Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Nabster said:
Spacers? If so I'd avoid them, spacers are not an ideal solution, especially if you're doing any spirited driving.
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I mean the rings you use to make the wheel centre hole and hub a perfect fit.

Posmo said:
?

Lowering the car will make them harder to fit. I say just run with what you have now, no need to waste your money on 16" rubber, it's not like you have any need for bigger rims. Besides, 200? is quite a lot of money for those.. Also, is the centre hole the same size on nissan and mazdas?
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I don't want the car to look like a donk/SUV when it rides too high on large wheels, so that's why I would possibly have to lower the car. IMO even 17":s fit straight on, on 323:s.

The centre hole on those Nissans is 59,1 and on my Mazda it's 56,1 - thus the plastic fitment rings.
 
public said:
I mean the rings you use to make the wheel centre hole and hub a perfect fit.



I don't want the car to look like a donk/SUV when it rides too high on large wheels, so that's why I would possibly have to lower the car. IMO even 17":s fit straight on, on 323:s.

The centre hole on those Nissans is 59,1 and on my Mazda it's 56,1 - thus the plastic fitment rings.
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Ok, well the rims are still not worth that much. I say just keep the ones you have, maybe spruce them up with a bit of white paint. Big rims don't really suit 80's cars imo. I seriously doubt Im ever going to put anything bigger than 15" on my car, anyway.
 
But mine is a '90s car :p

Yeah, those might be just a tad too big for my taste. The thing is, if they are box fresh, 50 euro per 16" wheel isn't that much in my opinion. I do need new rubber at some point, and the design of those wheels isn't over-the-top imo.
 
I'm going to go test drive a wild card entry in my car search in about 20 minutes. Well not so much a wild card, a 1998 BMW 535i M-sport. Wild card in the sense, that I was originally looking at either 528i, 530i and 540i. The 535i is sort of a middle runner and everyone usually recommends to go for the 4-liter, since the fuel consumption is pretty much identical but the power increase is very noticeable, the engine is the same, so no difference in reliability. And the 4-liter has a 6-speed gearbox, while the 535 has a more traditional 5-speed. And this one is high mileage. And while it is M-sport, it doesn't have the exterior features, but does fortunately have sport seats.

But it has been previously owned by a BMW enthusiast and serviced regularly. More importantly though the owner is so desperate getting rid of his car, he wants an E32/E38 7-series, he is driving right now from Hyvink?? to Helsinki just to let me test drive it.

So to hell with it, what do I have to lose ? At least I'll get a general impression about the E39 5-series as a car and possibly found my next set of wheels. Though I am still considering the 540i as my first option.
 
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Brother Michael said:
I'm going to go test drive a wild card entry in my car search in about 20 minutes. Well not so much a wild card, a 1998 BMW 535i M-sport. Wild card in the sense, that I was originally looking at either 528i, 530i and 540i. The 535i is sort of a middle runner and everyone usually recommends to go for the 4-liter, since the fuel consumption is pretty much identical but the power increase is very noticeable, the engine is the same, so no difference in reliability. And the 4-liter has a 6-speed gearbox, while the 535 has a more traditional 5-speed. And this one is high mileage. And while it is M-sport, it doesn't have the exterior features, but does fortunately have sport seats.

But it has been previously owned by a BMW enthusiast and serviced regularly. More importantly though the owner is so desperate getting rid of his car, he wants an E32/E38 7-series, he is driving right now from Hyvink?? to Helsinki just to let me test drive it.

So to hell with it, what do I have to lose ? At least I'll get a general impression about the E39 5-series as a car and possibly found my next set of wheels. Though I am still considering the 540i as my first option.
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Just as a question, mere months ago you were struggling to get by, am I correct? You had no job, no car, and not a lot of funds. Now suddently, right after getting a job, you are looking at cars that cost nearly 10k?, how come is that? If I were in your position, I'd be looking for a cheaper car..
 
Posmo said:
Just as a question, mere months ago you were struggling to get by, am I correct? You had no job, no car, and not a lot of funds. Now suddently, right after getting a job, you are looking at cars that cost nearly 10k?, how come is that? If I were in your position, I'd be looking for a cheaper car..
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One word: financing.

I know I know, it all seems a bit hasty. But the thing is I now have a job, which is quite well paying and secure, as in it isn't temporary nor am I likely to get fired. And I really have had it with public transport. I want a car and being the yuppie that I am, I do fancy my cars to be a bit more...well, nice. And furthermore if I am going to buy a car anyway, I might just as well buy something which will satisfy me in the long run and not be a temporary solution out of desperation.

And about the BMW.....boy oh boy am I sold. I was expecting a run down, piece of crap, which I can walk away from at the spot. But for such a high mileage car it is actually in really good condition. All the electrics work, the gearbox isn't clunky and akward, the steering is precise and sharp, the suspension is great, no rust in the problem areas of the E39. Yes, the leather interior isn't brand new, but the seats are still firm and supportive. The only major downsides that showed themselves are the doorseals, which could use replacing, and the OBC is in german, but that is just a matter of getting used to...and the engine. Oh my the V8 is nice, such a satisfying rumble when you rev it while quiet and dignified when you just cruise. And when it comes to the 4-liter...sure it has loads more poweeeeer, but at least going by today's experience, the 235hp in the 3.5 is more than enough to soothe my brow.

I am still waiting to hear from the swedish bloke about his 540i, but I am not going to wait forever. This was a very good experience in the sense, that I am now pretty much set on the E39. Now I just have to find the right one.
 
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Solid. around 50.000km driven in Finland; it's a german import as one would expect. The instrument cluster has been changed due to pixel fault (and has been marked to the servce book), which is very common in BMWs. Lots of parts have been replaced, most recently bushings in the front, suspension arm and viscous clutch in the fan assembly.

All in all a good car for it's age and mileage. The asking price is too high for the car, but that's something I'll negotiate if I end up buying the car. The owner wants 9200? for it, but I reckon 8000? is a fair price for the car. And it helps that the owner is desperate for money, so he will want to sell.

This is the car in question: http://www.nettiauto.com/bmw/535/2840879
 
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Looks pretty good. Of course, the interior bits are a matter of personal taste, and the aftermarket display in the back is pretty redundant, but it's not a bad-looking one at all.

Edit: Do the front and rear bumpers match? The rear one looks more M than the front.
 
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You noticed as well. Yes, they do match. No idea why the front bumper is a normal one, but that actually is a good thing, because front bumpers are a lot cheaper and easier to find compared to rear ones, which means when I eventually would update the front one, it'll be fairly easy.

And the interior is a lot more held back when you sit in it, the photos make it look a lot brighter and shinier than it is. I agree the rear seat display is a bit...meh, but that isn't a big issue.

I'm going to take a couple of days to think about this and still wait for an aswer from the swedish guy with the 540i. But to be brutally honest, this did jump right to the top of my list, because it is a well sorted package. It does have both winter and summer tires, the M-sport chassis/suspension, sport seats, manual gearbox, the color is great: green instead of the usual silver or black, it is in fairly good nick and should go for a long way if properly maintained. And in all honesty 235hp is, at this point at least, enough for me. Of course more is always better (right ?) but this is no slouch either.

If I won't hear back from the swede, this'll be my first choice, since the price has to be negotiable and I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of importing one myself.
 
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Of course, you should never buy the first car you've checked out (is this?), but look for a couple similar ones at least.

The weirdest E39 I drove was a saharagelb 1996 528i that had been updated to look like an M5 both inside and outside; the cloth interior had been junked and replaced with shiny sport leather. Add a reseted odometer (!) and my spider senses were tingling in about five seconds.
 
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Yes, this was the first one I have checked out. There are a couple more I would like to see, but unfortunately I don't have a car to use, which makes it that bit more difficult. This one one in Tuusula for example, a 528i Alpina look (http://www.nettiauto.com/bmw/528/2771182) I'm not considering of buying, but it is roughly the same vintage and mileage as the 535. So it would make a good comparison. My original number one candidate, the 528i (http://www.nettiauto.com/bmw/528/2843198) is in H?meenlinna, which is even more of a pain in the ass to go to just to see a car using a bus/train.

There are quite a lot of E39s for sale in Finland in my price range, and many in very good condition, but most of them seem to be in Oulu-Pohjanmaa region and that is a bit too far from Helsinki, unless I would specifically buy a car from there.

Edit: One more thing @ Posmo: believe me, I would most certainly like a cheaper car and if you can find one that matches my criteria at least somewhat, I'd be more than happy to take notice. You see I don't need or require a fancy car, I would actually much rather have a 1960's Mustang or something in that direction. But there is one fundamental flaw in that plan; I don't have a garage, where I could work on the car were it to break or just for fun. Therefore I want and need something "ready to go" as in something which requires no work on it outside of normal maintenance, because cars such as your Sierra, old american Muscle cars and the like do need constant care and tinkering. I like that sort of thing...but not when I have to do it outside, on the street.
 
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Why the hell do i want a XR3

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^the ?just in case? pic
 
Question: I keep reading that insuring a car like a Nissan GTR (the brand new one) costs a fortune, upwards of $20k/year. I was a on a car insurance quote machine trying to get a quote on a 99 Camry that my parents are thinking of donating to me, and for shits and giggles, I decided to see how much it would cost to insure a 2009 GTR. I punched everything in (keep in mind that I am a "young" driver with 3 tickets on my license) and lo and behold, it only costs $3600/year to insure a GTR. Weird.
 
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Ugh, I hate the sponsorship proposal process. It's exactly like a job interview, except I get to use a PowerPoint presentation instead of a resume.
 
To the mofo who neg-repped me for my rant about the scratch on our car, and saying "you're a twit", try having a nice figure of eight carved against your car door. If you've got a car, and if your car has paint, and if your car has hard to fix metallic paint, and if your car is an expensive one.

You're the biggest dumbfuck ever.

On the other hard, more on the 360 saga...
http://www.mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/296976-class-action-lawsuit-against-360-forged.html
 
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So I went to the company gas station to fill up after work today, but they were out of 95 RON gasoline. Now, it's not that strange for a small, employee-only station to run out of a grade of fuel, but it *is* somewhat ironic when the company in question is an oil company. :p
 
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