Olaf

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.