Olaf

Look around for a used Nikon SB28 flash, they're inexpensive, have a buttload of power, and with the right filter to colourmatch ambient light, you're laughing.

Graham, there are a few threads on retrorides with Landrover diesel transplants, including M57 and OM series diesels. It's still going to be a draughty, noisy, uncomfortable thing when you can 'waft' at 70mph (it's a comparative thing, really - like wafting in a scaffold bridge) and overtake things... and you'll still need to make it steer. Just buy a Land Cruiser and be done with it. Errr, I'll get me coat, then...

Hey, if this is actually a For Sale thread, @francoisv I apologise. I interpreted it as a discussion thread to help establish what you should be asking. Say the word mate, I'll delete my posts to help you clean up. Sorry! May be worst unintentional thread crap in the history of thread craps. Mea culpa.

Stop worrying and read your policy document.

+1. If your policy had an “agreed value” (those words), that’s what you should be paid for a total loss, less your excess.

Interesting. N62 Valve stem seals are a potentially pricey repair, though don’t cause catastrophic failure of the engine. Same for coolant tube through the valley; I’m (personally) mitigating that risk with annual coolant flush and replacement with genuine BMW coolant. Other than that, the standard coolant pump and hose replacements, and coil replacement one does with any BMW of a certain age. Am I in blissful ignorance of other lurking N62 maladies? We can then contrast this with M60/M62 V8 issues (timing chain/tensioner/water pump etc) in e39 and e35, that cost $3-5k to address ahead of failure, and result in significant engine damage when deferred/neglected. Which is worse? The M60/M62 is older tech and better understood, though is that really the safer bet?? I think the depreciation end-stop must just about be reached with the e60, same as e39 and e34. It comes down to whether one’s been well-fettled (lower risk), or neglected (lower price), providing that the car is of an attractive spec. The rest is down to general demand for that model. ?

there was a decent green one went for just over $2k the other day...

care to expand; who's experiencing the schadenfruede here?

I think $16k is slightly optimistic? The good: Kms are low, aparrently good service history, ///msport not so good: it’s down 400 or 800cc (and thus power/torque), it’s pre-LCI (presumably). H&R springs - good if buyer wants them, otherwise a detractor for many punters. It’s thirteen years old, not fresh enough for some. The market: 545i’s are $6k to $14k tops, these days, regardless of ///M. You can find good 550i ///M LCI $15-20k. People are understanding these cars respond well to loving maintenance, throw tanties when ignored. They’ll be wondering about valve stem oil seals, factoring a trans service in 25k kms (better than not done and 125kms on the clock). The question must be: what is going to tip a punter towards your vehicle at the upper end of the price scale? If you can sell/persuade that, you’ll secure that $16k ask. I’m biased, I think everyone should own a v8 e60. However, the prices are dropping with age, based on complexity and younger more attractive models. I’m keeping mine. hope that helps!

Hi Mike, great to see you along here! Looking forward to seeing this beast. you might want to ‘follow’ the Wellington meetings room - that way you’ll get notifications of all upcoming events. Tomorrow night - Thurs 2 August - 1830hrs at 1812 in Johnsonville is our next social night, if you’d like to meet up. cheers Richard EDIT: Is Permafrost a ‘Magazine’ reference?

31 July 2018. 169,986km. Replaced Transmission Mounts (gen BMW) Replaced Engine Mounts (OEM Hutchinson) Replaced front radius rods L&R (OEM Lemforder) Replaced front control arms L&R (OEM Lemforder) Alignment. Woah. Mounts? Even starting the engine.... it's like butter! I love engine mount/trans mount replacements. At around 170k kms/10+ years, they're not performing as they did when new. Control Arms/Radius Rods? Steering significantly improved, smoother lock-to-lock, and the car behaves significantly better over bumps (particularly in compression). My old ones had had a bit of a minor graunch in the steering (particularly right hand side), that's grown in the last few months; the balljoints were reaching end of their useful life. Replacement is great. I've only driven it at urban commuting speeds so far, it is transformed. I'll update this post when I've had chance to drive it at highway speeds. Next up: rear window trim seals sunroof seal Rotors Pads Lower oil pan & gasket

jeez you guys. this weekend my rental is a camry hybrid. you don't so much drive it, as operate it. it's an appliance. *any* BMW is better than that.

Christchurch - nay, all of the SI - is smouldering, just waiting for ignition to rekindle the BMW Car Club NZ. We're watching with interest, ready to support a nucleus when it forms. Don't give up hope, I think there is a growing number of folks in your position!

just add the pics, man. we're all driving projects, don't be shy... welcome to the forum, look forward to seeing you at a meet up. check in to the Meetings room, subscribe to the Wellington room to get notifications. BMW Club night on at the pub once a month, plus runs, coffee meets, and longer trips too.

I read that Pelican have been quietly swallowed by the ECS hegemony, who previously acquired Turner Motorsports. I read a blog post by a senior manager from Turner Motorsports recently, something to do with "Why I hate ECS tuning". I couldn't find it, though I was disturbed to find the Facebook group "why I hate ECS Tuning" FCP Euro are still doing right by me after around 12 years. ?

Hi Folks. Yes, as @Eagle Jared points out, my 2004 e60 545i was diagnosed and subsequently sorted. I think e60 V8's are inexpensive because they're unfashionable and don't have a Holden Commodore on the badge! They're an amazing car, and well optioned-up cost around $160-180k new? We're buying them under $20k with deferred maintenance; they're going to need some lurrrvvvvvv. So put on your Barry White (or your Marvin Gaye), settle in, and read a little about my case. ⛑️ oil leaks were all sorted under previous custodian's care. @TermiPeteNZ had already addressed plenty of the maintenance items; I took up the mantle when I bought it, and expected there'd be more to do. I wasn't disappointed. The good thing was it wasn't covering hoses with oil, or ruining the alternator, like it sounds is the case in yours, Geoff @awake On we strolled, taking care of the systems that might be smokey, while catching up on other items. Firstly the PCV diaphragms were were replaced. They're an inexpensive part, on top of each head. They get old and brittle. Secondly, vacuum pump replaced. it was weak, Brakes were not firm enough, and was not scavenging oil as expected. Oil consumption was increasing, and it was 'puffing billy' after sitting at traffic lights.?️ Valve stem seal failure was subsequently diagnosed. Yes, Valve Stem Seal failure an issue with the N62 V8's... though the same seals are used in MANY, MANY BMW engines. Don't be in such a hurry to roll out smugfaces, you M54 owners! Oh, yeah that's me too. Damn. ? Fortunately, I have kept up** maintenance, and the MBI is still valid. Thank you Autosure Extreme. Seriously. Thank you Autosure Extreme. And Page European, here in Wellington. Yes, you may have been following my SS Commodore in German suit thread. 'kept up' maintenance is probably an understatement! ? Now a little about the actual job. Valve Stem seal replacement is a labour-intensive job. The parts are relatively inexpensive; a couple of boxes of seals, a bunch of gaskets. The cost is in the labour. During disassembly the auxilliary water pump crumbled (love that 14 year old BMW plastic); it will likely happen on yours. Around $400 here. Yes, this job is more often done in with the heads in-place. Saves additional cost of head gaskets, bolts, and all that fun. Special tools are available to help with doing the job in-situ. The shop I use hires in the tools when they're needed. Cooling system out. Cams removed, etc etc. Compressed air to hold the valve closed, to allow remove the collet, extract the seal, replace the seal etc. I understand the new valve stem seals are made from a different material. Elring brand were used. I think there's a 'revision' number indicated on the BMW Parts schedule - check it out on in the BMW parts catalogue. It's tight - space-wise - but do-able. Patience required. Need to re-time the Valvetronic setup when the job is done; this is not a backyard job unless you have all the puter stuff. It's quite the jigsaw puzzle to get the shooting match back together. I don't know how much it cost the insurers, I paid for the pump, insurance excess, and cost of Wurth intake cleaner and associated labour with the intake clean. Phew, that's a relief. I knew it'd be a good few grand plus GST, based on what I'd read on the US sites, labour cost, parts estimate, and a guestimate of renting the tools. It would have been around 3 days labour give or take, plus it was in the shop for a couple of weeks; I was in no hurry for the car so preferred they work on it when they wanted to. The old seals were totally flogged-out; your eye-ometer™ is all that's needed to see that. No sealion is going to be happy with those baggy-old worn out items, and nor is your N62 V8! After, all any sea lion wants is a good tight seal, right? ? Outcome: Oil use is down. Puffing Billy effect is gone. Performance is improved. Fuel economy is better. Perhaps the latter two are more attributable to the intake clean? I'm sure vacuum loss wasn't helping things. It hasn't helped dad-jokes in my posts, either! ? I know there are better cars, newer cars, flasher cars. As an allround package, I totally love driving my e60 545i. I'll buy another MBI policy when this one expires. I'm not ready to move this car on yet, and am about to do brakes at all corners, and tension struts at the front, so am planning on keeping it for a while. I can't think of a car I'd rather drive for the purposes I use it for, on my wallet (forget fantasy garage or Lotto wins). If you're fussy on your maintenance like I am, a tough year could cost you $5k. Perhaps this is one of those years for you; hopefully you'll find it less wallet-burning. Whether it's worth doing your vehicle is a value judgement for you to make. I agree with the earlier comment from @Gaz that you want to find a shop that's done it a few times before. They'll know the ins and outs, and can price it accurately, and do the work efficiently. Hopefully that was helpful. I really must finish editing my movie on this job! It'll make ya'll laugh. Cheers Olaf. PS: I mentioned before that Patience is required. Dunno if they were spinning Lloyd Cole in the workshop, but this could have been soothing, particularly toward the rear cylinders. Not my favourite Lloyd Cole song; if you don't know it, you owe yourself to at least listen to the whole of Rattlesnakes. One of the coolest albums of 1984.

You priced a kit of 8? May be worthwhile, they’re all getting old.

Well, that FB 'randomness' has worked as vendor conditioning, to your advantage. Perfect timing for all concerned, enjoy, mate!

join BMW Car Club NZ, you'll get 10% off parts from your BMW dealer, membership has almost paid for itself on the purchase of your grilles, pink triangle, and cargo net. easy!

Awesome! Chris Amon?! You got any more details, such as where/when, and who took the photo? Looks like it's 1973 European Touring Car Championship going by the helmet & livery. Actually I've found the details: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amon,_Chris_-_BMW_3,5_CSL_(1973-07-08_Sp).jpg It's on wikipedia with a CC2.0 Attribution Share-Alike (Germany) license. The Photographer (or image owner) credited is Lothar Spurzem taken 8 July 1973. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/motoring/news/article.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10757051

I'm sure that's a line from an obscure The Smiths song that I can't recall ?

168621kms: Simple maintenance to enhance safety and lower driver stress in foul weather. I was about to leave Auckland on Thursday morning for the trip back to Wellington. My old wiper blades were 15 months old, the last Rain-X application had worn through, and the screen was getting smeary. Not good. A little remediation was called for, and I had a new set of blades in the boot. While I gassed up under the generous canopy at BP Drury, I: Thoroghly cleaned, dried, and Rain-X'd the windscreen Replacd the Wiper Blades (genuine BMW) P/N 61610431438 Filled the near-empty washer reservoir with BMW windscreen washer concentrate (yellow), and topped up with water. Fitting e60 Wiper blades: a trap for new players Wiper blades box says (in pictograms) long blade on driver's side. In NZ, the shorter one goes on Driver's side, long blade is for passenger side. Furthermore, you can't fit them the wrong way around, you'll struggle to get the blade onto the connector. As I left BP Drury in the rain at 0700, I nearly broke into song with 'I can see clearly now', such was the clarity... though Mikey Havok had started with The Smiths on BFM. No prizes for guessing which won out.... Gloomy rain, Morrissey's dulcet tones and irony-laden lyrics with Johnny Marr's jangly guitars, heated seats and steering wheel; a perfect winter's morning. Damn, I'd left my Smiths CDs at home, so made do with The Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures, David Bowie's Young Americans, Groove Armada etc, once out of range of Auckland broadcasts. Back on subject, if you've not used Rain-X on your windscreen, you don't know what you're missing. It breaks up rain on contact, beads it up. Much better vision. Overall fuel economy for the return trip to Auckland (including urban running in Auckland): 10.39 litres/100km. The Drury to Wellington City leg 'returned' 9.03 litres/100kms (actual), and there was a bit under 1/8 of a tank remaining when I topped up at the Roadmaster in Wellington town. World's biggest village? It's hardly a city, in reality ? Happy days.

we figured it needed excellent sales photos, some great copy, and a nudge on the price... we've done the photos!

Man, those photos look sharp. I'm not biased. Hopefully you'll get some bites!