Eagle

Genuine BMW parts do have quite bit of markup on certain items + business markup. Aftermarket gaskets made by the same company (ie Erling) can be had for cheaper. Main issue with people supplying parts is supplying the wrong parts which isnt that much of an issue with BMW because they have a proper database and part numbers. A Spareto order using bmwfans.info for the Erling brand stuff is probably going to save you a bit.

Exactly. The cost to drop into another chassis wouldn't be very economical. Just should of used an msport car.

Sounds a bit expensive, but i dont what the average labour rate is up there and what parts they are using. I wouldn't recommend doing it yourself based on that, even with tools and some experience there is plenty of stuff you can easily damage and break on these engines.

They are probably saying to replace the entire valve cover and gasket because they are known to develop small cracks, they also contain the PCV valve built into the cover which can fail. If you just do the gasket there is chance that it still may leak to a crack, not so bad if you can DIY but if you paying someone if can be expensive if you have to re-do the job. Changing the valve cover gasket means you usually do the motor gasket and eccentric seal and the same time since you are removing the motor. An additional $350 is way too much for the just the motor gasket, $100-150 at the most since you already in there. Doing the that job by its self is 30-1 hr labor being generous and a ~$60-80 gasket if its genuine and they arent marking it up heavily. What are they charging you do the other valve cover and oil filter housing?

I didnt get the impression from the photos and description but i haven't viewed it. Why is it worse?

2 different cars. The E12 is much more rarer and manual, no idea what the actual market value would be though. The E28 is way overpriced given its an auto.

This one has extensive mechanical history with lots being replaced\refreshed. Yeah unfortunately the guy left it outside for years with no protection so exterior has suffered, it was apparently quite tidy on the exterior in the past. It's still leagues above the other one, im sure will go for min 30k and wouldn't be surprised to see 40k given its mostly a paint job that needs doing.

"Gosh some of the questions just pure stupidity! Hey good luck with your auction, I hope you get a very good price for it. We have the same car currently for sale with very similar circumstances. All the best" From the same guy wanting 35k for NZ's worse condition E39 M5

Surprisingly no mention of the transmission rebuild and timing chains being done

I've put over 20k thru them since 2016\17 when i added it up. To me it feels like classic case of enthusiast startup > corporate profit prioritized with all their changes. Exactly 2 months today and i still havent received my '3 business days' parts.

Tell your wife not to be so fixated on mileage, very bad way to buy a older premium vehicle especially a 'premium' brand. Many of these 'low k' examples are actually worse because they are largely original 20 year parts original parts or done may have done high engine hours in sitting traffic. At your budget all that really all the matters is condition and maintenance history, if that checks out then a get pre purchase check at somewhere the know what to look for if you dont have the ability to work on your on car.

Rough one is 35k now on FB which is still probably at least 10k too much.

Ah didn't not know that. Ive been burnt before just avoided any potential ransom situation by going off 1K NZD total. Ive been charged GST on multiple orders that arrived came a few days apart before too.

Yep been like that since forever. Ive been pinged for going too close to $1000 so keep it low 900's. You dont know what currency conversion rate they are using or its moved a little by the time they process it.

Vendors on Aliexpress could cut the keys for $~20 based on photos when i did mine a couple of years ago. The Aliexpress E36 remote buttons are hit and miss if they work properly with a battery in them in my experience, but not really an issue if you just want a backup key. Once you put in the initial cost\effort and have the EWS data on file, you can write a new key yourself in less than 2 mins should if you ever need another one.

330i's pricing vary wildly - Not hard to find a reasonable sedan around the same price as an 130i auto, ive seen a few sell in 2k range lately (usually rough but same as any old car that cheap). 130's may have lower average mileage but they are all older cars now so condition is really what clued people are looking at. Significantly lower performance is debatable - brand new vs brand new i dont believe it would be a huge gap on a track, but even if it were its going to be much less in average driving. E46's are way more DIY friendly\modifiable with a massive community which is what makes them great. 3.0L Z4's always seemed overpriced to me and limited practicality, always heaps of sale.

Most of the ones on trademe look pretty average price wise. I dont really follow pricing but 5-6k for an auto and 7-8k for manual is what ive always thought the average ones was worth?. The white manual looks the best bet, but would need the usual cash injection to sort it no doubt.

Typical from them. You'd think they would have systems to update it on the order status for everyone's sake. Yeah they arent perfect but pretty close. The amount of $ ive spent with them, they surpass everyone ive used by a large margin for overall performance. DHL helps alot too.

LLL parts is another one ive started to try for genuine. Yep BMW dealerships.

That's Aramex for the most part, your lucky if get an item delivered within a week nationally.

Yeah FCP aren't as good as they use to be in general, seems hit or miss if they update you if a delay occurs. If its not shipped within a few business days then emailing them is probably a good idea, they do respond in timely fashion i will give them that. Spareto covers most of your typical wear items for the best value and fastest shipping, then Schmeidmann and NZ dealers for genuine only parts. FCP will sometimes fill a brand or stock gap the others have missed, but generally i dont see the point of using them these days.

The timing chains themselves are usually reusable in most cases, failed chain guides the will cause an obvious rattle. Tensioners also go bad and a loss of pressure\rattle at cold start which accelerates the wear. You usually do the guides etc as preventative maintenance. Not too hard with the correct tools @hqstu has the tools and has done a few of them.

More powerful, more reliable\less things to go wrong. M62tu its a technical downgrade, no reason you'd pick it over the non vanos. Some of PFL modules\electronics probably arent quite a reliable as facelift cars eg LKM and ABS Touring's have their own little issues due to trunk\boot\tailgate and sunroof IMO the biggest weak point by far with all E39 540i autos is the 5HP24 transmission, over 1\2 the price of that car if you have to rebuild it

LPSR purple tag - The used one he send me had a preload issue so he gave me a discount on a new rack with his rebuilt one. CMP front brace - Was debating whether to install it but ive never used the fold down seats since owning the car so i figured why not. Haven't really pushed it hard since installing as i need a alignment but it appear to give at least a subtle improvement in rear end feel. Meyle HD bushings - Only found out recently looking in the Bentley manual that there is a distance spec for these to be fitted (~289mm +\-1mm from inner ball joint to rubber bushing). Mine had been re-used which wasn't ideal and weren't pressed on near enough. I made a similar tool to proper ones to ensure i got them on properly this time around. Ive always felt the car wasn't as stable and lacked steering feel it should have and this was very likely the main cause. Even with the wheel alignment off its day and night especially combined with the above tweaks.

E46 'vert front underbrace, a part i didn't know i wanted until i spotted it, always annoyed me the most E46's dont have a factory jack pad. This vert brace is reinforced\heavier than your std one and namely has a suitable round dimple\hole to mount my own pad on into. I used a X8R E46 jacking pad reduced to a round press fit and some Sikaflex for insurance, the E46 M3 jacking pad may also work?. Such a great QoL improvement that i wish i had done ages ago.