Allanw

Reliable and doing things well aren't the same thing though

NO WAY would I have expected a Yaris of any kind to be better than the van 🤣 As long as the van wasn't a Toyota! Every Toyota I've had (all work cars!, never owned one, myself) feel like they're about 15 years behind the clapped out old euros I've owned. Toyota can't even make a car where the front and rear suspension feel like they're from the same car. While driving a 2019 / 85K Corolla in Wellington a few years back... I found myself continually yearning for my mrs clapped out 2006 VW Touran 2.0 with 280K kms on it. The VW would have done EVERYTHING better, except economy. The rental guy looked pissed, when I told him it was "fine", just as sh*t as I'd expect from a Toyota. The trans was forever in the wrong gear - it was either doing 1800 RPM, or 6000. "Sport" mode meant it was just as slow, but it would drive the revs up to 4000 as you stopped, but it would still die on every hill. It would hold onto a high gear, until it was so slow, you needed 6000 RPM to get back to the speed of everyone else. It would hold on, until you ended up with your foot hard down, then try to go to max RPM, while Nanas in their Hinda Jazz were cruising past you. The boot was smaller than the storage cubbies in the VW. It made a horrible buzz at anything over 3000 RPM. The SatNav told you to turn just AFTER every intersection. We nearly had accidents, from flooring it and (wrongly) expecting some acceleration, when I was in the wrong lane on the motorway or trying to match speeds of other lanes etc. I ended up using manual mode on the trans and just keeping it between 4000 and 6000, unless it was flat and straight... and even then, the CVT would decide what the RPM should be in any "gear" and not do the same thing every time. Then there was the "steering"... Horrid things. Dull as f**k. Possibly reliable, but I'd rather die early, or be in debt longer, than own one 🤣

Also... "Paging: @aja540i.@aja540i, report to Pick-a-Part Mangere."

Wait... so this IS an M5, but Pick-a-part are trying to convince us it's a 525i????? There's a change from the norm!

It wasn't actually a check engine light - it's the "check" light, for the warnings on the ceiling console. It flashes until you press the brake, or stays on if there is a bulb warning, coolant warning etc. OBD scanners don't work on them either - the later ones have the pacman connector that does a few more things, but most of the useful stuff it can do, can be done with a short piece of wire, or a paperclip 🤣

It's probably all those " kilo newtons " it has...

This one is pretty rough, and appears to have been dicked with a bit, judging by the springs in the boot, and it's a repo! https://www.turners.co.nz/Damaged-Vehicles/Damaged-Cars-for-Sale/bmw/320ise/26607615 An SE is always nice. There seems to be a lot of manual SE models. Dad had a 325i SE manual for 18 years. Plus a 320i is a waste of time as an auto. slowest and hungriest of them all.

I bet you wish I HADN'T sent you those pics, right??? JUST as I opened this thread; Solomon (my 14 YO) yelled out "OW, MY EYES" about a game... but good timing 😁

I can smell the 2-stroke fumes through my screen 😁

You forgot Wangers (Ranger Wankers). Pass everything in sight on the straights, then hold everybody up while struggling to negotiatiate corners and STILL endanger the oncoming traffic, spending half their time over the centre line.

Close enough?

That's totally logical 🤣... I stripped down my Touran engine to fit the thermostat, discovered it was the wrong part, so took the engine out and put a VR6 in there instead. Then couldn't drive it for a year while I finished it. 😁

Vanos seals, plus you'll probably find it's not really getting up to temp properly (remember the gauge is totally useless). Check the REAL coolant temp. They should heat up fairly quick, and stay there. Dunno if the X3's can still access the KTMP vis the dash, but you could do it on E39s' really easy. Otherwise check with a scan tool. The gauge will show Normal (straight up and down) from about 70C, but it's still not pulled all the cold-start enrichment at that point.

"Headway Horace" Did someone think "Horace" - it's got race in it, so sounds sporty??? Perfect for a tyre name... I dunno... it's got a "Plasma Booster" on the coil... 🤣