Making a well-used BMW last inside the ULEZ at Rosehill
There are plenty of older, well-used cars around Rosehill and the St Helier estate, and a petrol BMW that meets the ULEZ standard is worth keeping in good order. The trick with an older BMW is to stay ahead of its known faults. Oil filter housing gaskets, rocker cover gaskets and cooling system parts are all rubber and plastic that age with heat, and they tend to fail one after another once a car passes a certain age. Finding them at a service costs far less than dealing with them at the roadside. On older cars we also look underneath for corrosion around the jacking points and sills.
Cooling deserves special mention. Several BMW engines use an electric water pump, and older cars also have plastic expansion tanks and pipes that go brittle. A coolant warning, a sweet smell or a pink or blue crust around hose joints are all worth acting on quickly. We pressure test the cooling system where there is any doubt and quote for the parts that are actually leaking, so you are not paying for guesswork.
Driving around here also takes a toll. The six-way Rose Hill roundabout involves constant lane changes, slow queues and a lot of braking, and Bishopsford Road and the estate's narrow cottage streets add parked cars and tight turns. Our inspection covers brakes, front suspension and tyre condition as a matter of course, and on a BMW we also check the auxiliary belt, which suffers if any oil has reached it. A squeal from the belt when pulling away from the roundabout is often the first sign.
From the roundabout, head down Wrythe Lane past St Helier Hospital to Wrythe Green, then Nightingale Road and Hackbridge Road into Hackbridge. It is roughly nine minutes when the hospital traffic is kind. Every repair we carry out has a 3-month workmanship warranty, and collection can be arranged if you would rather not drive.