RustyItalian

Alfasud yes, Arna NO!!!

Need a few bits and have not managed to find one yet.

Yep, once bought a "smart" charger. Wouldn't recognize a flat battery and therefore made no attempt to charge it. Really useful aye, a charger that won't charge a flat battery... Swapped it for a "dumb" charger that did the business.

I'd never heard of it. I can't have been hanging out with the children.

Note the hidden costs of a Janssen warranty. Euro autos must have the transmission serviced within 3 months or 5000kms (whichever occurs first). Diesel vehicles must be serviced every 10,000 kms or 12 months, whichever occurs first. Means you can end up doing more servicing than BMW recommend. Also Janssen only provide $1500 cover on cars with 250000-300000 kms at time of sale and you need a service at time of sale. Read the policy book there is a LOT of stuff not covered. Makes a warranty questionable...

I think you will be very lucky to find one of those anywhere but the dealer. Are there any E60 in wreckers in NZ? I am yet to find one. If you need the front bumper I need the passenger side motorsport skirt

Well this weekend did AKL-Huntly-Cambridge (via bypass) - Rotorua - Hamilton - AKL. Average 9.6 l/100 with cruise set around 107-110 whenever I could. A few passing maneuvers. Admittedly that route is uppy downy windy all the way so not good for economy. Have to say I'm not impressed. The weight of the wagon can't be that bad. BMW figures for open road are 6.0l/100 Will check engine codes and start looking at plugs, filters etc to see if there is any reason for poor economy.

Can't help with the technical aspects (aerial connection?) but I have a 2009 disk if that's newer than yours. PM your address and I'll send a copy (passing on the favour after another member sent it to me). I'd love a newer disk too..

Well today my wife did Auckland -> Taupo -> Rotovegas -> Auckland in the 530i and it averaged 9.0 l/100. I'd hoped it would do slightly better. She did mention how easily the car got up to 120 kph so maybe she didn't drive as slow as I expected...

Bump. Still cluttering my garage...

bump...

Alfa's also have a short change interval. And you are in trouble if you ignore it. I wouldn't say they are more pedantic, probably just they engineer their cars a bit different. There is a different culture towards maintenance in Germany (ie. they do it) compared to Japan/NZ (we don't). Perfect example is who has replaced oxygen sensors per the OEM (Bosch) recommendation?

I'm noting a large difference between the 530i 6 speed auto and my previous 1999 528i 5 speed auto. I used to use sport mode all the time around Auckland to make sure it was in the right gear (especially up inclines). The 530i has a lot more torque and I've never needed to use sport mode. It never lugs like the 528i tended to do. Consumption isn't the best. My 528i averaged around 12.5 l/100 in Auckland traffic. The 530i touring is doing around 14.5 l/100, largely due to the extra weight of a wagon I guess. The 528i did 8.0 l/100 on the open road. Drove to pukekohe and back at the weekend and the 530i was showing 9.5 l/100. Wife is off to Taupo tomorrow so will zero it before she goes. She drives like a Nana so it will be a best possible reading at the end of the trip! I test drove a couple of 525i's and the lack of torque was noticeable relative to the 530i.

Well I bought a NZ New 2005 E61 touring about two months ago so can make a few comments. Jap imports need coding for the radio to work in NZ. Budget around $300. Japanese nav won't work either. Around $1500 to get sorted. My nav works and I have to say the interface sucks, direction arrows in the head up display useful though. There is no 'standard' option package on these cars. When looking some cars had the check book thrown at them, yet didn't have the small options like seat warmers. NZ new ones are the worst for this. Download the options for cars you look at as not all are readily visible. The larger 8.8 inch screen indicates professional nav which also indicates a much more capable system. An AUX in jack was a cheap option rarely seen before 2005. USB for MP3 was a freaking expensive option available after 2005 which is even more uncommon. You can replace the CD changer with a black box for Ipod control for around $600. These often had runflats and some have no spare wheel. Post Sep 05 have push button start and some systems revisions. If their infinite wisdom BMW placed electronics under the spare wheel. These cars leak water into the spare wheel. Smart. Cost a colleague $2400 for a new module and myself a tow-truck ride a week or so back. Check it out. Mechanically these cars are fairly good, the electronics are iffy and costly. Also not all are covered by most warranties. Most 530d's I saw on the market were UK imports. I'd say the E61's go for around $4000 more than the equivalent E60. Buy the black E61 M5 on trademe :-)

Thankfully the problem has been found. The rear taillight lens was separating from the housing allowing water entry. This had pooled in the boot and affected the electrics. They have dried things out and it is running fine again. Interestingly I actually had the electric tray out from under the spare a month ago while troubleshooting my dead Bluetooth. It was dry as a bone back then. Gotta finish my bathroom reno so I can get the gib out of the garage and the car in...

Sigh... My new E61 wagon got carted off to BM Workshop tonight after refusing to start. Wife was out and parked at the base of Mangere Mountain (not the best place to break down near dusk...). I got the distress call at work. Note this is a push button start car. Basically car wouldn't turn over. Battery was 12V. With jumper leads (13.8V indicated) still nada. BM Workshop said this engine has a known issue with the starter solenoid. Removal is intake manifold out job. Shall we start a sweepstake how much this gremlin costs to vanquish?

Awesome, thanks guys. So you wouldn't recommend spending money replacing my video module then.

Anyone? The same TV module will be in a 6 series. Not sure what's in the 7 series.

I take it that you have now worked out that the economics of rebuilding a crash damaged car such as this are rarely good?

This car is still for sale. Asking $4500 on trademe. $4000 to anyone from bimmersport. Will be sold with new warrant/rego.

Gidday Does the TV in an E60 pick up freeview channels in NZ? My car has the digital tuner but it died before I had a chance to test it. If the module does not work on digital in NZ there is no point getting it fixed for the last 6 months of analog TV! Cheers

Hey Noticed the other day that the passenger side heater on my new E61 wasn't blowing much heat. A bit of googling shows it to be a common issue. If you have heater on and turn fan down for a few seconds, then fan speed back up you get a small burst of heat briefly, so there is a little flow though the core. Has anyone had any success disconnecting the three heater hoses and flushing core with evil stuff to dissolve the muck? Joys of lifetime coolant in BMW's. WTF were they thinking...

ISBN 1-86126-317-1 BMW 3 Series The Complete Story James Taylor Copyright 2000 Hardcover as new condition. The current generation, which features family saloons, practical Touring versions, delicious convertibles, and 'supercar' saloons, seems far removed from the earlier cars. However, upon closer inspection the lineage is clear, and the one theme that runs throughout is that these are true drivers' cars. James Taylor tells the story of the design, development and production of each generation, and includes coverage of the M3, Touring and convertible variants. Filled with full specs and production figures. $25 incl NZ postage.

Is the sensor still firmly attached to the inside of the screen? I've seen one fall off before.

Just bought a car from them two weeks ago. There was no sales pressure at all in my case and I test drove it twice and bought on the third visit. I found them open and honest, the owner showed me what they had invested in the car I bought and gave me receipts etc. Their cars are not necessarily mint (often sourced from other dealers as unwanted trade-ins) but mine had a bomb spent on it in preparation for sale. Due diligence is required as normal. Richard