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My M5 told me that it would like a service over the weekend so I checked the mileage and it has done 20700 since the last one, done by BMW with the proper castrol stuff, I have taken a sample and sent it away for analysis mainly to see how much big end bearing is in it, but I am also keen to see how good/bad the oil is at that age, bearing in mind that it has had 4 litres of new oil added in that time. I will post results when I get them.....

As Olaf says. You can wrench all you like on it, but you still have to get the book stamped by a mechanic, usually MTA approved. Regular maintenance is not going to protect you the same as an MBI policy. When the trans had a minor fault on my E500 where it would get stuck in a gear requiring an off/on cycle to come back it cost $7000, $5000 of which was the part from MB Germany. You can't maintain your way out of issues like that. There are all sorts of dumb parts on Euros that have retarded prices. Some examples I can think of are M5 VANOS solenoids, at $1300 each and theres 4. DSC pump on E87 130i, $2000. Anything SMG... Most of the times I have had MBI I haven't realized the value of it, but the one $7000 fault in the E500 is more than the cost of all the MBIs I have ever purchased.

Yes. The MBI on my vehicle has a requirement of an annual service. To gain a stamp in the book, the stuff you'd expect to be checked/maintained/replaced annually (or 15,000kms whichever is first) are checked/maintained/replaced. You're not prevented from doing this stuff yourself; for example if you've done a cooling system service, when the agent checks the system, checks the antifreeze, and does a pressure test - it'll pass. They are supposed to do an oil change and filter. Check all belts, replace if necessary. etc etc. The stamp on the service book comes from 'any recognised service facility'. In the event of any claim, this information (the stamps, and invoices indicating the servicing performed) will be required by the insurer. It's pretty straightforward. It's less "hands off, spend up largee", more "we need to be sure your vehicle is serviced regularly". HTH

Faded paint, rust, keyed and failed clearcoat to me point to a full exterior respray. Add the the rims and interior restore its wouldn't be cheap unless you could do all or most of the work yourself. Then you got engine, suspension and transmission which will probably need some love it one way or another, I like E34's but Id rather pay a few k more for a better one tbh

Got the front strut bar back from the powdercoaters today, I don't think I've ever been this impressed with matt black, it looks awesome! Better than I expected TBH. Big shout out to Craig and the team at Mikestan Powdercoating they're a real pleasure to do business with and it only cost me $40. I didn't actually get the strut caps done because they didn't look like they needed it, they seemed much darker than the bar. I'll reserve judgement until I check them again in the sunlight tomorrow but I may end up taking them in as well. And still no codes!

So amidst a sensible preventative maintenance programme - regardless of whether it's you or your garage doing the work - where your transmission goes *BANG* - and you're up for around $5k once GST is on there... an MBI would have been no value as *insurance*? I'm afraid I'm just not seeing your viewpoint.

Biggest cleaning fail... too busy driving them rather than cleaning them

Another present today, a lot of searching for 2 weeks calling all wreckers with only one company having a full set. Finally have them in my hands. Style 95's

I'm sure they're lovely inside, and probably good to drive. I just can't get over the hideous looks, and the memory of an owner who had one 'because it's really expensive and no-one else can afford it.' Seriously. Prize cock, that guy...

All I wanted was somewhere to get a good performance chip. Not a new engine.