hotwire

12.8v at rest is fully charged. 13.7 is either surface charge (if not running) or charging voltage, although that will climb over 14v Even if fully charged, the battery still requires testing to confirm good or bad.

Ironically I just watched this about an hour ago - just seen this thread now.

Note they differ. B20 is 2.5 bar, B25 is 3 bar. Look like:

I'm not overly an E36 fan but having seen that car in the recent past - it is absolutely stunning in both condition & spec & with relatively low milage. I would suspect it is probably the best example in the country. No disrespect to yours though Dave. $30k is what a retailer is asking, probably on the high side, but find a better one! That one is the ducks nuts! Good E36's are bouncing back now in value, proportionally up through the models. Agree with your other sentiments, can't see collectablity beyond the E46. Cars are becoming more of a commodity it seems.

Was the AA guy a battery guy? AA roadside do use the battery vans for breakdown service in the cities, His testing sounds strange from your description. 12.65 is about 3/4 charged, 12.2 about 1/3 & should be enough to get some reaction from the car, if not a start - assuming the battery is good. 12.2 does not necessarily denote a faulty battery, it could be just down on charge, although it can be tested at that voltage with an electronic tester to confirm good or bad. Did he test it as faulty or simply suggest that 12.2v denoted a faulty battery? If so - that is wrong! You may well have had a weak battery & a faulty starter, (i would hope so from what you have been told) BUT starter solenoid clean - doubt it! Almost EVERY (can't think of one that hasn't) starter nowadays has a sealed solenoid - non serviceable. It could be solenoid contacts at fault BUT much more likely is worn brushes. I also doubt on the "fitting a reconned starter" - this is a thing of the past nowadays with the gazillion different starters & alternators out there. 30 years ago it was common to have reconned units on the shelf & ready to go. So, starter needs removing & evaluating as to cost to repair or replace. No comfort to you though in the price that has been suggested - that is probably about par.

Bypassed airbags? Metal work fixed properly for a box of piss. Nice & safe E60. Ummm dunno bout that. Not a hater either, just a realist!

Could be a real can of worms with that engine. Get it checked professionally by the dealers or an indie

Have had a mint 06 530D with 160km at work the last couple of days to replace glow plugs & the original battery. Owner said he was offered $6K at the stealers as a trade on a same 2013 F10. E60's are cheap as chips now!

Geez some of these new BMW's are getting fugly!

Love the under statement of it.?

Yep I'd have it!

BMW parts at times are ridiculous, CJ in Hamilton the other day for E39 headlight adjusters (two simple little pieces of plastic) $58 + GST a pair & in stock - they can stay there! About $4 & free shipping out of China or - what i went for - USD$12 & free shipping for two pairs out of Latvia. Eurothaned the old ones together until replacements arrive. I try to support local but this is outright taking the piss! - Even with a discount to be had.

^^^^^ Yup totally out of character with any other model - rather alien & certainly not in keeping with BMW

And he got the ultimate...

Could be but how many times have i seen brakes spelt breaks?

With disc breaks!

Maybe two were bought - as in the guy in the US that bought two E39 M5's - one to drive & the other to keep unused - the one that sold a week or two back.

But it's manual with leather?

^^^^ Yep no CEL but low coolant warning.

Its a minefield with reverse camera's & their quality. I have tried numerous over the years, some have been crap - not even price related. I have for the last several years been using a contact in China - once i got on to a known quality reliable unit. Interesting on OEM. Have a customer in Wellington that I had supplied a retrofit camera for his E53. He later bought an E70 & I sourced from my contact in Europe a genuine OEM E70 retrofit kit. He commented to me the image quality at night was nowhere near as good as the Chinese camera he had in his E53.

Jon the stickers are upside down!?

I would be inclined to get the cooling system checked / pressure tested first. The coolant has gone down for a reason - that needs to be determined.

Hardly a fault that is likely to throw a code. You are obviously guessing the fault by your diagnosis. As Glenn said - get it checked properly.

Bummer Jon. Just put it back together & run this season. You will be more pissed sitting it out.

More likely a dead plug. If it doesn't light the fire then it will be wet with fuel.