Haynes offers the best coverage for cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and motorcycles on the market today. Each manual contains easy to follow step-by-step instructions linked to hundreds of photographs and illustrations. Included in every manual: troubleshooting section to help identify specific problems; tips that give valuable short cuts to make the job easier and eliminate the need for special tools; notes, cautions and warnings for the home mechanic; color spark plug diagnosis and an easy to use index.
A less expensive alternative to the Bentley manual, that latter also being sold on Amazon. Some of the differences with the Bentley manual are understandable, cost cutting differences, such as printing on much cheaper, newsprint like paper that not only is somewhat flimsy but makes it very difficult to make out much of the detail in the black and white photos.
Less understandable are differences that show a fundamental lack of knowledge of the not all that recent automotive technology. One example is the 3 months/3,000 miles oil change interval the manual recommends. The BMW engines that are the subject of this manual come with factory oil change intervals that are “condition based”, i.e., sensors and ECU programming combine to determine when an oil change is recommend, based on a number of factors. Using a BMW recommended long life oil, these engines are designed to go from 15,000 to 20,000 miles between changes. Many BMW service techs (relying on actual experience with these engines) and enthusiasts (relying on such things as used oil analysis) know that some critical additives in recommended synthetic oil begin to drop below significant levels at around 10,000 miles, and recommend 7,500 to 10,000 mile oil change intervals. Detailed information on the beneficial properties of long life synthetics versus conventional petroleum by products is readily available and there is NO reasonable explanation for the Haynes recommended oil change interval. On a related note, the brief mention of oil on page 0-17 is simplistic and outdated and, frankly with reference to multi-viscosity synthetic oil, absurd as it applies to the N52 engine.
Although there are other things that I might mention before you decide whether this manual is worth purchasing over the Bentley manual, I’ll tell you why I bought it. At the time I write this review Amazon did not provide much information about the contents of this manual, so I went to the Haynes website. On the publisher’s web page for the manual there is a picture of the front cover with words on an adjacent arrow button saying “Click Here- See Inside this Manual.” Clicking on the button opens up a pdf file of two “sample pages” from the manual, with beautiful full color pictures on a white background illustrating the instructional text. You can imagine the surprise in learning the actual manual sold has instead only the much vaguer black and white photographs, on a nonwhite newsprint like stock thin enough to allow the text on the opposite side to show through. The person I spoke to in Haynes customer support was not helpful in explaining why the difference between what is marketed and what is being sold or in directing me to a place where I could purchase the manual with the color pictures. Classic bait and switch, not a tactic a consumer should support.
Great deal for the price. I’ve owned a few other Haynes manuals and this one is really no different. Black and White printing on cheap paper. It makes some of the pictures difficult to make out and hard to read. But the information is all good and if you’re used to this kind of manual, you won’t be disappointed.
So far I’ve used to replace Rear Brakes, Rotors and Wear Sensors and the Cabin Air Filter and it’s all gone very well.
Great job walking you through repairs. Quick delivery. Imperative for do it yourself maintenance. We will always buy these for our cars.