Beast is at the dealer

My M5 is at Autohaus BMW getting new fluids from stem to stern - differential, transmission, brake fluid, and coolant. While it's in I'm having new plugs put in, and all the wheels balanced. She just turned 52,000 miles and has been running wonderfully. This is all preventative since except for a very slight vibration over 60 mph my M5 runs like a top. I was going to have my DME flashed with latest version, but there is a known problem with the current North American software for the E39 M5 DME that causes jerky acceleration in the M5.

I've heard BMW is working on a fix, so if you have the European version or an older North American version don't have it updated.

I'm also having them look my baby over from head to toe. At 43,000 miles my Beast got new MAFs and new brakes and tires. I like the fact Autohaus BMW service has experienced people in the service department, to include my SA, Mike Crader, who I just met 3 months ago, but is very thorough and has been with them 25 years. Mechanic, Don who has been there 31 years, is a certified BMW master technician, and specializes in working on M5s - so they know their stuff! Mike knows BMW owners and especially M5 owners want "premium service" and they don't want to be gouged at a stealership.

I know a lot of people do stuff themselves (DIY) and go to independent mechanics, but you can't beat having someone who specializes in M5s and has worked on them forever. Rumor has it, some the experienced mechanics there can drive an E34 M5 and tell you which team assembled it in Germany. You pay a little more at the dealer, but I've had VERY GOOD experiences with them at Autohaus and I know it will be fixed right, not taken out for joyrides, and protected from storms and hail inside!

While it's at Autohaus they gave me a new 335i convertible as a loaner. Nicest thing about going to the dealer is driving a nice different model BMW loaner and this one only has a little over 1700 miles on the odometer. There are things I like on the 2009 335i - the fit and finish is EXCELLENT, the interior reminds me of a plush aircraft cockpit, the quiet inside after my M5 makes me look down to make sure the engine is running on this 335i and the handling in one word is INCREDIBLE. The stow away hardtop makes going convertible style a snap. The twin turbo engine is strong, but I miss the low end torque and six speed manual of my M5. I didn't think I'd like the steering wheel paddle shifts, but I loved them. I've averaged 22 mpg in city and highway driving. I think I've made a BMW convert out of my neighbor (a hardcore Audi man)who was lukewarm about my M5, but in love with the 335i after one ride. One thing it shares in common with my M5 is that it will scoot up to 70 mph in a few heartbeats and you really don't feel like you're going that fast at all. They are truly the Ultimate Driving Machines!

It's difficult taking a car into a dealership when you are new with a brand and dealership, particularly after having raced for Team Corvette in my 20s and building engines and chasis from scratch in the garage. I know I could have done just about anything in my younger years after lots of experience with Corvettes and Cobras (before people knew what Cobras were and they were affordable in the 60s - my wife constantly reminds me about my 427 Cobra that got away, bought new at Yates Stevens Ford for $6,900 - the dealership Yates bought it back three years later for $1000 more than I paid for it on a trade in and I thought I had made a killing). Mack (Yates) was general manager of Barford Chevrolet which was almost across Ladue Rd from the old Autohaus BMW location. Mack brought by all the hot Corvettes with what he called "Mr. Rochester's Fuel Injection." That ride in his dealer 1962 fuel injected Corvette started my lifelong love of cars.

Mack was so successful racing Corvettes that Ford offered him a dealership. Mack knew Carol Shelby from his racing career and when Shelby started manufacturing cars Yates was one of the first dealerships to get them. His dealership was another example of how word of mouth and outstanding service people and mechanics bring people back again and again. He would tell my dad that if you didn't treat customers fairly and politely in the service area, word of mouth would kill your business. Money and success are in repeat customers and selling from one generation of a family to the next, he would always say.

He knew the power of word of mouth. For my senior prom he suggested one of the new Hertz GT350Hs. If the ride in the '62 Corvette started my love of cars, the GT350H sealed it. The GT350H was hot (no AC on that high revving 289 Cobra engine), noisy (afterall it was the closest thing to a race car you could drive on the streets legally), stopped on a dine, and road like a tank, but the most incredible car I have ever driven next to my M5. It literally stopped things at the Prom and every one came out of the gymansium to look at it. It's interesting that my good friend Jim Harmon bought one of the first GT350s ever made from Yates and his son still has it in Tucson. Jim became a big BMW fan before his death and owned one of the very first M5s in the 1980s. If Mr. Yates was still alive he would have loved the M5.