Olaf

You clearly have a different MBI to mine**. Under my policy, leaving diff fluids and auto trans fluids when they're in need of replacement are covered under the second and seventh bullet points below. That is, in the event I haven't had those items checked for level and condition - and have that detailed in the invoice - I have little to rely upon for a future claim, and am likely to be declined. I think you're being a little disingenuous is suggesting there is "incentive *not* to do that". You'd need clauses along the lines of "thou shalt not service your vehicle outside of basic annual or 10,000km servicing; if you do so without checking with us first your cover will be voided" to really suggest there's an active disincentive. There's a clear incentive to maintain your vehicle; the avoidance of unplanned downtime and associated costs, and minimising wear on other systems. Your justification for not doing so will be based more on your personal values, than interpretation of drafting in a policy preventing you from doing so! ** here's the basics on servicing from my MBI: the vehicle must be kept serviced to ensure the cover remains in place. It says you 'may have your vehicle serviced at any recognised service facility'. Petrol-powered vehicles every 15,000kms or 12 months. "The following must be checked and attended to as required: Change Engine Oil and Oil Filter; All Fluid Levels and Conditions; Air Filter; All Belts. Replace as necessary. Please note cambelts must be replacedas specified by the vehicle manufacturer; Cooling System including inhibitor and hoses; Turbo Oil Feed; Automatic Transmission; Braking System including Brake Fluid Condition Air Conditioning Steering and Suspension systems. Once a service is completed, you must make sure your service facility completes and checks the service check history at the time of service. This information will be required in the event of a claim. Please retain all of these invoices for future reference,"

I'd like to read the clauses that 'incentivise you not to' change your fluids 'in diff and transfer case etc' in your MBI. Which policy do you have? I know the MBI I have seeks to ensure the vehicle is regularly maintained. Which mine is.

and please, don't cut off your cat. think of your family, your neighbours, your friends. Belching out carcinogens that are treated by a catalytic converter just isn't reasonable. Find your power gains elsewhere. It's not a track only car, right?

does the first one feature broken chain guides? Or are you talking about the M62 in general?

UPDATE: yes, I was wrong. because that cool one that we saw on here a few months back, is now FOR SALE! https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1437664883.htm?rsqid=0d8fdbbf5cda4842984cf45c25cb43ac

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1512806063.htm?rsqid=31059e065698405daad1fb6f7d035165 @_ethrty-Andy_ some ideas for yours in there? camo, nudge bar, and black tiger claws. Though, surprisingly, still looking a bit MILD.

boinnnng. bumping up...

fixed that for ya! Can generally skip the e36 and head straight to GO, collect an e46 (better again I'm sure you'd agree) for less money than today's e30.

LOL! strapped on the Beer Goggles, and somehow whisked home on the Beer Scooter.

so you missed out on his pearl "that was easier than picking up a drunk fat girl at the bar", then.

once you've done the rears, you'll realise you need to do the fronts soon. The rears are very easy to do, particularly if yours is not a Touring. the Touring has a shitload more interior bodywork you need to disassemble/reassemble to do the job. here's a fun video to show you just how easy it is on the sedan. Sadly Jerry has now sold his e46, but he'll tell you how it is. No BS. He's awesome.

USD40 to FL. search 'myus.com visa promotion'. get your FL address and box with premium service (and discounts) 2 years for free. Make purchase from ebay, delivered to your FL address. have a month's leisure (free storage), before you have any other deliveries aggregated, and shipped to niuzillund at very reasonable rates, from a variety of carriers. enjoy watching your parcel's progress using iOS app 'PARCEL'. easy.

Oh, I'm good at guessing... and I'm an artist. With the amount of blank canvas you left me, I can draw a fine landscape. Oh, you were looking for a sunset!? I've no personal experience with the 335, other than a lot of research. I've looked into them in detail and considered them for me. Seems that most people rip the cats off, add a tune, and then run into major code and drivability issues. I decided a 335 is not for me at this time, I'm not after a tweaking project and the 3 series is too small for me as a family car. YMMV. It would seem to me - applying common sense - that the best place to start is to get one running like a swiss watch on completely stock config with all remedial maintenance resolved first, then start the mods with a clear plan. Good luck with your search. If you're expecting folks to read between your (scant) lines, you shouldn't be surprised with the poor signal to noise ratio elicited, wildly differing views, and suggestions that don't meet your needs!

that should help, good to know what you're looking to acheive.

If I owned a machine shop and had a bloke walk in looking for a 'bullet proof' engine, I'd politely suggest other specialist race engine builders. Terms like "bullet proof" would often originate from intended use such as thrashing the arse out of it on a skid pan, possibly stretching the maintenance thin (such as aforementioned running without doubling or quadrupling oil and filter changes in light of heavy usage), and generally wondering why previous engines have failed. aka "walk away very quickly". ON the other hand, if a new customer walked in for a conversation about intended goals and usage, history, looking for recommendations and asking what he could reasonably expect, and having a discussion about budget ranges to acheive an understood goal, things could be different. The former would likely damage reputation of my business. The latter could become a long-term customer.

+1 on Penrite. Buying the 20L drums of it s a very economical way of buying good oil.

Now here's something I didn't know: you can check expiry of rego with this handy tool: https://transact.nzta.govt.nz/transactions/CheckExpiry/entry and joy of joys - despite no label on the car, it's still registered! w00t!

Argghhhhhh my eyes! I cannot unsee that. Can anyone say riceroni? BRILLIANT! So much for "graphics professionally done". okay, end rant.

think I'll take the e46 there tomorrow morning. it could do with a sudsing. Is there still heavy water restriction in wellington, or is that just sprinklers?

it's there in carjam, but the report was generated 3 years ago...

have a look at your Power Steering Cap. It'll specify if it's CHF-11S (which is not compatible with Dexron III ATF!). If you're unsure, you could call BMW and they should be able to tell you what the right oil is, based on your rego/VIN number. HTH

Hi Stevo, welcome along! If you do a carjam on your rego number, get the last seven digits of the VIN, then enter them into an online BMW VIN checker such a BMWVIN.com. that'll give you all the option info for your X5. You can get the correct manual from your local BMW dealer (typically on order), and they usually seem to go around the $100-120 mark (depending on your model). Alternately look for a full set used (including the leather folder) from ebay in the USA, you'll probably find that'll run you about USD35 plus freight... the differences with the NZ manual (which is probably a European version, in English), are minimal. Hope that helps. Nice wagon, BTW!

thanks for the responses, chaps. I think I'll get a PPI done, with permission (wearing my own PPE) to get under the hoist with the car. It's been dry-stored in a garage. It'll certainly need a RF headlamp and fog lamp, and a left door mirror glass. Tyres look okay. Brakes rotors have a very mild dusting of rust - probably come off with 15 mins of driving. The main question will be, as Brent says, what's found on the inspection - any damage. It's certainly an un-molested example, quite a rare thing these days. I'd prefer if at all possible to maintain it on its orig plates. With luck, it's rego is on hold. Perhaps I should stump up for the carjam report on it. cheers!

Hi gang I know this has been covered many times before as I have seen it. I wasn't paying attention, and never thought I'd be in the position of barn finding, buying, and getting a car back on the road. Yes, I've tried the patent search bicycle, to no avail. I have no google foo today. So the story is: If one finds a car where the rego has lapsed (and it wasn't put on hold, still has the original plates); it was last rego'd and WoF'd about 2.5 years ago... what costs am I looking at to get the car back on the road? Thanks in advance. I need to establish costs before I approach and negotiate a deal. Aside from WoF, Rego, Inspection costs, I know it'll need brake fluid, diff oil, engine oil change, trans oil change, prolly a battery... And no, don't ask me what it is. If I seal the deal, I'll start a project thread. Cheers.