hugo_nz 166 Report post Posted August 7, 2018 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 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1318 Report post Posted August 8, 2018 Hey Hugo - welcome back to the Bimmer scene! Your 650i is stunning There's a good active branch of the BMW Car Club in Auckland (as you'd hope!) 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted August 9, 2018 Nice one Hugo and welcome, I look forward to seeing your beast at one of our Auckland catch-ups! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hugo_nz 166 Report post Posted August 11, 2018 (edited) 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... Edited August 11, 2018 by hugo_nz 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1318 Report post Posted August 11, 2018 That's a great variety Hugo! Always interesting to see peoples' journeys and what they've enjoyed. Yes the air suspension on Mercs can be pricey - one of the reasons I chickened out of an E55. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treone 648 Report post Posted August 11, 2018 Welcome aboard! I'm interested in your comment re: Jeep GC CRD. Also curious - What did you like about it? Been having some thoughts lately of a Jeep GC ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hugo_nz 166 Report post Posted August 11, 2018 2 hours ago, treone said: Welcome aboard! I'm interested in your comment re: Jeep GC CRD. Also curious - What did you like about it? Been having some thoughts lately of a Jeep GC ? 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... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
treone 648 Report post Posted August 12, 2018 Cheers - thanks for that. Although not thinking of the CRD variant specifically,’ this does give me something to ponder over... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hugo_nz 166 Report post Posted August 13, 2018 On 8/11/2018 at 6:27 PM, TermiPeteNZ said: That's a great variety Hugo! Always interesting to see peoples' journeys and what they've enjoyed. Yes the air suspension on Mercs can be pricey - one of the reasons I chickened out of an E55. 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 $$$ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TermiPeteNZ 1318 Report post Posted August 13, 2018 Out of the whole lot, which have you most enjoyed owning? (and it doesn't have to be a Bimmer) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hugo_nz 166 Report post Posted August 18, 2018 On 8/13/2018 at 6:07 PM, TermiPeteNZ said: Out of the whole lot, which have you most enjoyed owning? (and it doesn't have to be a Bimmer) Current 6-er asside i would say the 645ci followed by the Jeep. The 645ci because it tugged at my boy racer heartstrings and the Jeep because it was a low maintenance, capable car ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
