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Hadlock posted:QUESTION: Those cars sound extremely expensive. For comparison I snagged a 97 540i6 with full records and 75,000 miles for $12k USD when the CAD was higher than the USD. The only cars that should be around that price are E36 M3s (100k~), E46s (100k~). Yes a lot of them are not let go until 100k+ but I would try to keep it under there, and I would never buy a BMW without full service records. COOLING SYSTEM MUST BE REPLACED ALREADY. Never forget that. You can find good guides on Bimmerforums or the like, and use autotrader/craigslist/ebay to find some median prices. The BMW forums also have decent cars once in a while, but most of them are going to be very expensive in my opinion.
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| # ¿ Mar 28, 2008 23:40 |
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| # ¿ May 22, 2013 00:42 |
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VacaGrande posted:The car is awesome, but please do not go 15k miles between oil changes like BMW thinks is appropriate. They're insane unless your driving is all 55mph steady at 2500rpm. Get it changed at least every 7,500 miles. BMW won't pay for it but it's worth it for the life of your engine. My local German car repair/race prep shop tells me stories about the horrors they see in late model BMWs after years of 15k-mile oil changes.
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| # ¿ Mar 29, 2008 20:49 |
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I'm still trying to get the starter off the transmission on my 97 540i6. gently caress. Me. What the hell do I have to do? I've got every bolt off the bellhousing and the starter won't move and neither will the bellhousing. I'm doing a clutch job by the way. Seriously I need to get my baby working again so I can I was also wondering about an ECU remap thanks to that thread with the Subaru. I've sort of glanced at mods for my car but everything seems super expensive. $400 for a CAI that gets 5 bhp for example. Are there any mods worth doing on this car that won't break the bank for no reason? Xenoid fucked around with this message at Mar 31, 2008 around 22:56 |
| # ¿ Mar 31, 2008 22:52 |
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usurper posted:Sorry for the long line of images, but I firmly believe the E39 M5 is going to prove to be one of the "last great" BMWs; before iDrive, the heavy duty electronics, and the heavy design changes. It's a classic beautiful car that hauls rear end.
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| # ¿ Apr 1, 2008 23:10 |
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I probably wouldn't bother unless you're okay with/want to fix the bumper/spoiler/door. I would assume you plan to source 2 new Vaders which are not cheap by any means. Mileage is very high too...
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| # ¿ Apr 4, 2008 04:44 |
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uncrfe posted:The looks aren't a huge deal to me (it doesnt actually look that bad, aside from the seats / headliner), but I'm worried about the mileage / whether or not he's being honest on the mechanicals. Should I even bother with a PPI, or just call it off? Is there proof of the repairs being done?
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| # ¿ Apr 4, 2008 05:28 |
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uncrfe posted:Good point. He says he has all records on it. I'll see if I can get scans of the receipts or something. (Thanks for the help -- this is the first time I've gone on a search for a car for this long, and had to look at one this far away). I bought my BMW from about 600km away, in the USA, so you can be sure I knew what I was getting into. I talked to the guy a few times on the phone to make sure he wasn't a douchebag and was willing to work with me to sell the car. I made sure that he understood my situation, knew that I was serious, and that the car was as being as advertised. That meant full service records for most of the common things and whatever else was done to it. Even though he was generally a good guy, there were still problems with the car that were never shown to me. A tail light was cracked, but not broken and still working and a fog light was busted. The belts were also completely shot too. Nonetheless I saved about $5-7k~ on the car. Almost all of those E36 M3s have hosed up seats to one degree or another, but those are probably the worst I've ever seen.
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| # ¿ Apr 4, 2008 06:34 |
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I finally got the tranny off my 97 540i. I'm faced with 6 torx nuts on the pressure plate. When I put the correct size torx socket in, it seems to be able to 'lean' in the socket. When I put force on it, it turns in the socket and starts stripping. What can I do? Also it seems to require as much strength as I can muster and it's STILL not moving. Is this normal? Do I need to get a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter and put my breaker bar on or something?
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| # ¿ Apr 4, 2008 16:06 |
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:I think the Pelican clutch replacement DIY mentions what to do when that happens. I believe they just cut the heads off with a dremel and EZ-Outed the studs after the pressure plate is removed. You might want to give that article a quick read over. Haha apparently they were hex. There's a difference, sadly. However, even more sadly, I used a hex and it STILL stripped them. What the gently caress BMW? So I guess I'll be cutting the heads off or something. This is loving stupid. Does anybody have any ideas? Edit: BMW tech suggested that my hex bit is not fitting properly (cheap) and therefore stripping it. I guess I will try higher quality bit or something or ask my neighbor if he's ever around. Xenoid fucked around with this message at Apr 4, 2008 around 19:36 |
| # ¿ Apr 4, 2008 17:09 |
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frozenphil posted:JB Weld trick. Get a cheap socket and JB Weld it to the stripped bolt. Once the JB Weld sets up you can just insert your ratchet into the socket and off she comes. In your case you'll have to have a few sockets, but whatever. I like this. So what the gently caress made this happen in the first place? I'm using a 6mm hex which is the correct tool and it STILL strips?
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| # ¿ Apr 4, 2008 20:04 |
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UserNotFound posted:It always amazes me how small some cars wheels are.. a lot of American sedans have 225/60r16 and plenty of wheel gap Not old ones I reckon. Nothing had very big tires back then. Even Porsches were rockin 13s.
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| # ¿ Apr 9, 2008 03:23 |
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Well I'm finally buying my clutch kit for my 97 540i. I'm looking at sales@ezclutchnparts.net on Ebay ($350 + $35 S+H) for a Sachs kit. There are a few other places like Pelicanparts but they don't offer shipping to Canada, or the prices are way higher. Can anybody suggest a place? I've been Googling but I haven't run across anything yet.
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| # ¿ Apr 9, 2008 14:49 |
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Doctor Grape Ape posted:RMEuropean has it for $290.23 but I don't know if they ship to Canada. I can't say enough nice things about this place for OEM BMW parts. They have always been the cheapest, have great customer service, and I usually get free 2 or 3 day shipping depending on how much I spend. That last part won't be applicable to you, because the free shipping is only for the lower 48, but it should be pretty reasonable. Yeah I went with them. They had killer prices on everything except the shipping but it totalled less than anyone else I had found. Came to $361.87 including the pilot bearing and tool. I have to saw 2 of the pressure plate bolts off and I was told someone would machine the flywheel for me, for free, that knows how to do dual-mass. Xenoid fucked around with this message at Apr 9, 2008 around 17:21 |
| # ¿ Apr 9, 2008 17:09 |
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Jonontherun posted:Yah, I'm really hoping for a lightening trend as well. I was pretty disappointed that the 1 series isn't lighter than it is. I understand all the safety gear, but still. Also I hope this engine makes it into the rumored Z2, if both of the stories are true. Man 11,000 rpm - imagine the noise it would make Sounds like a Honda to me. One of the reasons I like my 540 so much is because it makes more torque than the 4.0L V8 in the new M3. And it doesn't happen at 38,000RPM either.
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| # ¿ Apr 9, 2008 19:45 |
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Hirayama posted:What's the general consensus here regarding the purchase of an '04 M3 with 50K mi on the clock? I know the warranty is out and inspection II is looming, but drat is she a sexy ride. I'm currently in an '04 330xi and every time I push the pedal, the M3 pops up in my head and laughs a little bit at me. I'd go for it..with full service records...or an E39 M5. Both sexy, sexy cars.
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| # ¿ Apr 10, 2008 01:17 |
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The thing that astounds me is that my 93 325i got 18mpg in town, 30mpg highway. My 97 540 gets 20mpg in town, 30mpg highway. Pretty sweet huh? Both manuals of course. That's just 'cruising' with a couple of hard pulls in there for good measure (because I can't help it, especially in the 540).
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| # ¿ Apr 12, 2008 17:27 |
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hedge posted:Awesome, but it didn't quite go according to plan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW0IHJdlH-4 Front wing costs more than my entire car 
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2008 06:59 |
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No idea if this is new but I found a fix for glovebox sag. I am going to try it out if I hear or find some good reports. http://www.understeer.com/glovebox.shtml It might be useful to edit the first post of this megathread and put in links to pre-purchase information relevant to the E30/E36/E46/E39/E34 models as they're most commonly asked about. Said links can usually be found in the FAQ thread for any division of an Exx chassis' at Bimmerforums to my knowledge.
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2008 02:09 |
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Hey guys. Just got the clutch kit for my 97 540i here. I have everything off the car already except for the flywheel. Any hint on what exactly is needed to remove it? My neighbor mentioned something like a long T-60 torx or something but BMW dealerships here won't let you buy tools.
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2008 19:23 |
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mungtor posted:I was pretty sure that the long torx tool was needed to remove the transmission, but the flywheel was straightforward. I'll try to remember to look in my Bentley manual when I get home. Ok thanks. It seems to be a 6 sided star-shape thing that is about 3cm into the flywheel or something. EDIT: Found it in the TIS.  The tricky part is trying to find this fucker around town. The dealer won't sell ANY tools to me. Xenoid fucked around with this message at Apr 28, 2008 around 20:45 |
| # ¿ Apr 28, 2008 19:42 |
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KS posted:Minuses: Suspension probably a bit too unforgiving for a daily driver, clutch is heavy. Sounds like the dealer has been mistreating the car. Bad gas, low oil? I would never buy a used car at a dealership. I've heard horror stories from my friend that used to be the parts manager at the local BMW dealership. The employees would take a car out for the weekend and thrash the gently caress out of it. He used to tell me about taking out brand new M6s for top speed runs and all sorts of fuckery. Understeer posted:Do the E36 and E46 inline sixes require premium gas? I'm looking to get rid of my Evo for something more comfortable that also gets better mileage, and also runs on regular if possible.
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| # ¿ May 1, 2008 20:44 |
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Understeer posted:Sweet. Thanks for the input on how I should spend my money. You're the guy asking how to save $3 or less, like it matters. Awaiting your, "I spent $25,000 on this M3 but I don't want to spend $3 on the premium gasoline!" post.
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| # ¿ May 1, 2008 21:20 |
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two_beer_bishes posted:Anybody? I can't even find a If you msg me on AIM at xenoidx and help me figure out what they're calling it in their program I can show you it.
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| # ¿ May 1, 2008 22:53 |
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of it in english
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Mad Dragon posted:That's a photoshopped Audi R8 Wow I saw a loving black R8 driving around town today. At 30km/h..with an old woman behind the wheel. Sigh. That PS reminds me of the Ford concept that was white and glass everywhere. I think Ford made it into the GT or something.
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| # ¿ May 8, 2008 00:39 |
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David Corbett posted:Hi, All of those cars are very reliable, barring a few very common problems they all share. Poor cooling systems and window motors come to mind. I would also be concerned about struts after 100k miles or therebouts. Clutches and brakes as well. As with any BMW, ensure you have a good service record with the car. If it doesn't have consistent records I wouldn't buy it. The V8 isn't unreliable in my opinion. I got one because the price difference wasn't that bad and why not have a V8? They had problems with the earlier ones I'm told, but I think any problems would have manifested by now. I did the clutch job on my 540 and the only rust on the car was the header collector bolts. As such, they all cross threaded with the original nuts and bolts and I have to replace them. I'm lazy, so I haven't, and there are only 2-3 bolts in. Because of that, the car sounds like a huge hemi Cuda or something..pretty sick..but my highway mileage seems to have suffered. City is still 17-20 depending on my foot, but my highway is only around 24mpg when it was 30mpg before. Could this be the reason? Could I also be losing power? I haven't driven the car in a long time but I think it seems weaker.
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| # ¿ May 19, 2008 20:02 |
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Nermal. posted:I have decided to purchase my dream car and grab an E39 M5. I can grab a 2001-2003 with between 40k and 60k miles on it for the price range I'm in. Now, I have heard some nightmarish stories about reliability on the E39 540i from close friends. Can one assume the M5 will be even worse? I have wanted this car since it came out... but not if I'm going to be driving, an engine light come on once a month, taking it in and finding out it's some carbon fiber super tuned m-racing part that is going to cost a couple thousand to replace. Read the post above yours that I wrote. Read M5Forums, Bimmerforums, and Bimmerfest. They have checklists. It's all common stuff. You could just use a list for an E46 and it would read the same. Cooling system, window motors, MAFs, and wear items like clutch/brakes/struts after higher mileage. Prices for parts are a fair bit more on an M5 over a 540. Labour is where you get killed on these cars. If you can do your own work, some of the most expensive jobs I could imagine would be a clutch and flywheel ($1200 in parts maybe? compared to $700 on my 540) or all 4 struts I suppose. Window motors are expensive and so are some trim pieces. Aftermarket is also expensive but you can get good deals with the forum vendors. If you don't get a car with perfect service records you deserve whatever you run into. Even then, wear items are going to break. Budget for more than what it takes to get the car. Assume the tires are poo poo and you want new ones soon, budget for insurance, budget for some repairs if something comes up that you don't find out about until 1 or 2 months into ownership. This is not a Toyota Corolla here. It's up in the realms of sports/super cars but I have a feeling you know that if you're getting into a used M5. But if I had the cash I would have gotten an M5 over my 540. It's one of my favorite cars that I would buy along with a 997 Porsche. unknown poster posted:I really hate the look of the 1-series, it looks like a fat old man. Xenoid fucked around with this message at May 20, 2008 around 08:19 |
| # ¿ May 20, 2008 08:14 |
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I saw a beautiful E39 M5 the other day with a 'Ring sticker on it. Kind of tacky E36 M3-ish but I'm tempted to get one for my E39 540i. Also bumping this. I guess I'm going to fix the bolts either way today, I'm just very lazy. Xenoid posted:I did the clutch job on my 540 and the only rust on the car was the header collector bolts. As such, they all cross threaded with the original nuts and bolts and I have to replace them. I'm lazy, so I haven't, and there are only 2-3 bolts in. Because of that, the car sounds like a huge hemi Cuda or something..pretty sick..but my highway mileage seems to have suffered. City is still 17-20 depending on my foot, but my highway is only around 24mpg when it was 30mpg before. Could this be the reason? Could I also be losing power? I haven't driven the car in a long time but I think it seems weaker. Also I've been reading Bimmerforums/Bimmerfest and it looks like there might be a decent chip for the 540. http://www.powerchipgroup.com is their website. They claim, for $490 to get 282 hp -> 298 hp 324 lb.-ft -> 343 lb.-ft Funny thing is, those are the quoted stock numbers for flywheel power. They're notoriously underrated on the 97 540i because of pre-Vanos. I'm looking at about 270rwhp / 285 rwtorque stock on this car. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/foru...d.php?t=1009941 This is the thread for the vendor on Bimmerforums. It also seems that deleting the resonator and/or silencer will dramatically kill the power on this car. Source is this. He basically gains minimal power at the very top end, at the expense of having a "curve". Normally the curve just goes straight up to max power at 2600rpm and peaks around 4400rpm. Why anybody would do this after seeing the dyno results is beyond me... http://forums.bimmerforums.com/foru...63&postcount=68 Anybody in here an E39 540 driver other than me? I figured I'd put this up here because it's extremely useful info for this car..and it's hard to find anything other than HIDZ and RIMZZZ and MTECH BUMPERZ when it comes to this car.
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| # ¿ May 25, 2008 21:52 |
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Drove the 08 335i 6spd yesterday. Oh my god what a car. It feels kind of funny and not as tankish (in a solid way, not a heavy turd way) as my 540. I also found out the 550 was $89k sticker, the 335 was $62k sticker, and the M3 was $75k sticker. They won't let me test drive the M3 though..sigh. I might get a used 335 in the future though, $35k right now..
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| # ¿ Jun 28, 2008 02:08 |
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King Nothing posted:Wow, that's nuts. Why are BMWs so expensive in Canada? They just are. I was just putting the numbers up for fun, but I'd never buy a car brand new, especially in Canada. I got my car (97 540) in the USA and saved a few thousand and plan to do it with any car I buy. I think the 335 might be my next car, especially once the prices drop a bit and I can put a chip in it (360hp, 400ft-lbs OH GAWD). Isn't it funny that a stock M3 is 415hp and 315 ft-lbs? I need to drive one and see how it compares! I made that note really short last night cause I was tired as gently caress, but why is the 550 so much? I thought I'd prefer it better but once I saw how much more it was than an M3 I thought it was pointless. Can any of you related to the 335 experience though? The clutch pedal has TONS of travel, yet the "sweet spot" is just a tick in, making all that travel worthless. It doesn't have power steering wheel adjustments which felt kind of cheap to me. The cupholders were nice, because none of my past BMWs had cupholders that worked. The car had no NAV but I wouldn't want it. The dealer guy told me what iDrive did and since it does nothing, I don't need it. The brakes are ABSURD. I started the car at a stop sign, rolled forward at 10km/h or so, and tapped the brakes. OOMPH. I thought I smashed the brake pedal, it's just so sensitive and powerful. The turn stalk was weird. You barely move it and it clicks? Kind of strange to me at first but not bad since I never actually move the turn signal stalks 90% of the time. I just hold them up or down a little bit so that the signal is on and it bounces back to neutral. The back seat is LARGE and very nice. I didn't go in there, but it looks big to me and I'm 6'3" and 165lbs (and going down). It had the air controls and vents back there too. I also think the new cars look a lot better in person than in pictures. The coupe blows the sedan out of the water looks-wise. I hope that new sedan looks a bit better next year. I thought I'd throw in how pissed I am at the other dealers in town. They won't let me test drive a lot of cars, including the base LS3 Vette, yet I can get into a 335 without a problem. Maybe I need to wash my car and drop the "looking to replace the 540" line at the dealership. Lastly, I've been pushing my car a bit in some corners with the TC off and all I can say is, when does this car lose traction? 235/45ZR17 Nittos all around and yet I can't get the rear end to slide out? I know the car is making plenty of power. I have a feeling it's the tires because I couldn't keep the rear of my E36 325 on the road when the tires were bald, and yet with stupid amounts of throttle and lots of turn dialed in, I can't get this to slide out! Xenoid fucked around with this message at Jun 29, 2008 around 04:51 |
| # ¿ Jun 29, 2008 03:11 |
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dvorak posted:...I got a brand new 750Li...
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| # ¿ Jun 30, 2008 04:55 |
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BMW has a bunch of "special tools" needed for a clutch job on an E39. Know what I used instead? A regular tranny jack (they have some special tranny support bs) and a block of wood cut to a specific size that the engine rested on while the tranny was out. Worst part was, most local shops would tell me they needed "special BMW only tools" and I ended up doing it myself with no prior experience or special tools.
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| # ¿ Aug 3, 2008 22:44 |
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CornHolio posted:They did notice that I needed new rear brakes, which Im doing this weekend. I bought the bleeder tool from Bavarian Autosport, because I plan on bleeding the brakes and the clutch... is this a pain in the rear end to do? I've never bled brakes before.
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| # ¿ Aug 17, 2008 22:34 |
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maxallen posted:Seriously, what happened to the BMW of 10 years ago that focused on sport and driving, instead of the massively bloated and feature-ridden BMWs of today?
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| # ¿ Aug 27, 2008 02:34 |
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Mad Dragon posted:How many of the people bitching about brand dilution this and bloated feature-laden that have actually driven a newer BMW? I've owned an E36 and E39 and driven an E46, E60 and E90. The E36/E46 felt just like a 3 series ought to. It wasn't as big, heavy, powerful, or luxurious as the 5er and it filled the "3" role perfectly. The E90 is the same weight as my 540 and is about as "luxury" as it, when it's supposed to be the sub-compact car, lighter weight car. The E60 is a little more everything than the E90, but it's supposed to be a big sedan. This doesn't matter in Canada when a 550 costs 90k which is more than an M3 (75k~) so I don't know what moron is buying that when the 335i and M3 are about as luxurious as a 550 with oodles of power and they're much, much cheaper. The 7 series has always been a joke in my opinion. They've always been more of a test-bed of super unreliable tech. I wouldn't own a 7 series if I had millions of dollars to throw away. I wouldn't lease it either, and I'd rather be driven around in an S-Class/Maybach/Bentley/RR. Xenoid fucked around with this message at Aug 28, 2008 around 01:39 |
| # ¿ Aug 28, 2008 01:29 |
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Sterndotstern posted:Modern carmakers now only cars to understeer
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| # ¿ Aug 29, 2008 03:05 |
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nvm
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| # ¿ Aug 29, 2008 15:17 |
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Pissingintowind posted:While we're on this topic I just read your thread on Bimmerforums no wonder those pics are so familiar  I just posted this on Bimmerforums but I guess I'll put it here. I know there's a "build car audio" megathread and I have it on my subscriptions but it seems that BMWs with DSP have a harder time so I'm putting it here instead. quote:E39 with DSP audio system build-i know nothing
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| # ¿ Aug 31, 2008 02:25 |
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Gimik posted:2000M5 - pretty much stock. 50k miles.
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| # ¿ Sep 4, 2008 20:04 |
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Arwox posted:Yes the window does have a brake light. My E36 had a factory wing that was coming loose and rusting too, just like you are experiencing. I'm not sure why people put wings on their cars because on a BMW it really ruins the beautiful lines, and it's not like the car is going to use it. There are lots of really fast cars out there that don't have wings.
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| # ¿ Sep 7, 2008 03:48 |
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| # ¿ May 22, 2013 00:42 |
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two_beer_bishes posted:Car started on fire. It looks like the vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator burst and gas sprayed out. Ouch. Pics? Is it saved at all?
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| # ¿ Sep 8, 2008 16:43 |
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