BMW and M Power Owners

Man of Honour
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The market despises them hence why they pop up cheap at dealers who have usually had them in stock for anything up to a year. They will lose massive amounts of money as the situation with the batteries is a massive unknown as it seems they are not covered under the extended warranty.

I have almost bought one a few times but I just can't make it make sense.
 
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Soldato
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[TW]Fox;29473444 said:
The market despises them hence why they pop up cheap at dealers who have usually had them in stock for anything up to a year. They will lose massive amounts of money as the situation with the batteries is a massive unknown as it seems they are not covered under the extended warranty.

I have almost bought one a few times but I just can't make it make sense.

Oh thats a shame, I did not know that.

Do they have known issues?
 
Man of Honour
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There are not enough of them around for any known issues but they are very complex cars, the torque converter has been replaced with the electric motor for example.

In reality they are little more than a heavier 535i with a cool electric motor for a bit of low speed wafting.

There is a year older 535i on the AUC website for the same price, long term that's probably a better buy.

Selling or trading an AH5 must be a total nightmare.

Also the boot is hilarious, it's tiny compared to a normal one.
 
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Soldato
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My m54 engine sounds brilliant. I never knew what the fuss was until I actually bought one. Have to admit its been one of my better purchases.

Fox lci e60 550i talk to me. Worth it over a 535d or not?
 
Soldato
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My m54 engine sounds brilliant. I never knew what the fuss was until I actually bought one. Have to admit its been one of my better purchases.

Fox lci e60 550i talk to me. Worth it over a 535d or not?

I'll tell you now, as I have a 2009 e60 550i on my driveway... Its beautiful. Fuel hungry, wonderfully sounding luxobarge. It accelerates fast, sounds beautiful as the revs build and handles surprisingly well.

Build quality appears to be typical late e60 standard but mines fortunate that its pretty much fully specced bar a few annoying missing features.

Over an e60 LCI 535, yes purely for the v8 but I suspect you won't notice much for normal driving and you're return better fuel economies with the 535. If you can get a 2010 535 then that would be better than the e60 due to the newer shape, chassis and computer systems.
 

ADT

ADT

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My 2004 e46 330ci convertible will hit the 100k mark in about 4000 miles.

Is there any preventative maintenance that needs to be done on these at this stage?

Also my hood works fine and is in good shape. Is any maintenance needed on these? (lubrication etc?)

Thanks!
 
Soldato
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My 2004 e46 330ci convertible will hit the 100k mark in about 4000 miles.

Is there any preventative maintenance that needs to be done on these at this stage?

Also my hood works fine and is in good shape. Is any maintenance needed on these? (lubrication etc?)

Thanks!

I recently sold my E46 330Ci with 115,000 miles on it.

In terms of preventative maintenance, no - I fixed the important things as and when they came up. They're of little value now, you could end up replacing the entire cooling system only for something else to go pop and figure you can't be bothered with it any more.

But if you are set on preventative maintenance then overhaul the cooling system and or refresh the suspension by way of springs, bushes and shocks.
 
Soldato
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Has anyone purchased any Castrol Edge 5w30 for their 3L engine recently? I've had a look around the usual places (ECP/Halfords/Opie Oils) and can't find anywhere selling this stuff anymore?

I need to do a 1L topup this week, can someone recommend me an alternative?
 
Soldato
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Has anyone purchased any Castrol Edge 5w30 for their 3L engine recently? I've had a look around the usual places (ECP/Halfords/Opie Oils) and can't find anywhere selling this stuff anymore?

I need to do a 1L topup this week, can someone recommend me an alternative?

Shell Helix Ultra is now BMW's recommended oil I believe, certainly for the newer 3L lumps, but I'm sure it will be fine in the older engines too. They should require BMW's LL04 or LL01 spec, which the Shell complies with AFAIK.
 
Man of Honour
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My m54 engine sounds brilliant. I never knew what the fuss was until I actually bought one. Have to admit its been one of my better purchases.

Fox lci e60 550i talk to me. Worth it over a 535d or not?

Buy a 650i instead, much better and similar money.
 

ADT

ADT

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I recently sold my E46 330Ci with 115,000 miles on it.

In terms of preventative maintenance, no - I fixed the important things as and when they came up. They're of little value now, you could end up replacing the entire cooling system only for something else to go pop and figure you can't be bothered with it any more.

But if you are set on preventative maintenance then overhaul the cooling system and or refresh the suspension by way of springs, bushes and shocks.

The cooling system was done by the previous owner and I had the suspension checked the other day. Was told that it's in good shape and I only needed to change the bushes so I did.

Since its an automatic, apparently the transmission oil is for life but some people get that done anyways. Is it worth it?
 
Soldato
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The cooling system was done by the previous owner and I had the suspension checked the other day. Was told that it's in good shape and I only needed to change the bushes so I did.

Since its an automatic, apparently the transmission oil is for life but some people get that done anyways. Is it worth it?

I think you're pretty much set! Although someone else would be better placed to advise on the auto (Lee & Vox here I know had auto's, the same car I believe), as mine was a manual.
 
Man of Honour
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Need 5 doors. A coupe is not practical for me unfortunately. Any issues with engines in these at all?

Yes there are a few issues with it although others on here know more as I don't tend to pay attention to the V8's.

The 550i's are exceptionally rare making finding a good one very difficult. They also cost quite a bit too for such an old car now.

The only one with 5 doors is the Touring and 550i Touring's are like hens teeth!
 
Man of Honour
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Over an e60 LCI 535, yes purely for the v8 but I suspect you won't notice much for normal driving and you're return better fuel economies with the 535. If you can get a 2010 535 then that would be better than the e60 due to the newer shape, chassis and computer systems.

Aside from the small matter that a decent F10 535d is the wrong side of £20k whereas the LCI E60's start at under £10k :eek:
 
Soldato
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The cooling system was done by the previous owner and I had the suspension checked the other day. Was told that it's in good shape and I only needed to change the bushes so I did.

Since its an automatic, apparently the transmission oil is for life but some people get that done anyways. Is it worth it?

It depends if you want to keep the car for ages, or not.. as it stands you seem to be OK.

But the tranmission fluid does degrade, and people have found changing it has made a difference, so probably worth doing it on the basis that 'lifetime' is just a term, and the fact it degrading might shorten the lifetime is not factored in.

The same for shocks, whilst externally they may be fine, if they are the original shocks, they would definitely have degraded in performance.

As for the roof, that's tricky, I personally use a bit if lithium spray grease (wiping of any excess to ensure no dirt gets stuck in it), it works wonders on seat rails/mechanisms too. My Mrs Beetle Cab really benefitted from that, and whilst my e46 cab didn't need it, I've done it anyway. the only other thing which is routine maintenance is to keep the rubber seals all clean and Gummi Pfledge them.
 
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