balancerider

@euroriffic the V can in the cup holder doesn’t bode well for scheduled maintenance

You’ll be looking at F series cars with that age requirement. F10 5er has lots of expensive electronics which may be getting to end of life, F30 3er a bit less luxurious / spacious but maybe fewer things to break - engine choices at your price point are N47 2L diesel (generally sound, needs oil changes more often than the bmw recommended 30k/2yrs and timing chains are a bit of a weak point) N20 2L turbo petrol in 135kw or 180kw variants, which I think are probably the best 4cyl petrol bmw have made (low bar i know!) or N53 NA 6cyl which sounds nice but not that powerful or reliable (I think injectors are $500 each and currently out of stock). Of those options I’d take the diesel I think, esp if doing lots of k’s

The F32/F33 were better specced as standard than the F30/31, doesn’t look too povvo (it’s got Xenon’s at least and the blue calipers on the front aren’t any different from the stock ones). It’s certainly a great engine / drivetrain combo although the diff hangs down a long way so not an ideal ski car even with the raised suspension the Xdrive variant has. Would want gearbox and diff/transfer case servicing at this kinda mileage though

@bimmerguy that may be the least painful option in the long term. or alternatively keep filling it with oil and drive it til it dies

Agree with @Jacko - if you want to keep the car long term I'd DIY it. A 4-cyl petrol 1 series is never going to be worth much. The N43/N46 engines are well known for leaking / stretching timing chains / blowing valve stem seals so that's likely to be the thing that kills the car.

the 'big' service at main dealer (4 yearly) on my F31 - fuel / oil / air / cabin filters went from $780 in 2019 to $1080! (although maybe we have had 25% CPI inflation since then

Yep my 335d is going in for this tomorrow.

$2000 ORC. WTAF - very sneaky that the 'price' excludes this outrageous bit of dealer profiteering

@E63 don't do it! the Japan market cars always look a bit janky because of the plates...so much cleaner with a proper euro mount. an sheet of alloy with a couple of holes drilled in it sitting behind your plate will let you mount the camera (or 3M double sided tape). and then you can put Europlates on as well

I wouldn't go near it without plugging in a code reader and getting the suspension looked at (it looks decidedly saggy). N54 + DCT is a nice combo though. I would say you could chop the asking price significantly depending on what codes it's throwing.

If you have a pry tool I reckon the Japanese plate mount will come out and there will be a Euro-plate sized recess there (which will look heaps cleaner)

@Arsony the 330e only came out after the facelift (LCI in BMW-speak) in late 2015, the pre-facelift hybrid was a series hybrid with 6 cyl petrol engine (ActiveHybrid 3). The 2017 cars will probably have Carplay able to be activated through software (idrive 5) if that matters to you (you can tell because the screen has 'tiles' rather than a vertical menu. Electric range will be worse with bigger wheels (19's on the top M-sport), mechanically the cars will all be the same M-sport or not. The fuel tank is pretty small (40L vs 58L in the non hybrid) so your open road range might only be 500ish ks. F30's are pretty solid. Have heard of some issues with fuel tank cap release (it's pressurised in the 330e) and some HV battery issues. The ZF 8-speed is a good gearbox. BM Workshop or one of the main dealers likely your best bet for a PPI

Anyone have a source for agm batteries in Wellington? Recent cold weather is busy finishing mine off. Need a DIN88L

For sure @Vass - reckon cleanest option could be to bolt plate directly onto front plate delete trim that the US cars have

Bought this so as to change from MPH cluster in my UK import. For diesel sportline / m-sport cars. $100

Ouch electric only - I'm sure it was only $3k as a factory option! I would try some of the UK outfits - https://www.pfjones.co.uk/bmw-5-series-estate-g31-2017-onwards-westfalia-detachable-towbar.html 500 GBP + shipping + GST sounds like it might be the best option?

Roof rail delete is 🔥 @Vass! That JDM front plate plinth is making my teeth itch though

G31's are great! I think you're probably looking at ~2k for the BMW / Westfalia detachable. Probably worth paying for dealer to install proper electrics rather than hacking the CANBUS wiring as the non OEM bars will

comfort seats look nice @Herbmiester - these are much nicer with m-sport kit IMO

That's been hovering around my neighbourhood recently. I thought about leaving a note on the windscreen but 18k feels like very strong money. Nice looking car though

Another vote for avoid here - anything that’s been through ‘eurosport’ (dealer on the plate surrounds) I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole.

(formerly N46 powered no doubt)

The XL is mainly a quick reflection of the load rating I think - (I see those ones are both 100Y) so I doubt the sidewall rigidity will be dramatically different. It seems the PS4 in that size was rated 96Y which is where the XL comes in on the 5

The MaxContact are a mid range tire, a tier below the PS5. SportContact 6/7 would be the equivalent so would probably take the Michelins. Apparently the 5 wears much better than the 4 did. Will look mint on the Alpinas

Easily remediable though (except the bloody sunroof) - and it has leather sports seats. Quite like this.