BMW and M Power Owners

[Vita]

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!

Sorry I meant 4 doors. I'll keep my search on for one. Thanks for the replies.

 

[agnes]

Sup guys, I've had a bit of an odd issue recently, thought a bearing was going as from time to time I would hear a droning/humming noise like you'd get if a bearing was just starting to go, only slightly higher pitched. It hasn't got worse or better.

Anyway, I just jacked the car up on all 4's to see if I can 100% find the culprit and to my surprise, not a single one has a bearing fault. All are solid, smooth and silent...

I just did a quick google and it could be down to my tyres! As it is only on some surfaces. I've never once had this, has anyone else?

I'm on Pilot Sport 3's on all 4 corners. The car had a hunter alignment done before they were fitted and all 4 corners were fitted at the same time.

All wearing evenly and about half way through their life.

It's really strange! I've not enjoyed the PS3's as much as I'd thought as they don't offer a lot of grip so will be moving away from them next year when it comes time to replace. And as per usual, a hunter alignment will be carried out after new tyres are fitted.

Thanks

 

[BananaDunka]

This was on reddit today from a guy looking for E46 M3s and only encountering SMGs listed as "manual"... Now I know SMG is technically manual, but this still made me chuckle

 

[T0pPredator]

Haha, yeah, I remember that irritation..

 

[Ravster]

deleted

 

[ADT]

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.

Well I only bought the car in July so plan to keep it for another 2 years or so. Might end up my weekend/evening car soon I reckon

 

[BlizzardX]

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

Oh ok, well in NZ they're at around $35k NZD now, my figures are based on my location

If I was to get a 5 series now and it was between an F10 535i and the e60 550i, I would choose the 535i... Sure the 550i makes an amazing engine note and is more powerful (380bhp) but its not fuel efficient and its just old as a chassis now, also after using CIC and CCC systems I would not choose a CCC based system... Infact I'm looking to retrofit a CIC in to mine!

That said, I'm not selling mine anytime soon!

 

[[TW]Fox]

I can't see how it would ever be between those two. If you can afford the newer one why even look at E60?

 

[BlizzardX]

Because its a v8 in the 550i! There is something lovely about the noise and smoothness of the v8, compared to the straight 6... Nothing wrong with the 6 mind either, but if it was a choice of a slightly newer F10 535 vs a slightly older F10 550i, then the 550i would win... but then in NZ, BMWs have a really weird value...

Older (318 TIs for example) go for 10-15K, but then at 30-35K you can get a 2009 e60 550i or a 2010/11 F10 535i but for the 35-40K you can get a 2010 F10 550i. All of these except the really old ones are sub 60K miles

 

[ichabod crane]

Quick question, the warranty is due to expire on my 2013 3GT shortly and I intend to carry the BMW insured warranty on for peace of mind. The monthly cost quoted seems fairly reasonable but i wondered if anyone has managed to negotiate on this cost?

 

[Voxination]

Warranty cost is very much fixed as far as I know, however it does work out cheaper to buy a whole year

 

[Housey]

This was on reddit today from a guy looking for E46 M3s and only encountering SMGs listed as "manual"... Now I know SMG is technically manual, but this still made me chuckle

Funny.

In my day we worried about waiting lists, engines going pop, 18's or 19's arguments and who got theirs first or who had a strut brace. Oh how times have changed, can't believe that was 2001!!!!

 

[[TW]Fox]

Funny.

In my day we worried about waiting lists, engines going pop, 18's or 19's arguments and who got theirs first or who had a strut brace. Oh how times have changed, can't believe that was 2001!!!!

Now it's all about wyked coilies and whether to get Rainsport 3's or Falken's

 

[ichabod crane]

Warranty cost is very much fixed as far as I know, however it does work out cheaper to buy a whole year

I didn't think there would be much movement on it but just wondered if anyone here had managed it, I may change the car early next year anyway possibly in February so if I pay monthly I should still be able to keep it below the full year quotation.

 

[chroniclard]

Car mats! BMW ones or are there any decent quality 3rd party ones? (googled a million sites but hard to tell quality).

Need to be fairly sturdy in the rear.....because kids.

 

[BananaDunka]

The BMW mats look and feel the most OEM to the car. There are third parties selling "luxury" mats with deep pile threading, but they are still not as good as the genuine article. Purchase via Cotswold citing club forum membership for a 10% discount.

 

[chroniclard]

The BMW mats look and feel the most OEM to the car. There are third parties selling "luxury" mats with deep pile threading, but they are still not as good as the genuine article. Purchase via Cotswold citing club forum membership for a 10% discount.

Great, ta.

Is this them?

http://www.cotswoldgroup.com/

oh and club form membership?

 

[BananaDunka]

Whatever the main Cotswold dealer number is yes. Just say you're a member of bmwland/m3cutters to get the discount.

 

[chroniclard]

Righto, thank you.

 

[[TW]Fox]

No, that isn't right - the main number won't do because you need to speak the parts guys at Cotswold Gloucester for the club discounts.