kiwiland

Members in the Hibiscus Coast area who see a Black Hyundai panel van with smoked rear and side windows having a number plate starting with EUR should make sure they smile as they pass it. Always pays to look your best in a portrait!

Remember this stuff being around say 30 years ago as an oil additive. Was sold on the basis of reducing friction and thus increasing power output. Seem to recall it went out of favour when tests showed it reduced friction allright but at the cost of greatly increasing wear on components

[ Looks interesting, Prestige Audio tell me the Dynavin E39 unit will be released end May. Previously I believe it was due for March production. Looking at the forum on the Dynavin BBS it appears there are quite a few fish hooks to resolve yet

No. 1 1937 Hillman Minx. Had all modern features such as "rheostst controlled panel lights" and "steel floorboards" (proudly listed in the owners manual) No synchromesh on the gears though and could break a front spring leaf on any large rock on the road. No. 2 Circa 1963 Austin A30 van. Easiest car ever to park (only about 4 foot wide) Great little vehicle for scooting around city but 15 minutes on the motorway at top speed 50mph guaranteed to cook the engine. No. 3 Holden Sunbird 1975 vintage. Heavy body, 1800cc of useless engine, and foot operated handbrake (great for hill starts) also was painted the most yuk shade of karitane yellow.

Robinsons did a great job on my E39 cluster pixel problem. Drove the car in at 8am and out at 1pm same day with perfect repair. been 2 years now and still 100%

Another nasty in paying GST on imported Jap cars for example is Customs cute habit of setting their own exchange rate when converting the Yen price to NZ$ and then applying GST. Does not matter how good an exchange rate you got when buying the yen to send overseas. Guess every little helps the Govt

Thanks for all the comments guys, as AMI seemed to be the overall leader have gone to them and have an offer for virtually same cover as AA but $200.00 cheaper. Pat on the back for the Forum.

One thing I forgot to include was that the ratbags at AA didnt even have the courtesy to mention the premium increase or value decrease, just a bold demand for money almost. Must think they have a captive customer

I am 75 years old,retired, living at Whangaparaoa and for the last 40+ years insured my car with AA Insurance. My last claim was circa 1963.My current car is a 2001 E39 530I ex japan with top spec. This year for an "agreed value" of $32,700 I paid $732.00 premiums. The agreed value was high I know but was last January. I have just received my renewal notice and am astounded to see that although the "agreed value" has been reduced to a more realistic $22,000 the premium has gone up to $755.00. So we take a third off the cover but still increase the premium! As I have had the 530I now for 5 years and averaged 5,000km per year I seem to be paying a lot to store the car in my garage. One of the problems with being retired is you lose touch with current costs, am I paying too much? could I do better elsewhere? Comments invited, also PM proposals from any Insurance reps on the forum!

Recent publicity on Fair Go and TV News about the actions of "Parking Wardens" in handing out all manner of offence notices for your vehicle is enough to question the actions of our local bodies. Two points come to mind:- 1. As the job qualification requirements for a Parking Warden probably don't extend beyond the ability to count to 10 should these people be given such authority? 2. As most of the mall and supermarket parking areas are private property and thus not part of the road system how can you commit a motoring offence in such an area?

Recently Hometune have been advertising suggesting that "they have the equipment and expertise to service all European cars such as BMW etc at your home or premises" Living as I do 50+ K from the nearest BMW accredited service centre this could be of interest. Anyone have any experience or comments on such a statement or on Hometune generally

nother example of the way our Police bow down to every half assed protest group that seeks attention. Wonder how the protestors would go if they tried such a stunt in say France. What we need are water cannons, that would clear the road in a rush

From time to time JC have specials on an oil service. I guess its to help get business in these tough times. What is a good price for a "bog standard" oil service on an E39 530I anyway

About 100km a week mostly on motorway. For the many short runs needed that chew up the gas on a 530 I use a 1500 Lancer that "runs on the smell of an oily rag"

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I should be giving AA the heave ho. For my 2001 E39 after all the membership and no claims discounts they still want $735 to ensure it. Thats for a 73 year old living on the North Shore whose last claim was in 1969!

Today received my car insurance renewal account from AA Insurance. Usually this type of mail is accompanied by a bleating letter saying costs have risen dramatically and reluctantly they have to raise premiums. Not this mob! Premium is up by 8.7% while agreed value goes down by 6%. Has nobody told them we are in a recession and we all have to take a cut in income. This sort opf thing is as bad as Local Bodies striking rates on grossly out of date property valuations but thats another story

Apologies to all I stand corrected. A little knowledge is dangerous!!

Sometimes swapping the front and rear tyres can help matters, the different wear patterns and suspension differences between front and back can change the noise generated (and the wear rate)

Could be your car is Jap import which generally is to higher spec than NZ market versions. My E39 has 10 air bags which is more than generally found in NZ new E39s

Oh No, its the silly season again

Loose or dirty battery connection or grounding. Passes enough current to pull in solenoid but high starting current across resistance gives too high a voltage drop and hence not enough to spin starter motor

X5V8 you have a new message

Q. How do you tell a blind man in a nudist colony A. Its not hard

Approx 2 years ago I imported a 2001 E39 BMW from an auction house in Japan and was faced with trying to find some info about the Nav system and inbuilt cellphone unit. Having no luck with local BMW agents I emailed to [email protected] with my questions. While it took a few days for them to react I got an excellent detailled reply in perfect English from their "customer centre". certainly worth a shot to clarify the warranty matter