nordschleife

Hi All, All going well by the end of the week I will have a E39 on my driveway. Its a pretty high spec 1999 model with TV, phone, leather, heated seats, etc. My knowledge of BMWs to date has mostly focused on E46 M3s. What I would like to know is firstly, what plug in options (AV input, iPod integration, etc) are available for a E39 of this year? In terms of iPod integration is it worthwhile controlling the iPod from the radio / steering wheel controls? Youtube clips I have seen look as though the radio is very slow to react. Is the more simple method of using the iPod itself a better option? I seen a few posts that mention an upgraded radio was fitted in 01 - what advantages does this offer? Am I likely to have DSP? How do I tell and is this an advantage or hindrance? Can my CD changer play mp3s? I suspect that it can't. I'd like to replace the built in phone with bluetooth at some point - how easy is this to do and where is a good source for parts? The TV is the older square type and I'd like the later 16:9 version. What is the going price for these in NZ and where can I source one from? Am I correct in that they are a straight swap for the square version? Is the unit from the X5 identical to that in the E39? TV In Motion has already been enabled by a previous owner. I'm not sure if this was done using NavCoder or via some other means - is there any way I can check? I'm off to the UK and Germany in May for 6 weeks so could possibly buy the bits I need over there if it is more economical to do so. Is there a second hand BMW parts company in NZ with reasonable prices? Last but not least I want to hard wire in my V1. Any recommendations on the best place to connect the wires? Is the interior light a good option? What colour are the wires I need to connect to? StealthOne would be very cool but seem to no longer be available. Thanks in advance! Any advice and recommendations appreciated.

Slightly off topic but is there a BMW specialist in Hawkes Bay? I know there are some members down here, where do you guys get your cars serviced?

I don't believe so. There was some talk last year about changing this so that any Joe Bloggs couldn't just get the info but so far nothing has changed.

Or they could go to the post office with your rego number, pay $2 and find out your address. My cars are registered to an address different to where they are located for this reason.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on Turners. Do you have any further info? The last E46 M3 to sell there sold for $25,600.

I'd be really interested to know the spec of the car (kms, etc) and what they were offered as a trade. Please PM me if you feel comfortable sharing the price and info. I think the price of E46 M3s should be closely aligned to V8 S4 pricing - they cost roughly the same new and were aimed at the same market. A NZ new 05 S4 done 51kms sold for $35k earlier today but an 05 M3 is probably worth $20k more than that. Is it that M3 prices are currently unrealistic or is the market flooded with S4s? Sorry to go a little off topic on this one!!

Is there a particular car you are looking at? I've got a record of pretty much every E46 M3 that has been advertised over the last 12 months and may be able to give you some additional info.

I have had 2 less than satisfactory experiences with JG Wellington. A friend of mine had an E36 M3 and it was serviced at JG Wellington, making him a client. I went there with him looking for an E46 M3 and was approached be a salesman who asked if I needed any help. I told him I was looking for an E46 M3, and asked if he knew of any coming up for sale. He said "No, don't have any" and walked away. There was no, can I take your details and I'll give you a call if something comes up, etc. The second time (around 6 months later) I was back there again and this time had a really helpful, knowledgeable salesman - very different to the other guy. He said he even had a client who was looking to trade his manual M3 and perhaps that car would suit me. I didn't have a card on me at the time but he gave me his and asked me to email him when i was back at the office the following Monday. I emailed him first thing and haven't heard a thing since. There is almost an arrogance about it.

I have to log in each time I view the form despite clicking the remember me box. Someone mentioned this is due to logging in from different IP addresses - surely the board isn't that fussy? There would probably be more posts if this was fixed.

Personally I prefer manual over SMG but on the whole SMG is a good system once you get used to it. My experience amounts to about 2000kms of SMG driving (2 E46 M3s) and probably only 100kms of manual M3 driving (4 E46 M3s) so probably not the long term info you are after. Its something you have to try yourself and see if it suits you. In its harshest mode with full throttle it is far harder on the car than a person probably ever could but it most certainly changes faster than a human could. In the lesser modes it can be difficult to find a program that exactly suits you and you end up meeting its requirements rather than the car meeting yours. I found the auto mode especially to be a little frustrating, particularly during clity driving. I believe SMG was only available from 02 onwards - I haven't seen an 01 car with SMG. If SMG breaks it can be costly to repair but failures are relatively uncommon proided that the car has been looked after. The gearbox / clutch itself is the same as the manual car - its the ancilleries - pumps, modules, etc that can fail and cost a fortune. There have been software upgrades for SMG and by now all cars should have been done. I also think some of the very early cars had a recall. Upsides are that you get paddles and launch control and over time driving it will become smooth. If you want an SMG car you have a much larger selection as the majority of cars 02 onwards were SMG. Hope this helps.

Interesting, we have similar taste in cars. I've been looking for the right E46 M3 for a while now and recently decided to take an 03 S4 manual for a test drive from the local dealer as there were no M3s on the market locally. It was better that I expected but after driving a M3 the following weekend its a very different car. Although the S4 is probably the sensible option (especially considering the depreciation they have had recently) I decided within about the first 5 minutes that the M3 is more what I'm looking for. I'll be interested to read what you think of it after a couple of months and whether you feel the need to get an M3!

Sorry, I thought that was for Vista only, not XP. Working well now, thanks for the direction. Cheers Matt

Thanks Jochen. I've downloaded and tried to get this running but when I attempt to register the regsvr32 msinet.ocx file I get an error saying LoadLibrary ("msinet.ocx") failed. Any ideas? I have a XP machine and the other three files registered OK.

I have a question about DVDs and SatNav. At work we have a Singapore Import 745Li with functional NAV / NZ maps. Could the DVD from the 745 but used in a MK4 E46 nav system?

Yep, I've pretty much got every M3 on TM saved to my watchlist so that i can keep track of price movements etc. Several of them have been for sale for over 12 months and many have dropped in price significantly since their first listing so I've got a pretty good idea of what the market price is. Interestingly, 12 months ago an Audi S4 V8 was far more expensive than an M3 but now quite the opposite is the case. Could it be that M3s are set to take another price drop? - there are more for sale now than there has been for a long time. By the way, the $38k M5 that someone posted a link to earlier in this thread has since been sold - apparently a previous owner bought it back!

Which M3 is your one? Do you have a link to the ad?

Thanks for the posts so far guys. What about in terms of maintenance? I know that any M car isn't going to be cheap but what are the weak points of each of these cars. After reading M3 Power's post about the CSL I'm glad I don't like SMG! Also, the original BMW brochure says that the M3 is quicker in the 0-100kmh sprint (5.2s v M5 @5.3s). Are those figures accurate? I've seen some US sites saying that the 0-60mph time for the M3 is 4.8s, can anyone point me to a road test of the M5?

Hi All, I'm in the market for a new car. I want something quick, classy, well equipped, manual and something slightly rare. Until a month or so ago I was pretty much set on an E46 M3 but recently someone made the recommendation of an E39 M5. E46 M3 prices seem to have stabilised a little in recent months while M5 prices appear to have dropped a little, making them closely aligned pricewise. I'll probably keep the car for at least 3 years and do 30,000kms during that time and resale is important. These are my thoughts so far without driving an M5 (I've driven several M3s, both manual and SMG): - M3 looks and feels like a newer car - M3 is probably better handling - Better selection of M3s available - M3 is more economical - M3 is possibly cheaper to maintain - M5 is cheaper to insure - M5 has 4 doors - NZ new M5s are very well spec'd as standard - Fewer M5s exist so may depreciate slower - all M5s are manual, most M3s are SMG What are peoples thoughts and recommendations about each car? Is there anyone on here that has owned or driven both? What do I need to know about each car? Any advice or info would be appreciated. Cheers

Hi Jochen, Off topic and only for curiosity sake only. Can your navcoder program enable the Brake Force Display on E46s with LEDs? I've heard that the LTSA in their wisdom required this to be dispabled on NZ cars... Thanks Matt

Thanks Jochen. I've come across a lot of your posts in my research both on this forum and others. Seems you are quite the BMW electronics genius! Cheers Matt

Have you seen the offerings on the bimmernav site? Pricing is OK compared to what the options cost from factory but still quite expensive.

After some further research I've managed to answer my own question. The phone prep was a $600 option in NZ on the E46 (option 640). I expect that few NZ new cars would have it. Also, Bluetooth (Option 644) was $3,050 and the Integrated GSM phone (Option 629) was $3,600. Prices are from 2005. I wonder how many buyers too up these options?

Hi All, Do all E46's (specifically M3s) come pre-wired for a phone kit? After some research on Google it appears that US spec cars did and I'd like to know if NZ cars are the same. Is so, I have some further questions: What is the extent of the wiring in there? Obviously all E46 M3s have the phone buttons on the steering wheel. Does it include the mic or is it just power? Could I buy the bluetooth module and antenna and install in a plug and play fashion? Any info appreciated.