Greydog

Hi Aaron Welcome to the Forum What a dilemma, The BMW straight 6 tough as a tough thing but only with the correct maintenance, so with a car like the 7 history is paramount plus make sure all accessories and controls work as they should. The V8 is a good engine often misunderstood but again maintenance is critical plus some additional often overlooked items like the chain tensioner (I change mine every 20k) My used hard X5 4.6is is at 156k (he said tempting fate) So history history history and once in your possession over maintaining is better than none, check when the gearbox was serviced last (obviously all changes should be smooth and seamless) any jerks or lurches walk away I would expect running cost to be similar as the 6 will work a little harder to pull the 7 around, service costs brakes tyres etc will again be very similar. My personal choice the V8 or if you can find one without more miles than the Star Ship Enterprise the 3.0d was a gem Hope this Helps not Hinders Dave

Welcome to the Forum Tim Enjoy your new toy Dave

Hi Eric Check realoem (if you haven't already) put your Vin and it will bring up your model check the month/year of manufacture. As far as I know the 3 range started battery registration in 2006 just not sure which month?? Realoem will confirm battery size/type Seems your getting there now Dave

Morning Russell What a saga !! Still you get a new Footwell Module at no cost to you other than the frustration No doubt BMW will have told your garage only their Dealers can code the new FCM and register it to your car. Still maybe now you will get to enjoy your Beemer at last Good Luck Dave

Morning Roma Welcome to the Forum Never come across this one before ? Brake dust is normally confined to inside the wheel fronts are worse than rear's Pictures may help Dave

The BMW straight 6 Diesel is in my opinion one of the worlds great engines (and I don't own a diesel) plus the ZF box id serviced is just as strong. The stuff to check and double check are the bells and whistles inside make sure everything works test it twice I have owned Mercedes AMG (not Diesels and not S class) and they are great till something goes wrong then they will wreck your wallet Let us know how you get on Dave

Hi Paddy Welcome to the Forum Drifter huh !! Crazy boy Short answer your question in a word NO According to www.realoem.com (BMW online parts list) the 320d output shafts are L 86mm x D 25mm 330d output shafts L 94mm x D 27mm M3 output shafts L 102mm x D 44mm You may be better searching the specialist dismantlers for an M3 complete axel assembly or finding an engineering shop who could run up some M3 spec shafts 86mm long Good Luck Dave

Morning Cary Glad you found the part You either Google the part number to see who has it for sale as a replacement part. Or contact your local BMW Dealer "warning" the prices in the website are only indications and not updated very often so could be different. Also as your car is a classic the part wont be in stock so it will probably be ordered direct from BMW, when talking to the Dealer don't forget to ask about discount support for BMW Classic models. I would also check out Sunroof companies they may help. Good Luck Dave

Hi Welcome to the Forum Are you aware of www.realoem.com it is a BMW online parts list, put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up your model. Then look at the sliding roof section you should find what you need there BMWtis is a BMW technical information site which is now subscription only Hope this helps Dave

Welcome to the Forum One our sons friends about your age runs a 2009 120d 3 door it has been ECU tuned so runs around 200hp goes like the proverbial and still gives 40mpg plus insurance isn't crippling But the range is huge 3 door 5 door coupe convertible the engines petrol or diesel as the old saying goes we pay our money and make our choice. As with any second user car condition is everything, check service history and recalls are tyres in good nick and same on all corners? Make sure everything works there wont be any cheap fixes so don't fall for the only a £5 on ebay If it was that easy why didn't the last owner do it? Good luck with the purchase Dave

Hi Andrew Welcome to the Forum Use www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin into the search box it will bring up your model. Then look in the trim section, there you should find the part numbers for the trim sections your looking with the correct part numbers you know a replacement will fit. Then search the internet for replacements. Hope this helps Dave

Hi Darrell Welcome to the Forum When you say same serial number is that the manufacturers number or BMW Part Number ? Check realoem for part numbers Is your original radio Business or Professional ? I believe if you change the radio you need an enabling code (anti theft I am told) plus I believe the radio will need coding to the car Dave

Hi Mark As John said in his reply with out hearing it almost impossible to diagnose. From your description you say you can hear it inside but not outside, have you opened the bonnet? As your car is a manual does the sound get louder or go when you put your foot on the clutch? Dave

Morning Mark Is the tapping noise heard when the car is stationary? Or only when moving ? Does it increase become faster with speed ? If not heard when the car is stationary (engine running) and revved then it probably isn't engine have the belts and pulleys been checked ? If it is only heard when moving then it could be something stuck in a tyre ? an issue with the drive train, gearbox Prop shaft rear axel. It could be a suspension bush or something loose and rattling (heat shield) is it always on the same piece of road More questions than answers I am afraid, but you would feel pretty dumb if you went to a Dealer (or any Garage come to that) and it is a stone in a tyre !! Dave

Morning Dave Welcome to the Forum My brother in law runs 5 series estates in diesel flavour on his 3rd. He has business in Holland so commutes into Europe a lot all his cars have run to around 300k so far without any major issues he makes sure that the oil is changed every 5k and has the gearbox serviced every 50k. His current car is 535d ecu tuned to 350+ hp it is demon quick but still gives 40+mpg and has covered so far just under 200k. There are always niggles with all makes just make sure everything works as it should every button every knob test them all. Dealers are expensive for any work (someone has to pay for the free coffee) due to high hourly rates, there is a register of BMW Specialists (Google will help) they are normally BMW trained so know their stuff and have the right kit plus more competitive rates. If you like tinkering at home then a BMW specific code reader is a real help I have INPA/ISTA and BMW 1.4.0 on an old lap top that live in the garage just for working on the cars. Good luck and if you buy it ENJOY Dave

Morning Dykie Nice car with a decent improved cold air intake, uprated inter cooler and exhaust down pipes and a remap you should be around 400+ hp Not sure what is meant by "cut back Exhaust" noisier?? Blow off valves ?? more noise, buy a Subaru Impreza WRX if you want those noises Dave

Morning Eric Some times you need to reset fault codes individually a "reset all codes" wont work and certain coding isn't possible with a "fault code registered" , once all codes are clear you should be able to register the battery. Dave PS Change that FSR before any more coding work

Hi Martin Yep that is the Luggage net, looks like you need a fatter dog 🤣 If you look at www.realoem.com put the last 7 digits of your Vin in the search box it will bring up your model then look for the dog guard I think there should be one Dave

Hi Erfan I have not come across this code before. An internet search doesn't hold out any good news either as in several posts even BMW have been stumped and in one case had to replace the car!!! Let us know if you find a resolution Dave

Morning Merby Welcome to the Forum when you say "Dog Guard" do you mean the fabric luggage net that is part of the luggage compart meant cover? There is a metal dog guard available which fits closer to the edges, take a look at www.realoem.com and get the part number then I would search the net for a second hand one (much cheaper) Or get a fatter dog ☺️ then you can use the one you have Dave

Morning Russell That should not happen unless someone did something really dumb!! Remember the stop start function batteries are a special unit due to the cranking they have to support, also the battery must be registered to the car to allow correct charging (under or over charging can kill batteries very quickly) Footwell modules take a battering and there are several specialists out there who repair them so you should be OK. If not a second hand unit can be used but it will need coding to your car, not a difficult process with the right software. In fact the last one I did took longer to change the module than code it, at lot of garages and BMW will tell you it cant be done, they are wrong. Fingers crossed your back on the road now Dave

Morning Richard You are spot on petrol or diesel the Particulate filter is basically the same, plus a filter by it's nature is a screen to catch debris or contaminants so eventually it will clog up. Diesel motors just tend to do it faster because the produce more soot. Clever engineering jacks temperatures in the filter up to burn the soot, but as physics teaches us you cant destroy matter you just change it so in 10 years will what we have changed it into be a problem?? Come 2030 when our erstwhile leaders have decided that all new cars sold in the UK will be Electric at the moment these vehicles pay no road tax and sales are very low a around 500,000 total currently on our roads out of 32m cars 4.5m trucks and buses. So it will be a good few years yet before they shut petrol stations. I wonder what cunning schemes they are considering to replace the lost revenue from road tax? Plus as the EU as our nearest neighbour have a much longer timescale what will we do about all the cross channel traffic? There is no mention of the fact that rare earth mining (to provide material for our laptop, mobile phone and electric car batteries) is one of the dirtiest around, or that the raw materials are then shipped half way around the world to be processed, then shipped again to be turned into batteries?? Not exactly a green process plus at present there is no way to recycle these batteries. World wide transportation Air Sea Road and Rail is rated as the 5th highest polluter, makes me wonder how much emissions have dropped with reduced air traffic in the last year? It seems obvious to this old bloke that there are clearly other more important targets to reduce emissions but the car unfortunately is an easy target (especially if you were the inventor of the Boris Bike) Me I am a lot nearer 80 than I want to be so my program to save the planet is to keep driving my fat V8 in the knowledge that I am encouraging people to plant more trees and save the planet that way 🤣 Rant over Dave

Morning Nick Things are getting serious in the engine department, with your planned future power hike have you searched for a twin plate upgrade ? I had a highly tuned Cosworth Sapphire in the early 90's 400+hp the clutch was Sachs unfortunately as happened in those days the Cos was stolen !! So I can't give any information on clutch life never had it long enough. It was replaced with a Lotus Carlton that was the last manual car I owned. Good Luck keep us updated (well me really) Dave

Hi Andy Just put your hand carefully on the wheel centre when they are hot that is not normal. Something is binding/rubbing that shouldn't be. An almost £40k car and this year the Dealer has had it almost as long as you have this year that just isn't right. Good Luck Dave

Hi Bill Welcome to the Forum Transport Mode is normally set at the factory to restrict performance when new cars are readied for delivery. Don't know what code reader you are using or if it has the facility to turn it off ? Dave