Jakes4R
Member
Good day everyone.
Just a quick introduction from my side.
Where to begin? So I am now officially a member of the site, but I am no stranger to it. I have perusing this fantastic website for information since around 2013/2014. For the most part I could always find the relevant information to do d.i.y.'s on my car, but I'm in a bit of a pickle now, so I will have to post for help/suggestions. But enough about that, I'll keep it for the other thread. Back to the intro...
March 2018 marked 10 years of driving for me. In these 10 years I have owned 4 vehicles, of which 3 were BMW. My first car 10 years ago was a 1989 e30 :smilebounce: I am proud to say I drove on of the most iconic BMW's ever. Given the car's age, she could do with some TLC, but make no mistake, she was my first love and I made good memories with her.
About 5 and a half years later (September 2013) came my second BMW, an e46 320d. To this day the only diesel I had. This was the most economical car I have had so far - on long trips to the Kruger National Park and Natal's coastal regions I got 20-25km/l, cruising at 120km/h with a loaded trunk. In the city I got about 15km/l. Despite all the horror stories of the 2 liter diesels, nothing major broke during my ownership. I did get a big scare once in 2015, luckily it was only a vacuum pipe which completely split/bursted in the middle. Not to tempt fate, I eventually sold her in March 2017.
My third vehicle was a late 2006 Citi Golf 1.4i. I bought her December 2016 when the previous owner passed away. I thought it would be a great car for work given all my city driving(I'm an attorney) and that it's a cheap vehicle to maintain. The idea was to use the Golf for work and the 320d for longer trips. However, after owning the Golf for 4 months and the 320d barely being used in this time, I decided to sell the 320d. So the Golf didn't turn out to be as light on fuel as I expected for a 1.4. She gave about 11km/l in the city. This frustrated me as I expected better fuel economy from a small engine with so little power. The Golf was however very reliable during my one year of ownership. She was sold late November 2017.
So then came my forth vehicle, which I am still driving. As stated, I was frustrated with Golf's fuel economy having regard to it's power. I decided that if I was going to fork out for petrol I might as well make it worth my while. I wanted to go back to BMW and I wanted an e90 straight six. I was looking at 323i's and 325i's, but the came across a 2005 330i for a good deal :smilebounce: I can honestly say I have no regrets buying the 3 liter intead of a 2.5 liter. Yes the 330i is heavier on fuel than the Golf, but only slighty. City driving gives me 10.8l/100km...not too bad I'd say given the vehicle's size, number of cylinders, displacement and the fact that this engine literally makes triple the Golf's power. That early morning purr when I press the start button never gets old :smilebounce: I guess it's true what they say, with the sixes it's about the smiles per mile.
So that's my history with vehicles. I'd like to think that having driven BMW's for nine years out of the ten, would qualify me as a BMW Fanatic.
Below are pictures of my current ride.
I look forward to now participate on the forum and help where I can, but to also learn more from the members who are more knowledgeable than a "weekend mechanic" like myself.
Have a good one guys!
Just a quick introduction from my side.
Where to begin? So I am now officially a member of the site, but I am no stranger to it. I have perusing this fantastic website for information since around 2013/2014. For the most part I could always find the relevant information to do d.i.y.'s on my car, but I'm in a bit of a pickle now, so I will have to post for help/suggestions. But enough about that, I'll keep it for the other thread. Back to the intro...
March 2018 marked 10 years of driving for me. In these 10 years I have owned 4 vehicles, of which 3 were BMW. My first car 10 years ago was a 1989 e30 :smilebounce: I am proud to say I drove on of the most iconic BMW's ever. Given the car's age, she could do with some TLC, but make no mistake, she was my first love and I made good memories with her.
About 5 and a half years later (September 2013) came my second BMW, an e46 320d. To this day the only diesel I had. This was the most economical car I have had so far - on long trips to the Kruger National Park and Natal's coastal regions I got 20-25km/l, cruising at 120km/h with a loaded trunk. In the city I got about 15km/l. Despite all the horror stories of the 2 liter diesels, nothing major broke during my ownership. I did get a big scare once in 2015, luckily it was only a vacuum pipe which completely split/bursted in the middle. Not to tempt fate, I eventually sold her in March 2017.
My third vehicle was a late 2006 Citi Golf 1.4i. I bought her December 2016 when the previous owner passed away. I thought it would be a great car for work given all my city driving(I'm an attorney) and that it's a cheap vehicle to maintain. The idea was to use the Golf for work and the 320d for longer trips. However, after owning the Golf for 4 months and the 320d barely being used in this time, I decided to sell the 320d. So the Golf didn't turn out to be as light on fuel as I expected for a 1.4. She gave about 11km/l in the city. This frustrated me as I expected better fuel economy from a small engine with so little power. The Golf was however very reliable during my one year of ownership. She was sold late November 2017.
So then came my forth vehicle, which I am still driving. As stated, I was frustrated with Golf's fuel economy having regard to it's power. I decided that if I was going to fork out for petrol I might as well make it worth my while. I wanted to go back to BMW and I wanted an e90 straight six. I was looking at 323i's and 325i's, but the came across a 2005 330i for a good deal :smilebounce: I can honestly say I have no regrets buying the 3 liter intead of a 2.5 liter. Yes the 330i is heavier on fuel than the Golf, but only slighty. City driving gives me 10.8l/100km...not too bad I'd say given the vehicle's size, number of cylinders, displacement and the fact that this engine literally makes triple the Golf's power. That early morning purr when I press the start button never gets old :smilebounce: I guess it's true what they say, with the sixes it's about the smiles per mile.
So that's my history with vehicles. I'd like to think that having driven BMW's for nine years out of the ten, would qualify me as a BMW Fanatic.
Below are pictures of my current ride.
I look forward to now participate on the forum and help where I can, but to also learn more from the members who are more knowledgeable than a "weekend mechanic" like myself.
Have a good one guys!
