aja540i

something has been cut out of the front and a straight pipe welded in, not sure what was there originally.

How much did the dealer quote to do the work?

Brake calipers off, ride height sensors, ABS sensors, lower shock bolts all out, one side down, one to go. I think the exhaust is going to be the biggest hassle as it is one piece from the muffler to the turbo!

Right, time to tackle the rear subframe bushes! I have decided to remove the rear subframe from the car to do this, I have my reasons but the main one is that I have a press to remove and install the bushes, and I want to replace some suspension arms and bushes at the same time, so why not! I may come to regret my decision.....

Firstly, up on Jack stands, wheels off, disconnect air springs, so far so good!

Could you glue a bit of something to the bottom of the mat to stop it curling? A bit of hard plastic or thin aluminium or stainless might do it?

Or maybe sew a bit of stiff wire along the edge underneath, some stainless TIG wire or similar?

Mine does the same thing but I never move the seat so its not an issue for me.

Or maybe take the mat out and get some bright red "chrome" plastic chequer plate from Supercheap auto.......😉

I do like some of the comments,

"it will cost you a lot of money!!!"

No sh1t genius, its a 500 hp n/a V10 in a station wagon!

Not a bad review, i think i might get one.....😉

I don't think changing the colour will really improve it, save the money for gas!

On 3/20/2022 at 6:04 PM, BreakMyWindow said:

Hit me up if you want to code the lcm

PM'd , thanks.

1 hour ago, sweetm3 said:

Bugger 😃

😜

I'll take it, I can make it fit in my man cave !

So, latest WOF was a bit of a disaster, LCM decided to pick that day to sh1t itself so failed on about 8 lights not working and cracked rear subframe bushes, which I have bought but apparently having them in boxes in the boot isn't good enough!! 

I have a spare LCM lying around ( I mean, who doesn't) so I just have to get it coded and thats done, then fit the subframe bushes.

Oddly they put the red stamp on the checksheet about not painting rust repairs until they are inspected but didn't fail it on any rust!

On a more positive note repaired ABS module is now in the car and working perfectly!

The old girl gives and the old girl takes away....

Anyone around Akl able and keen to code a replacement LCM for my 530d?  happy to provide gas money!

"Can I buy a cheap and reliable BMW"

NO.

that is all.

22 minutes ago, Kees said:

I'm just waiting for the day the Government introduces some arbitrary registration system based off something like engine displacement, where you pay more for registration the bigger your engine is. Can see something like that happening very soon. 

Isn't that covered by the fuel tax? Bigger engine = more fuel = more tax. Seems to be a reasonably effective way to steer people towards smaller, more efficient vehicles.

Not hugely confidence inspiring when the seller doesn't know the answer! Sure, he is selling on behalf but he either didn't bother asking the owner or the owner doesn't know. Either way, not great.

There's a good chance your heater has a leak and a previous owner couldn't be bothered taking the dash out!

6 hours ago, Navin said:

Beautiful example. That 'start up noise' would not be cheap to rectify I'd imagine

It will probably be a hell of a lot cheaper than the same noise in a V10 M5!! 😂

SMG 3, only the US got manuals.

6 hours ago, Cammsport said:

Sorry to not answer your question, but who was the Auckland business and did they give you a rough quote? 

Probably dashboard restorations

https://www.dashboardrestorations.co.nz/

I just had my E39 unit repaired by him, took a couple of weeks, but so far is all good.

I personally wouldn't bother with the AA for a pre purchase inspection, they aren't worth the paper they are written on! I have seen a report on a vehicle that I had also inspected for a family member and it had so many mistakes I told them to complain and get their money back (they did). I used them once and they missed several quite obvious defects and I have also heard stories of their inspectors doing compression checks on their own vehicles if it was too difficult to do it on the subject vehicle!

3 hours ago, E30 325i Rag-Top said:

This should be compulsory for all Akl drivers!

I miss driving in London, where the vast majority of drivers are considerate of others - that was before the electric scooter knobs arrived though, they seem to be a different breed the world over.

Wish I could be that chill when driving nowadays!

You mean " before the knobs got electric scooters" . They used to have to walk!

Cough cough...

oil platform fire anyone?

My vote is for the X5 grille with black surrounds, but I'm not in the  market for one so no one cares what I think !!

17 hours ago, gjm said:

In my search for a company car at a reasonable price, the potential for a Lexus IS350 has come up. So many are Japanese imports (it would be thoroughly, independently checked) and that means the dash and centre display are going to be in Japanese.

Does anyone know of a sensible and economic approach to changing this, other than buying replacement NZ market items and fitting them?

Learn Japanese? 😉