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Drivers seat all done. Welded lower base as per previous post, welded one of the tabs that the backrest screws into and recovered the seat in brand new fabric. Still need to put in the new seat shocks but the seat feels fantastic. Hopefully the passengers seat doesn't involve too much welding!

This is really apparent on Reddit r/bmw r/mercedes Many of the posts are about interior LED lights and other absolute junk like door projectors that we use to buy from supercheap in the early 2000's. Gone are the days of soft ambient interior lighting. Now you get RGB lighting like a bloody teenagers computer case.

Alright fella's, I popped my cherry and got my first BMW, probably hum drum to y'all but kind of exciting for me. Only other "performance" car I ever owned was a MK1 Golf GTI (1800), that I used to rag around London in, until I hit a tree and wrote it off, so this is quite a step up. But I recently got a e82 135i N55 DCT. No mods, just a tune from autopassion. Looking to do the chargepipe soon and the down pipe at some point, but what I would really like to do is accentuate the exhaust note, and if anyone has any advice of what can be done by way of exhaust mods that will really bring the exhaust note into its own I would love to hear about them. Glad to be here, nice to meet you all, and thanks in advance for any help.

I got one for a mates Skoda. They refused to supply the part number. $4K plus gst. $2k plus gst for second hand. $950ish landed. Oem part, slotted straight in, still perfect.

Good move. I sourced a new Denso compressor from FCP for our e46 some years ago (six or seven?), 'the real mccoy' far more reasonably priced than local options. Touch wood it has been faultless.

@Bmwfan87 welcome to the crazy zone. We're not all crazy in here, but it helps! You're amongst friends - we all dig the BMWs. 'Break My Wallet'. The asolute best thing you can do is google "so you bought an e60". It's a PDF you can download, it's updated from time to time, gives you an amazing amount of info, what pain points to look at, what you can expect to spend to run one. Produced by one of the US forums. The e60 was the best - class leading - mid-sized executive express for years. There's plenty that's great about them. Go into it with your eyes open; if you think you can buy it cheap and run it like a Camry, it has other things in mind, and you're going to be enjoying a wallet-ectomy, and it's sure to end in tears. They like maintenance, and they like parts. If you can't work on it yourself, find an excellent independent you can trust. These are not the domain of your local garage. They have excellent brakes and great handling. The suspension system is more sophisticated than 3ers or (say) Camry's, and so when it's time to replace, it's not just bushes - it's wishbones with many more parts than other cars of the same size. Brakes aren't so bad on the sixes - there are many OEM and Aftermarket options. The V8s run an aluminium hat that no OEM produces. Water leaks (ingress of rain water) will kill your e60 faster than anything; multiple computer modules all over the car get flooded if the drains get blocked. Strangely, they're strategically placed by clever German engineers in places that will with water in unfavourable conditions. The ZF 6speed trans is superb. At 125k kms it'll need a service. Fluid flush, new pan (integrated filter), bolts, mechatronic sleeve. The BMW lifetime fill is B.S. - ZF themselves recommend regular maintenance. If you luck out and find one with Dynamic Drive (active anti-roll) you're in for a treat. Mine gave zero trouble in seven years. Active Steering is fab, though the rack is a sh*t to change and expensive to replace in event of failure. BMW acheived better weight distribution and rigidity over the previous model with extensive use of aluminium... even the schocks and struts use aluminium housings. Everything forward of the windscreen is aluminium. The structure is bonded with adhesive and riveted; so repair costs are huge. These days they're usually written off after an accident as uneconomic to repair. You may find insurance is more expensive than comparable cars. Maybe it's dropping as more fall off the road. YMMV. The e60 is a really rewarding car to drive, still looks great twenty years later (they were polarising on release). Just go in with your eyes open. I loved every minute of mine (a 545i) for seven years. V8 features 50:50 weight distro in a comfy car with ~330-350 hp that goes stops and handles more like a sports car than a limousine. You know you want one.So You Just Bought an E60 (V3.9).pdf Did I mention it's not your grandma's Camry. Find that PDF. I've attached an old one in case your google foo ain't up to it.

I actually have no idea what that would cost. But I do know that I couldn't afford the cars I have if I had to have a mechanic do the work.

Indeed, it is! Feels weird with fewer vehicles at home... Chasing up Zane re the X5... M5 is in for faulty alternator AND stuffed aircon compressor X3 dropped off today - low pressure detected on new LR 21" RFT - slow leak - meh I've ended up buying a new A/C compressor from Turner Motorsport for the M5 after coughing up for the alternator locally. New compressor locally $1950+GST w/12-month wty 2nd hand with 3-month wty $600+GST Turner new Denso compressor with lifetime replacement $US613 including freight, excluding GST

@Kodachrome For the sake of compliance - it doesn't require one. But for the sake of bringing a RHD CSI back to all its glory - yes.

Just sold the F30 335i to a fellow up North - has been a brilliant vehicle and I hope he enjoys it

235,xxx km New Phillips D2S xenon bulbs. I replaced both so they hopefully colour match better. Also replaced the rear badge with an OEM I got with the last parts order. Out with the old. The fishing line trick really works wonders New one: Still checking the oil level since doing the 02 pilot mod and it might have burned a smidge it’s not low enough to warrant a top up so very happy. Scored some brand new Meyle HD sway bar links off FB marketplace. The front left boot on the links I pulled out had been damaged i found (maybe from when the garage replaced the leaking shock).

Car came with 2 sets of wheels, some genuine 16" bbs rs's (which have been sold) and the original 15" basket weaves that I think fit the car perfectly. Only other wheel I would look at are the 16' alpinas but think they are more suited to the mtech 2. The wheels were in pretty rough shape, needing to be stripped back to metal and lips skimmed down and repainted. Powerstrip Industries in Onehunga did a great job at chemically stripping the wheels (for only $65 per wheel) and had the lips cleaned up by Alloy Wheel Repair in Grey Lynn. I painted the wheels myself and they came out better than I could have hoped. I've painted things before but not wheels... let alone basket-weaves. I primed and did 3 coats of base colour and a couple of heavy clear coats. I used VHT wheel paint (i think aluminium colour) and i'm pretty happy with the result. Maybe not quite as bright as original but I haven't compared side by side to a set of originals. Clear coat had plenty of time to cure as I was doing the whole front end servicing of the car at the same time so didn't see any road use for a month or so. Have since bought a 5th matching 15" basketweave that will get the same treatment and used as the spare wheel (as the car didn't come with one)

Well that didn’t last long. Chronic misfire on cold start yesterday triggering the cylinder cut. - Scanned. Cyl 3 misfire. Moved coil pack to cyl 1, was still misfiring but was too warm to log a code. - Swapped coil out for a spare. Thought this solved it but think it was just it had warmed up enough as this morning I had a cyl 1 spark duration too short error. - Smoke tested. No obvious leaks Will try again tomorrow. Coils, MAF and fuel pump are potentially all original. Plugs are only 20k old but will start swapping those around.

Lucky I 'saved' a grand on this as I had 2 punctures in my new $1k per corner tyres on the X3 and one was too seriously damaged to be repaired (by a big screw). 🤨