martyyyn

Finally bought something I should have done years ago Paul. All five of us was becoming a squeeze in the e39 so I'll daily this to leave the e34 as a garage queen. I'm with Boris now Glenn. Bit of a mission to find but drive in service on the spot is superb. Can't argue with the price either.

Thanks Glenn, I'll do that. Now to see if Car Folie's can fit me in for a tint before driving back down

Ah ok, so 'appointment only' on his website isn't actually the case ?

I'm flying up to Auckland tomorrow to pick up an X5 and but I need some new transponder keys. The car drives fine, it has one remote which works but has no blade and another remote which doesn't work but does have the blade. I just want to have diamond keys that work. I've tried to contact Express Keys as per Glenn's recommendation with no luck. Is there anyone else who does this who might be available tomorrow ? I just thought I'd have more chance of getting this done in Auckland than Wellington.

Wouldn't the lower part of an X5's rear gate be perfect for stealing ideas and parts from. It does the same movement you're looking to do with this.

I went into the local Bridgestone place today and they told me it was for selected tyres, and of selected sizes only. None of the 050A, RE003 or S001 are on the list and they had nothing in 235/45/17. IMO that makes this rather misleading.... http://www.bridgestonetyrecentre.co.nz/specials/buy-three-bridgestone-tyres-get-fourth-free/

Yeah, I meant to with these but 1) I've always been hesitant to rotate on older BMW's and 2) the mileage really crept up on me this time. Four or five trips a week to Porirua with my sons football academy should have made it obvious though ! My understanding is you can do very little with the rear. Are you just talking about checking the consumables etc, or do you have anything specific I could do ? Thanks Andrew, I'll PM you now.

The 25 year old 535is with 311k kms has passed yet another wof needing nothing but tyres. I've used Falkens (FK451, FK452, ZE912's) for years and can get them reasonably cheaply, but my driving has changed in the six months and I'm now doing 4-500kms a week of SH driving with very little around town. I've always found the Falkens to be pretty good, other than when they are at the end of their life they go very quickly. The rear camber also destroys the inside edges pretty quickly. So what are the rest of you e34 owners using ? I don't want a 'touring' tyre as I get to fang it over the Paekakariki hill regularly and I'm not willing to give up on that just to get another couple of kms out of a set of rubber.

Your comments are all very generous fellas but after having seen Boris' cars over the years I can't believe mine is comparable to this. Having said that, it wouldn't take much coin to bring it to close and certainly a lot less than the $16k price difference. However, after having been dicked about by TM tyre-kickers mine is back in the garage. It's just too good a car to let go. I've done nearly 4000 klms in it over the last six weeks. It's been absolutely faultless, is still great fun over the Paekakariki Hill and still turns heads. What could I possibly buy to replace it ? [e] Whether this car is worth $25k or not I don't know. But if I was asking that sort of money I would be taking some decent photos. These are shocking.

Bang on the money Grant, I removed the battery and charged it over night. Put it back in and I could hear the clicking again. Lifted the seat to look under it and the switch to extend the seat under the driver legs was stuck down. Flicked it off and no clicking. Simplest fix ever and the car is back to driving like a dream again.

The car has been running like a dream for god knows how long but yesterday I noticed a clicking under the driver seat which sounded like relay going on and off. Tonight I get in the car and the battery is completely dead but I can still hear this clicking. Is there a relay or something under there I need to check out ? They are electric but don't have memory.

I'd sell one of the kids for that ! Go on Paul, treat yourself

That would be my perfect replacement

Thanks Mark, I have no idea if the price is reasonable, some may say I'm dreaming. But I keep seeing scrappy 320's with BBS reps on for 5-6k and I think this is twice the car they are. Head is telling my heart I should change as I'm about to be doing a fair amount of driving with my boys football. My wife's e39 530i is just so comfy and so easy to drive. But she will always be going in the other direction with our daughters netball. Perhaps I'm just getting old and want a comfy chair. Thanks Boris, I still think of your's and can still remember the photo's. One of the best cars I've never seen in the flesh To be honest, I really don't want to sell it. This car has really got under my skin. It was just wof'd serviced at Mike Page and Geoff there (who used to run Shelly's workshop) said it was the best car he has driven in ages. He couldn't believe how well it drove and how after just having ticked over 25 years it needed absolutely nothing doing to it. He remembers working on them when they were new.

Anyone interested in a genuine, well looked after and unmolested e34 535is ? All details on the trademe classified.

I'm after the following to tidy up an e39 msport. Facelift sports steering wheel, with controls, all in black so no wood and without the little gap in the bottom piece. I currently have the pre-facelift triangular sports wheel but given a build date of 11/2000 it should be dual stage and an easy swap I believe. Happy to trade mine if it keeps the cost down. Exterior temp sensor (it currently reads -40 all the time). Drivers window switch (the drivers window doesn't go up with one-touch and the driver's mirror doesn't adjust from side-to-side so I'm assuming its a faulty switch - it doesn't have fold in mirrors). Drivers front foglight, the glass on this one is cracked quite badly. Round type for msport bumper. Plastic 'puller' which opens the bonnet from the cabin. This one is has broken off completely. The headlights are very very cloudy so will be on the look out for a set of replacements. Xenon's preferably but I understand that may not be easy with these being halogen. I've done an aftermarket Xenon swap before, perhaps I do that again. Also at some stage I will be looking for a set of 18's to replace the 17's. Preferably a set of staggered m-pars, but would consider something else. Must be genuine, M5 wheels perhaps, needs to be something classic.

You have any photos Tony ? Might have a buyer for my 535is and I need something for motorway miles which can carry half a kids football team.

Tell me more about the touring. Is there a thread on it somewhere ?

My boy wants to go to the next open day at Southwards which is March 1st or something. If there is ever a Wellington meet on this side of the city I could be persuaded to turn up. I may have put the wrong acronym Paul, it's the check control which is playing up. In that it doesn't do the usual checks at start up. It's been a while since my e32 so I can't remember whether they are the same thing or different and which is causing the problem. It is a long list and I need to add the drivers door stop jamb to it as well ! But I will start getting through them in the next couple of months. It's going into Mike Page shortly soon for a service and to see if we can get the aircon going again. It's murder being on the Kapiti Coast with neither and makes driving it quite unpleasant. Somewhere in there I will get it tinted as lightly as possible. I don't wan't it looking too dark. Thanks Grant. It's been very well looked after in our ownership.....eh Paul Yep, that's them. They look much better having been refurbished but need to go back as there are some paint runs. Once done I'll coat them in wax and use Dragon's Breath to keep them clean. I also ended up with some brake pads Vijay suggested which produce a lot less dust than stock pads. I haven't noticed much of a drop in braking performance either.

A couple of people have asked me how the car is going so I took a few shots after a quick clean today. I was seriously thinking of selling it recently but I've decided to keep it and fix the issues which have been bugging me. Done: BBS RZ412 refurbished. Rear damage fixed and painted. Added Bluetooth to factory stereo. Sanded, filled and painted the bumper trim. Replaced all door handle rubbers. To Do: Replace faulty LKM. Passenger seat thigh support and headrest not working. Drivers seat headrest not working. Drivers outer door trim not sitting correctly. Door cards need reparing as the sun has melted the passenger one. Aircon not working. New bonnet and bootlid badges. Add 535is badge to rear. Paint wing mirrors and take care of stone chips. Tints. Need something to handle the Kapiti Coast sun. Drop the front if possible. Currently on Bilsteins and Eibach springs but the front is 10-20mm more than I would like. Rear screen heater not working. Leather recondition. Rear passenger door handle sticks open. Driver rear door doesn't lock with central locking. Tint rear indicators red. Rest of car could really do with a paint correction etc, but I need someone on the Kapiti Coast to help sort that out. Various trim clips need fixing/replacing. It's a much bigger list when I write it out like that, perhaps an e39 530 msport is a better bet after all. Still, not bad for having just clocked up 300k kms.

I didn't torque it right up, but there was bugger all resistance when I did it. Nothing more than I've experienced in changing hundreds of wheels previously.

So back to the original problem....how the hell do I get it off ?

I found a post from Boris (Mr_e34) on forum5.co.uk saying they are an e32 fitment and will only fit an e34 with modifications to the rear trailing arm. Bugger. I had the exact same combination on an e32 750iL in the UK too.

The fronts are 8.5Jx17H2 +12 part number 3611638

The offset is 28 Brent, not that they are for an e28 I'm just sorting some photos now.