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I introduce myself as a new member as I have not been visiting the forum since 2018 when I bought this car. Now I do as I need some help selecting another one. This is my E61, a 530i. 6 cylinder in line engine delivering 272 HP. It is not an M-sport but the previous owner (Japanese) pimped it as if it is. M sport steering wheel, M sport front-spoiler, wheels, etc. it was the fastest one I could find at the time that I test drove a few around Auckland. In 2018 as I needed a car to get my newborn daughter out of hospital to take her camping on the Great Barrier Island, which we did and was a great experience, she loved it It had driven only 55000 km then, now 95000. It was imported from Japan. I am a motorcyclist, never had been driving cars. Always drove fast bikes. Thought a Beamer might be the solution to my prejudice that cars are slow and boring. And a lot of things that Motorcycles are not (space consuming, always standing in traffic jams, cannot bend and tilt into curves, feel like dancing Nevertheless I was mighty proud with this Touring. I have always has a soft spot for BMW, and this one had a small sticker on it "BMW Freude am Fahren" And I thought that this apparently somewhat controversial design was stunning. Well it has been a mixed experience, though the outcome is that I fell in love with it. The practicality to take your family everywhere in a cool looking cool feeling vehicle that accelerated and drove like a dream. The negatives were about things I learned along the way, that all the sensors and computer steered electronics can be disturbing your peace of mind. In particular a problem that lit up the screen : "Engine fault reduced power" 3 new butterfly valves and a lot of diagnostics and money went into it, and it still is not solved. Every now and then the same notification still lights up. However now it does not disturb me anymore, the car drives fine. Now I am looking for a replacement. This one is 18 years old now and I feel that it might get a bit more unreliable and that the investments to save it would not be economical. (lots of new rubber and other stuff that you might expect with a car that is stored outside in NZ's car unfriendly climate deteriorating and sooner or later needs replacement). Would you guys want to help me to choose? My criteria: 1) I think of buying another Touring But I'm open to any sensible suggestion. This one I bought at your recommendation, while I thought I wanted to get myself an X5. I think it is practical, we still camp and it is spacious. And it is a great surfboard carrier too. And it drives so well, which you Beamer-lovers do know, that binds us together. A pleasure whenever you get of the boring highway. And on the highway she is relaxed and comfortable as well. 2) The power of the engine is a joy, I would not mind finding another similar powered one, although I do not know how a 2 or 2.5 litre turbo engine is to drive. On Trade-me I cannot find another 530i. There are 523i's, 528i's and every now and then a 535i and the times they have changed, there is no longer a direct connection between the volume of the engine cylinders and the type number. So I do not seem to be able to figure out what engine delivers what power and torque. On the specification sites I can find the 523i is not specified for the 2000 or 2490 cc engines with which they come. Apparently there are also 523i's with a 6 in line 3 liter engine, but I have not seen any advertised. Could any of you refer me to a website where these specifications are to be found? 3) And then: what is wise, which type/engine configuration is kind of reliable. I did all the maintenance on my motorcycles myself. But motorcycles do not have km's of sensor wires laying around somewhere. So I think I'll ask some help to service this one, and that should not be too crazy expensive preferably. I would like one that does not flicker up with electronic problems that always seem to be there and cannot always be solved. You-tube has told me the F11 / F10 is more reliable than the previous generation, from April 2012 (before that problems with the distribution chain they say). I had all the regular E61 stuff, changed waterpump, dynamo, starter engine, and a few batteries. And am constantly aware that the sunroof drainage needs to be checked as to not flood the boot. Is that a realistic otion? 4) Value for money: My budget is anything between 10.000 and 25.000 (and more if it is really worth it, however I do like value for money and within those limits there seems to be enough choice. I think it is top that they come from Japan with very few KM on the clock. However I do not know whether the 535i (2013) which is on trade-me with 130.000km is any more likely to get trouble of wear and tear than a similar age car with 70.000 km. 5 ) I think the M sport's look really cool. But the regular versions do not look bad either in my eyes. Thanks for your help Willem -
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Hi there, thanks for stopping by. After pining for years, I finally managed to muster the courage to get myself an E30 project car. Guess it was a few years at uni (7 to be exact ha) and moving around for work, that prevented me from getting hold of one earlier. Anyway, here is my little E30 coupe, I picked it up at a selvedge auction so there's a fair bit of work required, just to get it roadworthy following a rear collision and subsequent insurer-required de-registration. This will be a slow build, with the end-goal being a tastefully resto-modded-s50-swapped beast Here are a couple of photos from the day I bought it. Guess it was a little bit of a rushed purchase, as I saw it listed, won it and drove up to Auckland to collect all in the same day - imagine my surprise when I saw it being dropped-off for collection on the front of a forklift! Other than the usual rust spots, there is a bit of work required at the rear to correct the collision damage and, to some, that would render this a parts-only car, but I struggle with that idea (unless the car is an absolute mess). So, with that, my focus to date as been cleaning it up, inspecting parts and collecting required parts/nice-to-haves for the project and gearing up for some bill shock, come repair/revin/LVV certification time. On that, if anyone has an S50b30 or b32 and a ZF gearbox they would be willing to part with, please let me know! ha ha. Looking forward to sharing my progress and learning a few things along the way -
Hi all, I'm Josh from Auckland - a qualified auto sparky by trade. Strangely my love for BMW's really stemmed from working on them before anything else - though that's not to say it's the only reason now. I've embarked on a project to restore a 1979 E23 733i that I picked up a couple years ago from a chap who blew the motor up and stripped it right down to prep for paintwork, then realised he had too many projects on. The E23 is well on it's way now but plenty more to do! Cheers Josh
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I am a university student looking into what to get as a first car, and one of the models I'm considering along with an Audi A4 and a few JDM's (Honda Integra & Prelude, Toyota Celica & Altezza, Nissan Silvia & Primera) is an old BMW 3 series from around the 90's or 2000, depending on what's available I guess. I see a lot of used BMW 3 series' for sale on Trade Me Motors, which are mostly around the 90's and early 2000's. Is there anything I need to know about daily driving and maintaining a 3 series ( from the 90's and early 2000's) that might important for me to consider? I hear from friends and family friends that BMW's are costly to maintain in NZ because of parts or something, but I want the BMW enthusiast community's opinion in this, as I don't know a lot about maintaining and owning European cars in NZ. I'm not gonna get a car till sometime at the end of this year (hopefully) or maybe even next year, depending on how soon I can get a part-time job, so I have lots of time to decide.
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I am a university student looking into what to get as a first car, and one of the models I'm considering along with an Audi A4 and a few JDM's (Honda Integra & Prelude, Toyota Celica & Altezza, Nissan Silvia & Primera) is an old BMW 3 series from around the 90's or 2000, depending on what's available I guess. I see a lot of used BMW 3 series' for sale on Trade Me Motors, which are mostly around the 90's and early 2000's. Is there anything I need to know about daily driving and maintaining a 3 series ( from the 90's and early 2000's) that might important for me to consider? I hear from friends and family friends that BMW's are costly to maintain in NZ because of parts or something, but I want the BMW enthusiast community's opinion in this, as I don't know a lot about maintaining and owning European cars in NZ. I'm not gonna get a car till sometime at the end of this year (hopefully) or maybe even next year, depending on how soon I can get a part-time job, so I have lots of time to decide. -
Hi all My name is Subhash.I am really happy to be a part of this esteemed community. I have been a non-member follower of this forum for the last few weeks and have gone through many threads containing loads of useful information. My love for BMW started a few years back, when i had a chance to test drive a BMW 3series. I had fell in love with car at first sight. The sheer driving pleasure,the comfort and the build quality amazed me and made me a fan right away . Even though i couldn't afford a BMW at that time i never missed a chance to drive it whenever i could. After all the wait finally i now own a BMW 320i 2007 model for myself. I imported the car from japan and got it delivered last week. Here are the few pics of my car:
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After owing Audi and VW for a long time I'm back to BMW. Absolutely loving my 2007 130i m sport. She's all standard (rather keep it that way unless theres a must do recommendation?). Looking for maintenance tips as I'm planning on changing diff, transmission, engine oil myself. Will only add best/recommended oils so currently researching what to get. Also need to restore the headlights. Cheers
