HalfJobHarry

Ah good point. I need to check that I can get at the screws that hold the screen to the base if I mount the base first. Would be vexing to install the base and then not be able to attach the screen. ?

Thanks. Fortunately I have some torx drivers which should be up to the job.... Also. The docs/guide doesn't mention that the screen can actually detach from the base via two release screws at the front. This looks to make life easier.

So I thought initially it was going to fit without modification. This has turned out not to be the case. There is a raised area on the base, approximately 1 cm square on each side and about 5mm deep that is wider than the existing hole. Such is life. Cutting this area on the left won't be an issue as there is nothing beneath. The right hand side is very near what is either some kind of duct or the rear of the key/start button enclosure. I may opt to grind down the top of the dash here by 6mm or so avoiding the need to cut. Regarding cables, I had no real issues running the video, gps, usb , to the the left and right around the vents and past the frame. The one that had to take a slightly more direct route with was the power connector. It's shorter and has a stupidly big fuse with a filter in a black box half way along. This made it impossible for me to run through the small gap between the frame on either side. At this point everything works. The only remaining task is to do the cutting and screw the base down. Not looking forward to putting in the rear mounting screws. Looks tricky. With an bit of luck should have this done tonight.

Thanks for all the awesome ideas!! These sound amazing!!

This crossed my mind actually. I've seen people in Texas and what not with these and no huge complaints. Not convinced the whole setup is fully automotive grade engineering to be honest so we will see. Yes the screen itself is essentially the android unit with touch screen. I'm garaged most of the time and this is the occasional use vehicle so I don't have a daily concern about being in the summer sun at least. There is no battery in the unit either so thats one less thing to explode in the heat. Will see how it goes over summer.

Thanks! "South of the Bombay Hills" ... I get it Where is Kaiawa ? The only match I find is a street in Beachlands....

Any suggestions for any good drives around the Auckland area? I'm relatively new here and have not had any cause to do much pleasure driving

Always worth spending time tracking these sources yourself as sometimes you can be looking at a $12 gasket and a 15 minute job to fix... At this age and KMs, it's time for valve cover gaskets will likely be leaking, this is just par for the course with BMW. Also the N62 has a that silly vac pump design with the big rubber seal that starts to leak. It's a cheap job fortunately. Leaks from the bottom of the engine can be from the oil sender gasket or the sump pan gasket. Also I've seen the main seals leak from the front and rear and look like it's the pan gasket. I don't know how the VANOS seals are on these engines...but again, it's another typical source of leakage. The other culprit can be the oil housing gasket (not the round one on the filter cap but where the metal housing attaches to the block). On many engines this is above the powersteering/oil cooler hoses and such and is often mistaken for power steering fluid. TBH...I never understand how mechs confuse oil and power steering fluid leaks as its horrible stuff.

Had two N54s delivered from Hamilton to Auckland in the last 12 months....Mainfreight charged $100 and even drop them into my garage on a pallet :D. So can recommend them.

Chipping away at the AVIN 10 inch Android 10 4gb/64 head unit. I have factory NAV, Hifi audio with a 2007/08 vintage CCC. Getting the old screen out was easy. It has a power connector and a video connector down to the factory headunit. It's a matter of taking out the climate control panel, and associated trim, unscrewing the factory head unit and sliding it out past over the gearstick. My unit has a big connector with the factory loom (including the green MOST bus fiber connetions), a radio antenna connection, gps connection and a video cable from the factory screen. All of these were disconnected and the factory head unit set aside for the time being. The AVIN provided loom sits between the factory connector and the head unit and breaks out a number of connections etc. The power part of this loom needs to go up to the Android screen on the dash. I ordered a GPS splitter which is needed if you want to use your factory GPS antenna/sharkfin, as it's the only way it will reach up to the screen location. The advantage of this is also that it will allow the GPS feed to the factory NAV unit (should for some reason you want to use that, I like things to work as they were originally even if I dont' use them so this was a bonus for me) . Radio connection remains into the factory headunit. Depending on your factory setup you may or may not find the need to run the sound output (AUX) from the AVIN loom to your factory AUX port. Some cars need this, others don't. Of course mine needed it so I had to run a cable from the loom to the AUX port in my centre console. The Android head unit has a number of connectors, CCC video from the factory head unit, power connection from the loom, a USB port tail (run that to glovebox or other location) and tails for reversing camera and aux in feeds. It also has connections for the GPS and the 4G antenna. The AVIN unit seems to fit into the hole that the CCC screen left behind (haven't fixed it in it's final position yet). Challenges for me: Fitting the additional loom into the space behind the factory NAV unit. It's double DIN sized and deep so doesn't leave much room. Fortunately there is a gap at the back and the loom can be stuffed in there while leaving the connector with enough reach to plug in. Tricky but just needed patience. Running the AUX lead from the loom under the center console. Not too much of a pain but extra time taking off panels. I want a better solution than popping the cable out through a gap and plugging into the AUX port. In the future I might connect it internally so it's not visible to the rear of the AUX port. Tips: TEST TEST TEST EVERYTHING! Check you have sound from your factory radio (the AVIN does not do FM/AM that remains with the factory unit). Check you have video from your CCC/CIC to the new AVIN unit. Check your iDrive controller is working properly etc. It's possible to plug in the CCC video cable the WRONG way into the factory head unit, resulting in a corrupted video display. This stumped me for a good 15 mins until I realised the connection was not keyed on the back of the factory unit... I have not done the final fitting to the dash yet ...so the big gap won't be there when it's finished

It is indeed. I was casually looking for more of a project (to put the N54 rebuild I'm finishing up into) for a while but when I saw this one I pulled the trigger immediately due to all Auckland dealer service history and how clean it is in and out. Must have been garaged most if its life. Frankly I'm still surprised the Dealer had this at all... The only slight bug for me is doesn't have the power folding mirror option...I can't understand who'd opt for PDCs and the like but not go for power mirrors. I'm not going to get hung up on it...one less thing to break. No smokers pack either and the lack of power socket up front is a bit annoying. I have the parts for a retrofit on order.

Thanks. I liked how the red worked with the graphite. Also first one I've owned with the shadowline rather than chrome and I'm quite liking the look. Can't vouch for the beading since I've put the Fireball wax on but I'm impressed with the finish it brings. Need to get and and do some driving!

I didn't want white or silver as had a few silvers in the past and it's a challenge to get a deep shine. Didn't want black either really. Didn't have this colour in mind but when I went to view was taken by the graphite shimmer. Auto. I'll do a manual conversion one day.

Finally taking a quiet moments lunch to post on my recently acquired 2008 135i. Sparking Graphite Metallic with Coral Red Leather. Bought from Auckland City BMW, provided with a complete and detailed service history from new, serviced only at BMW, and found every WOF sheet in the glove box :D. My wife says this is a midlife crisis type of purchase. Paint is swirl free as dealer did a cut and polish, but it seems to be more of a cut and a bit less on the polish as there are still fine inperfections here and there that a true machine polish stage would have removed. One day I'll rectify this but haven't got the energy right now :D. Won't be doing anything too ambitious for a while on this as got a good deal on Autosure with it, so will drive it liberally (as much as one can with a weekend occasional driver) and hopefully the big ticket items will require replacing over the next couple of years (Injectors! please injectors! and turbo wastegates). She's had a new water pump 2 years ago as well as some injectors replaced under warranty. I need to do an assay on what injectors are currently installed so I know where I am for the future. I'd really love to at least get a dual cone intake (if only for the sound!) and possibly a better intercooler on there but suspect that is squarely in Autosure voiding territory so won't be going there for now :(. Have driven only an embarassing 19km (yes NINETEEN) in the last month due to lockdowns and prepping Post purchase activities were: Wheel deep clean, they do a good job at the fronts but never get in behind the wheels. Poorboys wheel sealant used afterwards. Proper interior clean (it was okay, but needed some detail). Paint sealant (Klasse High Gloss Sealant) Collinite 476S Super Double Coat (lasts > 6 months I've found) Paste wax (Fireball) Front and rear dashcam install. AVIN 10 inch Android 10 iDrive screen replacement. Plans: Walnut blast booked in soon too as it seems not to have been done at all prior to now. Smokers pack retrofit!

Love this. It's like paying for the photo at a theme park log flume (Probably cheaper too!)

I had the exact same kind of black rocker switch in my 135i. In my case it was wired to a garage door remote/sender mounted above the rear view mirror. Was actually a very tidy install (apart from the fact whoever installed it ran a +ve AND GND ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BATTERY, rather than taking a feed from elsewhere. The +ve ..maybe I can understand...by why run a GND all the way back to the battery??

There's a bit of a racket on anything to do with FRMs ...would be good to have some kind of sticky post or something with info for people on this as I hate to think how many times people are having these replaced and programmed without any need for it.

Went with AVIN. Their pre-sales support and question answering tipped me over the edge. They are Chinese of course (like everything) but they do have support operators that I spoke to that appear to be based out of the USA and communicate nice and clearly. Also on purchase they emailed me extensive installation guides and access to their online support forum.

With a bias for action, I've ordered AVIN's E87 / E82 CCC/CIC replacement screen/android unit. Did some digging on the alternatives like Xtron and Belsee. I've gone for the 4GB android 10 unit with all the trimmings (Android auto, Wifi ODB for Torque, front and rear parking cameras. Seems there are some little quirks with these units in that they rely on the factory AUX to send sound through to the existing system. I also like the idea of being able to switch between the CCC display and the android display. I went for AVIN as spoke to their people in the US and they run their support from the US and they provided a lot of guidance around the fitting whatnot prior to committing to purchase. Xtron and Belsee did not extend the same support but....it's hard to tell if there is anything technically between the three choices. Will document and share my fitting experience when the time comes.

I think also taking the dealer sticker price as the price is a massive mistake....if you see a nice example at a dealer...go and negotiate, if you're realistic they will not usually let a buyer walk away without a deal. Also from a good dealer you can get them to do lots of tidy up bits and bobs (new battery, cut and polish) that you might need to sweeten things up.

That's always my major frustration. The knee jerk changes that get brought in in response to an event + the anti gun lobby are often woefully ineffective at tackling the issue.

Self taught...as in reading manuals, looking at videos etc. You could pick up a lot of the basics and then drill yourself on it. What little I saw was of somebody who had perhaps had some weapons handling training etc, but very little/no operational/training experience (especially if you consider the before and after). I wont dive deeper on this medium. My point is, that even if sponsor checks etc are done, somebody of previous good character who goes rogue, can't be guarded against easily. This is where I think the UK gun club membership thing and that you must actually attend the club can help...you just can't get licensed and disappear off with your arsenal never to be seen again.

The removal of pistols in private ownership yes...but the controls were tight even prior to that.

I'm going through this dilemma in another thread. I've all but decided for My E82 with CCC that no other option other than an android unit makes sense (I want to run modern apps etc) but I also what a semi stock look to things. Seems to be a toss up between the AVIN, Belsee and Xtron.....seem to hear pros and cons about both really

I was genuinely surprised when moving to NZ how relatively lax the ownership laws are around anything other than pistols. Each firearm in the UK (along with quantities of ammunition) are registered against an individuals Firearms Certificate, and changes and transfers are tracked. Additionally membership to a gun club must be maintained. (for non agricultural owners, but agricultural licenses have. However in the Christchurch case something seems to have come unstuck somewhere in terms of the process. More generally, this highlights an issue with any legal licensing system, those who would pass whatever checks and don't have a history of violence etc will tend to be granted licenses. Systems that typically work well (and I think the UKs does/did) have stringent followup throughout your entire time of being licensed (spot checks on your gun storage, clubs must report lapsed memberships or even members that never attend). If you let any of the requisite conditions for licensing lapse you'll lose your license. Also I'll share my position which is usually unfathomable by those who have not owned firearms or been around them (I'm an ex British Army soldier and shot target rifle as a civvie for many many years). The TYPE of weapon is largely irrelevant to the risk it poses. This has been demonstrated numerous times worldwide and holds out in the numbers. Terms like "assault weapons" are made up terms that originated it seems from the US anti-gun lobby. It's the training that makes the difference, and in the Christchurch case there seemed to be a degree of effective training either received or self taught (?).