gumpertapolloss
Member
Hey guys,
Haven't posted one of these threads in a while, but since a Fanatic previously owned this car, it was already part of the forum.
As some of you know, a 530d was for sale recently, and I got the diesel itch. 😛
After a bit of negotiating, a deal was concluded, and I booked my flight to JHB to collect.
I collected late Friday evening and was ready to hit the road the following morning, back to Durban.
On the way from JHB to PTA to sleep over at my parents' place for the evening:

Only photo I took en route to KZN:

I soon realized the car had some boosting issues. The car would go into boost, and all power would disappear. This was intermittent and would come and go. But the car managed 6.2 L/100 km on the way home. Genuinely impressive and so far happy with my purchase, bar the boosting issues.
I booked the car in at a local workshop I have a good relationship with, and they found the issue and did some general maintenance for me.
The following was done:
I ordered a Linux screen online to update the interior a bit.
Link - Linux screen upgrade
Installation took me an hour; it was straightforward. With this, I ordered the aux cable as well. But couldn't get it working in time. Seems a bit of coding is needed, but more on this later.
Screen installed:

My wife and I decided to do a trip down the coast to Cape Town for my birthday. The iX3 wouldn't make it without a proper route planned, and the M135 is firm and thirsty. Let's be honest, I was trying to think of a reason to embrace the open road in the old 5'er 😇
Leaving home at 4 am:

Harding, just outside KZN:

Transkei:

Mthatha:

Wonderful fuel economy with the old lady:

Leaving Port Elizabeth early morning:

The Windfarm:

Tsitsikamma:

Durbanville Hills Wine Estate:

Paternoster:

Hout Bay:


Chapman's Peak:

Simon's Town:

We did a single drive back to KZN from CT, 1650km in one day. Although a very long route, it was a stunning drive, and the old 5'er took it in its stride.
In modern life with all the new tech and driving assist on all cars, I loved every second of our 4000km holiday in this old lady. I convinced myself again that new cars aren't needed. I would almost go so far as to say that this 5'er is more comfortable than our iX3, and it's actually rapid for 160 kW odd.
Things to do:
Thanks for reading my thread.
Haven't posted one of these threads in a while, but since a Fanatic previously owned this car, it was already part of the forum.
As some of you know, a 530d was for sale recently, and I got the diesel itch. 😛
After a bit of negotiating, a deal was concluded, and I booked my flight to JHB to collect.
I collected late Friday evening and was ready to hit the road the following morning, back to Durban.
On the way from JHB to PTA to sleep over at my parents' place for the evening:

Only photo I took en route to KZN:

I soon realized the car had some boosting issues. The car would go into boost, and all power would disappear. This was intermittent and would come and go. But the car managed 6.2 L/100 km on the way home. Genuinely impressive and so far happy with my purchase, bar the boosting issues.
I booked the car in at a local workshop I have a good relationship with, and they found the issue and did some general maintenance for me.
The following was done:
- Bottom boost pipe was replaced
- Vacuum pipes replaced
- Exhaust manifold replaced (old one was cracked)
- Exhaust manifold gasket and turbo mounting to manifold gasket
- Downpipe (Decat)
- EGR delete
I ordered a Linux screen online to update the interior a bit.
Link - Linux screen upgrade
Installation took me an hour; it was straightforward. With this, I ordered the aux cable as well. But couldn't get it working in time. Seems a bit of coding is needed, but more on this later.
Screen installed:

My wife and I decided to do a trip down the coast to Cape Town for my birthday. The iX3 wouldn't make it without a proper route planned, and the M135 is firm and thirsty. Let's be honest, I was trying to think of a reason to embrace the open road in the old 5'er 😇
Leaving home at 4 am:

Harding, just outside KZN:

Transkei:

Mthatha:

Wonderful fuel economy with the old lady:

Leaving Port Elizabeth early morning:

The Windfarm:

Tsitsikamma:

Durbanville Hills Wine Estate:

Paternoster:

Hout Bay:


Chapman's Peak:

Simon's Town:

We did a single drive back to KZN from CT, 1650km in one day. Although a very long route, it was a stunning drive, and the old 5'er took it in its stride.
In modern life with all the new tech and driving assist on all cars, I loved every second of our 4000km holiday in this old lady. I convinced myself again that new cars aren't needed. I would almost go so far as to say that this 5'er is more comfortable than our iX3, and it's actually rapid for 160 kW odd.
Things to do:
- As I mentioned, I need coding to get the AUX working. This, in turn, prevents Bluetooth from working on the new Linux screen. I have a friend with all the cables and apps to code. I will get it done through the course of the week.
- The car is booked in on Wednesday for another check-up, after the long trip and a stage 1 tune with the guys from ED Tuning.
- I love the clear windows, but I can't deal with the sun. 35% smash&grab is on the cards
- The car is booked next week with Colorglo Umhlanga for a proper interior valet.
- The car has no paint, and I don't want to paint it. But I need to make a plan with the stone chips. I'll find a solution to this.
- PDC is intermittent. Need to get this fixed. I want to add a reverse camera as well.
Thanks for reading my thread.