my uncle, who is a ford mechanic (needless to say, he will never buy a ford), sent me a bmw buyer's guide about a month ago. the book is all inclusive, but i favor the e30 so i'm only posting here =) if you think you may benefit from a list of these "things to look for" feel free to write me at ofwolfandman85@hotmail.com ... just email me with the related model and year. by the way, even though the book includes all makes and models, they chose to put a picture of a red e30 m3 on the cover =)