Olaf

If you're just driving on unsealed roads (rather than off-road) and your towing needs don't include muddy paddocks, the commodore wagon is all you need and will return surprisingly good fuel economy on trips. It handles better on-road and on unsealed roads than most of the SUVs/4WDs, is cheaper and simpler to service (made by Australians for Australians), and engineered for harsh conditions like thousands of kilometers of unsealed roads without speedlimits, or even taxi use in Sydney/police duty in Auckland or Brisbane.. If you must have 4x4 get a proper one, life starts at Suzuki for lightweight (Vitara or Jimmy), the Toyota (Surf/HiLux/Prado/Cruiser), or Nissan (Navara/Terrano/Pathfinder/Patrol), Mitsubishi (Pajero/Challenger). 'Good' is of course a relative thing, Land Rover product devalues quickly because they break and are heinously expensive to fix. You can add LPG to the commodore if you really want, though with round-town at 10 or 11l/100kms, and trips returning 8l/100km, do you really need to be figuring out conversion payback figures? None of the soft-roaders are engineered to be truly durable (eg 350,000kms plus service life) like your e46 diesel, so anything less than a commodore or 'proper' 4x4 is likely to dissappoint. What are you likely to be towing, BTW? cheers

nice score. love those wheels on e34 tourings. hang on to this one #8 )

preaching to the choir on this thread, mate. still, as funny (eg attracting derision) as Volvo's may seem, I still rate the 850-T5 as one of the ultimate sleepers in terms of discreet fast wagons. Yes I'm biased, I own one. this M3 touring and subject of this thread is of course on a whole 'nother level

petrol with an LPG conversion - which is still petrol - and in most cases still runs on petrol as well, should run same taxation. Land Cruiser or Prado and be done with it. Petrol versions cheaper, ripe for LPG conversion. Get a Rockgas card, discounted LPG. Bone up on where LPG is sold in your area, though. Perhaps a Commodore Wagon? You probably don't a four wheel drive, just something that manages country roads and can tow.

just put on some weight. more girth and mass will hold you in the standard seats. works for me!

I recently picked up a couple of Jonnesway 3/8" ratchets from BNT recently, a stubby (moulded grip), and a polished standard 72 tooth. I'm very impressed, nice feel, little enough play so that I don't feel I've bought cheap shite when using them.

I fixed that up for ya I'm guessing those BMW suspension engineers in Munich are kicking themselves for not having gotten 'stretched Falkens' TUV approved.

I've enjoyed reading my way through your thread. good to see one of these getting some thorough remedial maintenence work done to get it back to near new. my $0.02 for free: - the CSi front - the black looks great, stay with it - if you can't stay with the rims you already have, these Alpinas (IMHO) are the only other wheels that look any good on these cars, though the ACS are acceptable

you can get that with any japanese car with an angle grinder. it's still stoopid. no need to compromise the safety ride and handling of your BMW (or any car for that matter), get some springs made for your application. cutting springs is one way to enter the darwin awards; sadly you might take non-entrants with you. best avoided.

my mate and fellow spanner weilder has plenty of Bahco, I think the sockets, extensions, and ratchets are very good. the matte-finish is nicely non-slip and easy to handle, and they're handling a bit of rattle-gun and air-ratchet abuse as well. spanners a bit bendy compared with my Aigos, but effective nonetheless.

My kit is built up of many sources over the years. Nobody regrets buying quality. I managed 'reasonable quality' most of the time. Spanners: Aigo R&OE metric set, very traditional design (read heavy and well-ribbed) and made in Japan, had them 25 years and they're still going strong, augmented by Powerbuilt and Craftsman for those funky euro sizes like 16 and 18mm. Recently added King Tony offset ring spanner set, bought in preference over Teng as it was 25 bucks cheaper and had a more useful couple of sizes. It's not beautifully finished, but is very serviceable. I have Craftsman flare nut spanners that have had light duty over 20 years and look new. Sockets: I have plenty of Craftsman (unconditionally guarenteed forever), some Halfords (time served in UK), Powerbuilt, and odds n ends from Proto, Sidchrome, Koken, King Tony, repco. Recently acquired Jonnesway (impressive finish and reasonable pricing from BNT) sockets. latest acquisition: Powerbuilt flex socket set 3/8" on rail, beautiful. Ratchets - mostly craftsman. You can't go past a good ratchet. Screwdrivers: Belzer (unobtanium these days), Witte, Snap On (indestructible and likely to outlast me), and the Powerbuilt seem pretty strong-tipped these days. Sets? Here's my 2c worth: Get a couple of good quality ammo boxes military surplus. 5.56 box for 1/4", 50 cal for 3/8". They're strong, easy to carry, and have a O-ring seal. Buy cheap socket rails in 1/4, and 3/8. lay out your sockest on the rails in order, make a list of the gaps - go buy them (on sale). Now you know/can see if anything's missing. No need to throw out your baby (your current tools) with the bathwater. Always have a rag in your toolboxes to clean your kit before putting it away - then its ready to go next time. Sizes? All of them. As somebody else said, you're going to need the lot working on Euros. 1/4 and 1/2, though I've been finding the really tight stuff 1/2" is just too big - 3/8 is called for also. Torx, Deep, standard and even flex sockets. Wobble extensions and Universal Joints. Brands? Of the brands I've isted above, they're all very seviceable. Never broken a socket. Plating has chipped on a couple of sockets through abuse on rattle gun or very long bar. Buying in NZ, Powerbuilt, Teng, King Tony, Jonnesway, even Repco seem pretty reaasonable. Facom and Stahlwille look beaut, but not justified on my budget. I like Koken but am too tight to buy a set. Rather than select a fave brand, I'd find a good tool supplier and stick wth him. When I started acquisitions I had a tool rep who had me on his monthly calling list - I was in an office environment rather than a workshop, but he knew what I wanted and my money was good enough for him, and I got good kit at good prices. Hope you enjoyed my brain-dump.

a man who is sick of the vulva is surely tired.

I'm sure Hutt Autos would do the whole job - however the car was in someone else's workshop. I was very happy with the work done - with the exception being a broken shifter gaitor. The OP is in Auckualofa, hence my note that the Wellington businesses will be little use. Hopefully my (rather lengthy) post indicates that a trans rebuild at around $4k including labour is to be expected (allowing of course for location, trans type, and damage), and that I was very happy with the outcome. Simply dismayed with the need. If I was to do it again I'd send it in to Jon at JK Southern Euro and go manual conversion

I'm in Wellington, so the companies won't be much use, though can relate my experience on a smaller BMW lunching its trans. Around 10 hours labour - clean the engine bay and underside, pull the trans, running the trans out to the rebuilder, and reinstalling the trans, re-fitting. The recond trans was about $2800, from memory. This was outsourced by the BMW independant workshop to Hutt Automatics, acknowledged as being the transmission specialists in Wellington. The trans cooler was replaced, as well as the trans to cooler hoses. the torque converter was flushed by Hutt Autos. These were good practice precautionary measures, as the destruction within my trans had scattered shrapnel throughout the system. There was 8L of synthetic ATF (Penrite was used) of the correct grade. That must have come from gold containers and been poured by scantilly clad supermodels, such was its cost. (yes I was suffering some sticker shock, and the disapprovement of my better half, at this point). In addition, some repair work was also undertaken: replace cam box gasket (supplied), the bolt seals, oil filter housing to block seal, replace one of the PS reservoir hoses, serpentine belt, and the serpentine pulleys. There were fluids topped up associated with the PS and OIl Filter housing works - CHF 11 and Engine Oil. Once government stealing tax (GST) was added, I was out of pocket $5300. The car shifts better than the 6 month old XR6 Falcon rental with under 20,000kms on the clock that I had driven for 2 weeks while the work was getting done. 18 months later it's still shifting beautifully. My impression was that the BMW trans was not particularly more expensive to rebuild - for the unit - than say a mitsubishi or nissan or ford transmission. The transmission parts costs may vary by some percentage between brands, the labour - in hours - is around the same to strip down, replace parts, and rebuild. There seems to be a range of $2,500 to $4,000 generally for a trans rebuild for parts and labour. One of my colleagues had had a Magna trans done, and that ran him $3200 incl GST; another a Maxima $2,800, Honda Oddessey $2,900. Given I had additional parts supplied, additional items done, and it's a BMW, the price - though high - did not seem astronomical when broken down. Yes, my family had to eat noodles for a month. What shits me is the three month warranty one gets after shelling out so much. Still, if it was warrantied like a motor for say 2 years and 20,000kms I guess the cost would be even higher. You need to understand if that's $6k for the trans and the assocated labour and sundry parts to remove, install, and test, before you can make that call.

nice work! as my e46 touring lives outdoors, I'll apply same theory. thanks for sharing!

would be good to know the status for imports. While BMW NZ may not be keen to foot the cost on a vehicle they've not sold new, surely the global parent would be covering on basis on maintaining brand quality and safety. It's not like BMW NZ don't make good coin from parts and service sales on imports; I've certainly felt like I'd had a kidney extracted on the occasions I've purchased parts from my local Official BMW dealer.

check out http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/bmw/5-series-e60-2003/ Summary of my friend's views having owned one for many years: - awesome car. likely the best sedan in the world bar an M5. Indicated 32MPG highway running. Spacious & comfortable. - a few recalls on misc bits; also alternator failure & trans seal issue. ++$ repair. Engine heat damaged xenon headlamp housing, allowing dust in. - tyres expensive though result a wonderfully balanced car; sometimes tiring with runflats. later cars had better balance. This thread also has some gems: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=478766 - a google on e60 V8 etc will reveal lots of views/experiences. As you can see, I've found the idea of an e60 V8 a very interesting prospect. I'd be budgeting for a new set of springs and shocks there. How to turn a classy businessman's express into a teenagers ideal of a "car". you know, one man's meat is another man's poison. Vendor claim of selling because can't afford the gas? Be cautious of deferred maintenance, IMHO! Good luck with your search.

there's one barrier eliminated then! why not pay a good indepenent (from the selection of forum sponsors) for a thorough PPI. Perhaps its priced where it is because most folks are scared of 100k miles, and the vendor wants to sell it. the suspension setup is pretty trick (compared with, say, my e46) and will run you a bit of coin for a refresh kit from OEM Lemforder. - 4 control arms, endlinks, tie rod ends. The rear looks awesome. some say this is due around 100k mi. Shocks are very reasonable - none of those pesky mcpherson setups. Brake parts don't look any worse (cost wise) than my e46. it does run an accumulator setup, the pump costs little more than the vacuum booster I just had to replace on my e46. Assuming the trans is good, and CCV is serviceable (I see there are many aftermarket catch-can kits so perhaps this is an issue), it appears to be one of those cars where one can buy at the right price, lob in about $3-4k of suspension and brake parts, engine mounts, to catch up with wear and mileage-related servicing, and have a well-sorted smooth tight car (moreso than the lower mileage example that will need the same in two years), and it should be good for 8 years with regular servicing, and feels like a $100k car did when new. I wonder if the electricals are troublesome? I might have to find one myself. Surely there are a few contributors here who've owned the e60 545i?

169,000 kms at ten years old, and you think that's a high mileage? average 16,900kms per year. nope, that's about right. 10,000kms per year is average low, 20,000kms per year average high. In Oz 16,900 per year would be considered low. As for 'good deal' - if you can't afford or are disinclined to buy a 'better' one, you're prolly better off without. The 545i is said to be a great car, I've been tempted. My mate had one for years, grew tired of it's niggles and repair costs in the end. Seat occupancy mat, steering column sensor, brakes, balljoints - all those modern BMW things. Okay if you're spannering yourself, not so exciting if you're paying someone else. You'd buy the 4.5 V8 for mile-munching - cruising around the north island. when you consider that, 16,900kms per year is great restraint. YMMV

I've just read through your thread. Wondering how your trans is going? Some of the symptoms you'd mentioned are the same as I experienced on my 325i Touring (2002).... before it shat itself badly (at about 120,000kms (!) yep). Full rebuild, new trans cooler and hoses, and Penrite synthetic ATF. To be fair it shifts better now than a new sub-20,000km falcodore. As I'm approaching 20,000kms since the rebuild I'm going to start the regular trans flush/filter/gasket replacement regime that BMW didn't recommend; don't get me started on lifetime fills. It seems the trans on our circa 2002 models is known as a weak-point, unless regularly serviced. Hopefully your getting an ATF change and filter done has helped you avoid the wallet-shock (and unhappy expression from your other half) that I experienced. Volvo 850's also 'feature' (suffer?) lifetime fills. Late last year we did a fluid flush on my 855-T5 at about 178,000kms, a relatively simple procedure. Ran 400kms with a little TransTune in there to help suspend the rubbish and address condensate. Then disconnected the trans output hose at the input to the cooler, and connected some clear hose. Ran the car up (through the gears until 1.9 litres of foul-smelling tar-coloured DexIII was emmitted, and shut down. Added 1.9 litres of fresh raspberry-coloured Fuchs Titan DexIII through the dipstick tube. Repeated until the fluid running out of the trans was clear and raspberry-red. This took us about 25 minutes and 14 litres; having bought a 20 litre container of DexIII, I was well made up. Added TransTune to keep things fresh, and the car shifts much smoother and quicker now. result. Cheers

I always used Genuine Nissan for my A32 Maxima, and Genuine VW for my Golf GTI A2 - I can understand this thinking. I've been using Mann filters for some time, on the basis they're OEM for the vehicle I'm using them with.

how's the sound quality when your phone is blue-toothed into the Dension, through the faccy stereo? I understand the CD change still works with the Dension connected? Interested in your thoughts now you've been running it a while. cheers

I know this is an old thread.... FWIW I fitted Meyle HD (made in Turkey, from memory): - lower control arms - control arm bushes - end links to my e46 325i Touring. I'm certainly happy with the results. Much more precise steering than the original items (120k kms old), no more clonking. Found flogged out ball joint, LCA bushings with tons of play, and dead end link balljoints. There's a difference between Meyle and Meyle HD - the HD badge is where Meyle have gone beyond the OEM specs. The US forums note that Meyle HD is beyond the spec used in the BMW ZHP setup. Note also, Meyle HD has replaceable Ball Joints, so next time you won't need to replace the whole LCA, just press in new replacement Meyle HD balljoints - bonus. I beleive Lemforder is the OEM for e46; I can vouch for Meyle HD for this application. They've been on mine since sept 2012 and about +18,000 kms, they're still tight and precise as you'd expect. Hope that helps.