aja540i

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!

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 !!

Learn Japanese? 😉

Now you just need to cut the front springs, get some mirror tints and black out the lights!!

My commute is about 22km each way, mostly on the motorway at 100ish, I get a shade under 100km per charge now so I am charging it every day, but I don't nurse it along and I use the a/c all the time, mine is at about 80 % state of health which is above average for its age and mileage, but you won't get an above average one for 10k. Realistically a hybrid is a better option if you can find one that blows your hair back.....

Get a Leaf?

That used to be sticky cloth tape, pretty common for it to dry out and let go, especially in hotter locations like near the radiator. A couple of cable ties will do the job, I managed to get some fabric tape online to re-do my e21 loom, but its probably not worth the hassle for that job.

Subframe bushes??

Got sick of seeing the ABS and ASC lights, plus the speedo not working was really screwing up my fuel economy, so pulled the ABS unit out to send off for repair. Also managed to pick up a replacement upper tailgate section with a much better steel / rust ratio that the current one, will have to repaint it but it will tidy that issue up nicely, And happily changing the front brake pads has solved the God awful squealing issue, one less reason not to drive it! Now to paint the style 66s and get them on....

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/x1/listing/3434046037?bof=JWOZbkQf You're welcome!!

Yes, but what is that bolt going in to? The shock mounts were never intended, or designed, to take the full weight of the vehicle, let alone any extra loading from hitting bumps at speed etc.

Yeah, in certain situations a chemical fire will release its own oxygen and become self sustaining, not sure if that is the case with a lithium battery fire though...

Hey, I have this lying around if you want it, its NOS, and its for a 6 cylinder but you might be able to drill the rivets out and replace the dented bit on your one. PM me if you want it, I can put it on our truck next time its heading to Hamilton.

Yeah, not enough boot space for me, "needs" to be a touring!!

I got mine from Turner motorsport, was about $300 cheaper than BMWNZ, but be aware there are a couple of versions and you may need an adaptor for the wiring harness to the small plug, mine did.

I would guess vacuum pump or plumbing.

Used import Leaf, $10k, old British car, $????, then its just labour and compliance costs. The beauty of ev conversions is that the motors are relatively tiny so you don't have to worry about space and the battery can be configured to fit the space available and give the required range to a certain extent. Aside from the dangers associated with a 300+ volt battery pack, it is no more difficult than a mechanical conversion. Imagine having an old classic car in your garage and KNOWING that whenever you want to drive it, it will just work!

The "charger" that most people talk about is not a charger at all, it is an adaptor that connects the charger built into the car to the mains power supply in a safe way. Proper ones monitor things like the capacity of the supply, and get info from the car to make sure nothing goes wrong. Of course there will be occasions when people don't do things properly and sh1t happens, but that is also true of petrol stations!!

Yep, it takes all night, I don't care, it's full in the morning when I need it!! I can use the wall box to top it up quickly if I need to, or use a free fast charge point that I drive past every day, options!! 😉

There isn't a single street in the country where the gas station is up to the task of everybody trying to fill their car at once. Its a bit of a pointless argument as there is no scenario where everybody in the country will plug their car in at the same time, mine uses about the same amount of power to charge as boiling the jug or cooking some toast, and I don't HAVE to charge it every day. As for the commercial users, hydrogen will take care of most of that. (Eventually!)

the mild steel shouldn't be too bad for distortion (compared to stainless) but that is a sh1t load of welding in some tight areas, I have always gone for donuts for that reason, and have always been happy with the outcome. Are you going to TIG it or MIG?

A hybrid is less beneficial on long journeys than short commutes as there is less slowing down to charge the battery so a higher percentage of your energy is coming from the gas tank, but perfect if you do a lot of commuting and an occasional long trip and you don't want 2 vehicles, plug in hybrid slightly better if you can stop and charge it along the way.

Not 100% true, mine is charged by power from the solar panels on my roof, which were manufactured in a factory in China powered by the tears of slave laborers ( or something similar)