arcon

thanks for that info i just got mine and i'm the first kiwi owner so no real history, although bmw inspection said it was Ex condition i'm not sure how they missed the warning light that's there and didn't tell me about it. what's the major differences between Inspection 1 & 2? anyway will post pics in a week or so once its had M3 mirror installed ... its totally awesome to drive with the newer 6cyl engine, much smoother than my old '96 318iS.

there's a yellow warning light in the dash on my 320i (2001), but i'm not sure what it means as it doesn't really look like anything... does anybody have a link to pics with descriptions of the dash lights for my model as i can't find anything on this on the web. also what are the recommended km for inspection 1 and 2, and is the 'inspection' light in my dash based only on km travelled? (its done 84Ks). thanks for any info.

hmm not a bad dealer price... wouldn't include installation i'm guessing ..erm... what's obc? how would i know if my car/the clears on trademe have it?

did you buy for the correct chassis? (sedan/coupe), heh sorry if dumb question, but so many ppl have left good feedback i'll probably still try it, will post if it goes bad though

turns out the car is complied, and they'll handle registration i definitely havn't misrepresented anything.... i'll probably let the deal conclude as i'm fairly confident in the car and inspection, still annoyed that they slipped in the business vehicle clause.

ur a legend dude - thanks for those links, i will read over them. basically the subject of business and private use never came up, i assumed it would be private. technically it was my fault for not reading it thoroughly but you're right i could always ask them to change back to private in writing, if they refuse they'll keep 2 grand but miss out on close to 20.... and have to wait to make profit on an ever-depreciating vehicle.... hmmm. it would suck to lose the car though... spent ages finding one in good condition that i like... :/ i'm still trying to find out what sort of issue the CGA would cover to see if its worth risking the conversation, it can't possibly be used for normal mechanical wear/operating issues, or things like faulty window regulators for example (heh i checked those).

basically i put a deposit with a member of IMVDA (don't know if they are LMVD, didn't know about that at the time and i assumed the CGA would apply to all registered companies). doesn't matter though in the contract it says "nothing in the *preceeding* section will extinguish rights under the CGA" (or words to that effect), but then like the last clause in a place that harder to notice it says; business use, CGA doesn't apply etc. so basically it was my fault for rushing it through and not reading carefully enough. i could afford to lose the deposit and not go through with it but don't think its worth going down that road, probly not much of a risk considering the good marks its been given from BMW....?

lol i know, what i was saying was car dealers seem to do this with ALL transactions, even for vehicles that are for private use. RE registration / compliance i'm talking about import vehicles that are here in NZ on a car yard, and awaiting a first kiwi buyer. they never mention compliance though so i'll have to ask them. i saw a sample SIN and its just that card in the window

i've seen a few purchase agreements from car-yards and it seems to be standard practice to have on the bottom "for business use and not covered by consumer guarantuees act". would anyone consider buying such a car even if BMW service centre had declared it excellent condition? (my last bmw was private so would not have even been covered...?) also what is a supplier information notice and would the info on it apply to a jap import? one last stoopid newb question - how is registration of an import usually handled when buying? assuming the buyer has to pay it does the dealer arrange it all?

weird.... no worries i have my own e-audio 480AB amp and rockford P2 sub, will be getting either the pioneer 6850 head unit or panasonic 7703, can't decide lol.

does anybody know what the factory front speakers are in an E46? (2001 320i). and what rms power rating they have? i'll probably replace the ones in a 320i with DLS MS5s, which i'm guessing would be better lol.

just got a 2001 320i 2.2L pre-inspection done, came back as "no major defects/well maintained". everything got a tick, except gearbox/auto which got a circle for "showing wear/keep under oobservation". apart from fluid levels, only two notes, one was "rocker-cover gasket leaking"... had that problem with my old 96' 318is but not sure how serious it is? one mechanic i asked a while back says its minor and not worth fixing? other note was "slight sweat between gbox and engine - not major". don't know what that means or what it could lead to..? havnt' had a chance to talk to bmw about it yet. i thought bmw did their computer scan thingy but i can't see that mentioned on the test....

this would be purely for outside storage, it would only be for a night at a time. i'm guessing not long enough for any real moisture damage to occur? so many opinions for and against in this thread hard to decide lol...

lol - from bmw? don't know but i'm guessing anywhere from $1000-2000.

anyone know where i would get one of those car covers from (weatherproof and pref white to reflect heat), and any recommendations on materials to avoid etc would be cool

yeah there are 2 323s i'm looking at (one dealer one private), the dealer almost has no chance unless they drop $3000 lol, and they'd also have to fix all the scratches, swap the mags etc. or they might have a chance if BMW finds something horrible in the checks on the other two cars lol. i want to keep my next 3 series for a few years and resale value is not too important, i'll lose a bit in either case lol. i don't think either of the 323s would work out cheaper in the long run than a 320i that's 2 years more recent? i suppose the 320 has done 85Ks and the 323s just under 60, but i don't do much long distance driving so won't add too much. when buying i also look at 'pimp potential' and the 320 is already in such mint condition both interior and exterior, it would cost less to get to where i want it.

interesting about the profit margins, thanks for the info. also the '99 323i i was looking at had rusted wheels (drums?) that were highly visible through the deep dish mags, i know the rust in this area is very common, but is there a way to get rid of it as it basically makes the car look sh**. my 10 year old 318iS didn't have rust here which is surprising (hehe just rust on the panels ). i saw another '99 323i today, probably in better condition. it had the colour TV which i would want to get removed for my custom audio setup... heh seems a waste... the 323s definitely have enough pull up hills, i can't remember if the 320 had the same pull i'll have to test-drive it again.

thanks for the info - i'd imagine i'd have to get an auto-electric to install them which would probly cost an hours labour but still worth it methinks...

what are the speaker sizes and placements in a 2001 320i ..? i saw speakers in the front doors but don't know if they were 5.25 or 6? also there were grills by the mirrors, would these fit most aftermarket tweeters?

has anybody bought these off trademe: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...on-86686547.htm the part about "all items at the risk of purchaser" sounds a bit dodge.... are there other sources of clear lights available (hehe pref not BMW directly ), my next 3 series will likely come with icky orange indicators.... i'll also probly get the M3 mirrors: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...on-86367259.htm

RE Martyyn - i've always bought privately and usually just dragged down the list price all i can lol, but yeah you're totally right a dealer would find it easy to make those changes so i'll consider that. out of curiosity how much profit is a dealer likely to make on a jap import bmw listing at say 20K?

thanks for the info - didn't know that about torque, basically i occasionally like to rev from take-off but not often lol, pretty tame driver compared to most ppl on here.... and i hardly ever go long distance. i'm guessing 1999-2001 3 series still use 95+ octane like my old iS...?

thanks heaps for that info - it was very useful. after weeks of driving to different dealers picked out two finalists below sucks dealing with dealers, but there are so few private sales around. all 318 models are out of the race 320i 2.2L 2001 - 85Ks condition: awesome. inside and out. extras: brand new 17" M3 mags (replicas, but still look cool). 323i 2.5L 1999 - 56Ks condition: mint interior, exterior is ok, but noticeable scratches on 4 panels... *might* come out with cut and polish... but maybe not lol. some rubber peeling on bumper. extras: ex cond 18" alloys (unknown brand), don't suit the car IMO, but would be worth something to trade. - tightened suspension (not sure if factory sports). - facelift with clear indicator lights. both have 170bhp.... which is enough for me. i'm guessing both would have about the same fuel economy? both are jap imports, heh owned a singa 318iS and ain't going that way again personally the 320i looked a lot better maintained by previous owner despite the Ks. i preferred the suspension on the 323 but still leaning towards the 320i for some reason.... it just looks soooo new and its list price is $3K cheaper both are being booked for bmw inspection.

i'm considering 2 E46 models (pref 2000-2002), 320i and 318i Motorsport. I really like sports suspension, having owned a '96 318iS, which was also 1900cc like the 2001 models. having test driven a 2001 320i, it was 'ok'. 2.2 6 cyl, the acceleration was very different to my old 318iS.... more sluggish in that it kinda had lag before the revs kicked in, but then once it had some speed up the grunt was more noticeable. and of course the suspension was not what i was used to, quite loose around corners. i have yet to test-trive the 2001 318 Msport but i'm guessing it will be more similar to my old car.... i've found i can get a 2001 320i mint for around 20K list, but the same year/Ks 318i Msport would go for around 23-24K...? is the sport suspension really worth that much cause there's no other major differences are there (lol apart from a less powerful engine?). also does anyone have a list of engine specs (horsepower etc) for the 2000-2002 NZ models of 320 and 318i Msport (i think my old 96 was 16 valve M44? not sure on horsepower).

thanks for that info, i actually saw a 320i up close today (heh first drive of an E46), i found out the chrome i was talking about isn't actually trim so much as a U-shaped lip, maybe so water from roof runoff doesn't go down windows...? i thought it was a pretty weird and and tacky feature.... seems odd to have a place where water and dirt could collect like that....? having said that, the 318 with its huge amount of rubber moulding isn't exactly good under the sun.... exterior build quality is quite important to me so are there any bmw models (after 2000) that have better window joinery?