Allanw

You're talking about the M5 right?

The bonnet switches cause a lot of false alarms. You can unplug the switch and see if it does it again.

Of course, it might not ever do it again anyway

I've never looked, but I wonder if you can see what made it trigger via software, or some other way???

Well today my wife did Auckland -> Taupo -> Rotovegas -> Auckland in the 530i and it averaged 9.0 l/100.

I'd hoped it would do slightly better. She did mention how easily the car got up to 120 kph so maybe she didn't drive as slow as I expected...

My wife can drive slower than I do, and will STILL use more gas. Apparently the car has an on/off pedal, not a throttle.

Another dickhead doing stupid shite on a public road in an UGGGGLEEEEEE car

Fixed that for you.

I think they started at 100K, then revised it when they had breakages - same on my Holden Astra - it broke the cambelt under warranty at 62,000, Holden revised the changes to 60K after that

Rust or Corrosion on either surface? It doesn't take much.

Penrite HPR 5 will do both those things.. (and it's regularly on special for around $50 per 5L)

Their info is a little ambiguous, but it does state ACEA A3/B4 and BMW LL-01. Just double check it's on the bottle, in case there are other versionrs (One image wasn't ACEA A3/B4)

Thanks for the info - I hadn't found that one yet!

Their "plus 10" thing is some marketing bullshit, though I do actually prefer the slightly heavier 40 oil (just makes me feel better!). My favourite is 0W-40, though 5W-40 isn't that disimilar, and certainly makes little difference in our climate. It also fits what BMW spec for the M54: 0W or 5W, and 30 or 40.

Thanks!

Way, way back in the day I got my e36 M3 for 15k off sticker and the sticker was already 8k lower than the equivalent at TMBMW, NZ New, FBMWSH.

It's always worth a try!

When we brought the E30, it was $26995, on sale for $23995. We paid $17500 I wonder though - most buyers of a 325i SE in Takapuna probably wanted an Auto though.

The previous Toyota Surf that dad had was on the yard for $36995, he knew the yard owner, but only paid 27,000.

Sure, there was more margin back then, but they could have paid anything for it - if the car sold traded it on had good margin, they may be happy to cut their losses (ie make the minimum) on this one to clear it. It's not a car you sell every day!

Hello everyone,

I need to change my engine oil very soon. I drive a 2003 BMW Z4 2.2I. I heard it's best to use 5W-30 100% synthetic oil. I found some cheap japanese ones on trade me. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=615089504

What do you think about this one? I never heard the brand before though.

Your engine would be an M54.

You need oil that is ACEA A3 rated, AND BMW LL-01, according to BMW. That oil lists neither, and very little info is available. Just buy something decent that works. Castrol Edge 0W-40 A3/B4 is usually on the shelf at Repco, and IS suitable according to BMW - it's a high shear oil as required. There is a 0W-30 version available as well.

Since when has cheap been good? If the cost is a problem, buy something for half as much, but change it twice as often

When i brought my V12 E34, at the time a stock 520i, from christchurch up Kaikoura highway, and slept in the back that night ha good job its a wagon.

My wife and I slept in our Suzuki Cappuccino

Roadtrips are cool though!

Here's a pic of our matt silver ones, in case anyone wants to see them:

Came from this guy: Suwit10 on eBay for about NZ$22 shipped.

The gauges look a bit plain with nothing on, the rings do smarten them up!

PM Andrew: E21 market cornerer

He's had 4 e21's That I can think of and still has most of the bits I think!

Confucius say if you spend $1000 on car you get $1000 car.

To my knowledge rust converter should be applied to the rust for it to activate rather than applying to clean metal - there is nothing to convert

That's true - it's not good to leave it on a surface that didn't have rust - It's good to remove the majority of rust first though. Once the converter has converted any remaining rust, you sand off the converter residue to get bare steel - the converter has converted the bits the sanding doesn't reach.

I don't like to leave the rust in there, because if the converter doesn't work ALL the way through the rust, it's still rusting underneath

Ah - I thought you meant a stain, like it was running down from a rusty spot above.

That is just surface. I'd sand it back as best I could, rust convert, sand again when

its done then lightly aerosol etch prime and coat with epoxy primer or even epoxy enamel. no reason why you couldn't brush it on.

how much for a double ended light sabre?

for my kids of course......

My Mrs worked for Ewan McGregor and his wife in the UK as a Maternity Nurse (she is a Midwife). He had some actual light sabres from the movies..... of course it's just a handle - it doesn't have the blade/beam . Real ones must have been too dangerous

I can't believe she didn't try to get me one!

Your boy must think you're totally awesome Julian. Not because of the fine arts degree either

You need to fix the source though - where that line is coming from is where the rusty hole will be

Lots of new LCD screens or whole clusters... Will keep hunting.

EDIT: PS... Should have driven to Warkworth, shouldn't I?!

Cluster usually, but the might smash it up for you for cheaper postage - sounds like ray has usful bit anyway...

PS, i'm in Whangarei... it's a bit further north

Better you broke, than If I'd broken it

It'll happen... But might be a bit harder to under $15K! Still a few grand a year is way more affordable for me than $25-30K + bills for an M5.

You can always duct tape a couple of SC14's on there. Cheap and Chav.

"for the Boy"... uh huh - I've used that excuse myself

I have the entire Gerry Anderson collection on DVD, amongst a lot of other things.

Those look awesome - just before my second was born (actually while he was overdue!) we had to get a new fridge, dishwasher and barbeque, so we had a large castle in the lounge for a while. It was totally awesome for hiding all the toys - if you couldn't find anything, Solomon had put in in the castle

Well done!

Made a mistake when fixing dead pixels... Now I need an LCD screen as well. If anyone has a cluster that's broken but the LCD is okay then please let me know.

Look on Ebay - the wreckers from Lithuania often sell some cheap poked stuff.

..... its hard to find a good manual for cheap

There's a good reason for that

There's not that many of them, and they are WAY better.

It's easy to spend $3-4K on an E39 or an E38.... AFTER purchasing one!

most BMW's that seem cheap, are going to be poorly maintained. they may not have problems, but they may have a lot too!

DIY on these cars can be a pig. Especially engine work. There is a large following in the USA though, so parts are not eye-watering expensive. (i.e Thermostat is $40USD vs $200+ NZD via BMWnz) And there is plenty of good diy info out there.

The amount of mis-information out there about these cars is amazing. Generally it's people with no first hand experience who blow the trumpet about how unreliable (ie VANOS) they are and how expensive they are to run / maintain - never been able to work this out but always suspected it was their way of justifying buying a lesser (ie non "M") car. Maybe I've been lucky but mine has cost me less than my wife's Octavia vRS in servicing / maintenance over the same period.

Actually, so far no one has said they are unreliable. Many of the parts are the same as run of the mill E39's, however, there are also a number of M5 specific parts. Some of the specific parts can be very expensive.

There's no point going into these things with blinkers on - IF someone has a Vanos failure, it can be VERY expensive. While it isn't a "common" problem, it pays to be aware, in case it happens! Just like the E46 M3 rod bearings, M52tu and M54 DISA valve failures, the Vanos seals issues, cooling systems etc.

As I said, an "everyday" E39 can require a lot of money spent anyway.

Right - I think we've established it's a dumb idea.

...but if you were all about sensible, you'd not be driving a 540i, you'd have a Nissan Micra or something equally as hideous/boring/unloved etc

basically all speedos are off by a percentage, and they usually over-read, for "safety" sake - you don't want a ticket in your new BMW because the speedo is wrong.

By the time it's been messed with etc over the years, it can end up reading anything though.

Most new cars seem to over-read by 6 to 8 %