gjm

Not surprised - the price was right. Pity - I had 'other car' problems that I had to sort this morning.

We had a Mk3 VR6. It wasn't a Highline, but had all the Highline bits and then some. Particularly rare as ours was a Dragon Green 5-door automatic. It went up in smoke on the side of the road. A puff of dust from around the steering column turned out to be smoke. A second and Mrs GJM pulled over and got out. Engine off... Phoned me to say she was concerned, then turned around to see an inferno. <sniff>

Yup - they do. http://www.ststrim.co.nz/index.php/automotive.html I've no connection to them. Stitches on the Clevedon-Maraetai road do superb interior work. Not sure if they do steering wheels, but give Kelly a call. 09 292 8048 / 021 821 550. When I get around to it, he's going to rebuild a couple of Mercedes seats for me, retaining the original look but with more shape to them.

Had a nice chat with a lovely lady at Qualitat. (Shane wasn't available.) Thermostat: $34 O-ring: $4 Top housing: $29.90 ~1.5 litres of genuine VW coolant: ~$30 (ouch) All plus GST.

I think it is about $80 for a thermostat and housing, from an appropriate source. The housings are (I think) plastic, and tend to crack/break when you start to 'play' with them.

Thanks. That'll be the first stop.

Apologies... But at least it is a German car. 1998 VW Polo 1.6, AHS engine (the lower power - 75hp version). Nearly 145000km. Regularly serviced. Economy isn't great at around 12km per litre on 45km runs. For a little while the temperature gauge has suggested the coolant is not getting up to temperature. Typically, it'll peak when displaying 70 degrees, but with the cold weather over the last couple of days, it's been lower. If sat idling for a period of time the gauge will show 90 degrees, but as soon as any constant speed is reached, this drops back to 70 (or less). Normal journey length is around 45km, mostly on SH1 at 70-100km/h. For some time we have had an issue where it would sometimes, not always , stall when stationery. Always restarted without any issue. I'd attributed this to an (apparently) common problem with the throttle body. Costs a small fortune to replace so we've lived with it. Today, no problem going in to work. When leaving work, seemed a little reluctant to start, but then would not tick over. Revs smoothly - no problem. Take foot off accelerator and it stalls. Drives well enough, accelerates smoothly, but will not idle without a little accelerator. So... Has the thermostat gone south and needs replacing (replace the housing on these at the same time), or has the engine temperature sender called it a day? My nitial suspicion is that longer use with low temperature (at least) being reported has 'fooled' the ECU into running the engine much richer than it should, and the excess fuel has caused the cat to become blocked. Any ideas?

It was the early to mid-90s MBs that had loom issues. After that and through to ~2002, the accountants insisted on the use of sub-standard finishing processes, including paint, anti-corrosion and the like. The W220 suffered much less from this than other models; the W210 E-class was worst affected.

Spent the first 5-6 years of it's life in Singapore, which will likely have contributed to the low mileage. Pity there is no mention of service history. Whatever, that is a helluva lot of car for the money. If you crave ultimate involvement from your driving it's less likely to completely satisfy, but anyone who expects it to perform like a whale on rollerskates is going to be very, very surprised. I drove a W220 320CDi and while there is no getting away from it being a big car, it felt nimble and handles like something much smaller.

I just checked - it cost me €110 to have the 4 MB rims shipped from Fulda in Germany to RD2 Papakura late in 2012. The rims were 16x7, no tyres, but lightweight - under 6.5kg each. The 4 rims were shipped in two packages.

I bought a set of rims for the MB from Germany. Had them shipped, freight. Providing they're not too expensive (including shipping and any insurance costs) you'll not have any grief. I don't think mine were even inspected for dirt, etc.

^ Yup. Take a look first. It's certainly not a holiday destination at the moment, but if you have the offer of good work, it may be worth it.

My 320D Touring is very nearly two years newer and has covered (at least) twice the recorded distance. The interior in my car appears better than that one. Mechanically - look after it and it's hard to tell when it'll stop working. Biggest expense is likely to be replacing the turbo... The ones fitted to these cars aren't easily repairable (at least, not in NZ. Lots in Europe.) Easier and possibly cheaper to buy in a warranted refurbished one from a reputable source in Europe. Other than that - maintenance. That's it. Usual story - use good oil, and change it more often than the service indicator advises you it needs doing - that comes up every 20000km or so. Great cars. Price reflects it is coming from a dealer, and that they aren't common on NZ roads.

That's the same regardless of where you work or what you do. The squeaky wheel will always get the most attention, and the more it gets, the more it squeaks, until it becomes the pre-eminent issue. Aply the same analogy to anyone who can search Google...

P/n 311274 or 311275 from Repco.

It's a translation. :-) UK import car - has a genuine mileometer, and not a kilometer... err... ometer. Current reading is 242511 miles, up from 224000 miles. 18500 miles in 6 months, so not quite 32000km. Closer to 30000km. Should see 400000km (~248500 miles) around the end of June.

It was something 224000+... I don't recall exactly. It'll be in the paperwork. 6 months later and knocking on 244000. Call it 32000km in 6 months. Increase has perhaps backed off very slightly to 'only' 1000km per week.

I've seen some which present a jigsaw-type picture. Arrange the pieces correctly to complete the 'challenge'; no need to be too precise, either. Certainly better than trying to decipher the random scribblings of a dyslexic spider walking through multicoloured paint.

^ Like. Thanks. As I said, I would have needed to check the A/B/C criteria. Well, maybe not now.

Well through 390,000km. Planning the 400,000km party - probably in the next couple of weeks. Just flew through the WoF with two minor advisories - slight leak from the transmission (didn't leak at all before Marshalls replaced the filter - new genuine BMW sump gasket provided... Hmm) and a rear half-shaft seal has a weep. Time to do some research and get that sorted. And another oil change, of course. General use has changed very slightly from the 115km each way trip to work, to 2 47km each way trips each day. Since we moved, it's been more sensible for Miss M to be ferried to school, up over the Bombays, by German Touring taxi than in a little hatchback. Which reminds me - I must get the Mercedes sorted. Driving the Polo to work is OK, but more than a little uninspiring!

I'm using Penrite Enviro+ 5W-40. LL04, ACEA C3/C4. Engine is a diesel, but it is Need to check the ACEA qualifications (again). Offhand, I couldn't say if C3/C4 is 'better' or 'worse' than A3/B4, but I think it is. (I'll check later and advise, unless someone else knows?) It works, and works well. I was a little wary as it almost seems a general purpose oil, being many things to many people. Penrite say it can be used anywhere 0W-30, 5W-30 and 10W-30 is specified. And it is typically a fraction cheaper than some other similar oils. Not that that should really be a consideration - a few bucks per 5L of oil is a lot cheaper than an engine rebuild!

Or http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/48690-fs-4x-bmw-style-73s-with-bridgestone-tyres/ ;-)

Sad, indeed. Still, Schnitzel will doubtless appreciate your undivided attention.

It's been pulled... Miss Bm - did you sweet talk the seller?