JakeT

I’d agree with this. We have a Miele washing machine and tumble dryer. Both of them cost a truly stupid amount of money in 2008, but are still in use now and the washing machine has been Faultless. The dryer has needed a feeding a couple of parts, but still goes well after 15 years. I am also a big dishwasher fan, because the one household chore I won’t do is washing up. I’d rather clean gutters than do the dishes. Plus the dishwasher uses less than a bowl of water, and doesn’t face the risk of cross contamination of using nasty water for dishes. That said, both are luxuries, and there’s been plenty of years where I’ve done without. I used to take bedding and things down to the laundromat and didn’t mind it. Met some good characters in there, and would nip for a pint while the dryer was on.

Like Sierraman said, I’d take 33 from one, if it’s generally pottering about the shop. At least you’ve got it fixed and in good condition now anyway, and it will definitely drive far nicer than one with the DV6 of doom (before it blows up). If the box goes too, they’re relatively cheap and plentiful in their supply.

I was going to be true to my BMW licking self and say 3/5/7 series. Think the 5 was ‘72, and 3 ‘74/5. 7 series was later. VW Golf in with a good shout at ‘74, and Polo. Ford Transit too? Were they launched in the ‘60s?

I’m going to preface this with I really like people from EE. Salt of the earth, and what they do have will share. To be friends is a badge of honour. I wonder where Aleksander my former colleague is… ’The Eastern European’ German diesel saloon. Often Passat, maybe sometimes an Audi A4 or BMW 5 series. Has to be a saloon, has to be black. The darkest tints known to man. For some reason, an aftermarket radio with the worst lighting colour scheme possible, playing the worlds worst ballad, or hard bass. Blue LEDs in the interior lights and slide lights, topped with plate lights brighter than the sun. Sometimes on English plates, sometimes on plates from ‘the home country’. Useful for avoiding speeding fines, and the need to have tax or insurance. Lots of trinkets dangling from the mirror, what look like a dream catcher, a flag of the aforementioned home country, and maybe a mini pair of boxing gloves. California scents in the cup holder, and those diamond stitch floor mats. 200,000 miles minimum, showing 88,000 currently. Spotted at factories at leaving time, job sites, and corner shops. DEFINITELY spotted at the port of Dover come July, and crossing the autobahn A2 route at usually 65. Speed does not matter. Fuel economy matters. Repaired only once per year, in the home country. Cheap parts, and cheaper labour. Oksana, Svetlana, Tatiana, or Sonya is in the passenger seat. Fit, but you can’t put your finger on it. Whale-tail thong, and the strongest push up bra known to human-kind. Cooks a brilliant Borsch, or Baklava on birthdays. Can (and will) drink you under the table. Not driven very quickly, but only at night it seems (usually due to shift patterns), and avoiding the police. Left idling outside a shop, and run on various cheap diesel, maybe cherry if they know someone. Never more than £20 in the tank, unless it’s on the trip home or back.

Oh yes! The pull out light switch took me right back. You’re right though, but oh well. Extended leather is nice, as are the sport seats. To be fair the interior is better quality than a pre ‘94 E36 anyway, plus they’re easy to clean. Looking forward to see how you go with it. With a 2.8 or 3.0 they’re fast little cars too! And usually have an LSD too

My good lady had a 2.2 auto model in runout sport trim, and it was a lovely cruiser. for going to the pub on a summers Saturday afternoon in. Never gave any issues until it was pinched. Then, when it was found a year later, we put it back on the road and she parked it in the back of a 1 series a few days later. That was the end of the Z3 (and her NCB). Good buy, for what seems a good price. I don’t think these rust too awfully either. Build quality is crap, I think they were the first American built BMWs and they weren’t as good as German built ones (E36s generally have poor interiors though). I think Z3s didn’t suffer from Nikasil issues either, but I could be wrong. Actually, seeing it’s on a V plate, it’s a twin VANOS one probably and totally fine either way.

1.25 rocks. I had a pair in runout ‘freestyle’ trim. Last one was silver, had AC and a dealer fit sunroof. Using the AC was like driving around with the handbrake up a click. Was a late ‘52 plated model. I think I took it from 90k-135k in three years.. It sat for a few months when I was using something else, yet still went back into service doing stellar service. I did 4,000 miles in a month in it, too. Liked a drop of oil when doing over 60 a lot due to the short gearing. But what a stellar handler, and the engine was so willing, and was ever reliable. Bar sodding heater valves usually sticking on full heat. They do like a rot though, mine needed the sills patching at 9 years old. I think I bought it for £900 in 2013 and sold it for £250. Great little car, and one reason the boss has a fiesta. Hers is a 2008 model with a 1.6TDCi of doom though, be better if it was a petrol one.

Sounds ideal, and a good spec indeed. Comfort seats are great and I find PDC a must on an estate. Hope it’s as good a buy as the Audi a while ago.

Just been catching up on this, Herr Schaefft. Agreed, Cragside is lovely. I think when we last visited in 2018 I was in my E46 328ci and my parents in their X5 3.0i. Great news on the E65. Water-cooled alternator is a foible of late E38/39s with the V8, too. I never did find out why a water cooled alternator is better. I am amazed at the fibre optics for the airbag modules too, I thought that they were for Audio stuff only. E39 looks tasty. Hope it’s crazy German spec in some way, like memory seats and massage, but manual rear windows.

I’m a stickler for preventative maintenance and giving it a ‘look over’ regularly. On my daily it’s every 10k, and I run the diagnostics on it then, lube up the door hinges, and shake the wheels. I even fill in the service book myself, I’m such a sad git. That said I also swap between winter and summer wheels twice per year, and inspect the brakes and suspension bits then. Of course there’s also the MOT, too. I look over ‘er indoors car every so often, and do the oil once per year. It does around 5k per year, but it’s a 1.6 HDi (of doom) in a fiesta, and I can’t be arsed to put a turbo on it. That said there’s one stored for when it does go bang. The old bus gets the oil changed every 18 or so months, which us around 4,000 miles. I try and do most jobs over the winter on it, when it’s not used. For friends they usually ask what they should do when they buy a car, and my response is always, ask the man at the garage to service it with an MOT every year. Doesn’t matter if it says every two years, you’d rather it get you where you’re going. You’ll be more annoyed at having it break than spending money servicing it. But as mentioned, servicing is a hard sell. Father in law has been in the trade since the 70s, and there’s always been people that don’t service it, and wait until it goes bang to them whine about it. More and more poor ecoboosts coming in with no teeth on the belt after missing a few services, when the old 1.6 wouldn’t really care.

Haven’t posted a lot recently, as I’ve been doing no AS activities. But I’ve been watching. Like this fella. E36 oil change today. It was last done in December 2021, 4,231 miles ago. Backed into the garage. The cloth on the bonnet is in case it touches the garage door when it’s jacked up. Genuine BMW filter and Millers 10w40 Oil draining. Still nice and golden, given the mileage I’d expect so. 6.5l back in and at the correct level. Reset the service light too, from three green back to five. Also seeing @sutty2006 collect a Disco and have a gala pie slice, I also went out and had a slice, since it’s been too long bliss.

You’ve reminded me I’ve still got a bloody rebuild kit somewhere, and I haven’t owned a tibbe Ford for years!

The boss was busy this weekend, and so I was going to be lulling around the house being bored and doing boring stuff like cutting the lawns. My mums side of the family have been visiting the same area of Cornwall since the 50s, and are all down for their annual pilgrimage, so I popped off to see them, and my brother who is down early for boardmasters. After a nice weekend seeing lots of people, and doing lots of walking, I plodded home, and managed to catch a milestone I’ve been chasing since I bought the car, 62,000 miles ago in 2019. How satisfying, a perfectly placed lay-by on the A30 made it possible. I’ve managed to take it to 10 different countries since purchase, and it’s been a good car.

I can confirm I attended. I can also confirm I did not take any pictures. It was very nice to see so many AS cars, and chat to a few owners also. Totally worth getting up at 5, and 310 miles covered. Even the traffic was kind, somehow. FOTU is my favourite event, and didn’t disappoint.

You know what? I agree. And I own two of them. E46 based front suspension is a very sad job to do, as you’ve found out. Unfortunately I’ve done just about all jobs they can be done on these cars having owned a few and friends owning them. When I’ve needed to remove the damper units on old cars that are quite ripe underneath I buy a pair of front knuckles from a breaker. For £50 I can deal with not having to swear and want to burn the thing to the ground. They drive quite well when they’re tip top though. Which is after spending a fortune on them.