318Touring

If you can't feel the scratches under your fingernails they will buff out.

The conversion was nicely done, it was a pity the rear lights were left in their original form. Engine wise, would need to be brave to touch it without knowing whether it'd had a rebuild. Missing lots of interior panels, what happened to it? One key, missing rear seats base on both sides, including lumbar support.

Didn't realise it was in Wellington!! When are you going back to the South Island? Seems that you're happy with the car.

Good luck with that .......

Does it produce white smoke out of the exhaust? If it does, does it smell sweet (like coolant sweet). If the answer is yes again, you've got head-gasket leak. My '96 E36 318 touring did have this issue, big white cloud following the car, sweet coolant smell, mayo under the oil cap.

Thanks! Useful to know which one which is. I used the smaller bolt (DME) for the +ve connection mostly because the Ctek's terminal is too small for the other one. Been charging overnight and will keep it charged to get a healthier battery.

Since the battery is at the boot, it seemed that I can install the Ctek connector somewhere in the engine bay. Just wondering whether anyone out there knows how to install that correctly? In the attached file I have marked the -ve and +ve points, need to confirm whether they are right. Also which of te two bolts I should use to connect the +ve lead?

I got an email that linked to the non-FB registration page. However the email didn't state the date of the event, only suggesting it'll be sometime in March.

What is an S15? Looks like a Nissan

Apparently half of NZ Herald readers agree that speed limit tolerance should only be 4 kph above the limit for year round. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11180340 Aucklanders eh. Vote differently if you don't agree with this (clueless) half.

Are they really both diesel? I have around 50 cars in my TM watchlist, can't really tell any longer which one's which :-) I need a year 2000 + car to avoid getting warrant every 6 months. Also trying to get the youngest possible with the lowest kms. There is only one BMW in my radar, an '02 Compact in Chch. Will try Welly car first before expanding to other cities.

Am looking for a manual for my son to start learning to drive. Came across a couple of later model Puntos, one diesel and one petrol http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=659280281 http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/fiat/punto/auction-659941552.htm While this model hasn't been condemned as another quirky little Italian, has anyone here had any direct experience with it? More of a concern, Fiat NZ doesn't seem to offer Puntos for sale anymore. They only have the 500s on their website (apart from work vans).

Bought a 118i for my wife last year, with 70000 kms on the clock, MY 2006. I was a bit disappointed, with what I see BMW making things less indestructible compared to the era of E36, E46, E39 etc. Radio display has lots of missing pixels. Coil plug got un-seated causing CEL to flash - requiring removal half of the top of the engine to get to it (DIY) One tiny O-ring failed causing oil leak - cost $480 to fix as it required removal of water/PS pumps. Used to have an E36 Compact for 4 years, the only thing needed changing/gone wrong was PS line for WOF My E39 was perfect for the two years I had it. In saying that my E36 touring had a blown head-gasket. My E60 had one failed coil-plug (after being traded in) at 56000 kms. Anyway, I took the 1 series to Auckland and back, and I didn't think it was fine. More than fine actually. Coombes Johnston BMW in Hamilton has come cheap E87s. There is a '05/06 116i manual for $9k, 147,000 kms on the clock. I notice this because I'm looking for a manual car for my son to learn to drive, and an E87 would make a fine teaching tool :-)

Thanks!

Thanks guys, I never like sending my cars knowingly they might/will fail WOF. Glenn, what is AVI?

Can you guys tell me whether a missing cover for seatbelt height adjuster (at the B-pillar) is a WOF issue (see picture). Can't find a replacement cover, don't know where the original is. I don't really want to fail on WOF, might as well replace it before going for inspection. The car is a Mazda Familia, hence the difficulty in finding a replacement cover just lying around at an auto store. As always, your help is appreciated.

Wow the 525it was really good. I'm a spec whore, wpuld've bought it. I'm not sure 3er would be able to have the same options like 5er.

Thinking of changing again Paul? As you know I used to have an E60 (2004). You'd be best try to buy the later model as it would've come with lots of (cool) options. Engine was also revised at 2005/2006? Unusual to have NZ New with Nav, HUD etc. Richard is very lucky to have all those toys. Fuel consumption was the factor I traded mine in as it wasn't as economical but as I thought it should be.

Don't know as I've never bought tyres from them however their pricing is really competitive and they don't mind sending tyres to NZ. I have bought lots of 911 parts though and service always superb, and the parts usually arrive within a week from when the order was placed.

+1

If you wait til the new X5 hits the market officially, you'd get the E70 at lower price than right now.

E60 M5s are now very good value for money. Scary to think how much the original owner(s) had lost over the years. If using BMW's kit is fiddly look at solutions offered by Dension. Both options will be costly.

What!!! Less than $13K!! That's very good bargain, if you don't mind sharing, where did you get it? I'm (will be) looking for a manual, reliable (see below) BMW for teaching and eventually used by my son. BTW the N46 engine is somehow has a not so sterling reputation for having oil leaks coming from different places. I have what I think a PS pump leak, and with only 80,000kms on the clock-FSH NZ-New, that plainly sucks.

Thanks gang, it's the N46 engine which apparently leaks from everywhere. I pulled the underbody panel, cleaned everything, can't see anything that was dripping oil. From looking at how oil had been distributed along a narrow part of the bottom right of the engine, seems that the power steering pump is the source. Coupled with low PS fluid I can safely say that PS pump is the cause. On top of that this guy was talking most common leaks on N46 engine, and PS pump is one of it (youtube). The seal between the PS pump and coolant pump gives way, apparently. I won't be bothered replacing the pump ATM with one costing US$400+. I looked very hard, left it overnight and still couldn't see even any oil dripping, and I spent hours on the weekend under the engine. Would be safe to say that it's a (very) slow leak. I also suspect that the oil sensor (no dipstick!!) might be misbehaving with sending erroneous low oil message inconsistently. The best way to ascertain whether it is not broken, is to drain the oil and measure how much you have collected. If it's low then the sensor is fine, otherwise replace sensor. Hence I might as well get the car serviced, and ask the garage to measure the oil level. This is starting to annoy me as my E60 and E36 had been very reliable (apart from the Active Steering error message from time to time). Jon. I'll PM you re sourcing a bottle and other stuff

I need to top up the E87's PS fluid. Unsure which ATF fluid I should use as supercheapauto has different brands etc. The cap says ATF Oil Only SCA It's a 2006 118i, auto.