Kiwi_BMW

32 minutes ago, aja540i said:

It is not just BMW, all ICE cars are getting more complex and fragile to meet ever tighter emission restrictions, so they won't last as long, meaning they need to be replaced sooner, thus saving the world !  

But i suspect there is also more of an element of built in lifespan as well, it is in everything else we buy so why not cars....

I agree ICE vehicles are getting more complex and fragile, looking at the internals of some components they are more petite than an equivalent model 20 years ago, hence the reason why they are so fragile.

It probably doesn't matter to the first  owner as they buy new anyway, the people that it will affect with planned obsolescence is the used car buyer, many of them can't afford the expensive repair costs associated with some of the repairs, or the maintenance costs.

I'm sure the extended maintenance schedules are part of the problem when it comes to some of the early failures

Is each successive model of BMW getting less reliable and requiring maintenance that older models never needed doing?

I look at things like the E60 V8 valve stem seals, water transfer pipe etc and F10 headlight water ingress, V8 valve stem seals 

The quantity of oil usage that is now common.

While the technology is great, in some respects, it has become less reliable also.

An E30 and some others will be around for a long time yet, but will todays cars be around (and operational) for as long as the earlier models?

Are the manufacturers building in planned obsolescence, after all if they don't keep selling cars they go out of business. 

23 hours ago, Olaf said:

Interesting question, @Kiwi_BMW.  I think it's worth every cent of $10k, given what it is and how well it's been maintained.  Though given the current state of the market, I'd list for $6k and take strong offers.  $5k5 for Bimmersport and BMW Club members.  Pay the asking price, and I'll top up the tank with Waitomo 95, and include a set of monoblock rims and a couple of oil filters I have in the cupboard.  I'll pick up from the Ferry, Airport, or bus.  
Are you keen?

I think eventually faithful e39 drivers will get to try a well-maintained e60 with active steering and dynamic drive, and realise that the all the years of development those clever German engineers put into the e60, utilising swathes more aluminium and acheiving a 50:50 weight distribution, the 333hp N62B44 V8, the e60 is a superior drive.  They'll be very pleased to have purchased before the classic aspect drives e60 up.

I still have my E39 540is and a 04 530i E60, so I'm aware of the features of the E60 and the advancements in features, but i do miss the V8 in the E60

On 12/14/2023 at 2:59 PM, Olaf said:

09 Dec 2023.  187879kms

I'd dusted off the e60 about a month ago, took it for a run to north wellington to give her a quick bath, and charge the battery. Certainly sparkled up, though wasn't so happy running (I am wondering if that was the fuel stabiliser it was taking exception to?).  I knew we had a remaining code to address - for the variable intake manifold.  The actuator is at the back of the manifold, and up against the firewall.  New intake manifold gaskets, and a replacement Intake actuator were the order of the day.

1.  Intake Manifold Actuator Replaced

Begley Motor Works performed their magic, replacing the intake manifold actuator, 90km road test, it was running beautifully.  I collected the car and had a very smooth trip back to Wellington.  Man this car is good on the open road!  I wondered what to do with it next?  Didn't take long to figure that one out - I took it on a BMW Car Club run over to Cape Paliser and back. It ran beautifully there and back... after lunch it threw a CEL, and had some minor misfire.  The CEL cleared itself next day, and car running brilliantly.  I've checked the codes and cleared them (one thousand thank yous mate - you know who you are)... and the car is fabulous.  A wash tomorrow and it's up for sale.  Sad to see it go, though weighing up the cost of the garage I rent for it, and the use it gets, it'll be seeking a new loving home.

What are you going to ask for it?

I have been offered a E39 and I'm trying to guage what it might be worth.

Some details

2002 E39  525i Motorsport in Titan Silver

Jap import first registered in NZ in Feb 2005 and had 25,089km on it

Current km just over 50,000km

Overall the car is in pretty mint condition but does need some under car plastic trays replaced

Alcantra cloth interior . What would be a fair price for it?

	249 Multi-function For Steering Wheel
	261 Side Airbag For Rear Passengers
	337 M Sport Package
	339 Satin Chrome
	354 Green Stripe Windscreen
	423 Floor Mats, Velour
	428 Warning Triangle
	430 Interior and Exterior Mirror Package
	431 Interior Rr Vw Mirror W Aut Anti-d
	434 Interior Trim
	441 Smokers Package
	459 Seat Adjustm., Electr. W. Memory
	473 Armrest, front armrest front
	481 Sport Seats F Driver/front Passenger
	520 Foglights
	534 Automatic Air Conditioning
	548 Speedometer With Kilometer Reading
	555 On-board computer
	602 On-board Monitor With Tv
	640 Car Telephone Preparation
	676 Hifi Loudspeaker System

	694 Preparation For Cd Changer
	705 M Sport Suspension II
	710 M Leather Steering Wheel
	715 M Aerodynamics Package
	775 Individual Roof-lining Anthracite
	785 White Direction Indicator Lights
	788 M Lt/aly Wheels
	807 Japanese Version

	818 Main Battery Switch
	823 Hot-climate Version Military version
	845 Acoustic Belt Warning
	853 Language Version English
	875 Infrared Remote Control
	925 Shipping Protection Package

On 3/12/2023 at 7:51 PM, Subway said:

bump, still looking!

I have a pair of E60 adaptive headlights, they were cleaned, polished and sealed just before removal from the car, let me know if you are interested

I have a complete motor that's still in the E39, let me know if you are interested

20 hours ago, Neil McCauley said:

95/2595 RHD speeced with them. Aren't they the E38 comfort seat rather being despecced back down to a standard E39 seat? Might be apocryphal, but the internet would have you believe they're even better for long distances than the sport seat.

I've had a E39 with sport seats and comfort seats, the comfort seats are far superior for long cruises than sport seats, I haven't spent long enough in the M5 seats to say if there is any difference.

The E39 comfort seats do lack side bolstering though........I've been looking for a set of E38 sport comfort seats, very rare in NZ and expensive for a set in the US if you can find them.

On 2/23/2023 at 8:47 PM, Olaf said:

yes, first question is "are all of the drains cleared and running clear water on test?"
and
"are any of the carpets damp/wet?"
and
"is there any water in the bottom of the boot?"

e60's are brilliant, there's a tonne of computing power distributed around the car, in modules, that are dry and warm.... until there's a leak (which is *always* due to lack of maintenance).

Search out "so you've bought an e60" (it's a constantly updated PDF download from one of the American forums).

Then: buy my brilliantly maintained 545i.

If I wanted another V8 I would buy it, but since I already have a E39 V8 with manual I'm not really looking for another V8.

I've thought about a E60 with N54 and 8hp, when I had a E39 530i I thought the balance of the 6 compared to the V8 made it feel more agile, but I sure liked the extra hp of the V8 which is why I sold the 6 and kept the V8

An alternative to the N54 in a E60 would be to fit an ESS supercharger kit, it would possibly work out cheaper to buy a donor E60 N54 from the US and transfer the running gear and electrics than buy the ESS supercharger kit, plus the N54 is quite tuneable.

On 2/25/2023 at 11:59 AM, KwS said:

Doesnt have a sunroof through, so if its leaking its probably just the door vapour barriers... which is something i guess.

I do agree its overpriced for a non-running UK import oddity, even with the manual box. Would be a great car once running, and in a good spec/colour though.

Being a UK import, is it 122k KM or Miles?

Yes the colour is what drew me to it, but the spec is a bit hohum, it has some options that would be a bonus but is missing a lot of the options that were standard on NZ new E60's.

The 5k price is a bit excessive and the current owner thinks the manual is a high ticket item.

Being a N53 the motor isn't worth much as they weren't available here in NZ and there are a few differences between the electrics of the N53 and N52

Sorry here is the link

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/530i/listing/3894530502

4 hours ago, gjm said:

Paul at MillAnd has been in business for years. Really good guy to deal with - knows his stuff. 

He does do TradeMe listings but typically only for special deals, and to maintain a web presence. Most of his work is via phone or email.

Paul worked for BMW before branching out on his own, the local dealer wasn't very happy apparently.

From what I'm told Paul is closing because he got a job offer that was too good to turn down

I was looking at this as a project, being a UK import it seems to have some options that you don't see very often but has a number of standard NZ options missing.

Since it has a faulty DME I'm guessing a replacement will be specific to the N53 and the car spec.

How hard is it to fit a used dme?

I think it's a bit overpriced for what it is so what would a realistic value be?

Here is the link

2007 BMW 530i M Sport | Trade Me Motors

I heard that Milland is shutting the doors as of this Friday.

Anybody else heard this?

I've used various aftermarket bushes in the front end of several BMW's and I've never been very satisfied with the results, even the Meyle HD bushes are a lot firmer than the oem Lemforder.

So when it came to doing my E39 I just went and bought everything from the US and made sure everything was Lemforder. I didn't do just the bushes I replaced the arms as I figured the ball joints had done as many k's as the rest. Just a couple of bits left to replace and all the suspension and steering will be  new and it certainly is nice to drive.

There are some good E39's around, finding them isn't easy, but occasionally I look and see what sellers are asking for them and today I was quite surprised by what I found.

I'd be wanting around $25k for mine, but then I don't really want to sell it so the offer would have to be pretty tempting, I turned down $11k for my Subaru ute.

Mine has gone through a refresh and is just such a joy to drive.

540is getting a refresh - Page 2 - Showroom - bimmersport.co.nz

I've not looked on TM for some time but I did a search for 540i today and found a couple of E39 over the 20k mark and the e60 and f10 prices seem to be dropping

8k is the cheapest E34 and E39's start at $6k the E34 tops out at $13k and the E39 at $30k with a reserve

2000 BMW 540i Motorsport | Trade Me Motors $6k down from $8.5k

1994 BMW 540i 540I | Trade Me Motors $8k

1993 BMW 540i | Trade Me Motors $10k with reserve

2000 BMW 540i E39-Fk | Trade Me Motors $11.5k

2002 BMW 540i 540Iase E39 | Trade Me Motors almost $13k

1995 BMW 540i 540I | Trade Me Motors $13k

1999 BMW 540i 540Iase E39 | Trade Me Motors $23.5k

1998 BMW 540i 540Is E39 | Trade Me Motors $30k with reserve and $36k buy now NZ new 6speed manual and 157500km

Are prices really getting that high for a E39

I've seen a number of late model vehicles written off or sold to wreckers because repair costs are too high, at least the E39 is cheaper to repair than some late model cars and also last longer.

On 11/3/2022 at 11:28 AM, Xander said:

Hi Kiwi,

Sweet update, thanks for this. I potentially want the spoiler.

However, regarding the m sport exhaust which one is it, just the standard m sport or m performance? Asking all these questions because from my understanding if it is just the m sport it is the same as my current stock one except different tips right? Please correct me if I am wrong... Still new to the BMW world. 

I look forward to hearing from you, let me know if you have any questions.

Not sure sorry

On 11/6/2022 at 9:41 PM, SHRNTA said:

Sorry to ambush your thread @Xander but I'd be interested in the Racing Dynamics Kit ( @BrentNZ ) if you Xander is not going to take it.

@Kiwi_BMW What are the seats? motorsport cloth or msport leather?

Thanks

Motorsport Alcantra

I have a 1999 E39 528i M/sport that I'm parting out, although the M/sport front and rear bumpers are gone, rear spoiler still present and M/sport exhaust still present.

If you haven't found out yet, the answer is "no" you would really need to code it out and put a loop in the MOST cable.

I have an intermittent issue with this also, I can park the car and come back several days latter and everything is fine, yet occasionally when I do this I come back a few days latter and the battery is flat.

I found my resistor for the aux cooling fan was crook, so replaced that and the problem went away for a few months, then it started happening again, I replaced the heater fan resistor and it seemed to remedy the battery drain.

Six weeks latter I went and started it and took it for a drive, parked it up again, car locked, came back a few days latter battery is dead flat again.

Quite frustrating, I've fitted a battery disconnect to the neg terminal and when I park it up I just unscrew the disconnect and leave the boot closed but not latched.

How do you tell if a manual E39 is going to sleep or not, it doesn't have the light beside the shifter 

On the E series with HUD there are no adjustments in the idrive except brightness, and the mechanical adjustments are only for rotation and heights, so Spinner99 is correct.

I fitted HUD to my E60 and to me my display in the windscreen is a lot clearer than yours, while I haven't checked the windscreen it should be a non HUD screen.

But if I take a photo of it it almost looks as bad as your lol

Yes the bluetooth aerial is a genuine BMW aerial. Although it is the earlier type, not the type that was phased in from 2010 on.

No trouble codes apart from the trailer module not being connected to the high stop light.

with $10k quoted to fix it, I'll give you $2k for it 

At today's pricing you won't get anywhere near $10k for it.