Allanw

15K is perfectly adequate with 6.5 litres of good oil in it.

Dunno if it's lego like 0 certainly some heavy duty wiring time will be involved. Touran and 3.2 VR6 - same as the R32 Golf - 184KW, 6 speed manual and 4 motion AWD. Couple of floorpan mods for the 4wd, but mostly bolt in. should be adequate for the Mrs kindy run

Dunno about how the prices will compare for that stuff, but there was some VW stuff I got from here: http://www.fcpeuro.com They do a few euro brands, and the timing chain stuff was very cheap, reasonable shipping and helpful staff.

Check the battery disconnection device in the boot. If the aribags are triggered, it blows this device to disconnect the battery from the rest of the car. and they can go bad/intermittant, causing problems like this.

Shame it looks like a Kia Cerato with big wheels though. Its like they're BMW's "orientation confused" model - not a masculine type of SUV and not a "Julian Clary" type of hairdresser car either. The X5 M looks great - really don't get the X6 at all. Actually, an X version of the Z4 would make more sense - at least it's different to the X5, not basically the same thing without the extra boot space.

HAha! Sounds like something I would do. Oh wait - I'm doing that right now!

If I were a rich man, the X6M would be parked at my place right now..... ..... in a paddock..... ..... on fire.

Sounds Boring... maybe it's time you did a manual conversion, or fitted a V8 etc.

Hey Justin, once you have 4 poked Jatcos, buy a ranchslider for the glass, and make a dining table

Oooof... that first one - nearly as big as my Pantry (It takes commitment to maintain a "body" like mine) The last one: Major selling point: Has "Code Of Compliance"

The "challenge" IS the fun part: Got these two in the drive.... Once they're mated (snigger) together, they'll replace the E39 though Maybe the forum is quiet, because people are actually doing something instead of sitting on their arses in front of the computer? (That's pretty much how my wife would say it )

Do you think they used Google translate to convert from their native tongue?

Yeah... I'm not much looking forward to wiring the R32 VR6 into the touran... but I'm thinking I'm going to order that fancy cloth loom tape from Wurth (Coz I have an insider and get good prices ). Then Ze Chermans won't have to shoot me when they see what I've done to their machinery

It's the twin cams that give it all the powahhh.

I'm more worried about your wiring I assume it's still in test phase though

Tell me you only run it on 95 octane Old spark plugs/leads can do this too - they idle fine on all 4, but with a bit of load on, they can drop a cylinder, but still feel fairly smooth. I found it more common when cold/running rich. The original knock sensors crap out, but are really cheap. Ususally you can notice small flat spots/hesitation as the revs climb though With the head gasket thing, make sure the cooling system is well serviced - if there is any doubt, a "T" fitted to partially bypass the heater WELL BEFORE any head gasket signs show can help a lot. The heaters clog over time, and the ONLY way the thermostat knows to open, is by the temperature of the coolant through the heater back to the thermostat. Slightly unrelated, but I once did headgaskets on one of these that had been run to hat, the timing belt covers were melted and starting to sag down the front of the engine After I saw that... I drove it myself for 3 hours too, before stripping it for repair They're really good motors when sorted - I still run one in my VW van, and it gets a hiding smetimes.

or a manual box

Yep. Buy any car on it's condition and spec etc. The VAST majority of "stories" about Singapore cars are just that: second hand stories about someones mates uncles cousins sister who had a 7 series, or based on a sample of... one car - basically people not having a clue what they're talking about. Window rubbers... that hapens on NZ new cars too - BMW uses a pile of recycled stuff on their cars (they have to by law in Germany) and it affects the life of stuff (like the cooling systems). The relative humidity in Singapore averages about the same as here in Whangarei, but it's hotter - the difference is, they rarely reach their dew point, compared to here, so we actually get more CONDENSING humidity, which is more of a problem for electronics. I work on medical electronics, and the humidity isn't something the specs are very concerned about (usually up to 95% is OK), but most stuff state NON-CONDENSING, because that's when stuff gets wet. As cars age, and get cheaper, it's the imports that are easier to get hold of, and are often the cars that miss out of being looked after properly - someone who pays $100K for a new BMW and keeps it for 8-10 years is FAR more liekly to look after it than the person who buys the same car at 10 years old for $10K. It's not so much where the car came from, but who owned it and how much they cared. You're often find Singapore cars are very well specced (though not all). Cars are so expensive to own there, that if you can afford a BMW, you get goodies on it... though sometimes with the smallest engine Japan can vary a lot - they tend to be bare-bones or pretty good, and NZ new are either a poverty pack low model, or all bells and whistles in the more powerful 5's and 7's. Obviously that's all generalisation too, that's why it's important to buy a car on it's own merits. I have no qualms about buying an import, or otherwise.

Like... PLUS ??? I'm just planning it now... Just don't tell my Mrs that they don't come like that! So far, I've brought a towbar and a gear shift and some very expensive software... Good start

Newish parts can be easily worn, the may have been faulty etc, or just be crappy quality. Also - I would say MOST places that do wheel alignments shouldn't be allowed to - guessing it at home might give a better result! Worn tyres can do it too, and certain types of tyre are worse than others too.

Needs to be daily'd

I'd need a lot more info before "judging" either place, but my random thoughts are along the lines of: Are they using the same oil? Is the oil to spec? Are they actually doing the same job. One may just do the oil and filter, and nothing else. The other might do the oil, filter, filter housing cap O-ring, sump plug washer, and a quick check over for faults or upcoming problems, trans fluid level check, diff oil level check and brake fluidlevel check. So, depending on what they're quoting for, the cheaper one could be the actual ripoff. If you had the cheaper service done, and then the diff destroyed itself because it was low on oil, would you go back and complain they hadn't checked it? (rhetorical - some people do!) We have a specialist mechanical business in the family, and they only do the "proper" job, or won't do it, simply because people will come back complaining about the bit they didn't pay to have done. So I'd want to know: Is the more expensive one doing a better job than the cheaper one? Is a BMW 3 series a ripoff, when a Chery is cheaper? We have a mechanic up here that charges $35 an hour. My father in law goes there because it's "cheap". I would NEVER go there, because it's cheap. FIL pays bucket loads for stuff, because he gets this "cheap" guy to fit used parts (sometimes 3 times).

I spied a pre-facelift E30 TURBO on Whareora Road in Whangas today - I was on my bike with my 4yo boy on the back. Anyone on here???? I think not, but they may have been "out of zone". Sounded good too, and not being driven like a mong either, which is a change for that kind of car arouund here

That could be dripping down from further up - the expansion tank should NOT be that full! If the pressure gets high enough, it will try to pump out the excess. Drop the level down - siphon with a small tube in fine, but don't drink coolant! (it's poisonuos). The radiators on these things aren't stunning though - especially if it's the original one!

Your 530i will need the dual stage airbag (if you're thinking of putting it in the E39 ). I have the facelift type wheel you could use (came off our 525i): like this It's pretty tidy (not poked, but not mint) I could probably get it to the north shore sometime and you could give the man $250 when you get to collect it sometime