318Touring

2003 E60 530i After ~5000kms, average consumption mixed between open rd and city: 11.94l/100km, claimed 9.9l/100km. 1996 E36 318ti After ~8000kms, average consumption mostly suburb with a little bit of city driving: 11.57l/100km. The newer the BMW, the better its fuel consumption will be. Same as the CO2 emission. I think my E60 produces around 220g/km(?) while the LCI model is about 178g/km.

If he denied that were his boxes, you should'd taken them and put in your boot. They were ON your car, weren't they. That'll show the bastard. Once a guy parallel parked and bumped into my car (thankfully the compact). When confronted he denied ever doing that. Got his license plate, and he'll just have to hope that I don't spot his car parked anywhere in Welly. He might have forgotten, but I've a got very long memory.....

Did you buy yours for more than $8500? I got mine for less than $6k. 110kms, '96.

Nah, get insurance involved. They will go after his a$$ like there is no tomorrow. Let him learn the hard way. Oh, going round to his house and maybe accidentally drop 'modified' nails on each of his tyres....

Yup, he told me about the E60 with working windows and non-working radios.

You're absolutely right. The factory keeps each car's setup in the system that dealer accesses online. As the owner retrofits/repair carried out something, the dealer updates the data accordingly. Therefore if you DIY an Aux, for example, without getting your car's data updated, next time you're in for service the system will get confused. This means that the dealer HAS to update your car before they can start working on it. However, apparently BMWs imported to Japan has a completely different system (Progman) to everyone else in the world. I don't know whether the dealer can uninstall and reinstall the car's system so you'll get a non-Japan system. And I've heard that someone (E60 Jap import) had their power window fixed but the radio became non-functional when Progman was updated. You might be able to do a straight swap on the radio, but .... it might stop working when Progman gets updated. Remember, almost for every error that car throws, the resolution will be to update Progman (~$180). Genuine BMW's bluetooth solution is to install TCU. List price is about $1500US. I was thinking about bringing in a 1 series from Japan, but after hearing this I think I'll wait until I know the full story. Also I don't think 120D is big in Japan. I suspect Jap imports that can have iDrive in it will potentially face compatibility problem regardless whether it actually has iDrive installed or not. E90, 1 series, the new X5, E65, E60 and 6 series. X3 and E46s (and older models) will be OK. The price for having the latest technology eh.

Yup, you're stuck with RFTs. Maybe? The link I posted dealt with non-M5. Been to m5board.com? Here's a good discussion on tyres. Seems that you don;t have to stick with Contis. Although that means changing all four corners.

Spare in my E60

I know!! There is an E60 520 in TM. It doesn't even have front PDC! BTW, here's a link from the e60 site discussing RFT and non-RFT. Interesting to read on what they were saying after switching (back) etc. Again, it's personal preference.

Very good replies all! With my E60 I find that it's more unsettled compared with my E39. Additionally I feel the bumps on the road more. As I mentioned previously I already have a spare, the car was ordered with that option. As pointed out, it'll be more of personal preference. If I rely a lot on the handling of the car, I wouldn't want to compromise it. Prices might come down when battered Jap import E60s with RFTs start to flood our shores, as is the case with E39.

Mine has but it's an option, code '300 Emergency Wheel'. Mate, remember Murphy's Law?

Hmmm, I think RFTs are less than appropriate for NZ. Sure in Germany where you can do 200kph+, a blow out will have terrible consequences, and changing a flat tyre at the autobahn' shoulder will be quite scary. Additionally you have to think of what can you do when you have to replace a tyre somewhere in the West Coast (of NZ)? I don't think the local tyre store will have a 19inch ContiSport. Once I had to replace one non-RFT Conti (16 inch) at Taupo and no one had it in stock. I don't see this as a money thing, it's more a less than ideal situation being forced upon customers by the manufacturer. RFT is a great invention but I'd rather wait until I can get a replacement tyre anywhere in NZ if I have to replace my tyre. I do have RFTs on my E60, and when the time arrives for me to replace my rear tyres, I'll switch to non-RFTs. BTW RvT, if you move to non-RFT tyre, then you need to get a spare (donut) from BMW. That'll cost about $300.

Are you not thinking of chucking out the RFTs and get ordinary tyres? BMW's advice was the car was designed with RFTs on, so with ordinary tyres handling can be compromised. Also the pressure warning will go off regularly. But I think it is a small price to pay compared with your $1200 while mine is about $600 (Dunlop Sport 18 inch).

Wouldn't that 15000 be the discount you'd get when buying a new car? Apart from Honda no one expects paying the full RRP?

Mind you though that $135k gives you a standard car. Maybe for BMW fleet they ticked off a few boxes to keep the managers happy. You know how expensive these options can be.

535d eh? What about this? Unfortunately it's not the LCI model :-(

Except for the #@$! cruise control lever! Every time I needed to flash my light I screwed up my cruise control setting!! I love all of the crazy stuff you can see and set through iDrive. The more expensive your model the more settings you can play around with.

For $170k+, it's as expensive as a house!! You'd better be feeling right at home for that kind of money. It's the cruise control lever, like in E60. And I'm still trying to get used to it. LCI = Life Cycle Impulse. Facelift E60, new front & lights, new rear lights, repositioned windows control, redesigned centre console, X5 style gear stick etc.

Take a look at this listing from Jeff Gray -> E60 525d An LCI E60, 525d which is not as flash as 530d (or 535d), looks very ordinary although at least it has Comfort Access. Might be part of the different models from BMW used for DIA's evaluation. Also the listing is titled '525d Sedan Government'.

Or this NZ New, 528 '99 It is cheaper than when I sold my E39, and I sold mine to a dealer! Mine was a '98 with higher mileage too!

A quick trawl through TM flushes out these: NZ New, diesel, 01, higher miles NZ New, 01, diesel again NZ new, 4.4 NZ New, another diesel For an X5, your dad should be spending more and not less. It's a much more superior vehicle to Jeeps (don't know about X5 off road capabilities though). Note that the 3.0l petrol is as thirsty as the 4.4l while not as satisfying. In 4.4l you'll get TV as standard equipment.

Saw this in another forum ... Apparently also all over the North America's M3 forum. And no, I don't have all the details. BTW, anyone still remember The Tricolor?

So ... we'll see you in it at the BBQ then? Prices at Autohaus Rotorua are always somewhat quite 'optimistic'. Oh, I just remember, I saw that car around Wellington about 3-4 years ago. Used to have personalised plate, hence the new plate.

This is what revolving credit facility is for .... Contract or no contract you'd still have a sizable amount floating around waiting to be spent.

Do that, see what they say :-). Although it is not a very bad deal, getting a very well sorted car for $20/day. You'd get a Suzuki something or rather at Avis for $55/day!!! Eh? Wouldn't it be more fun? The rear fidgeting on the slick tarmac ... a quick blip on the throttle ... the front tucking in neatly into the corner ... Can you get the missus and the kids traveling comfortably in the Mini? It's a shame the rear is only for 2 pax, would be a very good car for school run.