BMW and M Power Owners

Did it hang around on 3600km by any chance? :D

Whether you do it now or later is your call but frankly the pads are almost done, probably last about 50k miles so really just how much money do you save by hanging on until the last minute? You'll probably never need another set of pads again unless you do big miles.
 
Oh its not related to money (otherwise I wouldn't have bought a 4.8l v8 BMW in the first place!), just whether I can hang on until after christmas or should try and get it in. Auckland has limited specialists for BMWs and it took me two months to get the car in for its service due to workload! They're a lot cheaper than dealer servicing, but dealers are normally quite quick.
 
Do you really need a BMW specialist for some pads? You could probably do it yourself - I'm about as DIY-idiotic as they come but can manage pads.
 
[TW]Fox;30282048 said:
Do you really need a BMW specialist for some pads? You could probably do it yourself - I'm about as DIY-idiotic as they come but can manage pads.
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Its simply a time matter, with two kids and a busy job I don't have the time to be able to learn how to do it and also the time at the weekends.

I might not need one if I was back in the UK, but we recently had the S4's discs and pads changed by a normal mechanic shop and they messed up badly as they didn't know how to do a premium car, had to take it to a specialist in the end... Most cars in NZ are cheap Japanese imports without any technical features... A specialist would at least have the right tools and know about BMWs compared to these guys!
 
BlizzardX said:
Its simply a time matter, with two kids and a busy job I don't have the time to be able to learn how to do it and also the time at the weekends.

I might not need one if I was back in the UK, but we recently had the S4's discs and pads changed by a normal mechanic shop and they messed up badly as they didn't know how to do a premium car, had to take it to a specialist in the end... Most cars in NZ are cheap Japanese imports without any technical features... A specialist would at least have the right tools and know about BMWs compared to these guys!
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this is true. European cars (mainly German) cost a fortune in NZ. I priced up a BMW 530D over there and base price brand new is $130k (almost £73k), which is why i want to take mine over. However, that said, i guess if anything goes wrong with mine over there, it'll cost thousands to repair, so maybe not such a good idea.
 
wez130 said:
this is true. European cars (mainly German) cost a fortune in NZ. I priced up a BMW 530D over there and base price brand new is $130k (almost £73k), which is why i want to take mine over. However, that said, i guess if anything goes wrong with mine over there, it'll cost thousands to repair, so maybe not such a good idea.
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Yes and no, at the specialist, my 550i costs around $400 for its service which was only about $150NZD more than our old 1997 legacy. I don't actually think they're that much different to service or repair compared to the UK, its just the mechanics are generally muppets unless you go to a specialist.

I got quoted $400 for rear pads and sensors, or $1200 for discs, pads and sensors if the discs need doing. How much would I expect to pay in the UK for this for a 550i with OEM brake setup?
 
Haha yep the Clubsport isn't to everyones taste but I love it :D

Other than all the usual clubsport spec this has Harman Kardon system, Electric Grey Leather seats, Auto Xenons (No idea if this was standard anyway...) and Manual gearbox of course.
 
BlizzardX said:
Yes and no, at the specialist, my 550i costs around $400 for its service which was only about $150NZD more than our old 1997 legacy. I don't actually think they're that much different to service or repair compared to the UK, its just the mechanics are generally muppets unless you go to a specialist.

I got quoted $400 for rear pads and sensors, or $1200 for discs, pads and sensors if the discs need doing. How much would I expect to pay in the UK for this for a 550i with OEM brake setup?
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That doesn't sound too unreasonable for consumables. I'm not sure about the cost of brakes here yet as i've not had to get them done. How much are tyres over there (275/40/18).

I understand that if i have a diesel over there i have to pay a tax which varies on how many miles i do. Although, last year, i loved paying about 40p / litre of diesel for the camper van i had :p

I'll be over in Auckland in 5 weeks now too :D
 
wez130 said:
That doesn't sound too unreasonable for consumables. I'm not sure about the cost of brakes here yet as i've not had to get them done. How much are tyres over there (275/40/18).

I understand that if i have a diesel over there i have to pay a tax which varies on how many miles i do. Although, last year, i loved paying about 40p / litre of diesel for the camper van i had :p

I'll be over in Auckland in 5 weeks now too :D
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No, I don't think it is to be honest. Tyres are a lot more expensive here unfortunately, you just have to get them on special. Picked up a set of 4 RE003s for the S4 (245/40/R18) and that cost $1100 including balancing, fitting and alignment. Contisport 5s where in the region of $700 each, although here you're looking for probably more wet weather function as we can have four season in one day.

Diesels pay a road user charge which is based on the Kms driven, unlike the UK where all the taxes are built in. I worked out that for around 20k KMS per year it was much the same between petrol and diesel as an overall cost.

Permanent move or OE sort of thing?
 
Aim is permanent, though we're not set on whether we're buying a house in (or around) Auckland (As expensive as it is), or Tauranga, where the market is still cheap enough to buy, yet is growing so could be a good investment. My wife's parents are helping us out and my wife has a good amount saved in her kiwi saver so it's actually easier for us to buy a house there than here.
 
[TW]Fox;30282016 said:
Did it hang around on 3600km by any chance? :D

Whether you do it now or later is your call but frankly the pads are almost done, probably last about 50k miles so really just how much money do you save by hanging on until the last minute? You'll probably never need another set of pads again unless you do big miles.
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My 535d has been saying it has 3100 miles left before pads need changing. It was saying this six months and 9000 miles ago.....:rolleyes: It STILL says 3100 miles......
 
Its now been sitting on 800km for some time, will probably get BMW or the specialist, depending on who has the cheaper price to give me an honest assesment of life remaining. No point changing too early if the pads still have 1000s of Kms left on them.
 
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