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Ha! It looks easy (famous last words) but I guess there's nothing much I can bugger up and worst case is I have to take it to a pro with my tail between my legs!! Can't tell if it needs any special tools or will a screwdriver and a set of sockets be fine? Now just gotta find a mate with a garage. Don't fancy trying to do this out on the street in the p*ssing rain with passers by laughing at my ineptitude!! ha

The carpark by Deus Ex Machina off Wellesley Street is pretty cool. I took these there:

Ha ha! I inherited similarly costly-to-replace wheels and tyres on my E39, so I feel your pain. Still love the look of this though!

Great looking car! Jealous.

To replace the chrome trim mouldings (willing to swap or buy, new or used): Part nos: 51128159376-78 and 51138159293-98

So, I've got the M5 bumper, but still having a few second thoughts. These are my inspiration pics. Should I go for this? (I'm choosing to ignore the EVL *SLILLZ tag!) Or this (with ACS front lip spoiler)? The M5 bumper's sitting in my office at the moment. I'm a total car novice but reasonably practical. Would I be taking too big a chance to try removing the current bumper and fitting the new myself, or should I just pay for professional installation?

Anyone know how much it costs to do a software upgrade, or can anyone do it with the right tools?

Thankfully turned out to be a broken ASC cable not the control unit. Phew.

I might be replacing mine with TV kit from a later model. If I do, I'll send you some pics to see check the trim matches your car.

Have decided to fit to my car so am selling the OEM bumper instead: http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=40305

Hey Jochen I've just bought some new tail lights from o/seas and they've sent LED ones instead of standard that I ordered. Took about 3 weeks to get here so I can't be bothered trying to return them for a replacement and figure the LED ones will probably look better. Saw an old post where you said you can add a parallel resistor to each tail light bulb to trick the LKM into thinking the bulbs are standard. Would prefer to avoid paying an auto electrician an arm and a leg to install so wondered if you had any pics or know any online guides of how to do this?

I've had a similar problem recently but only after the car has done a hill climb in low gear; when I hit the flat again the car has remained in low gear and I've had to manually change up. My car's with my mechanic at the moment so I'll let you know what they find but as Jason says, probably something only a specialist can pinpoint.

Cheers, thanks! 9/96 Euro 528i. Good as gold.

Started my E39 528i this morning and everything normal, car running fine, but ASC warning light has come on. Have read a few threads that this might just be a cable. Anyone have any experience of this? Also fuel consumption seems pretty poor (keeping a track at the moment to work out exactly how poor) so wondered if they might be related. Will try and get fault codes read asap - anyone know a good place in Auckland to get this done?

Just got Cert of rego through and I'm a bit confused. It says the model is a 528i but states the engine says as 2964cc. I thought 528s were only 2793cc. Anyone know how I check from the VIN?

Here's my car as it is: As you can see it's had a few aftermarket additions - new lights front and rear, shadowline window trim (I used tape so it can easily go back to chrome), wheels and lowered - but I reckon the M5 bumper will be a bridge too far; it'll change the car into something it's not and it would mean replacing the chrome door and bumper mouldings which I like. Instead I'm going to try and hunt down the Aero kit front lip spoiler. As a result I'll be looking to sell the M5 bumper I've ordered when it arrives. It's pre-painted in Cosmos Black but can obviously repainted (though a bargain if your E39 is black too!). I only want to get what I paid which was GBP340 (about NZ$700). Message me if you're interested. The other thing I may do is replace the rear lights for a set with smoked indicators, so let me know if you're interested in a pair of Crystal red tail lights.

I paid around $900 for a full service but not sure how much of that was the trans fluid replacement. I'll check the service sheet and get back to you. I'm the main driver, my wife uses it occasionally but that often but it is new to us so not sure how many drivers it had previously.

Yeah, I'd be interested in the M5 rear bumper.

Thanks. I'm pretty new to this but am keen to learn how to do as much stuff as possible myself. Is refilling the gearbox pretty simple? Is the oil different to the transmission fluid? When it was serviced recently my mechanic (who I trust) replaced the transmission fluid with new synthetic fluid. As I say, I've virtually no experience so barely know an oil filter from an air filter but I'm a quick learner.

Recently bought the car and took it straight to our trusted mechanics. Amongst a few other things they did a complete transmission service for me. Since then, every now and again - and nearly always on the flat after a steep hill climb in second gear, the auto transmission seems to get stuck temporarily in second. If I take my foot off the gas or flick the change gear with the tiptronic it's fine. I don't remember this happening before the service but haven't had the car long enough to hand-on-heart say that it is only since the service. Obviously, transmission woes in a '96 E39 are going to be expensive so I'm a bit worried about it. Has anyone had any experience of this sort of thing?

Yeah, they definitely improved on things with the M5 kit. I guess what I like about the ACS kit is that it reflects the era of the car. The previous owner of mine has given it some pretty flash BBS wheels and replaced all of the lights for the newer clear ones so the body kit is the only external feature that says what era it is!

I got it on ebay for NZ$675 (included, fogs, grille painting and shipping).

Actually, I think you're right. The ACS kit I was looking it is similar but maybe not exactly like the pic I posted. Here it is: I like the Aero package! Who knows where I can get one?!!

Yep, I figured it sounded way too cheap to be the whole shebang!

Yeah, the M5 bumper I ordered is virtually identical to OEM, no fibreglass. I think the ACS kit I saw was fibreglass but at least it's only the front and rear lips not the whole bumper so not so much of an issue and I do quite like the fact that the main body remains as it was new. The M5 definitely looks cool though, perhaps not as low as the car in those pics, and I'll pass on the gold wheels!!