matt45

button combo should work ... definitely talk to grant about the Nav worth the $ IMO

if your in AKL i can enable your TV in motion, and change radio region if you cant get the button combo to work.

the 2 poking through the frill will be laser jammers (same as 2 on the back) and the one you posted before is a radar detertor.

It will either be a hardwired laser/radar combo integrated setup

or 2 separate hardwired systems 1 for laser and 1 for radar

i have seen that display unit before but cant remember which system it is.

http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi

stick your vin in here registered date and actual build date of car vary, if yours is built pre 09/01 then it will be a jap only tuner.

that looks like a radar head rather than a laser one, radar should work ok as long as there is no metal in front of it only plastic.

Nice post. Another question where do you place the external mic in the cockpit? does it come with enough wiring to be able take all the way to the front?

yea has heaps of wire could put it pretty much anywhere, i stuck it to the side of steering wheel column by the indicator stalk which isn't the most hidden of places but at the time i couldn't be bothered hiding it properly and never got round to changing it.

thanks heaps for the link Matt. Have already emailed Richard.

Do you have any pics of your setup? Do you know anything about the Sirius setup? that looks pretty flash too.

Cheers.

Sirius is for satellite radio and is a separate unit that can plug into the dice even if it does work here which I'm not sure it does you wouldn't get any NZ stations on it.

Here are some photos altho they don't really say much, the install is very easy, the hardest part (which isn't exactly hard) is running the lead from boot to glovebox where i have my unit.

Ah yes it comes with a widescreen nav monitor.

Ok now my second query:

..............

ive got a Dice Mediabridge 1500 (w/ Bluetooth)

Works well, has AUX, USB/IPOD and Bluetooth connection methods. Comes with a External mic that you mount for the handsfree. The unit itself i just have sitting in the glovebox.

Sound quality is good.

It is not the best thing in the world to navigate around, you are pretty much limited to Fwd/back track, answerphone and volume, unless you want to memorize some stupid button combination's (however this maybe better on a monitor setup i only have MID.

Firmware on this model is upgradeable.

Got mine from http://www.gadgets4u.co.nz/ the guys name is Richard he is really good to deal with.

If you want to see it working you can have a look at mine ... however I've got the standard stereo ... no monitor.

had been chipped to about 235 bhp.

lawl don't get sucked in by this bs, even if it is true its just confirmation that it has been thrashed.

As has been said the cooling system is a big point of failure (on most bmw's) because the plastic used in the radiator tanks, water pump impeller etc is all recycled plastic (in accordance with European law) which means it deteriorates quicker than other plastics. Arguably you will see this more in imports that NZ new due to climate but it does effect both.

Chain Driven so all good there. if your doing waterpump/thermostat you may as well change belt at the same time.

Don't cheap out on things like break pads/rotors and oil filters, cheap filters can fall to bits and scatter throughout engine and cheap pads will likely squeal and/or rattle. the genuine consumables are not actually that much more expensive than 3rd party (i think a oil filter is like $10 more?) so there is no reason to use crappy repco bits.

also a 318 is probably going to suck gas coz you have to plant it to move anywhere, i would go 320 or higher.

watch out for jap imports with AUTO gearboxs' they use a different box (JATCO) to the NZ New ones and they often give problems ... google for E36 Jatco Jerk

i'd been keen on one of those keys if you have a spare or could get more? Do you know how to get the insides so they work properly

http://s.dealextreme.com/search/%2bbmw+%2bkey

Hey guys has anyone tried installing the dynavin onto a e38 ? if so could you point me to the right direction?

Reading through the 6 pages i understand that the steering control work, but does this dynavin also connect to the bmw computer to show the consumption and other stuff on the screen?

Cheers.

No it wont give you the OBC functions, do you have a factory monitor setup or a standard MID/Radio? if you have factory monitor i wouldn't even consider replacing it with this unit (even if it does work in a E38 which i'm not 100% sure it does).

I always thought the plastic wallet key was just a key you use so you can get into the car but not actually drive it?

have often wondered this with the plastic wallet keys, are they just plastic or is there a passive chip in them?

i dont know what im going to buy yet but viewing a coupe on friday that i wana buy.

its oriental blue, grey leather interior, 2001 model, csl front bumper, and 18 inch m5 reps. so might get that and put it on bbs lm's and drop it abit.

um so what may i ask was the reason for selling this one?

There's a black '01 528i Motorsport

This is another thing, altho it maybe registered as a 2001 that has no bearing on when it was actually built, only when it was first registered. eg. 528 stopped production in 2000

agreed! DO NOT take any notice of the auction gradings they are rubbish.

Also alot of the cars at dealers have been sitting there for some time so don't be afraid to haggle.

lucky u didn't get done for the g-plates at the same time.

OK, so Lexus is a total no after hearing reading what people have to say about it, lol. I don't wanna be seen driving it now, lol. Narrowed down my preference, definitely want 6 cylinder at least 2500cc, preferably 5 series. There is a car of interest at turners, being auctioned tomorrow. Only problem is, I won't be able to show it to Glenn.

What do you guys thing about buying a Beemer from turners?

Here is the link, please look at other Beemers at turners and advice if there is a better one

http://www.turners.co.nz/Vehicles/Pages/Ca...px?RefId=890366

looks ok but pic's of cars do not tell 1000 words, especially in terms of interior wear/tear. i would be reluctant to getting one without having it checked first ... but on the + side, turners do have warrantys available.

also be aware that getting the GPS nav to work on i-drive enabled cars can be very expensive if they were imported from japan. Alot of people buy them thinking awesome ill chuck a nz map disc in and will have built in nav! ... its not that simple.

There is 1 whole page of e39 parts in that link above to the list...

should have said "pitty there doesnt appear to be anything of use for MY e39"

pitty there doesnt appear to be anything of use for the e39

All seems to work fine for me.

I think that option is under ZKE

Granted there are a few buttons in there that look like they should be colored red, i will only be clicking the ones that look safe. eg. Read Errors.

Changed one setting which was Audible Tone when arming alarm. That worked fine.

Will try it out on the 7 Series with OBD-2 -> Round plug adapter to see if it can read any errors.

The unit from Dealextreme just arived.

Will test it when i get home.

Hopefully it doesnt brick anything, i dont plan to do anything major with it.

any update on this?

Thanks for the reply Matt. Deffintely not after the 318 for fuel economy, I am just as much open to the 320i. I would take the straight 6 over the 4 cylinder - and happiy pay more for fuel!

I'm after the full Motorsport pack, I think the dealer was telling me to look out for E46's with M options being passed off as Motorsports.

I live in Grey Lynn so I will probably head to the BMWorkshop up the road.

Was the rear subframe cracking issue dealt with by the time the facelift rolled around? - I guess the BMWorkshop will know all about that. Thanks again.

defiantly test drive a few different engine types before you decide.

The Sub frame thing I'm 99% sure didn't effect anything post 2000.

yup 318i is a 2L engine but it is 4 cylinder rather than 6 like all the others.

If you are looking at the 318 for ecomonical reasons, i would surgest not rulling out a 320i, the E46 is not a overly light car you may find the 318 actually has to work hard so ends up using more fuel than a bigger engine.

Xenon lights are nice, just be sure they are factory Xenons and not some aftermarket crap.

You would probably find it hard to get a e46 02-04 without electric seats.

Other nice options to look out for are the TV/Nav (note Japanese import Nav is around $1500 to get working in NZ), rain sensing wipers and automatic headlights.

M-Sport Motorsport are just different ways of writing it (means the same thing). There are 4 general levels of the sport/non sport spec (although there are lots of options inside each category)

Standard or Individual

Standard/Individual with some Msport bits optioned eg. steering wheel

Full Motorsport Pack This will have all the Motorsport bits inc Steering Wheel, Rims, back/front bumpers, side-skirts, clear indicators, sports seats, black roof-lining etc

M3 (this is the most expensive performance 3 series the E46 ones are 40k+)

The Most important thing to do is once you have found a car you would like to buy take it to a BMW specializing Workshop, Eg. BMWorkshop (grey lyn and botany) Botany Motorworx (botany) i am listing Auckland locations as you have not specified your location.

And if you are buying from a dealer a warranty is a good idea as long as its from one of the main companys eg. autosure.