learning about cars

[RabbieBurns]

Having progressed through the stages of driving the parents cars, buying my own cheapy POS first car, and now finally owning a car worth caring about, Im wondering what information there is out there for maintenance / car etc?

Its a 1994 BMW in amazing condition, which has a full service history with a local garage here, so Ill keep taking it there for its annuall service, but I wouldnt mind learning a bit about them (cars in general).

Without wanitng to train as a fully fledged mechanic, I wouldnt mind doing some traning so I get a better understanding of what goes on under the bonnet.. (to be honest, ive never even changed a tyre ;/)

Is there any books worth reading? Or are there basic car maintanence courses run? Obviously my location will skew the answers a bit insofar as the most of them wont be relevent for where I am, but it would be good to know what sort of equievelents I could look for..

Would it be worth buying the service manual and just reading that?

[rush_tech]

I'm no expert, but get hold of an Haynes manual for your car and have a read

[woodham]

find the online owners club and join that you can usualy join the forums for free.

but the first thing i would do is have somebody show you how to change a wheel (just so you dont have to sit for hours waiting for the AA man to do it for you) and work out how to check oil/water levels just the basics

[RabbieBurns]

i can do oil, and water, but thats about my limit

Cheers for the advice so far..

All the forums ive browsed so far seem to be boy racers who are trying to out-do themselves with how much theyve pimped their mother an how fast theyve driven in a 30 Zone..

[Flakes]

second the Haynes and the owners club.

i would find a friend who is a mechanic and get them to show you the basics, i recently took apart a corsa 1.2 engine with the help of my dad who has been a mechanic for 30 years, best experiance you can get is to get in there and dirty.

[Admiral208]

A lot of colleges do adult courses/evening courses on things like car maintenance. Why not enroll on one of those.

[woodham]

what series BMW? 1, 3, 7?

[RabbieBurns]

second the Haynes and the owners club.

i would find a friend who is a mechanic and get them to show you the basics, i recently took apart a corsa 1.2 engine with the help of my dad who has been a mechanic for 30 years, best experiance you can get is to get in there and dirty.

One of my colleagues in the IT dept here s a mechaniac and has saved me a fortune in repairs etc, by sourcing parts from wreckers etc and fitting them for me, but hes not the most patient of people from what ive gathered so not sure how inclined he would be to spend time teaching a newbie from scratch

[RabbieBurns]

A lot of colleges do adult courses/evening courses on things like car maintenance. Why not enroll on one of those.

Thats a good idea, ill see if theres something that runs local to me, cheers

[RabbieBurns]

what series BMW? 1, 3, 7?

the 1 series were only introduced in about 2006 or something were they not?

Its a 323

[RabbieBurns]

i can do oil, and water, but thats about my limit

Cheers for the advice so far..

All the forums ive browsed so far seem to be boy racers who are trying to out-do themselves with how much theyve pimped their mother an how fast theyve driven in a 30 Zone..

that should of course say "pimped their motor" and not what i wrote ;/

[MK-2]

that should of course say "pimped their motor" and not what i wrote ;/

i thought that was you toning it down and not saying motherf***er

[j17sparky]

As said owners clubs,

For a basic understanding of how the parts work and interact - HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works!

But the best way is next time you have a problem, fix it yourself. Knowledge means very little in the field when compared to hands on experiance. I could probably tell you how to fix most things, but could I actually do it?...
The first major work I did on a car was to swap my suspension for coilovers (racing suspension) which, although daungting at first, turned out to be suprisingly easy.

Main things to remember is SAFETY! Whenever working under a car use a trolley jack to lift it, axel stands (and chocks/bricks) to hold it, and a couple of wheels under the sills just incase the axel stands move. And also RUST - 10 minute jobs can turn into hours because of the stuff.

[woodham]

had a quick scan through the 3 series forums and i see what you mean..

Having said that i always wanted a 3 series M3 one of the gen 1/2 versions in white but then i was'nt old enought to drive when they came out.

[RabbieBurns]

As said owners clubs,

For a basic understanding of how the parts work and interact - HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works!

But the best way is next time you have a problem, fix it yourself. Knowledge means very little in the field when compared to hands on experiance. I could probably tell you how to fix most things, but could I actually do it?...
The first major work I did on a car was to swap my suspension for coilovers (racing suspension) which, although daungting at first, turned out to be suprisingly easy.

Main things to remember is SAFETY! Whenever working under a car use a trolley jack to lift it, axel stands (and chocks/bricks) to hold it, and a couple of wheels under the sills just incase the axel stands move. And also RUST - 10 minute jobs can turn into hours because of the stuff.

I guess now i understand how teachers feel when we give them instructions how to turn on a computer.

I dont know any of those words :P

Time for the textbooks I guess!