Originally Posted by Carmudgeon
BMW is very stingy with its technical support, but ironically, that makes it one of the easiest brands to obtain such information for, given its enthusiastic owner base.
The factory ETK parts catalogs have been readily available online at least two decades, and the TIS repair information for models up to a current G-series is online as well, at least unofficially. Officially, TIS subscriptions are available in daily, monthly, and annual increments.
The ETM wiring diagrams and EBA accessories installation instructions aren't as easy to find, but can be found.
And in situations where those sources aren't sufficient, the Bentley manuals or the owner forums can fill in.
Honestly, anybody who has used the TIS repair instructions will tell you it's often of limited value, terse, and not very illuminating.
Granted, that's not the same as being able to walk into a Honda or Volvo dealer, and have them hand you a thick tome over the parts counter, but I don't know if they even still do that, but there's hardly an information vacuum, at least when it comes to BMW, even if it may not come from official channels.
In terms of parts, component-level availability for things like gearboxes may not be what it used to be, but try walking into some other brand's dealer and asking for something random for a 25-year old model, and not having them give you a funny look.
Most of the service info is now built into ISTA. Not uncommon at all for German brands - the service info is built into the scan tool and the test plan for a particular fault.
BMW is very stingy with its technical support, but ironically, that makes it one of the easiest brands to obtain such information for, given its enthusiastic owner base.
The factory ETK parts catalogs have been readily available online at least two decades, and the TIS repair information for models up to a current G-series is online as well, at least unofficially. Officially, TIS subscriptions are available in daily, monthly, and annual increments.
The ETM wiring diagrams and EBA accessories installation instructions aren't as easy to find, but can be found.
And in situations where those sources aren't sufficient, the Bentley manuals or the owner forums can fill in.
Honestly, anybody who has used the TIS repair instructions will tell you it's often of limited value, terse, and not very illuminating.
Granted, that's not the same as being able to walk into a Honda or Volvo dealer, and have them hand you a thick tome over the parts counter, but I don't know if they even still do that, but there's hardly an information vacuum, at least when it comes to BMW, even if it may not come from official channels.
In terms of parts, component-level availability for things like gearboxes may not be what it used to be, but try walking into some other brand's dealer and asking for something random for a 25-year old model, and not having them give you a funny look.
Most of the service info is now built into ISTA. Not uncommon at all for German brands - the service info is built into the scan tool and the test plan for a particular fault.
