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Yes... I have noticed that in some societies there has been this curious trend to categorise people into generations or age bands, and then make the broadest of broad assumptions that being in a particular age band means that a person will behave or think in a certain way. This is a simplification so stunning in its naivety that I can only assume that it is an attempt to create divisions in society and set one generation against another. Kind of like the warfare games so popular on US TV... after the democrats vs the republicans, next up the millennials vs the boomers... followed by the British vs the Irish, Russia vs the Ukraine and for the grand finale, Muslims vs the whole western World !!! However, the plot fails when the person being categorised is unfamiliar with (and does not care) which division he/she is supposed to be playing in, and therefore does not know how he/she is supposed to act and think. Generalisations are useful to a point, but when they become a means of turning one age group, minority, race or religion against another it's time to rethink the rules. Just saying... no offence intended to any person living or dead Cheers...

Not sure how many people will see this, but back in November I made the wise decision to buy a high mileage V8 E34. At only 18 years old not only were the future fuel costs daunting, but so too was the project I had undertaken. I assumed that buying the car would force me to become more mechanically minded and try to do things to the car myself. My other car which I have had for a few years is a 2009 Peugeot 207 GTI which I have tried to keep fairly tidy and have never had the confidence to do anything major to it, always opting for the easy option of taking it to my mechanic. When I got the 540 however, my confidence to try fix things myself grew. The car was in a bit of a state when I got it. It had heavily oxidised paint, a completely rusted out sunroof, quite a bad looking patch of rust where the little piece of plastic trim behind the rear door goes, and was generally filthy. Of course there were many small broken and cracked pieces of trim on the interior and exterior, but nothing too major. Because the car had some significant flaws, I had confidence to do things to it because I knew that anything I did, successful or not would not greatly impact the state of the car. I started by polishing off the oxidised paint. If the paint came off, who cares, it already looked terrible. What this mentality resulted in was me achieving some stuff that I never expected I could do with such little experience. I am pretty happy with how the car currently is. I still need to get my sunroof resprayed as well as sort out the piece of plastic bumper trim on the back of my car, and source a driver's arm rest or get my current one reupholstered. I have slowly been addressing bits of the interior, replacing things like the dome light housing, shifter roller etc. By far my favourite thing so far has been the new wheels! The car had its factory BBS basket weave wheels, and while they look nice when they are spotlessly clean, being only 15 inches in diameter made them look a bit out of proportion with my car. They were wrapped in Michelin tyres that were quite old and were beginning to dry rot - something that was especially noticeable when going around round-abouts where squeels from the tyres sounded as though you were doing double the speed limit, when in fact you were barely touching 20km/h. I had always wanted to have throwing stars on the car, but never thought I would find a set, and thought I might have to settle for some vaguely similar replica wheels. However, thanks to Facebook MarketPlace and my procrastination of University Lectures, I came across a square set of throwing stars and I just had to have them. They are 17 inch in diameter and I think they propertion the car much better as well as fill the arches and provide the sporty look a 540 deserves. I needed new tyres anyway so I might as well have just gone all out right? Now I have gorgeous throwing stars wrapped in pirellis and it has made quite the difference to the car. The lower side-wall means you definitely feel bumps more, however the wider tyres and fresh rubber mean the car feels significantly more planted on the road than before. Of course with any old BMW, I have fallen in love and now it controls my wallet. Of course I've blown any kind of mental budget by ignorant past self set when I first got the car, but oh well who cares. Anyway, I am writing this instead of doing my philosophy assignment (philosophy is my general education course and I'm not a fan especially with the anti car ideology that swirls around in class) lol so I should leave it there. Here are some before and after photos of the car. Not sure what order they will be in but hopefully you can tell which photos are from before, and which are from after. Cheers, Kees

How cool is this F01.. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/750i/listing/3072983357 so much car for the $

Yes, the new owner previously bought my near mint B5 RS4 and purchased the 1M without viewing it. I'm grateful for his trust at a very difficult time.

Ok Boomer 🤣

Hi team! We have a mighty E46 318i for sale. Wof until July and rego until August. 203xxx kilometres Fairly tidy body and leather interior. M43 engine (auto) Front rotors could do with replacing and also has a reverse light out, not sure if a bulb or if it's the wiring. Unfortunately also has a crack about 20cm across passenger side of windscreen. Comes with front left door trim however will need trim clips to attach it. Been used as a daily driver for the last two years and is incredibly cheap on gas. Could be a great base for a race car? Sold as is where is for $1800 or near offer. Available to view in Pokeno.

Hi all, I've been kicking around NZ euro car clubs for over a decade, so many older members here might remember me. I'm not known for owning Beamers in particular, I've had almost everything else though, including a foray into american muscle. I did however meet my wife through a shared love of the blue and white oval (she was an e30 fan girl when we first met, I had an Opel), my present project is potentially going to become an heirloom for our son... If I build it right that is. So, on to the current project. It is a 93' e34 that I purchased originally as a pile of parts, since then it has become effectively a tractor, being the only vehicle in the fleet with a tow bar. It's been with us for over 6 years now and through sheer competence and exemplary reliability, the old girl has earned a place in the family. So.... it's time for some TLC, and this old e34 is going to need a birthday.

Hey, anybody have a e24 or e28 they’d potentially look at moving on? Currently have a e36 M3 but have been craving the urge to get back into something older, Happy as if it’s more of a project, although if it’s mint I’d look at selling my M3 to purchase or potentially do some sort of swap to whom ever was interested, as with a baby fresh out I don’t currently have the funds to purchase a mint example.

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear you're having troubles. Unfortunately this model/motor is well known to be problematic and even once fixed it is never really fixed anyway. My best advise is to cut your loss and move on. If you still wanted to go down the route of trying to fix it then there will be some other members who could possibly help you with any questions you may have. If you decide to sell it and look for a replacement we can also recommend you some better more reliable models. Generally if you are looking in the 2006-2012 model year then avoid the 4 cylinder models and go for the N52B25 or N52B30 6 pot engines for petrol (325i, 130i, 330i etc). Diesels are usually pretty good all round (118d, 120d, 123d, 320d). For 2011-2015 1 series (116i, 118i, 120i) they are very good with the little 4 cylinder with a turbo.

Well... It looks very 'used ' in these photos. it is booked in for a full paint job though, so very soon it will be a real looker.

one thing i might try, is to get the left and right suspension swapped over to see if that levels it out theory being low vs high with weight on the swapped high side.

Was thinking about getting a new one. Someone's cat chewed on my one... Well I think/hope it was a cat.

Ah yes I remember now. My one was better being a Tech 1. They were quite often in the same Sparky shop together.

Have you considered the forced induction route? I wouldn't say there is a lot to gain in the form of tuning from the M54b30. Even with all the mods, the most I would estimate about 265hp maybe a bit more for the higher redline. But if you are wanting to stick with the m54 then go for it! Not sure what the prices are for s54's of s52's these days but that could be a more cost effective way?

Corrected, thanks Jordan.

I was recently told this too, although i have heard of people having rough running issues with Mobil 98 and no issues when going back to BP 98. NFI what the difference is there. BP is the only high octane I trust in my cars.

Thanks mate. Will definitely do that. It’s NZ new and I have all the original paperwork. Yep, I drive it almost weekly. It’s nice to see their values going up but annoying as I will end up driving more carefully and insurance premium will go up too.

If you’re in Aucks then it might be worth checking with East Auckland BMW, they were doing some sharp fixed-price servicing to build their customer base.

Rich Oxton’s one is the Tech II on TradeMe, Linked by Southerner above..? Don’t think he’s got a Tech Wan as well. The one I saw isn’t Mr Oxton’s though. Price was in line with the asking numbers on the TradeMe listings and relevant to its condition. Trying not to give too much away as it was in confidence, not trying to be a dick. If yours is a NZ new M325I that is driveable then I would suggest the insurance should be $25k+. Might be worth getting a valuation for agreed value insurance. You don’t want the “it’s a 35 year old BMW so it’s only worth $3k” letter if things go wrong.

Similar thing happened to me in Auckland years back. Took the 530d into North Shore BMW for a Winter Check up and they forgot to tell me all the things they had found wrong. Including bald rear tyres. I sent it in there because I didn't have time to check it myself. Anyway we randomly won a $300 voucher for BMW merch right after we complained.

The power steering lines are pretty straight forward. I made mine for the v8. only one is a high pressure hose - cut the factory fittings from the hoses and measured the length/path i wanted it to take and had hydraulink crimp the ends onto the correct hose for about $80. The other 2 are lower pressure lines so some braid line with hose clamps works well Nice work on the build - a little jealous of the style 32's

Drive it backwards really fast??

Well I'm pretty much happy with that. Glad I did the LHS C PILLAR it would have definitely bugged me with the ripple in it. Painted the diffuser black, that white was bland as hell. Before After

Ok millennial 🤣 Always remember this - the older you get, the wiser your parents become! and we know whats coming for you 🤣🤣🤣

Regardless of what your parents might have told you... closing your eyes DOES NOT make the boogie man go away Cheers... PS: Turn that sh*t up !!!!!

Another NZ M325i Tech Wan spotted in a dealership, black, very, very tidy condition. In for WoF and service as it’s in the process of being sold (has deposit taken).

‘We’ve checked it, it’ll be another $350 if you want it changed sir...’

No worries, I haven't even looked at it for a second to be honest so don't know exactly what tweaking is required, i have e36 lines off the motor and e30 ones. Ill let you know when I get a chance the closet ones, i wont just be bending them, I try to get things as close to factory/proper as they can be. But yea i would of thought local powersteering guys could come up with something. Possibly with me having a e36 motor and a newer rack it might not be as bad as a standard e30 to new rack?

Use an 'easy out'.

Sold

I wonder if it is because the majority of BMW's on the road here are imports? Trying to convince someone out of a poorly maintained import and into an expensive new BMW could be hard work.

Use Gull 98 in my cars. It's 30 cents a litre cheaper than BP, they can keep their overpriced petrol to themselves.

Hi guys, I'm looking for some help with the above car. I bought the car for my daughter just before she had a baby, that was three months ago now. Within 3 weeks I replaced the AC unit at $1300, then the car started making more noises and Low oil warning kept popping up. Took the car to North Shore BMW who said the timing chain needs replacing and the valve stem seals need replacing. Just under $6K quoted, so this would make it a $14K car! So I paid the diagnostic fee and took the car home. So in desperation I looked up the repairs on Youtube, bought the locking tools, engine support, and the BimmerZen valve spring compressor 3D printing files (printed by a local guy) plus all the parts.http://bimmerzen.com/store/product/4/BMW-N42N46-VSCT-3D-model-STL-files Timing chain kit (guide and chain) Valve stem seal set VANOS solenoid o-rings: 11367546379, 11367506178 2 x VANOS bolts: 11367500574, Crankshaft front radial seal: 11117511395, Oil Drain Gasket ring; 07119963151 Sump Gasket;: 11137511224, I crankshaft bolt: 11237503107 oil pickup tube o-ring: 11417507756 Oil filter housing gasket GE 7411 5W-30 Synthetic oil Oil Filter Antifreeze After a few very long nights and a lot of double checking, I was about to refill the water when I spotted that I'd snapped the breather on the top radiator hose. After taking the google advice to apply WD40 and having 3 goes (walking away to calm the farm) at getting the top hose off, I use the remaining google advice to used brut force. Nec minit, snapped the radiator pipe off. Now the new radiator and top hose was added to the list of parts. Finally I start the engine, its running like a pig and I see the yellow check engine light, half yellow is on. It seems the engine is in basically limp mode. I note that there seems to be a fair bit of pressure in the rocker cover but I cant figure out if that's "normal" or not. I expect the next step is a UBD2 scanner! I'm now at the end of my run with this car, I'm reading every night and falling into black holes. My wife says get rid of it as is, but I feel I'm close. Any advice from this group please? and please remember my sense of humor is at rock bottom... It would be good to have the car running before my grandson can walk! Steve.