Disclaimer: This is not a for sale thread.
At the moment we have four cars. The thing is, I can only keep three of them under lock and key due to the layout of our house. So one of them (probably) has to go. The one that lives outside gets very dirty. I can either park it in the sun, or underneath a tree in the shade. The problem with the latter is that birds live in the trees and you know what they do all the time.
So here is conundrum. First there is my E39 530i manual. It overheated and left me at the side of road between nowhere and somewhere. When I got it home, I stripped my moer and parked it. A few weeks later, I did a good deal on a great big Notabmw AWD wagon with a sunroof and killer sound system. Initially, I left the 530i outside but it got really dirty and I was pestered a few times by car dealers posing as private buyers offering to buy it for a ridiculous price. How stupid do these guys think I am?
So now the Notabmw has to live outside. The satellite tracking device drains the battery so I disconnected it. The bodywork is in good shape, except for the rear bumper which picked up a few scrapes. Oh yes, the ABS controller is kapoet and needs fixing/replacing as well. Because of this, the speedo is not working but it shows 235 000km. Real distance is unknown, but I have hear rumors that BMW dealers have ways of making a car talk.
The second BMW is an E46 325i manual. It was bought as an AUC and came fully loaded with Exclusive Pack, Karman-Kardon sound, factory towbar and sunroof. This is my wife's daily driver. She Who Must Never Be Disobeyed has decreed that she likes the car and does not want to sell it. Unfortunately, the bodywork bears a lot of scars from urban warfare. And I mean a lot. At least two of them are my fault and I am not talking about that. Another one was made by a mommy in an Opel station wagon who was changing a nappy or something while driving. Then there was the child who tried drawing a picture on the bonnet while it was parked at a shopping center. Her dad muttered "Eish," grabbed her by the arm and disappeared while I was trying to pick up my jaw from the tarmac.
By itself, each one is not so bad but taken as a whole the car looks scruffy. It was never fixed because the excess was about the same as the actual damage every time. In hindsight, I should have kept my hand in it but life happens and you know how it goes. Mechanically, the car is not perfect either. The driver's seat does not adjust anymore. I am guessing the controller died, or it might be a connection problem. The trouble is getting the seat out - two of the bolts are not accessible.
The battery in the key died and the other key was stolen years ago, along with my wife's handbag. So now the central locking and alarm doesn't work. Easily fixed, I should get to it. The thing is, last year was extremely rough and fixing cars was just not a priority. Speaking of which, the left front window regulator is due for replacement as well.
The third BMW is an E32 735i. It is my dad's car which I used as a daily driver for a while before I got the Notabmw. He doesn't want it anymore and said I could keep it if I register it on my name. Our eldest finished school last year, and this would make a perfect student car. Yes, really. Anything this side of a 10 ton truck that hits it will come off second best. Also, it is quite a gas guzzler so there will not be any unnecessary outings (evil chuckle). I could sell it, but that would be disingenuous and it is not worth very much at present.
The interior bits are all present and in good shape. The leather is still supple. The original Becker radio still works, in a fashion. If you disconnect and reconnect the battery, all is well. But over the course of the few weeks, the pixels on the LCD turns on and stay on. This means that the display becomes unreadable.
The alarm system is cuckoos, loony, crazy and mal. Sometimes the car just will not start. After a while all is well again. Sometimes the engine just cuts out. The problem seems to be the micro switches in the doors that sends false info. It is a well known problem on the E32 (or so the interwebz tell me) but the parts are mode from unobtanium. A sorta fix is to spray Q20 into the doorlock. Perhaps there is a better workaround but I don't know of one yet. This little problem means that it is perhaps not such a good student car.
More worryingly, there are some suspension issues. The self leveling hydro-pneumatic units at back leak oil. One fix is to convert to conventional shocks as per 730i but this is not cheap. You need two very expensive Bilsteins as well as the taller springs from the 730i. At the front, there are some worn bushes/whatever. This leads to a nasty shimmy at about 90 km/h. Easily fixed but probably not cheap. The workaround for this is to use the car in town only. Finally, the exhaust leaks and it needs a new battery.
So there you have it. One of these cars will have to go. At this stage, everything points to the 530i. The thing is, I kinda miss it. The Notabmw is not nearly as sharp to drive and is a lot heavier on fuel. The family loves the Notabmw, which has more room than the 5-er. Myself, I love the way you can just pile in luggage in the back for long trips. And the factory-fitted sound system is awesome. So the Notabmw stays.
How do I talk my wife into letting her beloved E46 go? That would be my choice. I have grown tired of fixing it. Then again, it seems like everything that can break on an E46 has already broken. It has been on its best behavior for the past year. Except for that blerrie seat.
She Who Must Never Be Disobeyed has decreed that the E39 is a huge ship that she doesn't like driving. She once took out a taillight, which was blamed on the fact that it doesn't have the PDC that the E46 has. The Notabmw will double her monthly fuel bill and that holds no appeal whatsoever.
In the meantime, I think I will go get that battery for the 7 tomorrow. And I will rev up my credit card and get the 5 fixed. Then I can drive it again and make up my mind.
Any words of advice from the best and brightest on this forum?
At the moment we have four cars. The thing is, I can only keep three of them under lock and key due to the layout of our house. So one of them (probably) has to go. The one that lives outside gets very dirty. I can either park it in the sun, or underneath a tree in the shade. The problem with the latter is that birds live in the trees and you know what they do all the time.
So here is conundrum. First there is my E39 530i manual. It overheated and left me at the side of road between nowhere and somewhere. When I got it home, I stripped my moer and parked it. A few weeks later, I did a good deal on a great big Notabmw AWD wagon with a sunroof and killer sound system. Initially, I left the 530i outside but it got really dirty and I was pestered a few times by car dealers posing as private buyers offering to buy it for a ridiculous price. How stupid do these guys think I am?
So now the Notabmw has to live outside. The satellite tracking device drains the battery so I disconnected it. The bodywork is in good shape, except for the rear bumper which picked up a few scrapes. Oh yes, the ABS controller is kapoet and needs fixing/replacing as well. Because of this, the speedo is not working but it shows 235 000km. Real distance is unknown, but I have hear rumors that BMW dealers have ways of making a car talk.
The second BMW is an E46 325i manual. It was bought as an AUC and came fully loaded with Exclusive Pack, Karman-Kardon sound, factory towbar and sunroof. This is my wife's daily driver. She Who Must Never Be Disobeyed has decreed that she likes the car and does not want to sell it. Unfortunately, the bodywork bears a lot of scars from urban warfare. And I mean a lot. At least two of them are my fault and I am not talking about that. Another one was made by a mommy in an Opel station wagon who was changing a nappy or something while driving. Then there was the child who tried drawing a picture on the bonnet while it was parked at a shopping center. Her dad muttered "Eish," grabbed her by the arm and disappeared while I was trying to pick up my jaw from the tarmac.
By itself, each one is not so bad but taken as a whole the car looks scruffy. It was never fixed because the excess was about the same as the actual damage every time. In hindsight, I should have kept my hand in it but life happens and you know how it goes. Mechanically, the car is not perfect either. The driver's seat does not adjust anymore. I am guessing the controller died, or it might be a connection problem. The trouble is getting the seat out - two of the bolts are not accessible.
The battery in the key died and the other key was stolen years ago, along with my wife's handbag. So now the central locking and alarm doesn't work. Easily fixed, I should get to it. The thing is, last year was extremely rough and fixing cars was just not a priority. Speaking of which, the left front window regulator is due for replacement as well.
The third BMW is an E32 735i. It is my dad's car which I used as a daily driver for a while before I got the Notabmw. He doesn't want it anymore and said I could keep it if I register it on my name. Our eldest finished school last year, and this would make a perfect student car. Yes, really. Anything this side of a 10 ton truck that hits it will come off second best. Also, it is quite a gas guzzler so there will not be any unnecessary outings (evil chuckle). I could sell it, but that would be disingenuous and it is not worth very much at present.
The interior bits are all present and in good shape. The leather is still supple. The original Becker radio still works, in a fashion. If you disconnect and reconnect the battery, all is well. But over the course of the few weeks, the pixels on the LCD turns on and stay on. This means that the display becomes unreadable.
The alarm system is cuckoos, loony, crazy and mal. Sometimes the car just will not start. After a while all is well again. Sometimes the engine just cuts out. The problem seems to be the micro switches in the doors that sends false info. It is a well known problem on the E32 (or so the interwebz tell me) but the parts are mode from unobtanium. A sorta fix is to spray Q20 into the doorlock. Perhaps there is a better workaround but I don't know of one yet. This little problem means that it is perhaps not such a good student car.
More worryingly, there are some suspension issues. The self leveling hydro-pneumatic units at back leak oil. One fix is to convert to conventional shocks as per 730i but this is not cheap. You need two very expensive Bilsteins as well as the taller springs from the 730i. At the front, there are some worn bushes/whatever. This leads to a nasty shimmy at about 90 km/h. Easily fixed but probably not cheap. The workaround for this is to use the car in town only. Finally, the exhaust leaks and it needs a new battery.
So there you have it. One of these cars will have to go. At this stage, everything points to the 530i. The thing is, I kinda miss it. The Notabmw is not nearly as sharp to drive and is a lot heavier on fuel. The family loves the Notabmw, which has more room than the 5-er. Myself, I love the way you can just pile in luggage in the back for long trips. And the factory-fitted sound system is awesome. So the Notabmw stays.
How do I talk my wife into letting her beloved E46 go? That would be my choice. I have grown tired of fixing it. Then again, it seems like everything that can break on an E46 has already broken. It has been on its best behavior for the past year. Except for that blerrie seat.
She Who Must Never Be Disobeyed has decreed that the E39 is a huge ship that she doesn't like driving. She once took out a taillight, which was blamed on the fact that it doesn't have the PDC that the E46 has. The Notabmw will double her monthly fuel bill and that holds no appeal whatsoever.
In the meantime, I think I will go get that battery for the 7 tomorrow. And I will rev up my credit card and get the 5 fixed. Then I can drive it again and make up my mind.
Any words of advice from the best and brightest on this forum?
raise:
