mechanic again. Although I might call one after doing my next fix it job to see what a rip off they really are! HAHA

All I can say is get the book. If you want the repair done right you have to do it yourself. Ultimately it is cheaper, faster and easier. ( no BS waits for your car to come back, with a BS phone call stating the seriousness of the supposed malady! Your car still waiting in their shop with them hoping you can be suckered into fixing your car under their rip off conditions!)

I highly recommend the book. If you work through it and use it as you are fixing your car, you are definitely going to save big money!

The book is expensive BUT IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY TOO!

Be wary of these reviews, as not all of them are about thisbook. Amazon have made a mistake and the reviews shown here have beencombined with the ones for the book 'BMW 5 Series: Service Manual,1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988: 528e, 533i, 535i, 535is'. In the review from Canada, dated Oct 27 1998, Amazon state that it is from the 'Paperback edition'. In fact the book on the 1982-1988 cars concerns the E28 model 5 Series whereas the book on the 1989-1995 cars is about the E34 model 5 Series. They are completely separate books, not just different editions of the same book. END tr[17~

Pretty good with some repairs, but less than telling on others. Does not cover the M60 engine very well and it need more photos to accurately illustrate proceedures.

Erroneous info regarding the thermostat, gasket, and housing re-assembly.

No other manual is available so this is the best we have.

I have used this manual to keep my 95 525i running for several years. It is a pretty good manual but I find a few things lacking.

When it comes to troubleshooting there are no explanations of how the systems work. For example, my car has had a mysterious problem restarting after the engine has run for 30 seconds and is then turned off. There is no explanation of all the stuff that needs to be just right before the engine will start. I am not looking for the standard fuel, spark, air stuff. I want details such as which computer sensors need input, which relays need to operate and where do their signals come from, etc.

Also, the wiring diagrams are split among many pages and finding any specific thing you're looking for often requires looking at 3 or 4 pages of the diagrams to get the complete picture. The wiring diagrams show all the ground points, but there are no indications where those points are physically located in the car.

The take-apart and reassembly procedures are very good, and usually the photos show enough detail to find and understand what they are telling you. When nuts/bolts need to be torqued, the torque specs are right there.

Overall it's a good manual.

Bentley did it again.. As a avid fix it guy, I find this book very helpful in situation where you want to fix simple things and or understand how the component works.. Simply go to the index and look for the part and there you go.... info at the palm of your hands.. This book gives all the info you need to start fixing your 5 series. I myself have a 1990 525i and this book help me fix some of the things that requires step-by-step guidance. I recommened this book for fixit yourself car guys out there.

Jeff

If you do your own mechanic work, this book is a must. We needed to replace the heater blower fan motor and couldn't even find it. This book answered all our questions and provided step-by-step instructions for the work. Originally we thought the price was a bit high compared to books available from parts stores, but after glancing through it realized this book is worth every penny. Thank you Book Rack for making this title available.

Bentley has a solution to every problem your car could ever have, and then it tells you step by step how to solve it.

I must say that although it took longer than was expected to arrive, once I received the manual, it was worth the wait.

This book covers everything one would need to know about items that either the novice (like myself) or mechanic would like to fix.

The pictures, the expanations are done extremely well, and I have followed them and fixed items that I thought were going to cost me and arm and a leg at BMW......

Get this book if you have any mechanical ability and prepare yourself for saving money!!!!

PS: Some of the things I have fixed myself are ones that my dealership said would have to be replaced, wrong..... the only thing that had to be replaced were bulbs at a cost of less than $3.00, instead of the entire module costing $250.00.

In these days, buying a car is like buying a computer software. You pay for the right to use it. And if something goes wrong, you get a minimun off help. This book can help you and save a lot off money, not having to go to the shop for every little thing. But still it's not complett. But still very usefull. Why spend $50 on the shop just to CHECK tho oil level in the transmission then you can do it yourself, with some help from the book.

i use the book for the e32 m60 built 1992 and find it the best book for the 7 series on the market.lots of hints even for the german owners, especially on the diagnostics, which is not available for the bmw s in germany.even dissmantling the m60 v8 which i never did before did not show any problems. a bit more on the electronocs in the car would be good, like the pdc system or the theft control and board computers