Allanw

Very nice! +1 on the aluminium trim! Would you believe guys in the UK hunt out sets of wood to replace the aluminium??? Windows look good too! Especially with the shadowchrome.

Mig weld a blob on the end, then vice-grips!

Hey! I wanted it first! The 318i the thread is about is back up now!

There is more room in the back of a five - Getting kids into car seats can be a bit tricky if the back seat is tight. I was looking at E46 3's, but went for an E39 in the end. Not a touring, but it's manual. Had to pick one or the other really . Manual 530i/540i touring would be my ultimate choice

Most are though. If you want a crap insurance company, try Lumley: Tried to claim that this was 50/50 because the road is so narrow - I was driving the van and had stopped at impact (van is about 50mm from the bank on the other side of it) notice how the chics tyre marks (her right tyre: right side of photo, just in from the edge, about 1/4 of the way up) at the start of her skid are only about 1M from the edge of MY side of the road. Her skid marks are clearly in the centre two ruts, not the two on HER side of the road. Because Lumleys are so useless, your hard earned/payed tax dollars had to pay the $3000 excess on my Govt department van! They claimed she was on her side of the road, and that the road was too narrow. EVEN at the point of impact she still had 1.2M of clear road on her left, but was taking the "racing line" through the corner. I couldn't call the police to come out, as I had to drive both of us nearly 40 kms to get phone coverage (no houses either!). If you can, ALWAYS call the cops to an accident which is not your fault! I couldn't leave the van, as I had $50k of machinery and $65K of tools and testing equipment in it and this was in the Far North in a less than desirable area. Fortunetly, her POS RAV4 was only insured 3rd party so she lost out! Could I have been any closer to my side?

Exactly.

So... did you have insurance cover for other expenses (I assume you mean rental cars etc)? I assume not, otherwise it would have been paid. Why they would pay for something YOU didn't have covered??? You'll find AA will do the exact same thing.

I think there is probably more to that story too. Plus, you aren't fit to be driving if you are tired/sleepy! I would think you would know you are drowsy, and probably nearly fell alseep a couple of times before you'd fall asleep enough to lose control. It doesn't just sneak up on you - I used to do about 65,000kms a year, and knew when I was getting tired. I don't want people not fit to drive on the road when my family and I are out there. I think you'll probably find he was charged by the police with dangerous driving, and AMI declined based on that AND something he's not telling. I have no qualms with AMI - they payed out on a $3500 windscreen claim for my VW. They ordered a Genuine VW windscreen (no aftermarket or genuine windscreens in the country at the time), had it shipped in, fitted it and had me back on the road in a week. I was happy for it to take longer - it was only a crack. They wanted it sorted, so did it all.

Ha, I didn't even bother :-) I'm going to drop into my warrant place and adjust it on their machine. I might have a quick check of it.

I quite like the wheels.... Will hide some brake dust :-) The centres might look better in a greyer shade - dark metallic charcoal etc??? Looks a nice car :-)

The pinch sensor affect manual as well - if you wind the window up, and push on the srround at the top, it will stop and go down a bit. You can program the auto up for each window, and which direction - You's may have been changed, but you might also have a dodgy button. The seat is a bit confusing, but I seem to recall that can be programed to work from each individual key. Not sure that you can program it to NOT work off the buttons though. Perhaps the M button is faulty, so the others can't be programmed?

That's awesome! I bet those roads look even narrower from in the cabin at those speeds!

Mmmmm! Sparkely! My Mrs didn't notice... but she asked what the boxes were for. I told her it was some bits for the headlights, because they would fail a warrant sooner or later... That's my excuse! Hope that loom arrives soon, so you're all ready to go!

So Clark sorted it then?? I got mine in, and they look AWESOME! Makes the car look way newer without all the pitting and dullness!

I think this is the key! Theres a bunch of bad installs giving air a bad name - there are a great deal of luxury cars with air springs (and buses etc for that matter!). A good install can give a low stance when required, but that's not normally where you'd drive it! It the bumpstops in most installs giving the bad ride! There's many a steel sprung low car which sits really low, and handles like a bag of arse and there's nothing you can do except change springs. The air gives you options.

Progressive? You mean like soft, progressively getting harder??? like a spring does? Ummm... A decent air bag setup will ride nicer than springs, for this exact reason. They are MORE progressive than a spring - softer over small bumps harder at more compression. Even driven a old Rolls? They're nice riding, on air. Lexus LS400, Toyota Crown etc etc

Those rivets TOTALLY look like genuine BMW...

I can see the point of testing oil. I have nearly $150 of oil in the E39, so working out how long it can stay in would be a good thing (I think I'll leave it 15K) I KNOW i'm not following the lights on the dash that will come up at over 25K based on the number in the dash. I do expect that this tool is about as useful as snake oil though. Realistically, if might tell you the PH or something, but it won't tell you if the viscosity is changing too much, or if the "additives" are past useful etc. There was someone selling blotting paper like strips on Tardme that supposedly did the same thing. Uh-huh.

You can edit your first fuel up to make it correct :-) Fuelly is telling me 10.2L/100kms, and the OBC is reading 10.3 - which I reset at the first fuel up, so it's pretty close!

So.... They arrived Early! Freight free too! Thanks to those who participated or showed interest.

Very True. You'll end up in BIG trouble. Or Dead.

Do be scared! Well.... CAREFUL!!!! I've had a spring compressor let go off a spring before... they move FAST! Be wary of the pent up energy in that spring! I also know it's hard to get spring comressors in the wheel arch of an E30 to try to compress the spring in place. I hope it goes well. Please, BE CAREFUL!

Turps not so good. Either thinners, and do it a couple of times with a new cloth each time - or spray it to rinse the oil off. Or buy wax and silicone remover (same as prepsol). Etch primer for alloy isn't a bad idea TBH.

Last time I used a dealer, it was $72 plus GST per hour, and rates were fixed at the BMW book times It was a while ago). I assume the rate has gone up (and may vary with location too), but I assume they still do book times/rates per job??? In Dad's E30, clutch, gearbox and engine rear main seal, machine flywheel, bleed brakes/ABS and rear subframe bushes was just under $1100. I thought that was really good. We knew it was costing that BEFORE we started and agreed to it. The dealer has always seemed quite reasonable for prices. Dad will need to replace his E30 one day, and will most likely get another 3 - auto next time though :-(. He had a Toyota prior to the E30, and won't own another, because the parts and servicing were stupid expensive (cambelt was $280... JUST for the belt!) Some people (like my father in law) end up spending MORE on thier car, because they try to get everything done on the cheap. It just has to be done three times, or stuff fails more often, or the used alternators he paid to have fitted die every 6 months to a year, when a new or rebuilt one would have lasted AND had a warranty! It just pays to compare.

I'd get the alignment done first (assuming everything is tightened etc). It may have excessive toe out, and a slight turn creates more drag on that side and it tried to launch that direction. If you want to guestimate it, you can use two overlapping sticks to measure from rim to rim, front and back of each rim... although I'd be surprised if you could get the sticks high enough to do it on an e30.