RvT

May be wrong but my knowledge is that you are insuring the car not the driver. The arguement arises that say your car was taken and drove into a shop window, then you would be covered as the car was insured, not the driver in this hypothetical situation. Pick up the phone and ask your insurer then post the response here as it is a good question and others would probably like to know the official answer ...

I would still be advocating taking it to a dealer for the official pre purchase inspection that way you have a document to negiotate a lower price to fix the issues ... For the cost of $150 (I think), you will have more piece of mind IMO

Also rear fold down seats are extremely useful option. It is not till you have something long in the car that won't fit in the boot, that you will appreciate this option.

Mine was a UK import (did it myself) so cats were not an issue or rather nothing was disconected. There is a lot of info on setting up TV, if it is possible, in the section on this forum. Sounds like it has a lot of fruit except maybe an areo kit and PDC ? I know the common faults that most of us e39ers experienced is replacing the radiator and resevior tank. I sold mine back in 2005 but it ended up here with another member. In this post he talks about the things that he did to it to "keep it on the road". These are the common issues if you read through the thread. http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....=1999++e39++540 While searching I also found this post on cats but may be e46 related but worth reading http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....20540&st=30

Nice choice on e39 and the 4.0 motor has brilliant power etc. Others may chime in but, I would be spending the money and get BMW dealership to conduct a pre-purchase check. As they obviously do a lot of services on the 540s, they will know what the common issues are and be hopefully more aware of what to look for. Also having a report from them will add your negiotiating power with the seller in case anything is an issue. They should be able to get some data off the car via computor. Only comment is that there should be a few around for sale so look for a high speced one. If you are unsure on what is important in specs, just give us a run down on what it has. The 1999 model changed the motor air intakes slightly. If you can get the M spec steering wheel, it is a nicer look IMO.

I use Dent Magician on my imports and when I show then 2 dents to remove, they show me 5 more I didn't see until they showed me. Think it was around $50 or $100 per panel to fix. They can also quote you before they start + they come to your place which saves you the hassle. Definately recommend

Thanks John for sharing this story and my thoughts go to your family. It makes you proud to be a Kiwi and admire fellow Kiwis that go the extra mile for others when they are not expected to or have to. Well done Steve Williams if you get to see this thread. We are all proud of your successes as a New Zealander

Have you looked at the Nexus One that has been released by Google ? Might be an option to have the "latest" with a 5mB camera but not over priced. Couple in Akl already and they are runnning OK on VFNZ

Fairly easy as suddenly no compliance issues or costs. Only issue is that transport costs are higher as the $1500 is for roll on roll off ferry (can be driven). A non driveable car needs to go in a container which has extra port charges here. I would budget around $NZ 2500 at a guess. For best wrecks and bargins shop here ... http://www.tau-sales.com/defaultMall/sitemap/CSfHome.jsp I have used them along with others and no issues at all

This may help ... USS Auction grade Grade S under 10,000km A A hardly seen any scratches or dents less than 1 year after the registration Grade 6 under 30,000km A A hardly seen any scratches or dents engine & suspensions are in good condition Grade 5 under 60,000km A A some scratches or dents, but doesn't really need to be repaired engine & suspensions are in good condition no exterior has been replaced Grade 4.5 under 100,000km B B after some minor repair, it can be graded as 5 Grade 4 under 150,000km C C some major scratches, dents, burns or rips, which need to be repaired Grade 3.5 under 150,000km D D some major damages, which need to be panelbeated or replaced some burns and rips which need to be fixed Grade 3 E E need fully restored Grade 2 low value Grade 1 modified car, damaged car, rally car, dirt trial car, etc... Grade R repaired car *** extremely old, replica, classic car, cars which are difficult to grade,

Time to chime in ... Importing is simple and easy to do. I have helped numerous friends complete their first import for the cost of a 6pk (when local). The main reason I import my own cars is because I want to know if it has been in a crash or repaired. In Japan they are graded from 5 down to 1 and then if it has been in a crash, they come out with R or R1 so you can tell BEFORE bidding what the history is. I once almost bought a car in a yard where the dealer stated it was a 4.5 grade, showed me some documentation ex Japan to support it, then we got it checked out at a dealership and they said it was damaged. I went back to the dealer and asked for the Japan info again and it turned out to be for another vehicle on the yard. Sorry but I don't trust anyone in car yards after that experience and apologies to those on this forum who work in the industry because it was just one yard involved but it tainted my feelings towards car yards. Anyway I started dealing with a company called TAU for importing my first cars but after 3 cars, I was put onto Kadoco by a mate who mentored me in the beginning. Since then I have brought in about 10 through this company and they are very user friendly to deal with. http://www.kadoco.co.jp/ The Yen is at 68 cents so it is getting better but I personally won't play in the market again till it is at 70 cents + as the margins to make some money are better. Process is simple enough; you find a model you like, check to see if it is allowed into NZ thru the VTNZ web site. Pick on cars that are Grade 4 and better and hopefully not under 2002 (from memory). You ask for some history from Kadoco on what previous sale prices were at auction for similar cars you are interested in and they give you a lot of history showing mileage etc. After that it is a case of sending over a deposit (to prove you are genuine bidder), then when the right car comes up for auction in the right colour, specs etc and ask them to bid on your behalf up to a maximum price. Once the auction finishes, they email if you were successful or not and what it was sold for or passed in at. Fairly simple. If you want some more help, flick me a PM with your email address and I can send you a simple .xls spreadsheet I use to work out the on road price here after punching in the YEN price at the top. Love helping fellow BMW owners

Thanks everyone for the advise. I love taking on jobs like this in the stat days when I have time to do these crappy jobs in the sun and find that all the shops I need to be open are closed .... For the record ... DeSolvit works slightly but only takes off the top layer and leaves the scum behind requiring a few more passes Kero is only good for lighting fires ... Thinners worked better but dry out too quickly and require more passes over so teddious job Repco (local branch) told me to "go fish" as they didn't have the grease & adhesive remover Isoprophylene Alcohol looks like it may be the product of choice but no-one will stock it except the chemist in pathetic sized bottles who also decided to shut at noon today just to piss me off so can't try it out even ... The plastic scrapper is the tool of choice so far and M325is, thanks for the procedure and knowledge. Will continue the quest more likely after the stats when I have no free time again . Again cheers for the advise everyone

Not as yet. What is the Brand name and where is is available from ... Mitre 10? Repco ?

Just about to sell a work truck so spent the day removing the old vinyl signs of the truck sides. The vinyl was put on 8 years ago so it is aged. After trying a few techniques including heat guns, I managed to remove all the vinyl sign writing & backing vinyl BUT the adhesive glue won't play ball and remove itself. I have tried a few things around the garage like Meths, Mineral Turps, Super Solvent, petrol with varying degrees of success. Super Solvent is the best option but it takes ages 10 minutes to do a 20cm square and I have a whole truck to de-glue. Anyone care to suggest something that will do the job quicker as I want to get the job done Asap. Cheers Ron

We use SS out here in Rangiora to repair most of the work trucks with either Novus or replacements. The guys out here have been great so far. Takes a few hours for glue to set though from memory (might be windscreen replacements though)

One of the things I like about AMI is that it is a AMI is owned by the yourself, the insurer. It is run not to make a profit so I am assuming that every other insurer like State etc has to make a 10% profit bottom line where as AMI don't need to. Any profit is returned to the stakeholders through less premiums the following year. They try to operate at a zero profit level.One of the interesting observations about insurance premiums is the that age of driver is a factor in premiums as well as value of the car. Without sounding "old", my driving style has evolved and now days I am less inclined to take risks with a more expensive car than when I was driving a $5k car. I think insurance companies factor that a $5k car on the road is more likely to be involved in an accident so they are hit with a high premium. Another factor is that if you get involved in an accident, the cost to the insurer is likely to be the same for a smaller accident regardless of the vehicle value. The value of the car will only come into play in a "write off" situation which I would guess would be not very common compared with repair jobs.

Thanks Glenn. After reading your post, I rang BMW and as you said, they need to tell the car about the new battery which can take minimum of 15 minutes. Informed me I need to book it in and they had no time till after Xmas. So much for a plug n play option. These Germans are getting crafty as they build newer cars. It will be harder in the future to buy non OEM simple stuff. I wonder when they will require the tires get replaced at dealer too.

Hi Kiwiland I am with AMI and have had no issues with them. Last claim was 5 years ago. Wife's Allroad is insured for $80k and the premium was $466.57. My M5 is insured for $120k and premium was $610.31 Excess on both is $250 On the face of it, I would say you are being ripped severly. We have all our private insurance plus house(s) with them so we get Multi saver discounts. Hope this helps

Sorry, didn't mean to offend and really appreciate your help. Part number is 61 21 6 919 342 + second number underneath 61 21 6 924 022

Thanks Glenn. Would love to take it up to you but that would be about 4 tanks of gas to get to Akl and the same home (I get 320km out of a tank on non spirited driving It is due an oil change in the next month so may ask the question from Chc BMW. They will probably say "new battery" so I think I will get the Century battery first as it will work out cheaper Battery says it is a 90ah - 900a - does this match the Din85ZL (or is 85 = 85A???) Thanks

Thanks everyone for comments so far. Had an e34 535 and had to replace twice as I had it for 6 years to need a new one, once after buying the car in UK and then again over here 4 years later. Last car was a e39 540 and that needed to be replaced at 3.5 years as again replaced when I imported it and again before I sold it. The current e60 has been giving me screen warnings of "high discharge" since I bought the car 2 years ago. Have been charging the battery every 4 months but the warning image on screen comes up after about a month of use so I am getting a bit sick of it and want to fix. Having said that, the car is only used every 10 days or so and sits in the garage a lot. Maybe there is a correlation between big motors and higher battery wear ??? On a secondary note, the wife's Audi was stopping in the middle of the road (felt like a carb issue) so dropped it off at stealer. They fixed it on a recall notice at no charge, small sensor issue, and then informed me the battery was stuffed. Said to replace it as a quick reaction knowing that I had just charged it up after running flat previous week and maybe they were right. The bill came in at $850 for the battery. Now I am gun shy of stealers and batteries, hence the post ...

The e60 M5 needs a new battery and have been putting it off. It is still on its original ex factory so after 4 years, it is due for replacement. Past BMWs I have bought OEM ones ex stealer. I am probably know the answer but .. is there any difference between OEM and aftermarket batteries for the larger sized BMWs? Apart from price? If I was looking aftermarket, any brand that I should focus on as being "better" ? Cheers all

Hahaha Maybe you have a point. Usually issues are reported a few days later with the wife and because it isn't your daily drive & they get forgotten to tell you. However if the BMW sneezes, it is in to the doctor ...

Having imported about 6 BMWs and wife has had 4 Audis (all 98 to 06)- 2 x A4 Avants & 2 x Allroads, I would say that the BMWs have had more work done on them than the Audi. Service bills are about the same for both marques. The key is to have them checked out by the respective stealers before purchase as they can identify most "common" issues they know about and commonly fix them. The only issue I am aware of is to stay away from the 1.8l turbo motor after it has had 100kms on the clock. With the Allroad, the shocks pump themselves up but a common fault is to have a leak on the shock overnight = car looking like it is kneeling on one side. Once the key turns, the pump starts and it comes up.

No one has mentioned an Audi Allroad ? 2.7 l motor in the older one with turbo. Wife has had 2 to date and I rate them highly. Full of toys and leather plus it would have to be the best towing vehicle with self adjusting suspension which auto levels out depending on the load. I am out of touch on price of them so that may be an issue on budget