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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBn57BCj0L8

I wouldnt go halves with a dealer. It should be running sweet and its their problem at least for the first few months

BEst to see what the actual problem, high probability that its coil or plug related. Easy fix no need to return the car. BTW if it is a dead coil, then the other 5 probably aren't far behind.

The "actual" fault needs to be determined first before you start throwing money at it. 95% of fixing something is diagnosing the fault accurately before attempting to apply the fix to get the intended result.

First time BMW owner! 3 weeks ago I bought @str8_6's 2001 530i and have since fallen in love with her! Nicknamed 'Jane', she is a facelift, NZ new, very tidy car that has spent most of her life garaged. She is in Oxford Green Metallic, with the standard black leather interior and wood trim. At 137,500kms, I have already done over 1,000kms in her and can honestly say I have enjoyed every moment of it! I have never needed any more power on a passing lane, and she is silky smooth at idle. Oh, and don't get me started on that beautiful 6-pot purr! Although I am normally a hardcore manual supporter, I have switched over to the dark side simply because it is almost torturous to drive a manual through Wellington and Wellington's traffic. I am currently a first-year student at Victoria University and am a diehard car guy. My grandmother got me into cars with her 1998 R170 SLK230 Kompressor (the car in my profile pic - and yes that's me on the bonnet!), I loved that car and still do; she actually still uses it as her daily and has done over 200,000kms in it. I recently got a new job out in Petone which finally justified my intense desire to buy a new car! Previously, I had a 1999 Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6 6-speed which was my first car. I loved that car with a passion; I spent a substantial amount of money doing preventative maintenance on it (not myself, although I would like to be able to start working on my cars in the future) by replacing the water pump, cambelt, radiator and a couple CV boots. Unfortunately, after owning it for only 3 months it was written off - not by me though! It was parked outside my high school one morning when a gentleman drove past towing a car trailer which didn't have the safety chain attached. Just as he drove past my car, the trailer bounced off the hook and ploughed straight into my baby. Fair to say I was devastated (and to this day haven't fully gotten over it). It was only a few weeks prior to that that I had sunk many dollars in securing the longevity of my pride and joy. Luckily, we both had insurance and I was paid out for it. *Photos attached* This tragedy occurred in September of last year, and ever since I have been longing for a replacement, but have never been able to justify it/find the right replacement. And then Jane came along. I have always been a BMW enthusiast, with my mother owning an E36 when I was growing up and an E90 now, and am very glad to finally have one that I can call my own. I keep her in a parking garage in Wellington's CBD, and use her 3-4 days each week to drive to and from Petone (although that hasn't stopped me taking her out most days just to go for a cruise!) and occasionally to drive back home to Whanganui (2.5 hrs). Unfortunately, after only owning the car for 2 days, my radiator sprung a crack while I was visiting home in Whanganui. I got this replaced by our family mechanic easily enough, but it was nonetheless a pain! In terms of future plans for the car, I have bought some euro style licence plate surrounds which I am yet to put on (couldn't justify spending $299 on the real deal - maybe one day), I am considering putting a tasteful tint on the windows to preserve the leather and parcel shelf which is surprisingly un-faded, and am currently looking into installing an aux-cord into the stock stereo setup. I am leaning towards a Grom unit which plugs into the back of the stereo since the stereo will be pre 09/2002, but am open to recommendations. My only requirement is that the stock head unit remains - I'm big on OEM. Obviously, I'm a first-year uni student so don't have heaps of money to burn (and the parents won't pay for it ;)) so affordable recommendations of any kind will be much appreciated. This is turning into a bit of an essay so I'll finish it up here. I've joined the BMW Car Club and will be attending the Cars and Coffee meet this weekend. I really look forward to meeting more of you guys and gaining insight into BMW ownership and any pointers on working on my car myself (this is hard, however, since I am in a hall of residence and don't necessarily have the capacity to do much work myself). This is such an exciting community and I am thrilled to be a part of it! Cheers, Boston.

Hi folks, new to the forum and to owning a BMW. Just purchased a 335i Wagon Japanese import and so far I'm impressed. No real questions at the moment, Just trying to get my head around all the things. Probably will want to look at smartphone bluetooth or USB connectivity for both phone, music and maps as the first thing so any pointers gratefully received.

Hi all. Just bought a '08 135i ex-japan, and it's my first euro. It's done 50,000km. Traded from a K20 Euro R. I'm excited to finally have a well documented, well supported (at least by the consumer) vehicle with lots of information and DIY's available. I did lots of reading and took the punt on the N54, my reasoning being that I'm going to keep it stock. What I can't find is how we deal with the HPFP issue in NZ. The dealer must have had it warmed up for my test drive as after that and the long drive home from Auckland - you guessed it - it cranks for about 2-3sec before starting when cold and then idles rough until warm. Without bogging down my intro post, should I leave it until it codes? It won't lean-out or hurt itself in some way? I have 3 years of mechanical warranty but I have yet to read the policy so it could be useless. I'm aware that it could just be injectors, too, but I'd be keen to just drive it for a week and see if it settles down. Look forward to talking with you ? Stevo.

Absolutely not. Day after buying, it's the car dealer's responsibility to put it right to the buyer's satisfaction, or reject the goods. Dave's advice above is bang-on. Giving away your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act needlessly for what? https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/consumer-guarantees-act

Fairly normal, I watched it do it in mine Heater on full noise and max fan seems to cook the coating on the plastic. Lid fell off water bottle on the way to job interview... Meguairs trim stuff and a brush fixed it.

Welcome to BimmerSport Martin! Looks like a beaut wagon FYI we have a very active community and branch of the BMW Car Club here in Welly. I'll tag you onto the 3 events we have coming up.

I had M3 front arms (both upper and lower) installed recently and they based my specs off an M3 competition pack. Works pretty well. Specs attached. Previous specs I had were a bit on the 'stance-ey' side with the rear camber, I think they overcompensated when I said I had rubbing on the rear (rear right only I think) from the aftermarket wheels.

Welcome Boston - nice to meet you at the last pub night and congrats on the tidy E39! Sorry to hear about the Alfa - understand how gutted you must have been when that happened ?

Sorry yes I agree didn't see the dealer part at first.

SH1, Greenlane, most mornings...

I Bought my 135i and had the exact same Issue. Always happened when opening it up just slightly that it went to limp mode. also had no lights up because it would re-set when turned off. I changed plugs and Coils and ran sweet as. Auto sure wont cover those but FSP Euro does a pretty good deal on an ignition kit. Maybe see if the seller will go halves?

They didn't really have any choice, a sizeable proportion of the EU test cycle involves the "car" being at a standstill and the engine idling as this test is supposed to represent a real world driving scenario. Switching the engine off during those parts of the test saves valuable fuel and emissions which can then be off-set in other parts of the test to scrape through. It was possible to program the function to be "off" on some models, but now cannot be done as it is changing the emissions profile of the car - even though you can switch it off manually in the car (which will probably disappear as a function in the near future..)

"Tell him he's dreaming", I don't care how mint and low kms it is, that is still a 318i Auto in old man Beige with matching beige interior. A very nice example of a not very desirable model as far as I can see. Been on TradeMe for quite a while.

But seriously do you have an aftermarket warranty, because if you don't i would buy one today if I were you.

Second video worked for me. And yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting the car is a lemon or that the dealer is dishonest! It's perfectly reasonable to give the dealer an opportunity to fix it, especially if they're forthcoming with the offer. However don't assume they're intending to do it at no cost to you, you need that verified explicitly in writing. You should confirm that: They're making it their responsibility to fix it; and, They're not going to rely on your warranty to have it fixed; and, You're going to get another vehicle whilst it's being fixed (your trade-in might be a good option but dealer is responsible for insurance); and, If it takes longer than xxx to properly fix you have the right to walk away; and, At your expense you can get the fix verified by a BMW dealer/independent of your choice. If the original purchase is complex or costly (e.g. repaying a loan in full before the term was up) to unwind the courts/arbitrator is likely to apportion them between both parties and you'd end up paying 20% to 30% and the dealer the rest (they carry most of the burdon). It seems all parties are being reasonable but keep in the back of your mind point #4 above - you don't want this saga to go on for months or for the dealer to decide it's too costly to proceed (whilst you still own the car!). Reasonable people can become quite unreasonable in a short space of time if conditions are unfavorable. Hopefully it's a quick fix!

Yeah, I'm stunned they lumbered an M car with such a POS option. Just code launch control on, surely that can't live in harmony with stop/start?

Your video didn't load for me, or at least it didn't after 60 seconds. How much do you love this particular car? I personally wouldn't bother looking to get it fixed, assuming the dealer is licensed just take the car back, get your money back and find the next one. This is a legal entitlement, don't squander it by holding on to the car or accepting another course of action. Once you have your money back, if the dealer fixes it on their dime to your satisfaction and makes the car available for sale again then you can enter into a new purchase arrangement. The point being here that you need to take action to shift the risk (ownership) back to the dealer. It's better that the dealer has a broken car to worry about than you. If on the other hand you love this particular car or simply can't be without it then you'll need to find a compromise with the dealer but that should never involve your mechanical warranty. You're entitled to a full refund (including any financing establishment fees and on road costs, warranty etc) so you're doing the dealer a favour if you accept any other course of action, use that to your advantage (temporary use of another car etc, etc). Good luck, sucks when this type of thing happens.

I'd put the dealer on notice regarding the problem in writing. Then get it to the closest BMW dealer or specialist to have the fault properly investigated. Make sure the dealer agrees for you to do this at his cost, or have the vehicle towed back to Auckland for repair at his expense.

Hey, I'm still need to do my re-introduction (haven't been active for a while) but thought I'd share the Bluetooth receiver I got in the meantime. Tried a few but this one works amazing, very happy, auto charges, auto shuts off, auto connects to your phone on car start and comes with microphone built in so can actually do hands-free like built in from factory. You just need AUX plug and 12V power in centre console. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739RGDFJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_UQKEBb8JPSQBS

Welcome Bozza; no relation to Bosnich then? haha - I recognise where those pics of Jane were taken only too well! Shame about the Alfa - I had a (poxy) 147 and to this day it remains one of the sweetest driving manual cars I've ever owned... it's a duty to tick the Alfa box at some point! Enjoy!

Thanks Graeme for your kind words. To be honest its been hard to keep motivated sometimes, especially in winter as I don't have a garage or any cover. When I make a mistake or encounter a problem I tend to get discouraged, and the low budget slows things down too. But when I finish a section that I'm happy with its all worth it.

Hey - great looking car! For the cold start issue, I would talk to the dealer. It sounds like something that should be covered under the consumer guarentees act. Tim

Went out and did the bed-in on an early-morning drive today. Successive cycles of around 80-100 down to 10... cool downs, then rinse and repeat. Feel has markedly improved. Measured temps at start of cooldown (LASER thermometers are the coolest of toys tools, eh?), found left rear rotor 10 degrees (33%) hotter than the others, wondered about a lazy caliper. Seems to have come right on the run back to Wellington. Now just a (fresh, new) CEL to check.

($1400 whole car) - (engine ecu loom and gearbox) = $1399?

you doing good things Richard

I spoke to NZC, and they offered to cover the cost of sorting out the key fob - its still working for now. I agree on the look of the car, especially with the style 123 wheels -- those seem to match the highline trim better than other rims I've seen. I test drove a highline 2005 550i before I bought the 540i, and it had the style 124's - sorta looked out of place on that car, plus the fact the rears are 275/35/ZR18, which is expensive rubber compared to the 245/40/ZR18's on my 540i.