NZ BMW

Episode 3 is better, I would like to see some more car reviews which are both entertaining and informative.

Personally I'd go with this: https://trademe.co.nz/1207617357 Good 1990s and early 2000s cars should get better and better in terms of options as more come up to the 20 year old mark.

The comment I would make is that if you are looking to use the iDrive, see if you can get to a face lifted model. That is the one thing that annoys me about my car, the earlier iDrive really feels like a product of it's time. Also have a look at what kind of connectivity you'll get for your smart phone, there is a mix from simple aux through to USB on other models. Different people will place different levels of importance on that, just my 2c.

I admire you doing this, I wouldn't even know where to start...

When it was in for a service he then measure it, 348mm. Good to know for sure, now to think about what to order... Amazon were doing a reasonable deal on OEM pads recently...

Hi all, The rear windows of my X5 are tinted, but not the fronts. I'd like to get them done with something which will both match and last. Any recommended places which are central to Auckland? I see Car Folie is very popular on here but don't really fancy a trip to them if I have to leave the car there for an extended period of time as it appears they've closed their CBD location. I don't have a preference of brand, what I definitely don't want is the discolouration you see on some jobs over time, so if anyone has any input on that I'd appreciate it too. Thanks in advance.

Bump

Hey Guys, I have a pair of Continental Contact SSR's which have just come of the rear of my X5 (Changed out for standard tyres). The fronts were too worn for me to sell in good conscience but these I would estimate have maybe 40-50% of their life left. Pics below. I have them listed on Trademe at $150 no-reserve. If anyone on here has a use for them, I would happily let them go for that.

Ya got me :-) Yup, seen plenty of rusty cars in Michigan and upper NY along with what's left of their industrial base.

What a hater.... I don't know why you'd buy anything other than auto in the US for a normal daily car. Most people do a lot of freeway driving and a lot of the larger cities like LA, Atlanta, Seattle etc are all pretty choked on the freeway at rush hour. Fun in a manual, that would not be. I've been travelling to the US regularly for business for 6-7 years now and find them to on the whole to be lovely people. Just like here it's a mix of good and bad people, food and products. Using more and more metric system too.

Interested to see how you go with local suppliers, as I'm looking at brakes for my X5. I was going to buy in from the US and just keep them on hand. If they're competitive locally for the 335i then I might not have to. In terms of shipping, you'll likely find that the only option a lot of those places have are the likes of DHL, FedEx etc which will be really costly as it's airfreight. I recently used an agent to sea freight some tyres in and it was pretty cheap. Main thing in that case were all the various customs/inspection fees. It was still cheaper but with the exception of the GST it was all fixed cost which means consolidating a number of things together starts to make more sense. And you have to wait for a bit to get it. I've used AutohausAZ a couple of times, along with Pelican parts and found them to be good to work with for international shipping.

I did the same thing with a previous car. Found a broker on their website and did it that way, the broker actually had to check if they offered that product which I found a bit amusing.

I just let people in, much less stressful on all involved. Plus I like the idea that it makes someone a little happier to be able to get into traffic easier.

A day without a check engine light... Personally I like the quality of feel you get from the interior and build as you ride along. It's just a nice, comfortable place to be.

I thought it felt a bit slapstick, with a lot of studio time. That being said, it's the launch episode. Will be interesting to see, now that the scene is set what the rest of the series will be like.

It is a neat car, probably more for the enthusiast who likes a more interesting and obscure cars. Certainly something special for someone who wants a unique and well known car among those who know BMWs. Personally, I would go for the M5 or an AMG. Just because I'd want something which I could be sure of getting parts and service easily.

Well, for what it's worth I just finished chatting online with customer support on a website out of the UK who ran my VIN and determined that they should be the smaller 348mm ones. However I'd like that confirmed by another source. I think you're right, I can get in there and see with a tape measure to guestimate and see how close they are.

It's definitely out of Japan given that I had to get the ETC system disabled, the GPS converted and it has the Japan spec licence plate holders. My last seven digits are: LC96860

I did that, and I actually did it again just now in case I was missing something. I seem to get a result for both sizes of discs: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=FE82-EUR-04-2007-E70-BMW-X5_48i&diagId=34_0976 or am I not reading this correctly? I don't tend to work on my cars myself, however I have access to freight forwarding services which I use to bring in things and stockpile for my mechanic. For example I try to buy up oil, air and cabin filters and the like.

It is, I have no tools due to having run flats. It's a Japan spec one. Outside of US got a mix, which is where my confusion lies.

Pretty sure I saw your car pulling out the other morning whilst walking the dog, it looks and sounds great.

Great car, congrats. It's amazing - once upon a time you'd buy a ten year old car and it felt old. Now it seems that a lot of these gently used second hand cars from the late 2000's are all still up there in terms of drive, ride and options. And for a fraction of their original price to boot. I guess they still have to be maintained like a 2-300K car but you can save some dollars on that if you're handy. Looking forward to following how this goes.

The way I look at it, a big coupe like this is more of a grant tourer than a hard track/sports car. In that way the transplants of M powered engines into them is not as desirable as people might think.

Hey team, I'm looking to bring in some brake parts on the slow boat at some point and keep them for when I need to change things over. I notice the E70 has two different brakes. US models got the 348mm discs and corresponding pads whereas other markets got the larger 365mm ones. Short of taking the wheels off and physically measuring is there any way to tell? The 365mm's can be had out of the UK and the smaller ones out of the US. Thanks in advance.

I usually go to Z, but I have not seen a station in years which didn't have 95. I switch between 95 and 98 as I just reach for whatever is the highest number at the station...