FWIW, the rest of the car looks great, Chris. Best of luck reaching a resolution.
E28 Alpina B7 Turbo/1 #0083
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Das_Prachtstrasse
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Adam W in MN
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DangerWillRbnsn
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JeepJockey
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Damn, sorry you are having this trouble. Seems to be a pretty common scenario though with body shops. I had the same issues. Three attempts to install the glass and finally I just accepted it ( obviously with the money you have spent and the car that is involved that is not an option). Hell the second glass people dropped the windshield on my fender, so I had to send it back to the body shop. The third time they insisted that I did not order the correct pieces and they needed to get "BMW" stuff to make it fit correctly. I let them order all new stuff another 500 dollars and it still didn't fit correct. Sucks.wkohler wrote:He wants to order a new rear seal from the dealer and try the rear again.
So...
The car was scheduled to come home on Saturday. Couple things ended up preventing that. First, the PDR guy didn't work weekends and with everything going on, Mike forgot to get him in earlier. Then, he decided he wanted to order a rear window seal and the corners and have the rear window done. Essentially, using the rope method got it in without issues, but all the damage had been done before that. I was at the point I really didn't care, as I knew I'd end up redoing it since I was sure he wouldn't buy every piece of trim. He was going to call the dealer and order the parts before they closed. He said to figure on Monday.
Knowing the likelihood that the seal would be in by Monday, I figured it was an impossibility, but I didn't tell him that.
Sunday, I talked with a member about the situation and he figures that since the car will eventually come out California way that I should use his guy. He's been doing it forever and he was really happy, so I figured instead of wasting time or money gambling, why not go for the sure bet. I decided to call Mike on Monday and let him off the hook on the window.
Monday, I called right away in the morning and he basically insisted to do it since he already ordered the seal (not the point, as I will gladly take whatever he ordered). I said fine. Do whatever makes the most sense to you, but just know I'm trying to not be a pain in the ass. Later Monday, Mike called. Turns out the PDR guy had to do two other routes in addition to his because more than one person apparently had some bad guacamole or something on Sunday. Seals were scheduled to arrive Tuesday morning. He ran it by the glass guy and he was fine with it, I guess.
Tuesday, the seals didn't show until the afternoon, so he couldn't get the window guy over. He asked if he could take me up on the offer and I was fine with it. Car would be ready sometime Wednesday morning and he'd give me a call.
This morning, Mike called and gave me the rundown. They had a smaller job to deliver out to Mesa, then get some lunch, and then he'd be back. At that point, he'd call the tow guy (different person than brought the car over). Get the tow ordered and then he'd call again. Around 1:30 or so, he called and said it would be an hour or so (I'm 30 min away). I said I'd start heading that way and would be there about 2:30 or so, but I have plenty to do between now and then, so call when I have 30 min. 30 min later, he called and said the guy was there. Damn. Guess I'll be picking up my wheel bolts, go to the lab, etc later.
I showed up and the car was loaded.
Mike thought the front window was fine, so he figured I should pay for that installation ($100). I completely disagreed but since he did spend an extra $100 on another kit to paint the mirrors and other black accents on the car and didn't charge for that, I decided in my own mind that the $100 went toward that instead. He gave me the seal and the corner pieces he ordered (which cost him $200 - those damn corners are $20 ea now - I didn't pay anywhere near that a couple years ago). I loaded up the touring with that stuff and it was time to head to Phoenix. I told the driver (Inrique - with an "I," yes) not to unload the car until I got there as there was a car in the garage where this needed to go.
Talked to Mike for a couple more minutes as I made sure he was taken care of and he gave me everything he figured was mine. He had pointed out a couple spots on the car that will get attention after I assemble it. He must have said ten times that anything that happens while I put it together will be taken care of and I'll get the leftover paint when it's done. God forbid. God forbid what? I send you another polaris BMW? Hahaha.
I got super screwed traffic-wise. I had to go a different way because two people forgot how to drive and a third hit them at the next intersection south of the shop, so I had to go north. I showed up about 5 minutes after Inrique and did he listen? Nope. Car in the driveway, facing the wrong way. Fine. I'll deal with it. Whatever. How much? $116.50? Tow-4-Less my ass. Turns out he's the same guy that brought my E28 M535i from Mesa where I bought it sans silindur head. So, no $1 bills either for a guy who charges a fee that requires a $1 and two quarters. Plater requires exact change. Great. Now I have to go to the bank.
No photos, but I moved the Alpina to the edge of the driveway, pulled the 533 on the street, moved the M535i out of the garage, around the Alpina and pushed the Alpina into the garage backwards. Moved the other cars in and closed the door. I had errands to run.
Came home and since this update would suck with just three photos, I took these:
I need to take some of the car in the sun. I hadn't seen it in the sun until today and all I can say is it's stunning. Sure, it's not a $20k job, but it looks damn good so far. Mike had the car since November 7th, but not much was done until December, really. I was happy to be down a car. Now I've got eight here.
As I have time to work on it, I'll post more updates. I've already put a couple of little pieces on (the trunk lock and the rubber bumper for the fuel door). Hope to get the fuel tanks in soon and be able to fire it up again. I need to turn it around. I've got a huge order coming of all the parts that are required to install all the parts I've got. My focus with these was to buy all the big stuff I could afford to buy before it went NLA or at least while I could get it here in the US.
The car was scheduled to come home on Saturday. Couple things ended up preventing that. First, the PDR guy didn't work weekends and with everything going on, Mike forgot to get him in earlier. Then, he decided he wanted to order a rear window seal and the corners and have the rear window done. Essentially, using the rope method got it in without issues, but all the damage had been done before that. I was at the point I really didn't care, as I knew I'd end up redoing it since I was sure he wouldn't buy every piece of trim. He was going to call the dealer and order the parts before they closed. He said to figure on Monday.
Knowing the likelihood that the seal would be in by Monday, I figured it was an impossibility, but I didn't tell him that.
Sunday, I talked with a member about the situation and he figures that since the car will eventually come out California way that I should use his guy. He's been doing it forever and he was really happy, so I figured instead of wasting time or money gambling, why not go for the sure bet. I decided to call Mike on Monday and let him off the hook on the window.
Monday, I called right away in the morning and he basically insisted to do it since he already ordered the seal (not the point, as I will gladly take whatever he ordered). I said fine. Do whatever makes the most sense to you, but just know I'm trying to not be a pain in the ass. Later Monday, Mike called. Turns out the PDR guy had to do two other routes in addition to his because more than one person apparently had some bad guacamole or something on Sunday. Seals were scheduled to arrive Tuesday morning. He ran it by the glass guy and he was fine with it, I guess.
Tuesday, the seals didn't show until the afternoon, so he couldn't get the window guy over. He asked if he could take me up on the offer and I was fine with it. Car would be ready sometime Wednesday morning and he'd give me a call.
This morning, Mike called and gave me the rundown. They had a smaller job to deliver out to Mesa, then get some lunch, and then he'd be back. At that point, he'd call the tow guy (different person than brought the car over). Get the tow ordered and then he'd call again. Around 1:30 or so, he called and said it would be an hour or so (I'm 30 min away). I said I'd start heading that way and would be there about 2:30 or so, but I have plenty to do between now and then, so call when I have 30 min. 30 min later, he called and said the guy was there. Damn. Guess I'll be picking up my wheel bolts, go to the lab, etc later.
I showed up and the car was loaded.
Mike thought the front window was fine, so he figured I should pay for that installation ($100). I completely disagreed but since he did spend an extra $100 on another kit to paint the mirrors and other black accents on the car and didn't charge for that, I decided in my own mind that the $100 went toward that instead. He gave me the seal and the corner pieces he ordered (which cost him $200 - those damn corners are $20 ea now - I didn't pay anywhere near that a couple years ago). I loaded up the touring with that stuff and it was time to head to Phoenix. I told the driver (Inrique - with an "I," yes) not to unload the car until I got there as there was a car in the garage where this needed to go.
Talked to Mike for a couple more minutes as I made sure he was taken care of and he gave me everything he figured was mine. He had pointed out a couple spots on the car that will get attention after I assemble it. He must have said ten times that anything that happens while I put it together will be taken care of and I'll get the leftover paint when it's done. God forbid. God forbid what? I send you another polaris BMW? Hahaha.
I got super screwed traffic-wise. I had to go a different way because two people forgot how to drive and a third hit them at the next intersection south of the shop, so I had to go north. I showed up about 5 minutes after Inrique and did he listen? Nope. Car in the driveway, facing the wrong way. Fine. I'll deal with it. Whatever. How much? $116.50? Tow-4-Less my ass. Turns out he's the same guy that brought my E28 M535i from Mesa where I bought it sans silindur head. So, no $1 bills either for a guy who charges a fee that requires a $1 and two quarters. Plater requires exact change. Great. Now I have to go to the bank.
No photos, but I moved the Alpina to the edge of the driveway, pulled the 533 on the street, moved the M535i out of the garage, around the Alpina and pushed the Alpina into the garage backwards. Moved the other cars in and closed the door. I had errands to run.
Came home and since this update would suck with just three photos, I took these:
I need to take some of the car in the sun. I hadn't seen it in the sun until today and all I can say is it's stunning. Sure, it's not a $20k job, but it looks damn good so far. Mike had the car since November 7th, but not much was done until December, really. I was happy to be down a car. Now I've got eight here.
As I have time to work on it, I'll post more updates. I've already put a couple of little pieces on (the trunk lock and the rubber bumper for the fuel door). Hope to get the fuel tanks in soon and be able to fire it up again. I need to turn it around. I've got a huge order coming of all the parts that are required to install all the parts I've got. My focus with these was to buy all the big stuff I could afford to buy before it went NLA or at least while I could get it here in the US.
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Ted in T.O.
- Posts: 3412
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Mississauga,Ontario
Progress and a great degree of satisfaction 
Lookin' good Chris! The worst is now behind you... it should only get better from here.
See, I told you it would be fun to watch you shuffle all those cars around to get the Alpina into the garage, etc... loved your description of the "musical cars" event
-RoyW
Lookin' good Chris! The worst is now behind you... it should only get better from here.
See, I told you it would be fun to watch you shuffle all those cars around to get the Alpina into the garage, etc... loved your description of the "musical cars" event
-RoyW
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BrewCity11
- Posts: 18
- Joined: May 19, 2008 3:01 PM
- Location: Maplewood, NJ
Damn dude,
Your thread came up on a google search for an alpina airdam so i just scrolled through these last few pages.
First off, sorry you've had these issues. Hope it doesn't take away from the overall glory of this beauty.
Anyway, we're doing a near full resto of an E28 ourselves here and some of your speedbumps will (hopefully) be a lesson to us, namely the window trim. Not looking forward to installing those.
And great fact about the rivets for the hood latches. I would've used aluminum had i not read this today.
For the rear door strikers, i just removed them, but put the screws back in to hold the backing plate. Will just tape up the screws so we get a little more coverage when its painted.
Need to go through this thread a bit more to see if there are any other pointers i can take.
Best of luck on reassembly.
*and quick question. I may come across it after reading more, but whats the deal with the rear valance? Is it a euro vs US thing, where yours goes down and extra 1-2" with the exhaust cutout?
Cheers
Turk
Your thread came up on a google search for an alpina airdam so i just scrolled through these last few pages.
First off, sorry you've had these issues. Hope it doesn't take away from the overall glory of this beauty.
Anyway, we're doing a near full resto of an E28 ourselves here and some of your speedbumps will (hopefully) be a lesson to us, namely the window trim. Not looking forward to installing those.
And great fact about the rivets for the hood latches. I would've used aluminum had i not read this today.
For the rear door strikers, i just removed them, but put the screws back in to hold the backing plate. Will just tape up the screws so we get a little more coverage when its painted.
Need to go through this thread a bit more to see if there are any other pointers i can take.
Best of luck on reassembly.
*and quick question. I may come across it after reading more, but whats the deal with the rear valance? Is it a euro vs US thing, where yours goes down and extra 1-2" with the exhaust cutout?
Cheers
Turk
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Eddie in TO
- Posts: 1007
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Contact:
Great to see it's back home. You've experienced enough grief and I hope things get sorted in a timely manner and to your satisfaction.
I'm looking forward to seeing you putting it all back together.
I find this time very exciting because parts are going back on for good and the end is near which I hope provides more relief for you. All there is to do afterwards is enjoy it.
You're doing an excellent job. Hats off to you!
I'm looking forward to seeing you putting it all back together.
I find this time very exciting because parts are going back on for good and the end is near which I hope provides more relief for you. All there is to do afterwards is enjoy it.
You're doing an excellent job. Hats off to you!
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Mark 88/M5 Houston
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euronewbie
- Posts: 84
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- Location: Australia
Small update. No photos. All stuff I've covered before anyway.
So, I haven't had a lot of time to do anything (I'm busy - have to pay for this crap somehow). I came home this afternoon and figured the first thing that needs to go back into the car is the main fuel tank. Wasn't really looking forward to this, but I figured since it's been sitting on my patio for three months, I should at least get it cleaned up. I was on the phone for much of the process. I figured with it cleaned up, it wouldn't hurt to at least put the car in the air and have a look at making sure I had everything I needed to put it back together. Jacked the car up, put the rear tires on the ramps. Checked everything out. Looked fine. Put the electrical through the hole and removed the bolts that secured the tank (I put them back in the car so I wouldn't lose them - didn't realize I was that smart!!). I got off the phone and figured, what the heck? I will give it a couple minutes to install.
I nailed it on the first try. I couldn't believe it. In fact, I couldn't believe it so much that the bolts were out of reach, so I reached and reached, holding the tank up with my knee and got them. Well, it's in, so I hooked up all of the hoses and the connectors and put the access cover plate on. Then I vacuumed the trunk. Next, I need to find the side trunk carpeting which I think is in the E12 somewhere. That will get vacuumed, then I can run the wiring harness out past the wheelhouses and put the auxiliary tank in. Once that is done, I can start it. Fun.
It's progress. What can I say?
To answer the question on the rear valance, Euro cars had a lip on the bottom, which extended the valance 40mm below that of a US car. The top of the exhaust cutout is even with the bottom of the US rear panel. All Euro cars have it.
So, I haven't had a lot of time to do anything (I'm busy - have to pay for this crap somehow). I came home this afternoon and figured the first thing that needs to go back into the car is the main fuel tank. Wasn't really looking forward to this, but I figured since it's been sitting on my patio for three months, I should at least get it cleaned up. I was on the phone for much of the process. I figured with it cleaned up, it wouldn't hurt to at least put the car in the air and have a look at making sure I had everything I needed to put it back together. Jacked the car up, put the rear tires on the ramps. Checked everything out. Looked fine. Put the electrical through the hole and removed the bolts that secured the tank (I put them back in the car so I wouldn't lose them - didn't realize I was that smart!!). I got off the phone and figured, what the heck? I will give it a couple minutes to install.
I nailed it on the first try. I couldn't believe it. In fact, I couldn't believe it so much that the bolts were out of reach, so I reached and reached, holding the tank up with my knee and got them. Well, it's in, so I hooked up all of the hoses and the connectors and put the access cover plate on. Then I vacuumed the trunk. Next, I need to find the side trunk carpeting which I think is in the E12 somewhere. That will get vacuumed, then I can run the wiring harness out past the wheelhouses and put the auxiliary tank in. Once that is done, I can start it. Fun.
It's progress. What can I say?
To answer the question on the rear valance, Euro cars had a lip on the bottom, which extended the valance 40mm below that of a US car. The top of the exhaust cutout is even with the bottom of the US rear panel. All Euro cars have it.
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unt0uchable
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- Contact:
Like I said, last night, I got the main fuel tank in without drama. Today, I put the auxiliary tank in the trunk, installed the tail lamps and figured now was as good a time as any to put the rear bumper on. Also installed the fuel door lock actuator with the rubber boot, etc.
Still need to run the wiring harnesses to where they need to go, install the trunk actuator, check control stuff, etc. That stuff will probably be next.
I could probably have the car back together by Monday, but I dropped the ball ordering all the fasteners and stuff, so I'm waiting for all of that to come in.
Here's a photo of the trunk showing the fuel tanks installed (sorry, all I had was the phone):
And here's the rear bumper:
Not used to looking at the car without a big dent in the bumper.
The installation set I got for the rear bumper was short two of the 13mm flange nuts, but had two extra 10mm. For now, I robbed (well, burgled since no people were around) a couple from the front pack. I fortunately have two extra new ones left over from some project I did.
The style 8s will have to come off in the morning as they're going on a car I'm selling and I guess that means the Alpinas will go on for now. They haven't been refinished yet.
Still need to run the wiring harnesses to where they need to go, install the trunk actuator, check control stuff, etc. That stuff will probably be next.
I could probably have the car back together by Monday, but I dropped the ball ordering all the fasteners and stuff, so I'm waiting for all of that to come in.
Here's a photo of the trunk showing the fuel tanks installed (sorry, all I had was the phone):
And here's the rear bumper:
Not used to looking at the car without a big dent in the bumper.
The installation set I got for the rear bumper was short two of the 13mm flange nuts, but had two extra 10mm. For now, I robbed (well, burgled since no people were around) a couple from the front pack. I fortunately have two extra new ones left over from some project I did.
The style 8s will have to come off in the morning as they're going on a car I'm selling and I guess that means the Alpinas will go on for now. They haven't been refinished yet.