Allanw

The wheels were irrelevant, the CAR was a fail first

It's a bit boring when it's ALWAYS raining though

Just popped into Repco yesterday and they had Penrite HPR 5W-40 on special for $60. Meets BMW LL-01 and ACEA A3/B4, so is a suitable/economical for the M54 amongst other engines. About $30 a bottle less than the Castrol Edge I normally use. Although the lady behind the counter did try to tell me that as the milage increases, I might want to move to a "thicker 10W-40" Uh-huh.

I first thought it was a stoned Daihatsu Copen, going backwards. Sounds nice though! I could handle an FF for a "sensible family car", as it has 4 seats. I think they're like a Ferrari version of the Z3 M Coupe My Mrs' cousin had one on order in Potugal, but cancelled it as they ended up moving to Ireland and thought having a Ferrari when it always rains was stupid. I told him he could leave it here and visit it sometimes , but he wasn't keen:

Though there may be an E39 version in Auckland soon.... eh AJA

Carpark exit at work:

Quite possibly! The E60 has the Bangle issues pretty bad... very vegemite, though more seem to hate than like. I'd have to skip the E60 entirely, and go F10, though I'm not sure I ever want a car that complex!

yeah... plus the AA's latest figures (based on new cars up to 5 years old) actually still put petrols as cheaper to own in most cases (If they took out depreciation and the likes, the only diesels that worked out slightly cheaper in the first 5 years, were the 4.0 plus engines, and even that was marginal). Plus they didn't factor in the initial extra cost (other than in the depreciation). The later diesels, such a the e39 530d are pretty impressive though, performance wise - lots of torque. I just got a new VW Transporter 2.0 Bi-Turbo for a work trolley, and it is pretty impressive too... though economy isn't remarkable - only has 40 kms on so far, so should improve as it loosens up. It's also quieter than the petrol Mitsi Outlanders some of the others have just got, and quicker than the 3.0 Toyotas (though they're close, as mine is 4WD with a HIGH roof... the van is 2.5 metres tall

When you insure the car, they do ask what brand it is..... if you tell them it's a BMW, surely they should be able to work out it has BMW parts on it??? maybe next time you insure a car, tell them it doesn't matter what brand/model it is, because they try to use aftermarket parts anyway.

Hmmm... makes the back look even MORE like a Primera, but boy racer styles.

Ahahaha! So true. I'm more than happy to buy an old car, and spend money making it "right" - it's still cheaper than buying new, and I enjoy it. I've brought most of my cars sight unseen, including the E39. Never had an issue, but KNEW they all needed something doing to them - not meany people will repair everything, especially if they're thinking of selling. Cars cost money. Simple.

Nice 356! If that were mine, it'd be parked a LOT better - some SUV is gonna reverse into it If you hadn't given the extra info, I was going to make a joke about posting a VW Beetle in the SPOTTED thread I have a Beetle, so I practically own one of those

Haha, whats really funny, is that people probably really think that. That stuff was probably all done here - just got to look at cars on trademe for the proof... Most NZers don't even know what a full service history is. They think if it's been to the dealers all it's life, it OK. When we all know the reality is, that the dealer only does what the car owner will pay for... and here in NZ, that's often just the essentials, and not even always that much!

You should be able to use BMW Scanner to easily check the codes. I use Version 1.4.0, X-car 360, but I have the later 16 pin OBD2 connector. You'd need to buy the adapter as well. Looking today, it's US$32 shipped, plus you'll need the adapter. or you can use the earlier 1.3.6 version, which comes with the adapter (less features though, I think). It's easier to set up than the proper BMW software, and does all the basic stuff, plus allows programming of features etc. There was some guy on trademe selling them for about NZ$120! Certainly easy for reading faults, you can read individual modules, or the whole lot at once, plus reset them.

You can use BMW scanner to change the VIN in the cluster (BMW can't do it to a used/already coded cluster/module, apparantly). I brought it here : BMW Scanner 1.4.0 appears to be US$32 today, shipped. You'd need the adapter for the earlier round connector under the bonnet, or could possibly just get version 1.36 instead. Ours has OBD2, so I use 1.4.0, and it works great - have changed the VIN and Milage in a later LCM to fit into our car and can read fault codes and program functions etc. You can interogate all the modules then, and may be able to find something out. I'd be talking to the pervious owner. The consumer gaurantees act does apply to private sales, and there is a good chance they knew of the problem. VINZ is obviously covering their arse, but they quite likely did miss it. Problems with airbag systems and the like is easy to reapir, IF you take it to the right people. In typical "Kiwi Car Owner" fashion, they've tried to do it cheap/DIY, done it wrong and probably palmed off the car once they passed the point of no return!

So... that's A, B and C, can't you be bothered with the rest of the alphabet?

Perhaps you need to drive a BMW diesel..... it's not at all like a toyota diesel Your E34 would have trouble keeping up with some of the new ones!

Probably not really common over here. It's possibly marginal if it's worth doing. To do it properly, you want a complex system. It can take a long time just to pay for itself. Some of the UK forums would have good info on it, as it's pretty common over there.

Anyone else work at a hospital??? You'd be amazed what people manage to "Fall on while in the shower".... like a vegemite jar

No TV here either..... I just brought some DVD's from Amazon UK. "Call the Midwife" TV series 1, 2 and Christmas Special, Dirk Gently TV series and "Planet Earth" TV series . NZ$64.07 shipped. Buying them at The Warehouse... just Planet Earth is NZ$75, they only have Call The Midwife series 1 (for NZ$25) and no Dirk Gently at all...

The brakes part of the cert process is easy to pass. I can't recall the details, but my VW van with it's stock UNvented front discs pissed in, and it has double the HP and very close to 1.5 times the RPM to play with now. E30 would have no issues.

Haven't seen SP, but I brought heaps of Teng stuff pretty cheap (like 3 sets of spanners, 4 socket sets, pliers... all sorts!) on a run out special, I don't know who usually stocks it now. I haven't broken any of it, and that's an acheivement! I used them for all sorts of crap, and abused it even, but it's tough. I do stuff like using the 19mm spanner as a leverage bar on a 13mm hoping that either the bolt will come undone or snap off.

AND, they SHOULD know what they are doing..... but often don't

The caps came with the gun, and my Wife got extras, which are the same as those included. It appears that the ignition of one, flashes over to the others and sets them off. The whole thing is pretty nasty. 10c might be on the rich side! I'm not 100% convinced it's a "problem" per se, I think it requires further testing

Haha - I would mow the lawns, but I have to get the Kombi out of the barn to get the ride-on out, then move all the toys and TWO swing sets (bloody grandparents) with a total on 10 "stations". Plus it's wet, so I can't be arsed. We used to have a decibel tester at work, but I can't find it My youngest is having his Birthday on Sunday, so I might break out the remaining caps while the place is full and see what carnage we can do. The gun is pretty poked, the the things seem to go off still. Keep an eye on the Sunday News.