Driftit

Just follow the 130i post in the Trademe section of the forums. Every half decent 130i gets posted in there. So much going on. Accidental Purchases. Full Trademe ad analysis'. All sorts.

I didn't miss NZ at all. I enjoyed having a city that had actual seasons. Not just warm rain, cold rain, sunburn. DC is greener, cheaper, more interesting, has more to do, more diverse and just as easy to escape to the wilderness. Great car scene, easy cheap travel, tons of sport every night of the week. And none of the Murica sh*t the NZ media feeds you unless you go looking for it. The reason I'm here in NZ now? I had a 5 year diplomatic visa than ran out. And lots of elderly to spend time with while I can.

My NZ New 530d was great. Motorsport. Well optioned. I found it superior to the petrols I test drove. It was primarily our daily, secondly our tow car. It was an amazing tow car, I would not have towed with any of the petrols. If you haven't driven the diesel I highly recommend it.

Many forget or simply just don't know that if China went to War with one of the other big players, their population would starve in less than a year.

Congrats? I guess.

Looks like a rolling Aliexpress "this fits your car" catalogue.

Usually pretty easy to spot NZ New isn't it. Old man color combos like Green with Cream comfort seats and a towbar. ?

It will be an official API that was shared. Just like all the BMW software that was shared came out of Russia originally, I would say this API did too. Simply a key would have been shared. But now that key looks to have been killed off or heavily restricted.

I wouldn't buy one these days unless it was for a business. In the US it was only $10 per year for a personalized plate... And you could pick from over 200 plate types in Virginia alone. https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#splates/category.asp?category=S

Many of them were once paid. It will be sad to see them stop having access to the API. I'm happy to pay if I was potentially buying a vehicle. But most of the time I'm just being nosy.

I didn't even know plates.co.nz had lost the contract in 2016.. Though that was when I left NZ for a bit.

It would not surprise me if they did. It is the sort of thing a car dealer would do.

No they are GM boxes. Made in France. They exist in quite a few brands and models nearly all E9X and E8X models. And they cause the same problem through them all. Other than this issue it is a great box. I can't find it now, but I read a post where GM had been replacing the Torque Converters under warranty for GM vehicles. Not a word from BMW. But 4.5 odd liters was not good. Especially because the car has seen the track, 1 mile sprints and many trips over the crappy Remutaka hill. It was time to do it anyway. The car is now at 105000kms. Everything has been serviced bar the brakes. Which are next on the list (have to find my brake flush tool) @GorGasm did you ever have the fluid changed?

Update. Changed the box fluid and filter today. Pretty easy job. Purchased a kit from FCP Euro. It's been done before. The filter wasn't BMW. And only about 4.5ltrs drained out. Over 6.5 went back in. I have a feeling someone filled it wrong. Possibly while the engine was off. Pan magnet had very minimal particles but there was still some present. Took the car on a good run. Not a single shudder. Was filled with what was supplied in the kit. Liquimoly TopTech 1800 ATF. And an extra additive Lubegaurd Anti Shudder which people swear by for these GM boxes. Taking it over the Remutaka Hill on Friday. Then on a longer road trip. Will be a good test. Car is running perfect now.

Was it a Rotary powered one? Guy at Repco was telling me there is one around Masterton.

Yup they are nearly all dead. Some will still give partial model info. Odd that the owners of the websites have not noticed.

Hated doing that job on the M54. Hated it. So yeah i would prefer they did it. I didn't know the issue existed until they informed me. So I can't worry about it too much. They have also acknowledged the faulty part is present now. I only wish I could order the part and sell it to them. FCP is probably as cheap as their cost anyway.

Well I was lazy and just went on what they were telling me. Its the PCV Angle Connector as Jacko was referring to. Shorts and starts a fire. Its this part. Should I tell Winger that FCP has them for order. ? https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-angle-connector-11617561408 Might have a look and see how much of a job it is and do it myself if they take too long. Info on the recall. https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2019/bmw-pcv-valve-heater-recall.shtml

So it's been a month. I drove my 130i all the way from Gladstone, over the hill, sat in traffic (Why the F are there traffic lights on a motorway) and dropped it at Winger BMW in Wellington to have it's cooling hose recall completed. They called us in the afternoon and said the car is ready for pickup. They completed the 1st part of the recall..... Apparently it was always a two step process. First they check the part number to see if it needs replacing. It does. Then they replace it. They had time to replace it. But don't have the part.... It's on back order in Germany. So now at some unknown date in the future I will have to bring it back over and repeat the process.. Dealerships still managing to cost me money and time. I could have checked the bloody part number myself. Also this issue effects nearly all BMW vehicles with this motor. If you haven't had the recall. Might be worth looking it up and confirming the part number.

I offended a guy at a cars and coffee event in the US. Overheard me telling the Mrs his E28 looked like it had a fat lip and they ruined the car. They did.

Want to make money? Sell "Euro" (Everywhere bar the US) bumpers on Ebay.com. What we pay $100 for. They pay $600USD for. Especially E28 and E30 PFL bumpers.

Back in the day before 98 we would savoir every drop of fuel that was in the tank of fresh imported Evo's, SIlvia's, Skylines.

I hovered my finger over the buy now for about 10 mins. And crossing the Remutakas often you would think I need them. But I have never had any issues with the brakes. Even on the track. Think I need suspension before a brake upgrade.

We shouldn't have 91 at all. You would struggle to find low grade fuel like 91 in Japan.

Yup never run a BMW on that crap. 95 at a minimum.