Leaderboard

E39 out, E46 in. Transported it up from Arrowtown last week, picked it up this week. 211,000km NZ New 2 previous owners. Last owner had it for 12 years/173,000km Known faults were the remote keys don't work and it has a vacuum leak under the intake manifold as diagnosed by an indy shop in Arrowtown. A few bits of service history but nothing significant. Fresh off the trailer: After talking to experts (forum members) I've started what looks to be a bit of a maintenance mission. Started with the PCV. It was dated as 2002 so original and very brittle. The oil return line disintegrated in half as I pulled out the dipstick tube. I left the manifold on in a bid to have a driveable car to pick my daughter up from day care in and in my haste I forgot to plug in a few things. Idle was smooth but it was real jerky and had a big dip in the throttle when you initially got on the gas. Scanned it and it came up with cam position sensor fault. So out came the airbox and it turned out I had forgotten to plug in the cam position sensor, alternator and something else...whoops...anyway, seems to be running alot better now. Revs are constant and it's not throwing misfire or rich codes. Did the classic air filter, cabin filter and oil + filter too. It's pretty oily down here... Pretty dusty up here.. ewwwww New stuff I went with 5W-40 just because I had 1.5L left over from the 540 so figured I might as well use it up. New Roundel. I got a cheap one off trademe last time and it wore really fast so went all in on the dealership one this time. Changed the plates over too. DQZ346 lives on. Things to do: - coolant system overhaul - vanos valve cover gasket oil filter housing gasket - New Disa valve (rebuilt) - Tints & chrome delete around the windows - Motor mounts - Get the remote locking working - Trans oil and filter Things I would like to do: - Tyres - Suspension Eibach prokit, Bilstein B4 shocks front and Sachs m sport rears - Xenons + black corner lights - Bluetooth hands free - Bavsound upgraded speakers Feel free to add to this never ending list ?

Hi guys, Sadly I have to sell my E36IS MS, I was planning on keeping it, unfortunately I have too much on my plate and need to finish other cool projects, like my kitchen and bathroom, and my E30... anyway 1998 E36 318IS Motorsport 218kms Manual Wof and reg till May 2021 Hellrot red $7500ono Its not immaculate by any means I will admit that, however given the rarity and it having goof bones it will tidy up well, i unfortunately just do not have the time at the moment Any questions please just message Located Dunedin

Recent history suggests that is a very very small list...

It's not the rain, but the salt they chuck on the roads in winter - it traps moisture

The problem is these guys run on such tight margins and are so small they can’t absorb a lemon car into their business. I remember buying my X5 from a somewhat larger and multi-site used importer and their attempts to fix anything we pretty damn infantile: “oh easy mate, just needs the computer reset to get rid of a CEL”. That and they all have their own pet shady mechanics who do cheap fixes. I had a dealer fix rocker cover gaskets once (this was after telling me the oil burning was “from the car sitting”) and three years later they needed redoing. Should last longer than that. The amount of time you burn up given that you kinda have to let them have a go at their “fix” is a killer. I think they rely on making the customer experience so poor that most people suck it up and pay their mechanic to do it. I’ve been though this too many times to tolerate it anymore.

Or 'just because that's what the previous owner spent on it' ?

Added things to do: Clean ICV, power steering and brake fluid change, camshaft sensor o-rings, fuel filter and belt pulleys Things ill eventually do: Replace most of the wearable parts on the car and fix any cosmetic issues

My e61 M5 is a UK import and it certainly wasn't concourse condition, but it had no bad visible rust underneath, a small amount of surface rust on some fasteners, but nothing on the chassis, also no obvious repair work like a quick re-spray to hide the rust. If you are thinking about doing work to tidy it up, wait until its here as the compliance guys could ask you to re-do it. If you like the car, and it sounds like you do, then take the punt, but be prepared to do/spend a bit to get it legal.

Didn't do a pre-purchase inspection? I wouldn't trust a random car dealer as far as I could throw them and wouldn't want to have to let them fix anything. I'd much rather get a proper PPI to make sure it's sorted in the first place, and maybe an aftermarket warranty. If the car has oil leaks and stupid issues like that they should have sorted it before they sold it.

I'm aware of salt/grit as been in london for 15yrs! I think cars should be judged on merits, not location but I appreciate all your comments good and bad. Believe me ice had many a sleepless night thinking of all these things. I'm nit planning on selling the car ever, so couldn't care about NZ import thing. I've dreamt of driving from Chch to Akaroa for a fish n chip run ever since I had it. I've thought about selling here and buying when I get there but I know the work I e done on this car in and out and don't want to go down the route of trusting another used.

Cause? No. But I'd disconnect the battery for ~20 mins to reset it and try again. Then cluster test/diag via INPA or similar.

Thanks for sharing your journey with this Adrian- especially your fantastic photography!

hamann is a tuning company similar to alpina or ac schnitzer but this isnt a genuine hamann, just has a front lip and a badge/sticker on the bootlid. nothing special. the LHD on vin is probably just an error, its clearly a japanese car and hence RHD. still, not a bad looking car for 9k but non msport wheels, nothing special that warrants "hamann special edition" tax.

The MoT was stricter 16 years ago when I left the U.K. than a WoF is now. Agree the compliance check is tougher than both. Maybe it’s got tougher since I brought my vert and touring in, not sure. Maybe you got someone having a bad day, or who had been pulled up for passing too many cars? Some of the absolute shockers that I have seen as “fresh imports” suggest there is considerable variation in the standards applied by different inspectors.

I can spin the ball joints by hand so they are totally shot now, the bushes may have been replaced but they are toast now as well, should make a massive improvement to the ride and braking, sway bar links have been replaced and still seem ok. In other news I have dismantled another dash cluster and removed 2 hopefully good stepper motors, but damaged a trace on my dash cluster PCB so need to repair that before I chuck it all back together, more slow progress....

Nope, zero idea. but David from Get Electronic will.

Out with the old, VERY old, and in with the new, who says you can't get 300000km out of suspension bushes

PBTech's Black Friday Sale starts soon, and I think it is going to be a ridiculous rush to save less than 10% on most parts.

FYI - I've done just that and they so happen to have another A5 (Turbo DSG) so will not give it back until ours is perfect ?

Yup, it’s one of the biggest urban myths in NZ car sales “ooohh, it’s a UK import it’ll be full of rust” as if NZ cars never rust. I brought my E30 convertible over from the UK when it was 20 years old. Yes it had surface rust on the exposed under body components, but nothing was noted on the compliance checks. All I had to do was replace a couple of worn brake discs and pads. And that was by a very straight and honest compliance centre, not one of the shonky ones. Structural rust - ie holes through panels, bubbling under paint in key areas, is a different issue. And as you say not every car in UK has this - they would fail a MoT for a start. Keep any invoices you have for the work to show it has been done by a professional.

Yes and it's NZ new

Draggy is a stand alone device you place in the car it uses GPS to calculate acceleration. It Bluetooth's to your phone.

Very true. Discussing PC parts. Apple people show up to inform us we're wrong. Nearly as bad as people with Air Fryers.

S O L D Inbound back to Auckland. The best part of owning this car was the interaction with other E39/BMW owners, thanks to everyone who helped me source parts and helped me trying to diagnose issues. What a trip it’s been. Sold to a non bimmersporter, but hopefully it’s gone to a good home.