BMW Repair Portland
MINI Repair Portland

We are thankful, grateful and appreciative for each and every one of you, now more than ever, this year. The shared experience of “hunkering down” and “being in this together” emphasize to us that we are in a community, and that the more confined our circle gets, the more we miss each other. And when we finally see each other the flicker of recognition in our eyes, head and hearts is often delayed or subdued because one of our primary means of intra-species recognition has been reduced. However, cover we must, for the individual and common good. This, too, shall pass, and we look forward to seeing you all, in your most recognizable form, soon. Best wishes for a safe holiday season and a vastly improved (on every scale imaginable) 2021.  

At Pacific Motorsports our orientation has always been towards the health and safety of our clients and employees. To that end we engage in the most prudent Best Practices possible. We have been, and are continuing to, maintain all contact with clients, vendors and our co-workers at an appropriate distance. We have also adopted scheduling procedures that can be conducted via telephone, from initial appointment setting through to final payment.  We request that all vehicles be dropped off outside our front door under the awning, so that we may be aware of your arrival and see you both. Please leave the keys in the car, give us a wave, and we will retrieve the vehicle upon your departure. Our vehicle cleaning procedures have escalated to include immediate disinfection of high touch surfaces such as keys, door handles, steering wheels, shift knobs, emergency/parking brake handles, etc. using Oxivir TB*.  Our technicians who service and drive yo ... read more

A long-time client shared the analysis of the oil in their BMW 328d after their last oil service here at Pacific Motorsports. The column to the right of the Averages column, where the heading is 24,791 miles and the date is 5/19/2020 is with a known quality Brand X diesel motor oil that was in the car when he bought it. The column to the left, dated 9/28/2020 is the Total Rubia Optima 1100 we installed at that mileage and replaced again at 30,800 miles. As the laboratory reports, the Total motor oil sampled is lower than average, and the previous oil, in the quantity of "undesirable" metals (the ones that indicate engine wear, as they are the metals of which the engine is made) and higher in the desirable ones used as friction reducing additives ( ... read more

Ten years ago, in the summer of 2010, we had the pleasure of being the reception hub for the Z8 Club’s annual driving tour. Members had their e52 BMW Z8s shipped directly to Pacific Motorsports, where we received, inspected, stored and serviced them prior to their owners’ arrival in Portland. Articles were written and published about this event in both the BMW Car Club of America’s January 2011 cover issue of Roundel Magazine and in the (International) BMW Z8 Club e. V. Magazin (German language only). It was a great honor for all of us here at Pacific Motorsports to have been entrusted with so many rare and beautiful cars. The confidence that our clients place in us is greatly appreciated.  

Since we don’t sell cars here at Pacific Motorsports, and only pay occasional attention to this market, we found the following rather surprising. Data collected by the online car buying guide Edmunds reports that used car prices of all types of vehicles increased last month. They called it, “an unprecedented historical shift in the used vehicle market, where listing prices typically decrease during this time period due to depreciation.” Factors driving this change include increased consumer financial responsibility (keeping debt levels low) and decreased new car availability due to Covid-19 related production shutdowns. As always, Pacific Motorsports is here to safely service your BMW or MINI, so that you may enjoy that which you already own, and avoid this unique and abnormally high market. We respectfully remind everyone to wear a mask when visiting our facility. Thank you.  

As with everything we do at Pacific Motorsports, we believe in answering the question of, “Why my BMW AC isn’t working” with a proper diagnosis. The air conditioning system contains a number of components, routed together with hoses, valves, and fittings, none of which are inexpensive.  There are many opportunities for something to go wrong in an air conditioning system, regardless of age. So, if you are experiencing a lack of sufficiently cool air, or worse. Let us properly diagnose why. Some of the most common reasons BMW and MINI air conditioning systems don’t work include: A/C Leak There is currently an insufficient amount of refrigerant in the system, sometimes noticeable as a hissing sound in the dash area of your BMW or MINI. It may have leaked out to the point where the system is incapable of functioning as designed. The cause may be a leak ... read more

With more people beginning to venture out as the stay-at-home restrictions are relaxed, some of their vehicles are experiencing the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting. One of the most obvious and common is a weakened battery. While we’ve seen a lot of no-starts from completely dead batteries, the first sign can often be a long, or slow, crank on startup. Newer BMWs have large batteries because of the extensive electrical systems present in modern cars. The plethora of safety, monitoring, and control systems that need to be maintained at constant voltage are significant. As a result, we refer to them as “rolling computer networks”.  When a battery weakens, it cannot fulfill its function of maintaining a stable power supply to all of these electrical systems, so they begin to shut down. This can go from the annoying, deleting the functionality of convenience features like the clock, to the expensively catastrophic, cutting power to the electric water pump th ... read more

We have people stop by to admire our clients’ classic BMWs all the time. These cars evoke nostalgia and pleasant memories of days gone by, and they’re just not as common as they once were. They also reached the bottom of their respective depreciation curves years ago, and have been steadily trending up ever since. This upward trend has been particularly dramatic with the 1983-1992 (in the U.S.) e30 chassis 3 series cars. What were once plentiful used cars in the $1,000-5,000 range are now $7,000 to $30,000, and up aspirational and collector cars. With BMW’s original M3, the now-iconic e30 M3, going for $75,000 to over one hundred thousand dollars now. Due to our long-time expertise with these cars, Hagerty Insurance called to interview us about them for their, “Your Definitive 1982-94 BMW E30 3 Series Buyers Guide” published last year. After all, we’ve done ... read more

Given the recent Stay at Home order from the Governor’s Office, we would like to emphasize that, as a business deemed essential by both the federal Department of Homeland Security and state governments, we remain open.  As with gas stations and grocery stores, it is legal to leave your home to bring your BMW or MINI to us for service. How long this may be possible is anyone’s guess. Our goal is to maintain the health and safety of our clients and employees by engaging in the most prudent procedures possible. Please call us to inform us of your arrival. This may be done prior to your departure, on your way to Pacific Motorsports, or from our parking lot. Knocking on the window, which some clients have done, is fine, too. Additionally, as part of our newly adopted Social Distancing Policy, we request that all vehicles be dropped off outside our front door under the awning. Please leave the keys in the car and we will retrieve both upon your departure. All contact ca ... read more

Sudden Brake Screech Current Road Conditions While this winter here in the Willamette Valley has been mild, with minimal sanding of roads, there remains a fair amount of debris in the roadways. Main Cause of Sudden Brake Screech Small pieces of gravel can be spun up by the tire and find their way into brake components, becoming lodged between the brake pad and rotor. Once there they can produce an unpleasant screeching sound, providing an aural indicator of their presence. Sometimes these rocks will be pulverized and break down through actuation of the brakes. Sometimes they won’t, stubbornly remaining in place, where they can damage both the pad and rotor*. Next Steps Should you experience any suddenly new brake screeching, come see the Friendly Professionals at Pacific Motorsports, and let us help prevent possible further damage from occurring. *An evenly scored line, or groove, can often be seen on the brake rotor where the rock scores ... read more