gjm

The enjoyment remains long after the cost is forgotten. And imagine the satisfaction of knowing you've saved a M535i. Rebuilding the 525e with the 'M' bits is certainly the more economic option, but (in your mind) it will always be a 525e.

Yup - see below... Worked that out in the end! Still got to check it all out. Something is rubbing/catching. Haven't connected the lectrickery to the motor, but manual raising and lowering doesn't feel right. And... I worked out a way to get my huge hands into a position where I could nut'n'bolt the regulator into place.

Could be. Rain stopped 'play'... But I'm having all sorts of problems getting the holes to line up. They're a hole width out at present. I'm using new nylon sliding blocks but finding they are stiff to turn on the regulator arm knobs - is that usual?

I would prefer to, but can't see how I'm going to get to the back of two of them.

Replaced the drivers door window regulator in the E36 318i. What a palaver. FFS BMW - did you run out of fixings when doing this? 4 rivets, a torx head bolt, a hex head bolt, a crosshead screwdriver bolt... Too much to ask for any sort of standardisation? The old regulator was bent, twisted, and not running in the window channels at all - once I'd got all the fixings out of the way, it came straight out of the door, with no need to detach from from the window at all. I'd straightened the arms before but obviously not well enough. Pics of the old, and the replacement which will go back in. I'll replace the plastic sliders before refitting. Time to polish up on my riveting skills.

5 TradeMe auctions. Over 1200 views and 250 watchers between them. Not one single bid on any of them.

Waved 'bye-bye' to the 318Ci...

It's not just me that thinks that, then!

No help if wanting to get anything done outside... Sunny - great. But everything is saturated and sitting in puddles.

Dunno about the CEL, but I think there's a low coolant warning light.

Not quite what I meant... What would you do with the 'M' if the 525e was out of the picture? Not saying it will be, but it might help decide on a direction?

It is a bit wild'n'woolly this morning.

This was Facebook, which is probably worse!

Another way to approach this is to consider: what would you do if you sold the 525e?

The 318Ci is listed at $3250. Just received this: I'm struggling to continue being a nice guy...

Washed and hoovered the 318Ci, cleaned the glass... And showed a father and son around it. They liked it, took it for a test drive and will be in touch tomorrow. Did the same for the 318i and took some pics. Not shown that to anyone, though.

Living further north, I've had no cause to use them, but know of several people who have been to see Lester at Autotorque in Palmerston North. They've been in business for about 15 years. Not to be confused with Auto Torque in Inglewood who are completely different and not, as far as I know, as proficient with Mercedes.

I suggested it's fairly priced given age, condition, and other similar vehicles currently on the market. There's room to haggle, of course, but I'm not telling him that. I'm having a bit of a sense-of-humour bypass at the moment.

Listing an item for sale, clearly stating location and price. First question someone asks - "Where are you, and what's your bottom dollar?"

SOLD BMW E46 318Ci (coupe), <120,000km. WoF 'til 27/06/2019; rego 'til 26/12/2018 With a build date of 11-05-2001, this is one of the last cars fitted with the M43TU engine. More reliable than the later N42 engine. It was first registered in Singapore in October 2001 where Opera Autotechnik fitted a Kerscher bodykit: front and rear bumpers, sideskirts, small bootlid spoiler. The fitting included electric folding M3 wing mirrors, and a Opera dual-exit exhaust. It was also lowered on Eibach springs. I have removed the side skirts as we prefer the look of the car without them, but they will be supplied as a part of a sale. 'Dressing' a car is common practice in Singapore - no point having anything with any sort of performance as there's just nowhere to use it. Uncommon and very attractive Graugruen (grey green) metallic paintwork, with undamaged Schwarz (black) leather interior - some wear, but no rips, tears or burn holes. Includes sports leather multifunction steering wheel. Some scratches and similar to the bodywork, but nothing major. Rims are Mille Miglia Revenge II 18x8.5 et45, recently fitted with 225/40-18 front and 255-35/18 rear tyres: tyres may have covered 2000km - see pic for tread. The rims have some kerbing but no great big chunks missing. I had them checked for true, round and balance at the end of last week. Options include glass sunroof, aluminium interior trim, electrically adjustable front seats with memory on the drivers seat, aircon, and 6CD changer (in boot). Just been to Coombes Johnston in Hamilton for the drivers and passenger airbag recall. All fluids changed in the last 2 months, cooling system overhauled and flanges have all been replaced; fitted with a K&N filter in stock airbox. Currently has two problems: 1. Passenger door does not open from the outside (no problem from inside). The cable connecting to the handle has come away - nothing is broken and the cable is intact, but it does require the door to be stripped in order to refit the cable. 2. One of the exhaust tips has come away from the exhaust and requires re-attaching (welding). This doesn't affect performance or make the car excessively loud. I will fix both problems in the coming days if the car does not sell first. Great first car (cheap insurance), and economical for commuting or longer drives (we drove down to New Plymouth a couple of weeks ago). Inspection and test drive welcome. $3250.

If it looks good, it is good? No-one cares that it drives like sh*t with those stretched low profile tyres... Aside from that, a M57D30 with a 6-speed manual box should be good fun! (Being a diesel it doesn't need 6 speeds, of course, but that's another matter.) /grumpy

Why not get some rims that fit, and then fit some tyres to the rims so they fit properly, too? Maybe I'm just getting old...