NZ BMW

1 hour ago, M3AN said:

These coatings don't even withstand a basic 3 min Google check... I wish people informed themselves before investing hundreds, let alone thousands.

Most even require an annual, user pays, inspection and "if deemed necessary" a (user pays) reapplication to maintain the warranty. Ask for a no-conditions, normal use guarantee from the seller and see how they react. Panel and paint work? Full body reapplication at retail cost. Use a car wash? Full body application at retail cost. Park your car outside regularly? Full body application at retail cost... the scam goes on.

They can't prevent stone chips or scratches (look up their Mohs level) but they can make washing your car easier for a few months, maybe 12 if you hardly drive it. If you park your Ferrari in a dusty garage for 320+ days of the year then perhaps you might get a couple of years of easy(ier) washes? 

Work out the economies and caveat emptor.

Oh, they are shiny though, that's mostly what you're paying for.

Sometimes I wish I had some kind of coating on my car. 

Whoever deemed car washing  to be a non-essential activity when water restrictions came in has never owned a black car! 

2008. What a time to be alive. 

21 minutes ago, GorGasm said:

 

That is pretty nice as well.  The interior on these seems to be much nicer in used car photos than in the press stuff.

Although I am with M3AN, $70k grand is going to take a big hit in the next 5 years as it's just a BMW wagon.  I'm happy to wait til they are $35k or below.

$70k is Maserati Ghibli or Quattroporte money to me!

It’s also TDV8 Range Rover money.... although that might not be to everyone’s taste!

1 hour ago, M3AN said:

Nice touring but $70k seems crazy money for a pretty nothing-special car that will only be worth, what, $20k in two years?  

Have you checked pricing of diesel wagons recently? Even F30 330Ds are $40K+ 

That’s why I drive the sedan with the smaller engine. Which even then wasn’t that cheap to buy... 

Just in case anyone’s wondering, it’s list(ed) on behalf. 😂

1 hour ago, coop said:

Edit, my rant. BMW, VAG and Peugeot drivers who think they need their rear fog lights on. 

OMG!!!!! This!!!!!!!! 

Why?!

I guess they will make all the engines for Rolls Royce in the UK then? 

At first I thought this would be something good for post-Brexit Britain but really, who wants combustion engine manufacturing long term? 

Buy a M6. 

Out of interest, what is the colour repair system you’ve used on the leather? I have a bit of wear on my steering wheel which I think is from someone’s hand creams.... ?

I’m wondering if I can touch it up and how durable it would be. Otherwise I might get Fibrenew to have a look at it. 

Interior looks to be in great condition for the age!

The problem is these guys run on such tight margins and are so small they can’t absorb a lemon car into their business. I remember buying my X5 from a somewhat larger and multi-site used importer and their attempts to fix anything we pretty damn infantile:

“oh easy mate, just needs the computer reset to get rid of a CEL”. 

That and they all have their own pet shady mechanics who do cheap fixes. I had a dealer fix rocker cover gaskets once (this was after telling me the oil burning was “from the car sitting”) and three years later they needed redoing. Should last longer than that. 

The amount of time you burn up given that you kinda have to let them have a go at their “fix” is a killer. I think they rely on making the customer experience so poor that most people suck it up and pay their mechanic to do it. 

I’ve been though this too many times to tolerate it anymore. 

3 hours ago, GorGasm said:

I have two 10 year old cars and I consider those pretty old.  1990's 4WDs and other fad cars should be blocked immediately (looking at you Toyota chasers, centuries, crowns).  They are destined to become junk that we have to look after.

I have no issue with M3s, Supras, GTRs and period classics.

And who do you suppose should be the arbitrator of what 20yo car is worthy? 

I for one consider the Century an interesting and somewhat desirable future classic. 

13 minutes ago, leichtbau said:

Not an isolated event with the F30 "blues" unfortunately, a friend had exactly the same experience.

 

It was an expensive car relative to what it was when it was new. Why should it be different now? I think we all know what we’re getting into. 

BMW = bring money with. 

I think you can get the M-Sport without the big blue brakes? That would be the best in my mind. They look nice but they are really unnecessary in  most all situations. 

2 hours ago, Olaf said:

Seriously, BMW dealership charged $1,500 for pad replacement?  one end or both?  And definitely not including rotors and fluids?  General inspection I or II excluded?  What does a Service Plan provide, if it doesn't cover those basics?  Wow.

I wouldn’t say I am exactly happy about it but I knew this would happen one day. I even said to my wife “I bet the brakes on this car cost a bomb” when I bought it. They are almost laughably over-spec’d for a 320D. 

The plan and warranty covers everything (servicing, WOFs, wipers etc) except brake components and tyres, so at least the fluid change was ‘free’. They did all four pads plus sensors which I question the point of but I am somewhat locked into and included labour, which is minimal. 

For what it’s worth, I asked BMWorkshop for a quote knowing this was coming up and their quote (for pads and discs) was $1500 for the front and $1200 for the rear excluding GST. So even outside of the dealer they are not cheap. Best I could find the discs for example are aftermarket at $770 on Mick’s garage. I was surprised how pricey the blue caliper brakes are. 

Another thing to consider is some of the M-Sport costs and if you’re up for them. I just had my brakes done at the Auckland dealership as part of my service plan. 
 

I tried to find the parts to have it done elsewhere  but just couldn’t get the correct ones so had to suck up the $1500.... for pads only. 

I love mine with an auto. For my life it’s not a sports car so I don’t feel I need or want a manual. 

Mine I believe has the B47 engine and the EGR was replaced as part of a recall when it was in the a service a week or so ago, read into that what you will... 

1 minute ago, Matth5 said:

 

Why would you need to replace it? I've heard of people just washing the goo out and patching it. I can't see why the goo would destroy the tyre? But I can imagine some tyre shops would just refuse to deal with it... just like I've encountered several who would refuse to fix easily patchable tyres and try to sell me a new one, when I've been able to go elsewhere to get it patched...

I've kept a pump + can of goo for years. Had several punctures and I've never needed to use the goo so far. Pumping it back up has gotten me far enough to get to a tyre shop.

Suppose if the puncture was larger or this was far from town I might need the goo. 

I agree. I have also read about people peeling it off and then fixing. Guess you might want to replace the valve?

I have one of these, it’s about three years old and I be never used it. So I’m also interested to find out!

I did notice another can of tyre weld I have has expired - something to consider that they don’t appear to last forever... 

I thought this read “Good Auckland drivers?”

Why would anyone ask such a question?! ?

Another vote for SH16. 

3 hours ago, Driftit said:

I didn't miss NZ at all. I enjoyed having a city that had actual seasons. Not just warm rain, cold rain, sunburn. DC is greener, cheaper, more interesting, has more to do, more diverse and just as easy to escape to the wilderness. Great car scene, easy cheap travel, tons of sport every night of the week. And none of the Murica sh*t the NZ media feeds you unless you go looking for it.

The reason I'm here in NZ now? I had a 5 year diplomatic visa than ran out. And lots of elderly to spend time with while I can. 

Have to agree. Georgetown and Virginia are lovely places. I always think I would like to live in Georgia to the north of Atlanta, beautiful place and good house prices for what you get. I like Chicago too but damn it gets cold!  

Although, I will say that having been travelling to the Midwest and South 5-6 times a year for the last 10 years, there is a bit of that ‘murica thing going on there with an underlying anti-foreigner feeling which has developed over time. I have been in a number of meetings where “unfair trade deals”, Trump paraphernalia on display in offices and quite personal attacks on Obama from businesspeople. It’s got a lot worse in the last few years. 

It is also very racially divided outside of the big, coastal cities. I think in this time I have dealt professionally with one African American person, maybe one or two Hispanic Americans. Everyone else was white. 

As a European Kiwi I get along fine. I suspect others who look a bit different would find it a bit tough. 

8 hours ago, M3AN said:

The core statistics are infections and deaths. Regardless of any other noise, we are doing remarkably well despite the lapses mentioned above. It also appears like we're learning and improving all of the time, and faster than elsewhere.

International tourism accounts for <7% of our GDP, unfortunately some businesses will suffer and fail but our economy will not.

Remarkably lucky. I think we are kidding ourselves if we think periodic lockdowns and restrictions are not going to be part of life until a vaccine. 

Well. I discovered this morning I have a grand total of 4 rolls of toilet paper in the house. Hopefully people have not panic bought all of it when I emerge to go shopping on the weekend. Otherwise I’ll have to use a leaf or something! ?

Seeing a cop on the side of the motorway near Greenlane with his radar gun out today. 

Really?! ?

5 hours ago, Driftit said:

Usually pretty easy to spot NZ New isn't it.
Old man color combos like Green with Cream comfort seats and a towbar. ?
 

“Garry from Tauranga” spec. 

Filing for bankruptcy 4 times in 20 years says something about the underlying business model, or its management...

would have thought being a wheel supplier would be a tough business, total commodity. 

On 7/17/2020 at 3:41 PM, nzpanda92 said:

Yes agree here with Olaf. I just had my valve stem seals done in my 550i - luckily still under the dealer warranty. Don't want to think about how much it would have cost - it was at the mechanics for around 2 weeks. Not to scare you off, they are an amazing car - definitely plenty of power. Good luck - and keep us in the loop with what you end up going for!

Jimmy

How many kms were on the car when the seals failed?

I had the 4.8 in my E70 and drove it from 70k to 120k without incident. Brakes were actually one of the biggest costs...

For what it’s worth I did 10k oil changes and tend to do the transmission fluid every 30-40k.

Only issue I had with the cooling system was the expansion tank developed a split which I consider to be part of all BMWs as disappointing as that is.