aja540i

Finished installing towbar and refitted rear bumper on the M5. Now to do the wiring.....

Hmmm, my 540i did 1850 rpm at 100km/h, does that mean it had the M5 auto transmission?

Yes, moisture has gotten behind the clearcoat and started corroding the aluminium, you could spot sand it and clearcoat in patches, but as Dave said a complete strip and refinish is the proper method from this point.

shouldnt be any rust worth mentioning on an e39, especially a facelift, unless its had a dodgy repair or been parked in the ocean!! Test drive plenty, buy the best one for you, v8 or 6, both have good and bad points. If you plan to spend 1500 - 2000 on it within 6 months of getting it you should cover most of the common issues, but it might be worth looking at a higher mileage car that has had the work done already (like my 540i wagon !) good luck.

They probably chose it because of the shape, the lens is almost perfectly vertical, which suits the front of a bus nicely!

I'll probably leave it in P400 mode when i'm towing, unless i need to pass someone!

I got mine a couple of weeks ago from SD european in the waikato, might be worth a phone call.

The M5 was doing this a while back, had a new battery fitted ($600) it has done it once in the 2 weeks since. Never had an issue starting the car.

Swapped the front roll bar on the e36 from 24.5 to 26mm, definately less roll now but i will have to be a bit more carefull in the wet as the back seems more lively! Also, got the driveshaft and exhaust sorted on the e39 so it is back on the road after 2 months!!

Just fitted a factory towbar to the e61, it basically replaces the rear bumper reinforcement bar, pull the bumper cover off, pull off the steel reinforcement, bolt on the towbar, replace the cover.On the e61 the cover comes off by undoing the screws into the inner guards, then at the front of the bumper it pulls away from the car, then slides back, the cover comes off by itself so no big bolts, there are 2 screws just inboard and below the tailights, yours may be similar.

Bunnings sell a 125mm 750watt bosch blue for about $115, we have 4 of them at work and they are a good little grinder, nice and light and small so easy to get into small spaces.

Im in Auckland, how does $30 plus shipping for the pair sound?

39.8 ish on the ouside race, 50 ish on the inner race,

I voted with my wallet, the dealer was up front about the costs and i agreed to pay them, i know i had other options but i judge value differently to others out there. I will be taking my car back there for its wof in a few months.Everyone wants a car with a complete service history, well someone has to pay for that!!

Yes, and i think the car may have had a towbar in the uk before it emmigrated, there is an identical looking module alr6eady in the boot, and someone has tidied up some wiring, will know more by the end of the day....

Picked up a genuine (westfalia) towbar for the M5, dropped it off at a locksmith to get a key cut for the removable towball lock, will tackle the wiring tomorrow, weather permitting.

Sorry, change of plans, will measure up in the morning for you.

Dont forget that includes the M tax !

Okay, oil service including 10 litres castrol TWS, oil filter, and cabin microfilters, was just under 1 grand, new 90AH agm battery including labour $607.31, new wiper blades $113.62, all up incl gst $1,603.50. I was expecting nearly 2K so im happy with that.

I will check in my storage tomorrow and let you know.

I am pretty sure i will have a spare set ( or 3) lying around, just 2 front hubs?

The special lifetime oil for the e39 is probably nearly $400 by itself!!

I have my e61 M5 booked in for a service at JC BMW on Thursday, ill let you know what that covers and costs!

Thats basically the only thing it could be, i would be pulling the front covers off and checking before i drove anywhere. How many Ks has it done?

Yeah, there are about 4 leds in the centre console, so i doubt it was them flattening your battery overnight!