Olaf

I've not tried the 6 cyl version of the e60. I can vouch for the chassis being so very well sorted that deploying 330bhp through it does not leave you wondering about designer's intent. I think it'd be sad to pootle around with 100bhp less.

@Funkyflynz have you any words of wisdom, as a man who's experienced and talented at laying down a good bead?

Hey Eli, you should consider doing the welding course at Weltec. You can even sit your ticket at the end of it, if you're good enough. Teaches you what you need to know, gives you a good idea of what kit you'll need. Excellent tutors. Plenty of practice. If you're interested I'll introduce you to my wrenching mate, he's near you and did the course, set himself up with an excellent mig. He's planning on scratch-building a sports car; you'll want to look at his welder.

I made this one. Copyright is mine. Car is @eliongater's.

me too. though I admit a predilection for quietly classy bogan debutantes as well. ?

go hard at it, Kyu!

Alternately, by the time you get them sourced, installed and sorted, the bairn will be breathing air, and your good wife will have deflated somewhat. Good on you for working hard to keep your wife happy during the beached whale/'just get it out of me' zone! Olaf

I'd like to try the ///Msport. It's not unusual to find a Japanese market 545/550 with the sports seats (instead of comfort seats), and the Sports steering wheel. Mine seems to have had nearly every option box ticked, except ///Msport.

Extra-urban - a mix of Urban and Highway. More specifically, I live up the top of a hill with a wind-ey slow climb; it's slow suburban driving for 5-8 mins to get to the motorway, then pressing-on commuter driving on motorway interspersed by traffic lights, with another 8 mins of suburban 50km/h driving at the far end, 35-40 mins. Done in reverse, more impact from late afternoon traffic queues and commuter asshattery, 30-50 mins. A fair representation of mixed-mode. It's that hauling a car up a set of slow curves that really kills fuel consumption. I'm confident that if one lived in a relatively flat and completely urban environment, and one kept the desire to hear the lovely wail of the N62 (or even the snarl, for a decent kickdown and foray into the higher end of the revband) in check, around 10l/100 shouldn't be hard to find. On a long trip I would hope to find 9l/100, though am ususally enjoying the drive instead. Refinement is certainly there in spades, though not without a healthy dose of sporting capability as well. It puts a commode to shame, and has surprised drivers of smaller cars on twisty roads. Do try one. Make sure you do a few pulls with foot held flat, leave the autobox to change up. You should hear the change, not feel it; and gain some idea of what the car is capable of. Though after the 3rd-4th change, do lift off lest you break free of gravity ? and attract the ire of the constabulary. Remember, despite being large it's not so lardy, and is firmly in the sub-six second to 100 zone. Let us know how you get on.

Wow! beaut colour, my fave wheels, and according to the service history, reasonably well-serviced. And the seller will accept $9k! You can probably live without sports seats and sports wheel at that price. Bonus - has the second version of iDrive. Just be sure to buy Autosure MBI. You can buy direct from MTF Mt Victoria https://www.mtf.co.nz/mtvictoria/ ... in addition to that PPI from a BMW specialist.

PS: here's the link to "So You Just Bought an E60" http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=731460 Current update of the doc is v4.4 Hope that helps. I'm biased running the 545i and e46 touring; just got my 545i back from panel beaters last week, and valve stem seals before that... it's just so bloody nice to drive. Quiet, quick, comfortable, unobtrusive. The powertrain is excellent. You should drive a couple. Watch out for black grit over the rear of the car. cheers

+1, though it must be recognised that a 130i is not a family car in any measure; particularly alongside a Stagea (which is also commonly known as Starship due to it's galactic capacity). Other than a round-town shopping cart with two sub five-year old children in tow, the 130i will not work. I think a 1er anything is likely to be too much of a shock, unless the car mix changes completely and 'Dad's car' is for work commuting only, and has no family duties to attend to. An e60 will be a quantum leap after the Nissan in terms of ride and handling**, still features 50:50 weight distribution (uncertain about the Diesel), and will do duty as a family car, and will be damned comfortable for your daily commute. I commuted mine 80-90kms round trip per day and returned around 11.5l/100km, extra urban, and found it a really nice place to be. Previously I'd done a very similar trip in my e46 325i, and although still enjoyed the journey, was not as relaxed as in the e60. YMMV. The key thing will be to figure out which chassis is most appropriate - e9x or e6x, and go from there to find your powertrain combo. You can find NZ-new 330 e90 with Motorsport, though it'll take a while to find a good solid un-molested example. No reason a 335i shouldn't be workable, particularly if you develop a good relationship with an independent workshop (or BMW dealership) and have a solid MBI to back up your maintenance bills and help mitigate the risk, E60 your main areas to consider - again, covered by MBI providing you're taking care of solid maintenance - are the V8 Valve Stem Seals, and possibly the Transmission if it's not serviced. The trans is the same as that used in the e9x, just has a bigger torque rating. They both require maintenance, ignore the 'sealed for life' philosophy. You can find a sheet online called "so you've bought an e60" (or similar) that is regularly updated and well worthwhile. They're (BMW's) all going to reward you with a good driving experience, leak a little oil, and take your wallet for the occasional night out only without the hangover, but a bunch of parts and service receipts as evidence. You can't run them like Camry's. ** FWIW I ran an A32 Maxima 3.0 for five years with young family; it was excellent, though not at all in the same league as a 5er (e34, e39, or e60). Also have experience with the Stagea - great value. HTH

No indeed, a sage recommendation. The batty in mine is less than two years old, and was tested by my workshop last year when the IBS was replaced. I'm happy it should go the distance!

this is a 'feature' for some N62 V8s; however, the cause is recognised as poor servicing, not changing coolant at the recommended intervals with correct BMW coolant. There's a repair part available from AGA Tools that significantly reduces the effort and complexity (and thus the cost) of the job. http://www.agatools.com/part/bmw-n62-coolant-pipe

Essentially, yeah; at least a little inconvenience. The e60 certainly likes a solid battery! They'd had the boot open a lot during it's time in the workshop... and then an hour or two on the roadside with hazards on... bingo, flat batty.

it's Wellington, brother! Just quietly, the understated centre of the universe; on occasion she quietly parts the curtains to reveal stunning beauty amidst that rugged stormy windblown exterior. Like that bogan lady you've known for years who's actually a debutante, slumming it. ?

e60: collected car from panel shop. repair completed. it's a wet day; the colour match is very good, paint finish looks great - as far as I can see through the raindrops. Flat battery on collection. Got a jump start from the panel shop. Found I had no cluster. No gauges, no tell-tales, no intermittent auto-wipe. The wipers and indicators still worked - just no click or lights. Took it for a drive to charge the battery, returned to the panel shop. We were taken to Page European; 15 min power-off reset. All is good now. It's good to have it back. Looking forward to seeing it on a dry day in the light.

I'm picking that one of you is spending a goodly amount of time in that car with your feet on the ceiling? ? More power to ya.

Come on mate, this is a common malady that doesn't discriminate! BMW engine = oil leaks.

Welcome, Tony! You should find this place pretty helpful. There are frequent meets in Auckland, take a look at the Auckland room.

A friend is selling his Mercedes A-Class: This car is one of the safest you can buy, because it'll be sitting at the roadside or in the workshop being repaired, so you'll never get it up to a fast enough speed to have a crash. Forget Mercedes marketing puffery about their amazing build quality - make no mistake about it, this car is rubbish. It has gearbox faults beyond your wildest nightmares, with a clutch system made of pastrami. Even making it out of Lego would have been more robust. This engine is not "bullet-proof" (actually, for the right buyer I'd even consider throwing in a free pack of bullets just so you can test this for yourself). This particular car crapped its K2 clutch plate at barely 100,000km of driving. It;s been "fixed" but still goes into a FAULT mode occasionally, meaning you have to pull over, turn the engine off and back on again and away you go. It's drivable (or, at least, it was the last time we drove it) once the battery is recharged. All that said, the body appears to be in pretty good nick and the interior is good. Great fuel economy - one tank of petrol can last 5 years. There's probably more value in its component bits - tyres, wheels, battery, spare tyre etc. We couldn't decide between torching it or driving it somewhere and hoping it would be stolen, so this car has sat unused for the past 5 years. But we've finally made a decision and the time has come for someone else to hate it. There is nothing reluctant about this sale. No tears will flow. Our neighbours will probably throw a party to celebrate its removal.

e60: Yesterday saw a report from panel shop : more damage found in rear bumper, previous repair poorly executed (plastic welded but filler cracking, poorly adhered and heavy). "Yep, please do it right" (which is additional scope and comes out of my pocket, not insurance). So I dropped by for a squizz. Seems the bumper was originally black, had a few layers of paint on it. It's well on it's way to looking great. They've worked their magic on the dent in the guard where it meets the bumper, metal-finished back, appears no filler required. "The dark arts".

sell the mini and keep the CS, money in the bank! ?

e60: Yesterday morning I visited Bridgestone Torrens Terrace, where Kelvin changed over my cracked rim for a 'whole' one, and rebalanced. just two 10g weights (one inner, one outer); those RE003's balance easily. I then delivered the car to the panel beaters, for the bumper "kiss" some sheisskopf left me a couple of months back (without leaving a note) to be repaired and repainted. Onwards and upwards!

Indeed, your Dad was scoping mine on Friday, asking about clearance/rubbing... ? I'm biased of couse! I think they're a great match on the e46; aesthetically they look good, and technically there's no rubbing/clearance issues, 20mm wider track across the rear axle (over style 68 staggered), and half inch wider rim on the front. Of course, lows may be a different game!