Quote:
Originally Posted by cmac2012
I mention that because I had the Haynes and Bentley manuals. I had a rude awakening when I bought my first MB in '06 - an '81 300SD. No manual for the W126 AFAIK. Not enough DIYers I guess. I bought a W123 Haynes for the 617 info and other help, still have it. Now I have an '86 SDL and an '84 300D. Jeez, I wish I had a Bentley for both my cars. I liked having the E30 Haynes to go along with it but if I had to chose - the Bentley hands down. |
Funny, I'm exactly the opposite way. After getting used to the MB manuals (you know MB hosts the factory service manual for free right? It's excellent and gives you just about everything you need to know right from the horse's ass, I mean mouth...) I got a '94 E34 BMW and I've been screaming NON-STOP about how awful the FSM and aftermarket books (Bentley in particular) are when it comes to service data.
BMW's are very electrical and electronics intensive and diagrams and diagnostic info just is NOT THERE for them. Extremely frustrating when you have to just guess. Between the crappy service data, expensive service parts (aftermarket crap for the E34 makes MB OE parts seem reasonable, OE BMW parts will make you cry just thinking about them), and shockingly poorly thought out service access on that car, I've decided that BMW's are not my cup of tea. It runs and drives well enough, but my God I hate working on that thing!