hugo_nz

Tin tops are way more complicated, heavier and take up more space. They also shift quite a bit of weight to the rear exle when folded down. There's been talks for years now that BMW and Merc are both going to abandon them (MB SL, SLC and BMW Z4, 4-series). Personally I love the sound of rain on the soft top...a little thing, I know, but it makes me smile.

An E55 would likely have the AMG ABC suspension setup which is even more expensive. AFAIK indy shops don't have the equipment to properly work on that suspension so it would be a main dealer job. Lots of $$$

Will post pics here ? all photos taken without filter btw...

The Mercedes Benz derived CRD power plant is rock solid and very reliable. The car itself was also well screwed together. Didn't have any trouble with it at all. Parts and maintenance are cheap too owing to the fairly uncomplicated running gear. It had plenty enough grunt for a diesel and was light enough on fuel to be a good city daily driver. Of the very many cars I've owned it ranks as one of the most reliable and trouble free. Not a fan of the generation that followed on from mine...too complicated and almost trying to punch above its weight (ie against the x5 and discovery). Just my 2c worth...

Here's a look at my cars to date (since 2006): BMW 118i - My first new car. She was fun but troublesome. Spent as much time at the dealer as in my garage. Fiat Palio - Just a runabout car in my family. Was the go to when ever one of our cars were was in for repairs or maintenance. Jaguar S-Type - My first love. I wanted one of these for the longest time. She was written off when I guy t-boned me. Nisan Almera - Another one of our runabouts. Passat 3.2 - Pretty awesome car. Reliable but thirsty. Mercedes E320 - Awesome car. Reliable, fuel efficient and fun...if a bit old school. BMW 540i - Bought her, fixed her up a bit, sold her for a profit. BNW 645ci - Great drive and my first foray into retrofits and coding. Traded her in when the seal between the roof and windshield frame started leaking. Mercedes CLS550 - Pretty awesome car. Plenty of power and comfort. Sold her after one of the Airmatic struts failed (and cost me $4000 to replace) Jeep GC CRD Overland - Reliable, fun, frugal. Loved this car. Only sold her because I was made a killer offer. VW Touareg - Boy, what a money pit this one turned out to be. Eventually drove her to one of those cash for cars yards and got rid of her. BMW 740i - She was wonderful. The N62 had mild valve stem issues, but regular oil maintenance kept it in check. Did plenty of mods and retrofits on her. VW CC 3.6 - My first car in NZ. Japanese import. Ran strong. Traded in on a new Tiguan. VW Tiguan - Only my second ever new car. No issues whatsoever. Plenty of tech and toys, but ultimately boring. Traded in on the the 6-er BMW 650i - My new daily...

Oh hey fellow Six ? Waiting for my enet cable to arrive and will get stuck into the coding. Did quite a bit on my past 6 and 7 series cars. I guess once I get a feel for enet (used ncs expert) I might end up doing my own retrofit coding ?

My 6-er has combox and connected drive etc, but was not ordered with Apps (option SA6NR). BimmerTech and the like charge upwards of $399 US to do this retrofit...but BMW is willing to do an official retrofit for $680 NZ. That includes the FSC code from BMW and coding. Seems like only a couple of $$$ difference, BUT doing it through BMW means that your car's VIN is updated on the master database and you don't run the risk of your retrofit apps being wiped if your car's software is update in the future. Just some food for though. Happy Friday

Japanese cars have vastly different hardward (ECE car headunits are made by Harman while Jap headunits are made by Alpine afaik). One if the main reasons I would not want to buy a Japanese import ...hardware mods and retrofits would be a pain.

Flick me a PM if you are still looking for maps and I'll share the zip. Assume you are after Premium maps (ie, large widescreen idrive)

Hey folks, Hugo here from Auckland. Got back into a Beemer on Friday. Beautiful Sapphire Black Metallic F12 650i. Past BMWs include an E65 LCI 740i, E64 645ci, E39 540i. Was an active member of a BMW forum before moving to NZ, and looking to get back into it :-) Some mods I've got planned: * Wireless charging sleeve in armrest storage (designing it myself) * Coding folding mirrors, remote roof operation, alarm lock beep (cable is in the mail) * iDrive NBT-Evo retrofit (working out the cost) She is a beauty. Some key options: S223A Electronic Damper Control (EDC)S229A Dynamic DriveS2H9A BMW LA wheel, V Spoke 356S2VAA Chassis & suspens. setup"Adaptive Drive"S323A Soft-Close-Automatic doorsS4KSA Contrast stitchingS4NDA Instrument panel, leather-coveredS4URA Ambient interior lightingS5DLA Surround ViewS610A Head-up display