[aerostorm]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help!

I have a 2007 E92 2L petrol auto (107K miles) owned for 18 months, previous owner had 6 years & had excellent mostly BMW servicing & repairs etc!

After about 6 months of owning I started to get shuddering at highish speeds (50 upwards) that felt like it was at the front of the car. Oddly it would come on & build to quite a violent level, & then would fade away on its own! However, it has got quite a bit worse recently & has been there slightly all the time! And then also got worse at highish speeds, doing the same thing, increasing in severity, then fading back to a more low level sensation (hoping this all makes kinda sense!). There has also been quite a bit of front suspension 'clunking' when going over speed bumps, going round corners slowly or even just maneuvering the car into a parking space. (sounds like someone has a socket wrench & is knocking it under the front of the car, so a dull clunk, not a 'sharp' sound) It also seems to clunk sometimes when touching the brakes (when the weight has shifted forward) slightly! Again, I hope that makes sense! I have had all the wheels balanced & have actually changed the discs & pads front & rear also as they needed to be done (fronts about 8 months ago, rears about 4 months ago!). Also if I'm coasting at say 50 & take the car out of drive to N, the shuddering continues)

Anyway, this is doing my head in as no one seems to be able to tell me exactly what it is or might be! So yesterday I took it to an independant BMW place in Bexleyheath, Kent. They did a diagnostic check all round the car & did a road test & found a few possibles! They found the diff was leaking oil & opened it & said it had swarf in it (however, there is no noise coming from the diff whilst driving!). They also found that there was - quote : "slight play in the front braking arms (hence the front suspension clunking) & recommended replacing all those & the links"! Also they found that one of the rear brake callipers was binding & suggested changing BOTH rear callipers, pads & discs! They also found that one of the front brake callipers was a bit sticky & said they could clean that one up, regrease it & it would be fine! Ah, & lastly they found that the near side rear ball joint has excess play & that would need replacing too! Their final conclusion was that the diff was the most likely cause of the shuddering & that was the place to start (about a grand for a refurb on plus the fitting) & then move onto the other items after that! Total quote of about 2.5 grand! Gulp!

Soooo, I would like to ask!
A) does it seem likely to anyone that the diff (even though not noisy) could be causing the shuddering? And that, as they say, thats the thing to do first?

B) is it in fact more likely to be the front suspension wear & that actually (as I'm inclined to believe) thats the best place to start as that could indeed be the most likely culprit of the shuddering?! Possibly!?

C) or that in fact it could be something else altogether?

I would be extremely grateful for any input, advice, suggestions & I am also on the look out for a really decent, reliable mobile BMW mechanic that anyone would be happy to recommend in the SE London, Bromley, Catford ish area?

Thanks so much in advance chaps!