I have to say I am a little dismayed at that list too, I think the guy has been thorough which is a good thing - that's what you pay him for, but there is nothing on that list that should be a total surprise for you aside from the cat and the rear hub, which even I am surprised at........
- Tyres are wear and tear items - so fair enough, have covered about 22-23k miles so it is to be expected.
- Bonnet struts are weak when they are cold - they are also 14 years old, I put the bonnet in service mode - which we talked about - when I work on the car
- Rear wiper is missing and was when I bought the car 5 years ago - with it not being there is not an MOT fail - if it was and it didn't work that's a fail - I also have a thread on hear where I take the motor apart to figure out the fault - the motor works perfectly, but the nylon gears are stripped inside (common on the L322 rear wiper) and needs to be replaced - all this is again in my threads.
- Most L322 suffer water ingress, but it is I can assure you not from a leak into the boot space. It could be the seals on the lamp unit and blocked breathers. The fix is simple, drill a tiny hole in the clear glass section and this allows them to breathe...this is a common fix, Goooooogle is your friend on that one.
- Autobox leak - is a minor fix with a new gasket, simple to do and needs to be done when you do the torque converter any way.
- N/S cat is a new one to me, it has never failed to pass the emissions, it has never suffered the usual 'blockage effect' that can happen when the cat breaks down on the M62 engine (well documented on Bimmer sites) and the only indication is the upstream o2 sensor keeps giving a fault, but that is before the Cat not after. I'll post a photo of the diagnostics I did before you came over
- N/S/R hub play - didn't detect any when I did the handbrake shoes a while ago, but replacement bearings are available.
- Rear bushes are a common item on the L322, she has a big ar$e and are time limited items. They were done before I got the car and were replaced at the same time as the struts and rear bags in 2011, so are getting close to their age limit, but still should be MOT-able as they do not have excessive movement and don't groan or knock yet.
- Pads were last done about 3 years ago and are no doubt getting close to replacement time....as for discs, they looked OK when I did the handbrake shoes about 18months ago - there is a how to on those!
- Handbrake travel - the L322 is notorious for bad handbrake efficiency, and at best will only just scrape through the MOT test at their best. Read my threads and posts about my MOT and handbrake issues. What you have to do is tighten them up for the MOT, then loosen them off again afterwards as they will be binding to just get past the MOT test.
- New battery was discussed
- Torque Converter was discussed
- Passenger door mirror does work because you were adjusting it by accident when you went to move the drivers mirror if you remember. The Wing mirror was bounced off a width barrier a while ago, but the unit is secure if a tad 'loose' but it won't fall off! I mentioned the width barrier bounce and posted a photo of the scratch on the thread!
Sorry you have found a list of things to do, but in all honesty that ain't too bad, tyres are wear and tear, bonnet struts are cheap and cheerful, the autobox oil leak is minor (else I would have seen the mess on the drive!) and needs to come off when you do the TQ any way, Brakes are wear and tear, the rear lights is a common fault, rear bushes are common wear items, handbrake is well documented, etc etc....
All of it is well within the DIY scope, and is certainly a list of things to be expected on a 14 year old big bummed bus.....As I said, I will not run away from you, I will offer advice and assistance where I can.
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