Olaf

wow. We'll need to keep an eye out!

@hunter try these guys: http://www.lemansautofabrics.co.nz/fabric-bmw.html Hope that helps.

use the field of dreams theory. buy them, and the right car will come.

26 April 2019. 173xxxkms 1. Active Steering Rack: replaced.Jon at Auto38 had done the diagnosis and analysis. My old rack was clunking. Jon had pulled back the rack boots and found rusty grease, and significant wear in the rack teeth. Sadly wear is not covered by my Autosure MBA. So we were onto repair options. Sounds easy, right? Just get another good rack, and swap it in. The Active Steering Rack is a big-ticket item, with a bunch of sensors all over it. And it's a bit of a sh*t to fit, by all accounts. Being so large, subframe comes down a long way. A new one from BMW is not an option for me. That would ruin my Christmas. So good used options were sought on my behalf. Jon & Keren sourced a suitable rack, Jon pulled the old rack and swapped over all of my existing electronics to the new (used) rack, and installed/initialised/calibrated in the car. An alignment to top it off. [“nice rack!” Said nobody last week in a spectacular Newtown workshop. My well-worn rack, along with the ancillaries from the new (used) rack.] It's great to have the beast back, and it's steering nicely. Smoother than before. And after a couple of weeks away from the 545i (it was Easter and ANZAC, and I wasn't in a hurry), I'm reminded of why I like this car so much. It's very talented, and does it all. As ever, I'm very pleased with Auto38's service and professionalism. I'm sure you will be too, if you take your car there.

All of it. Please don't think 'I'm not breaking new ground here, it's been done before'... Your style is informative and entertaining; leave nothing out.

I have three sets of wheels in my workshop. Don't ask me why/how. Thinking about it, it's just as well I don't claim to be a wheel whore. If I did, I'd need to just buy these. Can't beleive they've not sold. They're beautiful, they're perfect, they're rare... and they're available! Buy them now!

that's $50k to get out of the starting blocks, I reckon. These things never have 'just a little rust'. Lots of potential for someone with deep pockets, or plenty of time.

Yes, would be a shame if the Mercedes X-class fails. James May rather liked his during S3E4 of The Grand Tour ("tested" against VW Amarok and Ford Ranger)...

Yes! And on the topic of AA fuelcard savings banking, here’s how you play it. Fuel up in $40 chunks. Always “accumulate” (save). Buy your fuel on BP’s 10c promo days. And perhaps even use their app for purchasing fuel (additional discounts I think) Before you know it, you’ll have a $2.00 per litre saving banked - just be sure you’ve space in your tank at the end of each two-month period. I remember gassing up on 98 at BP Drury - 50 litres and I paid only for my NZ Herald. The cashier was astounded.

How does that go for your workshop, mate?

Sorry to read of this SJ, a real bummer. Glad to hear your injuries are ‘minor’ (that is, no breakages). heal well, mate. The metal is replaceable, even though rare.

Welcome. When you say you’ve checked the battery, what did you do to check it? If your battery is marginal, having fans/lights/radio on when you’re trying to start it only exacerbates the problem, as these items rob current from the starter circuit (Kirchoff’s Law prevails). Still, the battery may be a red herring. Suggest you get it scanned by a BMW specialist, they can look at the stored codes and diagnose, and or fully load-test your battery and charging system (if that’s not been done already). I could guess at things like cam position sensor or crank position sensor, but that’d be foolish and encourage you to load the parts cannon! Hope that helps.

an absolute stunner! GLWS, Ray.

apart from that feeling of the rear end not being connected to the front end, at least with the wagons. Certainly a good power unit. Though it was outclassed by the time they re-used it in the 380.

It's the younger twin-sister to mine. Although now you're giving her the extensive makeover and and major transplant. Great thread Cam, keep the posts coming! Liking your apron image. 5SQN?

^^ agreed!

Dave there's no argument here, you'll need to look in another thread. ? Thanks for outlining your understanding. It doesn't align with that of FCP - a very successful company that has been doing this as their day jobs for decades now - and we're fortunate they took the trouble to write it down. Quoting https://blog.fcpeuro.com/the-great-debate-genuine-parts-vs-oem-vs-aftermarket I sure trust that FCP are okay with linking and quoting their blog post here. I think they have this sh*t totally covered. Some here may find it instructional. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Is there really a difference between Genuine, OE, OEM, and Aftermarket parts? The short answer is YES! Since not all parts are created equally, how should you decide on what to buy? Let's break it down. Genuine Parts Simply stated, these are parts that were originally installed during production of the vehicle. There are several reasons someone may want to install Genuine Parts - they want to keep the car original or that they know parts are guaranteed to be compatible. There is no need to visit your local dealer to get these parts. FCP Euro offers these parts on their website, at more competitive prices when compared to your local dealer. OE Parts When a manufacturer makes parts for the production vehicle, they oftentimes create the same exact part, place their own label on the product, and sell it under their own brand. These are called OE or Original Equipment parts. Other than labeling, these parts are typically identical. Some of these OE parts are brand names such as Lemforder, Bosch, TRW, Sachs, Lemforder, Siemens VDO, and Valeo among others. Since these parts are the same quality as most genuine parts, they are a popular option amongst DIYers since the cost savings can be substantial in many cases. Here is an example of Genuine vs OE sway bar links for a Volvo C30. The Genuine Volvo part is 2-3 times the cost of OE, yet it is likely that it was made on the same exact line as the OE. OEM Parts OEM parts are produced by a manufacturer that meets the high quality standards and produces at least one part for a vehicle manufacturer. FCP Euro recommends OEM replacement as one of the best options for quality and price. Typically all OEM manufacturers adhere to stringent quality control and are known to be exceptional quality. FCP Euro has completed decades of research and we are very stringent with the term “OEM”. Rest assured that every product we list as OEM will be of equal quality to that of OE or Genuine parts we sell. Aftermarket Parts As I stated earlier, not all parts are created equal. Aftermarket parts are created as an alternative to OEM or Genuine Parts. In some cases, such as clips, screws, fasteners, etc, the parts are virtually indistinguishable. In other cases, aftermarket parts are considered upgrades from their OEM & Genuine equivalents. In other cases, some aftermarket part quality can be lacking. FCP Euro offers a lifetime replacement promise and a guarantee that we wouldn't sell anything that we wouldn't put on our own cars. You can trust that the aftermarket parts you buy from FCP Euro are of equivalent quality and often quite affordable. If concerned about the fit of an aftermarket part, my rule of thumb is if the component being fixed is prone to leak, or it's a major job to replace, go with OEM or OE. Rear main seals and head gasket jobs aren't even that much fun the first time. As I mentioned, even though these aftermarket companies don't supply parts to the vehicle manufacturers, it doesn't make them low quality companies. FCP Euro carries brands such as Meyle and Febi that meet or exceed OEM specifications. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Go on, you know you want to ?

I think you may have missed the essential third discriminator - OE. That is, this part is from the supplier who made the Original part for the manufacturer. Extending Jon’s point above: e30 Tie Rods. Lemforder, TRW are OE. Meyle would be OEM (under this new way of thinking) as they make/made *something* for e30 (or at least, some BMWS), but not e30 tie rods. then with Meyle, of course there’s Meyle HD which is generally pretty good as they’ve improved upon the original spec (eg bigger ball joint in the e30 front ARB endlinks than Genuine or OE (such as Lemforder). confused? You soon will be. HTH

Photo credit: BMW Group

Do you mean you wish you went genuine? Bosch is the OE Manufacturer, along with Valeo, depending on model. FWIW I’ve bought one set of BMW e46 wipers, and one set of BMW e60 wipers from NZ dealers. I get about a year out of them, I use Rain-X on the screen and BMW washer fluid in the tank. I bring them in myself, I think the apparent margin is too great.

Hasn’t been serviced for two years. 8 years old. Some parts need replacing to keep it running well. Under $1k for two years? Try that in your Holden Commodore! One can compare to a “reliable”** Japanese brand, but to compare apples with apples you must also consider driving experience. If the 116i and Mazda 3/Toyota Corolla feel the same to you, buy the Mazda. Agree an 8 year old lower km’s car shouldn’t need a new coolant tank but hey, it does, whaddyagonnado - gamble with your engine on a point of principle? ** people love Honda’s. Friend of mine bought a brand new City, it was knocking a bit - could I have a look? 6 years old 58k km’s rod through block. “There’s your issue!”. Turns out they don’t like being driven without maintenance of any kind.

wow.

^^This

VTNZ, jeez I've had them write down on the WoF form that it's a litre and a half low on oil. They don't even know how to read a dipstick. Better they stick to their core function! Thankfully I've never had any stupid observations about suspension component replacements, and my local always seems to have a BMW keen-bean. B12 Pro Kit must be nice, Brent. Given there'd be a TUV cert for it, shouldn't be hard to run that against the standards and guidelines. Thankfully they've never blinked at my Volvo, self-levelling (Nivomat) also removed. They were self-contained units with soft springs; replaced with Sachs OEM & H&R Sportsprings.