my_e36

Power steering fluid and brake fluid. Maybe the diff as well if you are keen.

I only use ear piece only. Never a fan of the visor version as I get in and out of the car a lot then either the phone spend a lot of battery power re-sync the connection or it won't reconnect automatically when I am back in the car. Choosing an ear piece version is tricky but the only way is trial and error. Took me 4 pairs to get to what I've got now. Plantronics Discovery 925 - Truely happy with it performance and comfort.

More on Smith & Smith (S&S) - Penrose Auckland. My Honda Jazz got a chip on the screen couple of years back , didn't know much about them. So ring the insurance, got an appointment to bring the car in, etc... Couple of hours job done. When I got the car back, the chip still just as visible as before and when I take the car in for WOF and failed because the chip is in front of the driver's face and the VTNZ said they (S&S) should have known, told me and replaced instead of repair. Call back S&S and discuss about the situation, the guy on the phone was a bit rude and told me to make a new claim on my insurance instead of getting them to fix it. (I was thinking WTF at that stage) Then practically hang up on me. I had to call my insurace company (AA) to sort them out and 15 minutes later someone from S&S much friendlier and claimed to be from head office gave me a call and offer to book my car in the next day. All in all - cr*p service, poor worksmanship. Even though they did replaced the screen at the end but the new screen is not original (Honda/Pilkington) ---------------------------- Other story, BMW E36 Coupe Had chip at very near of the bottom (close to the black part of the screen). Failed WOF for cracked screen, called AA and wanted to send me to S&S. I said no and ask for alternative repairer. They let me pick a place and I choose JC BMW on the shore. Got a original BMW screen replaced under insurance with no excess (as per my policy). So I guess we had to push to get what we want and how anything is suppose to have done.

as topic I am after a video converter program to convert DVD and various other files (AVI, MPG and RMVB mainly) to view on my iPhone. I already have Premier Element 4 which can do that but it's slow and complicated to setup the conversion. All I really need is something that I tell the program where the input file is, then it will spit out a video file suitable for iPod which I can then inport into iTunes and transfer to iPod. There are so many of them on the net (both paid and "free"), what do you guys use? Thanks in advance. Cheers, Vincent

My sister done one when she was in Unitec doing her design degree and went to Switzerland for one semester. That was about 4 or 5 years ago and she loved it. Met some locals there and other exchange students and still kept contact to date. She reckon if you can afford it, definitely do it.

I haven't had a baby yet, so no. I keep thinking how hard can it be? I guess I'll find out when I do.

That's the US Spec, the difference is mainly due to fuel and emission spec. NZ Spec - 231bhp (170 kW) @ 5900 rpm 300Nm @ 3500 rpm 6.5s (7.0s for Auto) to 100km/h

I can understand about the baby coming part, but to me it's not a good enough reason to not get a coupe. I guess as long as you can get a baby seat in the back and a stroler (sp?) in the boot, there's plenty of space for a couple + baby in a coupe. Both my wife and I reckon a coupe is safer for a baby as he/she can't get anywhere or have any button/door handle to play with. When they can walk and climb, the coupe would be their jungle gym when getting in and out (which I believe they will love). So there. FYI, I have a E46 coupe and looking at having a baby. Both my wife and I agreed that we are NOT looking at changing cars for the baby. I've seen couple go out in a 3-door VW Golf GTi hatchback with stroller, babyseat and week's supermarket shopping without problem.

That's just a wrap. (as M3_Power pointed out) Apprantly it was done at the Germany factory. Had a chat with the grooming guys, they said it's gonna be a major b*tch to come off.

VW Polo BlueMotion Petrol Used: Diesel Engine Size: 3 Cyl, 1.4L Turbo Trans: Manual Car Year: 2007 Typical KM/L = 13.9 KM/L 85% Town Driving 15% Motorway BMW e46 330Ci Petrol Used: Shell 95 Engine Size: 6 Cyl, 3.0 L Trans: SMG (Manual box) Car Year: 2004 Typical KM/L = 9.8 KM/L 35% Town Driving 65% Motorway

I thought 323i are only from e36 face lift onwards?

I tend to drink lots of water before bed, then lots of fruit, cereal and some peanut butter & butter toast as soon as I wake up. After that, keep moving, do whatever. Wash, polish + wax car, vacuum, take a walk, mow the lawn, etc... It will come right by around afternoon tea time.

Car manufacturers do recommend sitting as far back as possible so the air bags and seat belts can work more effectively. (More space between person and the bag, you get hit less hard.)

I almost forgot.. I practise a race line within the confines of a lane. i.e. do race lines without tyres stepping on the lines of the road

I had a e46 318Ti and now own a 330Ci. Surprisingly, the 330Ci is slightly better probably due to having a manual gearbox (SMG is based on manual box). I get approx 530-550km per tank when the fuel light is on.

I have to turn everything off (radio, air-con, wipers, etc...) before I turn off the key. (the e46 annoys me greatly as the air-con comes on when turning the key on) I turn down the radio when I go slow/stop/concentrate too. I turn down the wipers when I stop at lights in the rain (e.g. from 2 -> 1, 1 -> intermitten) I (almost) always park reversed-in (front of car face out). I try to avoid cat-eyes when changing lanes. ---------------- Rumble strips - Japan have special rumble lanes that help keep you awake on some motorways. Idea is when you drive on it, it will give you a tune of music (more like a hum of course).

Some stuff like the engine electronics are covered I think. I frequently heard things like the ICV, Cam sensor, crank sensor, ignition coil, etc... They would have been covered. These are not exactly maintenance item but can fail.

From the photo, it seems to be a fairly late model car. I would put my money on being a Holden. If it was really 40km/h, it should have fair a bit better. Could it be the car have had bad repair that the crash crumple structure has been compromised before the crash?

I used both and both are great. You can buy Pelle at Farmers and Meguiars at any auto store (Repco, etc..)

A plug for my old post.... http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....9&hl=window

I would say probably worth more than any of these 3.

If someone is desparate enough, can't they pull the engine apart and rebuilt the engine? What's that "liquid glass" stuff anyway? Super Glue?

Can you get them cert/VIN here? I thought anything before 2002 is not allowed to import?

Thanks for all the input. So I guess it fairly normal then. I've checked with BMW service which they claim is within tolorence. Their standard is 0.7l per 1000km for non-M engines. (1.5l per 1000km for M-engine). At this rate, you won't ever need oil change!

Hi guys, I bought my 330Ci for a few months now and I am loving it. But it seems to be burning oil a bit. It used around 500ml for the last 3000km. The last few BMW I own never use a drop of oil between services, so I am slightly worry. I read some other forum and seems to have mixed opinion on this but what are your thoughts? What's a reasonable amount of oil used over what milage/time? NZ new, 98k, full BMW dealer service history from new, 2004.