kiwiland

Thanks guys for the info, looks like the analogue system will see me (and the car) out

Noticed a fair amount of traffic on the USA Boards about the upcoming ceasing of analogue Tv transmissions in the States and the subsequent need to change their TV modules to a digital type if they want to continue to watch TV. Also noticed that in July 2007 our old friend Jochen was advertising on Trademe that he could reprogramme any TV module to receive all the freeview channels (which are digital are they not). Does this mean that our TV modules, for example mine on a 2001 E39 ex Japan are hybrid in that they can be set up to receive either TV mode? Can Jochen or somebody clarify this please

E39 530 Auto Round town 11.4 L/100Km Motorway @ 105Km/h 8.9 L/100Km Average as per computer 10.8L/100Km By way of explanation I should add the driver (me) is 73 years old

Anyone know the ideal idling speed for an E39 530 Auto (2001). Mine seems to be set at 700 rpm and when waiting at the endless traffic lights you can almost watch the consumption reading rise. With the cost of 95 being what it is seems a waste to have the engine idling at that speed

Robinson Instruments Sale Street Auckland Ph (09) 377 1565 E39 Hi Cluster Pixel repairs:- Deliver cluster to them: $375 + GST Deliver car to them: $450 + GST Had mine done on "car basis" same day service, in at 9am out at 2 pm excellent job

I am running a 2001 E39 530 with an indicated mileage of 47,000k. For the last 2 years I have only averaged 4,500k per year being a mixture of 20 - 150k. (use an elderly Lancer for day to day running) Question is :- how often do I need to get it serviced

With the rash of Jap GPS units being changed over to Mk3 or Mk4 in NZ by Jochen et al there must be by now quite a stack of these jap "computers" lying around. As the later ones (2001+) labelled DVD2 are quite an up market unit somewhere between a Mk3 and Mk4 has anyone thought of flogging then off on a jap ebay or equivalent. Interesting to find out what they are worth in Japan. Anyone with Jap contacts?

Hi Jochen. Just to clarify: What Mark unit are we talking here and does the $700 include a local map disc

Thanks to all for the info, this is what makes the Forum so useful. Any firm info on costing would help to add to the picture

Hi Guys (and Girls) Today had to renew the WOF on my 2001 E39 All OK except for some grief from the inspector fellow who was not happy having to guess some of the digits in the odometer due to the dreaded pixel habit of going intermittent. What is the current state of play with this problem? I know Jochen did some preliminary work but this seems to have come to a halt. Can they be repaired locally?(Auckland) What does it cost? What is the proceedure? Does it cure the problem permanently? What help can we get from our friendly BMW dealers on this problem Comments and advice welcome

2001 530I Hiline with all the goodies but also all the Japanese badies 2001 530I Hiline with all the goodies but also all the Japanese badies

Having started off this thread I should perhaps include my own experieces with cars from Japan over the last 9 years. First was in 1997 when I bought a 1994 Celica from the local Toyota dealer with 42,000k on the clock. Car was complete with manuals and service record all in Japanese but seemed to confirm the mileage after I got to grips with the Jap habit of listing years as "years of the emperors reign". This year sold the Celica with 223,00 on the clock and other than petrol and servicing each 10K it cost only 2 batteries and 2 sets of tyres. Even the muffler system was still ok after 9 years of NZ use. Most recent Jap exercise is the 2001 E39 530I I bought through a Jap Auction house earlier this year. After weeks of sorting through auction sheets on the net and putting in bids that were too low I got a grade 5A car at an excellent price. The Shipping, Customs and Compliance matters were dead easy. Points noted: 1. These days it seems rare to get an import with service records or any form of manual. They seem to clean out everything at some stage. 2. Paint finish and general build quality is first class, also they must look after their cars well, the BMW does not have a mark on it after 5 years of use, try that on NZ roads and parking lots! 3. The Japanese specs are really high with just about everything you can think of included as original equipment 4. The Japanese radios and SatNav systems are a pain, our good friend Jochen can help us out here. Its early days yet but all in all it seems to have been a worthwhile exercise, probably saved approx $10K on the equivalent NZ price

Great stuff!! Makes you feel good all over.

Hi Guys I see we have had a thread discussing the merits or otherwise of importing used BMWs from Singapore. Anyone got any comments on the same topic applying to cars imported from Japan. Good experiences, bad experiences etc