GerryAttrick

No reason other than price. I'm looking a decent basic car that I can "restore" to something near its former glory

I've got a set of Thule lockable Racks but no skiholders - came off my wifes E36 coupe. I see no reason why they won't fit a sedan. At the moment I'm looking for another E36 325i at a decent price but if I don't find one soon I'll probably sell them - just after the ski season finishes knowing me. I just checked here http://www.paddlerzone.co.nz/products/tran.../thule_part_754 and they are the same for coupe & sedan. I'd let mine go for the price of the foot - say $250. pm me if interested

I am considering the purchase of another E36 -probably a 2 door but not fixed on that. Its to be my "toy" that I can spend time on adding a few bits to make the E36 I always wanted (leather seats are high on the list!!). I pretty much want to keep it stock/OEM and won't be putting any fat mags etc on it. I understand the Jap imported automatics have a Nissan Transmission (?) to comply with the requirement for local content and wondered what other differences there are and what is different on the manual imported versions. There are some nice imports around but I'd like to know in what way are they majorally different to the European/NZ new jobs.

I have a couple of near new 12 volt (800A/H)batteries for an E39 (will probably fit other models) they are classed as DIN 92. I got these when I was having trouble with a Parasitic current drain on my E39 Touring. My dear wife decided that it must be the batteries I had bought that were faulty and bought another brand new BMW one at close to $400! Once the drain was sorted I finished up with 3 batteries and decided to keep the "gold plated" BMW OEM. These have been regularly maintained on a BatteryMate tender and Specific Gravity check shows they are excellent - readings like new...as they should be I will accept $100 each for them- Send me a PM if you want actual sizes/photos. This is an excellent opportunity if your batteries have looked like they are on the way out over winter - at 25% of the new price of an OEM thats got to be a good saving. These are NOT OEM -one is AA Battery and cost over $200 trade and the other I am unsure of source now. Will put on TardMe after I get back from the beach this weekend. I'm heading to Hamilton Friday lunchtime and then on to Whangamat via Kopu so if anyone down that way is interested I can deliver

You mean like this http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5572 This seems to be a great price and I am going to order one and see how it goes

I totally sympathise and I rarely try to fix anything major on either of my BMWs. However I can't always get to a dealer with my car and local "service" often leaves a lot to be desired. An example was when my E39 kept running the battery flat . After paying $800 for a new alternator it came down to a problem that was automagically turning on the a/c. I found the problem and told the garage what to fix. I also still harbour a sneaking suspicion that parts are often replaced when a little bit of black magic can resurrect the old one. Its nice to know what is a possible problem and if its minor fix it myself. Must admit that there was no fault code shown when the nylon window sliders broke on the 318ti but Google and BMW forums helped there. Next problem to sort is a dodgy CPS...according to the BMW dealers last fault check during service. I don't mind paying for the labour costs but I get a bit tetchy about the cost of parts when I see what they go for overseas.

Thats the same problem I have. My neighbour had the same problem and I located a cable that worked form a guy in Akaroa but I've lost his address. We found out his problem was not selecting the correct USB port in the software so he sent the cable back.I know some work and some don't hence my query. I have been given an old touch screen PC that has an RS232 connection so I might just use that in the garage for diagnostics - just have to see if I can get the touch screen option to work. Should be easier to use until it dies under greasy fingers

Can anyone point me to a RELIABLE OBD2 cable that will connect to a USB port on a laptop for use with (eg) Carsoft or similar software. I have had the software running OK thru an RS232 port but most laptops nowadays come without RS232 - hence the need to connect to USB. Some cables apparently work and others are useless. I think there is a crowd in the South Island who do one (I seem to remember something to do with Purple in the name). An overseas supplier would be fine too provided someone can confirm the cables work At this stage I think the CPS on my E39 is "dodgy" and I have the ABS light coming up on my wifes E36 318ti so time for some investigation

Looking for OEM Towbar for E39 Touring. If you have one how much?

Still looking.

Bummer dude - I have 2 (3 if I count the one in my E39) but they are in Auckland. One is a 1 month old AA Battery still with a couple of years warranty left on it. $200 to anyone interested

Any chance you'd split the set - I need one but maybe could stretch to two? If interested can you let me know what is stamped on the rims

BUGGA! Not a good day for the 318ti...at least the damage is mainly confined to the rear bumper and the other guys insurance is covering it. I'll keep looking - no hurry for this one

Prefer original BMW towbar for 318ti (E36). Anyone know if the towbar for the E36 saloon is the same

The dreaded headlining "droop" has manifested itself in my wifes 318ti. Worst at the moment is the trim on the front A pillars. Thought of trying to sort it myself but after seeing some photos of the results from DIY jobs on the 318ti forum my inherent chicken streak came to the fore and I have decided to leave it to the experts. A couple of questions: 1. Any recommendations on a good trimmer in Auckland area 2. Does the dashboard have to be removed to get the A pillar trim out? If its easy enough I'll pull the panel and take it in to have it recovered so that we can still use the car. I'll sort the headlining out later once I see what sort of job they do on the A posts. Of course if anyone has a recommendation for a decent glue that won't bleed thru the trim covering material then I might even do the gluing myself

I agree...its more than a little annoying that I couldfinally track it down and yet the BMW agents with all their knowledge and gear could not. Now its gonna cost nearly a grand to fix something that I had planned to fix myself.Unfortunately I found out too late to stop the work Still love my wife tho

For a while I have had an intermittant parasitic drain on my E39 Touring that frequently flattens the battery(s). I am now on my 3rd battery and until recently the cause had proved elusive. . As you probably know the BMW takes about 20 minutes for all the onboard elek-trickery to close down. You can verify this by the fact that the Park light on the transmission tunnel eventually goes out. However it is hard to find a drain as once you open the car to put a multimeter on everything wakes up and so you get a current draw again! Had the car at Official BMW agents (un-named) but they could not find the (intermittant) fault but said my new(3 week old) battery was faulty. After a check last night it turns out that the battery was NOT faulty - just down on power and after a run home was up to full strength. :banghead: After a bit of Googling and hunting E39 sites I had finally pinned my hopes on it being a common E39 fault - a faulty FSU (Final Stage Unit...or Blower Motor to the rest us mortals) resistor. Printed out the instructions with the plan being to attack the problem while at the beach for a spot of R & R. Just received a call from my wife, who is driving the car while her brother from Oz uses her 318ti, to give me a mixture of good news/Bad news. Bad news 1. She had arranged with BMW agent to install a NEW OEM Battery - cost nearly $500 fitted!!!!! Good news 1. Agents had found the parasitic drain - the FSU resistor Good news 2. I can say "I told you so". Bad news 2. She Ok'd the replacement at nearly another $500(the part is available on Ebay for $US70 approx) and it is less than an hour to fit although by all accounts a "baitch" to get at. Good news 3. I can now go on holiday and know the car is going to start when needed. Bad news 3. Keeping all the surplus batteries fully charged with my battery tender will probably cause Brown Outs over Auckland next winter. checks show that they are ALL OK - just drained by the frickin resistor Not sure if this is in the correct forum so Mods can move it is not...but if you are having an elusive parasitic drain on your E39 (and possibly other models) check the FSU resistor. probably just pulling the fuse (#76 )could be a starter to see if the drain still happens. Oh...and if anyone wants a good non OEM Battery at around the $100 mark pm me

Title says it all...must be NZ compatible frequencies - no Jap import

Totally agree - Jochen updated my radio and GPS in my E39 528i Touring and Its the best money I ever spent. Having a decent radio and the GPS outweigh all the "Bling". When are you coming back Jochen?...need you to bring me a CD43 for Jans 318ti(E36) ...the Jap C33 is absolutely useless and is headed for the bin as soon as I can get a replacement CD43.

Looking for a towbar for my 1998 528i Touring- any leads?

I am looking for a 318ti M-Sport...up to the $8k mark. Had a look at a reasonable yellow one in a dealers at Avondale but he wanted just on $9k and was not prepared to haggle. I might have been pursuaded to go a bit higher but with no rear parcel shelf, a windscreen trim pillar cover hanging off and a few other blemishes I expected some movement. He seemed to think that yellow was worth $1k It MUST be automatic as my wife has a foot problem and can't operate a clutch. I'd prefer something in the Auckland area but can travel to Hamilton or similar for the right car. Seem to be a lot of M-Sport wannabees out there. Help save our 528i Touring from a life of commuting and point me at a decent 318ti. M Sport

Yeah well the name is Alan and the date of birth is 1944. Guess I take out the prize now??? Feel better now? Thanks for the all the welcomes

Just to say Hi and I am back in the BMW family. First BMW was an ex BMW NZ E30 Motorsport - Diamond Schwartz but with standard interior. Loved that car and if I could find it again I'd buy it back! Must see if I can find the rego. Next BM was a 535i..nice car but too big for my taste so I traded it on a Golf VR6 and loved that too until I spotted a red E36 325i Auto and did the trade on the spot. Needed the auto as my wife has netball knees and can't handle the clutch. Was an easy buy as she wanted a red BMW 3 series with Pale Grey leather trim and it fitted perfectly. It comes back from Beller Motors tomorrow night after lunching the tranny. Been driving for (mumble) years and never had a tranny or box go EVER and what do I get ....2 in 2 years!!!!(1 x Mondeo & 1 x BMW) Also have a Mondeo V6 Wagon that I want to trade on an E30 Touring....that one on TradeMe would fit the bill perfectly except I currently have the Mondy Motor partially stripped down for some improvements & fettling If I can't get a decent Touring then I'll sell the Mondeo and wait until the right E30 comes up..Black, M-Tech, Manual. Can't wait for the first Race of the new series