Benoire

My AA claims so far haven't been rejected, but the body shop said they where difficult to deal with; I take it to one that is approved by the manufacturer not the insurance firm so that might be why. My main issue is that the value of the car is quite low yet they still want $1500 a year for the pleasure, yet others that I have done such as tower, protecta etc. are around $1100-1200; I just want to maximise my protection at the lowest price, not get the lowest price overall.

Thanks, a brief online quote suggests better than current but would only know after talking to them about claim history... Either way, I'm not necessarily after the cheapest, just something that carries a better market value at a similar price and ease of sorting out issues... AA has failed on the market value but hasn't so far been too bad on the claims front.

Good call, I was going to give Precision Autowerks on the north shore as that is where I take it... They did say that my current insurer (AA) where pretty hard to deal with.

Hello I've got a 2009 BMW 550i E60 currently insured through AA. I'm quite disappointed with the 'market' value and given their current renewal price of $1500 for the market value of $23K, I'm in the market for alternatives. People (& Friends in the car :-( ) enjoy doing damage to my car and then disappearing so I've had a couple of claims in the past few years for it, but at 37 I'm generally a competent driver. Which insurance firm is likely to be the best for me in terms of cost vs insured value (looking at around $27K-30K as I bought the car for $31K in 2015) and also friendly towards repairs. I like my cars in good condition and will generally repair it even if I caused the damage and take pride in their appearance. Any thoughts are very much appreciated. Chris

Cheers Richard, have sent them an email. Even though the body work wasn't immaculate, its frustrating when people do this and don't own up and then you're $500 out of pocket!

Hi, Some lovely person has managed to scrape the front bumper on my 2009 550i causing a wee bit of damage but mainly scrapes and damage to the paintwork (and they drove off grrr). I would like to take it to a proper painter given the colour but I don't know who to take it to that is AA approved (and guaranteed for life) in the west Auckland area. Excess is currently at $500 so happy to not claim if it is likely to be less than this, and this will then open up non-AA approved peoples. So, really any suggestions that are trusted? Cheers, Chris

Thanks EuroSurgeon. It is the older CCC, not even sure it is update 1 as I think the manufacturer date was before mid year 08, even though it was registered in Japan in 09. Still, a much nicer car than any others I had driven and the 4.8l v8 is a dream. My main goal right now is to find a decent price to get the 6FL iPod option retrofitted properly so I can keep the 6 CD changer, as I would still need that even with CIC upgrade. Chris

Nah its not really, the 1st gen original was in a 2006 550i Msport I test drove the other day and it was ok... The CIC is much nicer really but the main thing I need is iPod / USB connectivity; don't know if it has that until the car arrives in NZ.

Yup, it will be checked out and the deposit is 100% refundable (being written in to the contract) for any reason. Price includes recoding DVD/Radio to NZ and installation of NZ Navigation (negotiated). Just seen that Autogravity can upgrade CCC to CIC for around $3500.... Might have to see how bad CCC is and look at that :-)

So I made my offer which has been accepted, will pay holding deposit on Monday. Whole car is dependant on me inspecting the car and ensuring it is to my satisfaction but it is at least grade 4.

So after driving the cars yesterday, my partner preferred the 5 series over the 3, so green lit the potential purchase of the 550i (subject to normal checks etc. as it is coming in from Japan). With 85,500 kms on the clock is there any thing I should be concerned about with the 4.8l v8?

Thanks all. I'm very interested as it is a fully specced 2009 550i sedan but has around 85K kms... Not much for a BMW, especially a v8 as long as it has been maintained. Going to test drive some cars today (335i, 530i and 550i plus A4 3.2 to compare). Hopefully partner will like the 5 series as that puts me at a better place to get the car I really want; although a tourer would have been better. I'm not so concerned by the cost to maintain as such, was more curious. When you look at these sorts of cars, even at the prices that they are now you must always remember they where $120K+ cars when new so will have high costs.

Afternoon everyone, and merry Christmas! So, I still haven't bought a BMW yet as we're still looking at the different models. My partner doesn't like the E60 5 series very much. The new car will primarily be mine to drive, and she will likely drive a 335i so that was the original thought... We saw a 2007 550i wagon with 42K kms on trade me the other day (sold very quick) and that peaked her interest in the 5 series... So, we've seen another 550i. this time a sedan and 2009, but with higher kms. Its the 4.8l V8 and I'm looking at some idea of maintenance costs as I quite like the idea of it. So, with this in mind... Consider the costs of a 335i as the base; how much extra do you think a 550i will cost to maintain and what sort of issues may be faced with one? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Cheers, Chris

Cheers People, very helpful. My son is at the point where we use his smaller stroller but I was trying to establish the case if there are two children and how a buggy / basinet may fit in as well. Still leaning towards a 335i at the moment!

Hi, I have another question regarding 335i's. Having test driven one locally to me, I have found that the sedan does not have enough boot space for my child's stuff, such as the buggy. I tried the buggy in a wagon and it fitted but there was less room than I was hoping for. Does anyone here use a 335i wagon with a Mountain Buggy Swift or similar compact buggy and also to carry said child's stuff around? How practical do you find it and is it a pain? If I can't fit a buggy in and be useable then a 335i is not going to work and I might have to go to a 5 series for the practicality purposes, which would be disappointing. Any thoughts on this matter would be great!

Nope we're not, but we take our legacy there as we trust them and that's what they manly do. We live out west so a closer option is always good but I will take the car to wherever it is best to take it, so appreciate the option!

Good to know. Sorry what I meant by maintenance was either independent BMW mechanic or BMW showroom mechanic. We currently take the Subaru to a specialist on the shore so would do the same for the BMW.

Thanks for the replies, sound encouraging. I'm expecting costs, after this is a 225KW straight 6 3.0l twin turbo, you don't expect 1.1l costs with an engine AND car of this type. Having run a 17 year old 206KW twin turbo as our main car for nigh on 9 years now, we know they cost but the fun they offer far outweighs the mundaness of a 320d for example, or even worse a modern legacy :-( I'll add these to the questions, see if he has this work done on the car or not, either way we've spent a lot over the years on the legacy and now my partner was asking what it would cost to get the engine rebuilt so she certainly isn't adverse to the costs either! I will say that none of these issues put me off. We have money to spend on a car and quite frankly mundane ones bore me and if I don't get what I want I will always be disappointed inside, even if it is a decent low km car that has good resale value. Thanks for the replies and keep them coming!

Importing is not going to be a problem, anything post 2007 from Europe appears to be compliant automatically (its not a modded car) and will be professionally cleaned before shipping to meet biosecurity standards. I guess I just want an idea of how much these cars cost to maintain for normal services and then what the major services are like in terms of bills. Chris

Hi, I'm new here so be nice :-) My brother in law is looking to sell his 2009 335i and importing from the UK where he lives is quite good value, even if I pay for the car. We already own a 1997 Subaru Legacy RSB 2.0l twin-turbo so used to the cost of turbo engines, but I'm not sure how much a 335i will cost to maintain so looking for some pointers. Is someone, who owns one here in Auckland, able to tell me how much a normal service costs at say a non-official BMW mechanic vs. taking it to a BMW franchise? I'm expecting to service the car every 12 months, even though it may be on long life servicing. Also, the car has done around 75,000kms; what larger expenses (bar normal servicing) are likely to come up? I realise that this will be an expensive car to own and so that isn't a problem, its more to allow me to get the budgets in the right place. Any help or guidance would be great. Cheers, Chris