M3AN

I have no idea what's going on but today I saw a 2 series that was: Smaller than a 1 series; and, Four doors... WTF BMW? Please, sort your sh*t out.

Yep, same Aaron. He has a lot of industry contacts down there hence the suggestion. I don't want to publicly promote one well known local 'vendor' over another but Kayne (KBM) and Ray (Hell) have both done the work, you might want to talk to both and suss out availability and cost, as well as the sense of confidence you get from the discussion, before deciding. That's if you want to remove it and send it of course.

Wow, let me know you the next time you're in Auckland, the beers are on me! ?

It looks to me as if one of those hats was cast and the other was machined.

Holy crap, is the shock just held in by that clamp? ? How the f**k does that work? ?

BMW aren't necessarily the right people actually, they have very little experience with these type of procedures. Shop around for a reputable engine builder for the bottom end, VANOS you may need to ship, I don't know the ChCh market, perhaps @Aaron has a better idea. $4.7k is stupid money, don't do that. I suspect the best you'll get is a start-up warranty from any independent. There are a few in Auckland that will rebuild your VANOS for you.

Michelin deserve credit for making those available... vintage tyre with modern tech.

Nice one Chris. I would be interested to know how they sounded with those extra blocks removed (I'm assuming they're harmonic dampers of some description). I think the calipers look better with them removed.

Nice one, I realise they're just tyres but I'm keen to see a pic.

? Can you come and clean my engine bay? Naa, but you don't need to build something to know how it works. ?

PM sent.

My 328 certainly rides higher now that I've installed new shocks @gjm - even after 50 km's it hasn't settled. It's not because the shock is lifting the car it's because stuff takes surprisingly long to settle. Same happened on my M3. Although I'd say closer to 15mm than 30mm. I'd say to the OP that some lift is expected, only worry after about 100 km's and yes, the B4's are OEM height, that OEM shock isn't fully extended, it can't be, the spring wouldn't fit.

That's how the system is built. If you've had a different experience then you're the exception, not the rule. I think you're saying that opening a line of credit has no effect on your credit score and that simply isn't true.

Well, it might not have gone wrong but it's not working as expected. Here's what should happen, open new credit card account, don't use card, close account. Edit: perhaps if your credit rating is low the effect isn't so obvious.

That's odd, what are you using to measure your credit score? The only way it couldn't affect your score is if the NZ card provider isn't providing the mandatory updates (but they were introduced a few years back now). A credit card is considered debt (the amount of the credit limit for that card) even if you never use it, it absolutely should affect your credit score, if not something has gone wrong.

No problem, it's a sucky situation and I hope it gets resolved promptly and to your satisfaction. Just make sure you lean on Bridgestone to lodge that claim and give you the details, if they value their brand (and it's a very important brand) then they shouldn't drag their heals.

No, they'll be paying their excess, their insurance company will cover your excess (assuming they're found to be at fault). But you should have no excess because you shouldn't be claiming... your insurer should have told you that.

No, that's what a lot of people believe but it's not the case. You only need to claim if the other party is uninsured or doesn't accept liability. Claiming on your policy is recorded as a claim whether you're at fault or not and that can affect the cost of future policies across the industry (i.e. not just with your current insurer). You do however need to inform your insurer. The correct procedure is to ensure the at-fault party (acknowledged in this case) promptly lodges a claim and then you need the name of their insurer and the claim number, you then pass this on to your insurer. You then get the full protection of your policy (or theirs, whichever has the greatest coverage) without lodging a claim. edit: and you still get to choose your repairer as long as it's approved by your insurer. It's only ever if the at-fault party refuses to lodge a claim or has no insurance that you should ever claim on your policy. Just like opening a second credit card account negatively impacts your credit score, even if you never use that card, every insurance claim you make, whether you're at fault or not, counts against you forever.

You'll get it tomorrow mate, sorry about the delay... life got in the way but you're on my list, very near the top!

Hang on a sec, why are you making an insurance claim @Spudooli? Surely they've accepted responsibility so they need to make the claim... you just need to advise your insurer and do nothing else. Don't claim on your policy whatever you do!

I got a warrant for black beauty! So all that swearing and blood spilled on the driveway was worth it in the end!

Buy exactly what Beisan says to buy, including any uprated BMW parts. Have you checked if BMW will actually install it for you? I'd be very surprised if they said yes. You really want somebody that has done it before to do it for you, that'll be much faster, less expensive and less risky. If you simply can't find somebody with experience then you need a trusted shop and they need to read and understand the entire procedure before they give you a quote. Most will simply say "no" when they see the procedure. Don't do a cash job, you need CGA cover if your engine goes boom. If you're handy it's a good job to do yourself. The alternative, which will take your car off the road for a while, is to remove the unit, send it to somebody (like Kayne Barrie) and have them rebuild it and send it back. An off the shelf rebuilt unit will be expensive... not a route I'd go down. Regardless of what the instructions say make sure you use a new valve gasket kit.

VTEC obviously Nathan.

That impractical and you know it @E30 325i Rag-Top. And I have no problems with "how much is this" posts. I'll update the wording but if we can't apply common sense I'll just remove the post which will be a disservice to members.

@Toast, acknowledged, let me spend some time in the garage this week and I'll get back to you ASAP.