2020 plans for your cars

[mr_jon]

Sorry to hear, Ian. I suspect the only thing more expensive than ferrari ownership is divorce.

Mortgage finishes in April so will be looking to upgrade both our cars next year, sticking with electric for the second car.and perhaps phev for main car. Mind you I do like the look of the RA40 fer sells on ebay, and it's suspiciously cheap..

[Rich B]

Harry, You’re considering buying a second mito? (A me too mito?)

[Simon]

Interesting one.

I split from my wife a couple of months ago, so current plan is;

F430 - cosmetic work this winter, keep it in storage til weather improves.. probably.

M4 - only car I have finance on; used it a lot recently and it’s ridiculously capable. May keep it for another year, or.. #moveon

X5 - deciding between keeping this or buying a Golf R for dog duties (not a euphemism)

Mini - nearly ex-wife wants one; will be looking at leasing a 5 door in Jan; best lease deals still through PH?

Polo- son off to the Himalayas in July for 6 weeks, other than that it’ll be kept working. He’s now my chauffeur and loves it!

New flat (okay, not a car technically) - crazy expensive buying the same shit for a second time, but place sorted in Windsor for the next 6-12 months. Paying for two houses is no joke!

Good luck with the next few months Ian. I remember my divorce a few years ago. It's a big life change, but it gives you the opportunity to get a new perspective.

[Mito Man]

Harry, You’re considering buying a second mito? (A me too mito?)

I’m blushing

[integrale_evo]

If she does I'm going to have to adjust the badge

And yeah, we rarely if ever need a big 'family' car any more, most of her driving is short journeys around town.

Tempted to just swap so I use the merc, but it'd be on bbs lms and coilovers or air by the end of the week

[unzippy]

Down pipe, up-rated fuel pump internals and a remap should get me 350ish bhp. Maybe a new clutch as well.

Or laser eye surgery...

[RobYob]

330

Really, just finally get around to all the little jobs like the suspected thermostat issue, clean the roof properly, etc.

Did the thermostat on the 530 couple of months ago, I suspect that the new (GSF) part is responsible for a 20% drop in economy
Even though the temperature gauge on the dash says it's correctly up to temperature, apparently even a few degrees too low with put an M54 engine into "warmup" fueling. Need to hook up the OBD and laptop for a long run over Christmas to confirm, but that £50 part is costing me £15 a week more in fuel.

2020 plans, get rid of the 530 in the spring and replace with something smaller on return from a not summer holiday in Aus, thinking it's time I owned a GTi.

[mikeyb]

968 - gearbox has started making a very slight whining noise, may try some different gearbox oil...iirc there's a particular brand which is good for getting rid of noises? Anyway, otherwise the 968 is all good.

Royal Purple is worth a try - cured a gearbox whine on the Monaro.

[Beany]

330

Really, just finally get around to all the little jobs like the suspected thermostat issue, clean the roof properly, etc.

Did the thermostat on the 530 couple of months ago, I suspect that the new (GSF) part is responsible for a 20% drop in economy
Even though the temperature gauge on the dash says it's correctly up to temperature, apparently even a few degrees too low with put an M54 engine into "warmup" fueling. Need to hook up the OBD and laptop for a long run over Christmas to confirm, but that £50 part is costing me £15 a week more in fuel.

Yar, I'd heard similar of weird thermostat behaviour with third party thermos, but as I never had time to sort it I never dug deeper.

Might splash out for a genuine BMW one, as you never see people who have used those complaining on the forums.

[integrale_evo]

I used aftermarket but same brand as BMW use (whaler) in the e36 and it's been fine.

Have noticed the merc is running a little cool so will change that at some point too.

[Beany]

I used aftermarket but same brand as BMW use (whaler) in the e36 and it's been fine.

Have noticed the merc is running a little cool so will change that at some point too.

I suspect it'll be something something opening temperature, something something looser tolerances, etc.

Whaler one is on ECP for £90 (or £60 with FROSTY80 discount code), Carparts4less has it at £60 (£50 with MERRY20 code) - which is the same part on both sites, so I'll probably grab that come payday and stick it aside for a non-rainy, shitty day.

[Jimmy Choo]

The Saab is getting new rear bushes, brake fluid and I'm going to get the front end bushes checked. The front speakers are on strike and the standard stereo is 20 years old so will be replaced. As it's a 900 in drag, it should be simple to sort but I'll probably get something that I can put a rear camera on as rear visibility isn't great.

I then intend to accelerate hard everywhere, torque steering wildly while screaming "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSST!"

I think I've still got my 9-5 double to single din adapter with a Kenwood D Mask headunit in it if they are the same size openings on the 9-3?

Does it do bluetooth? That's the thing I'm really missing.

[RobYob]

I used aftermarket but same brand as BMW use (whaler) in the e36 and it's been fine.

Have noticed the merc is running a little cool so will change that at some point too.

I suspect it'll be something something opening temperature, something something looser tolerances, etc.

Whaler one is on ECP for £90 (or £60 with FROSTY80 discount code), Carparts4less has it at £60 (£50 with MERRY20 code) - which is the same part on both sites, so I'll probably grab that come payday and stick it aside for a non-rainy, shitty day.

More complex than that, the thermostat has a heating element in it to let the ECU "tune" the water flow. So even more ways for it to fuckup.

[Beany]

I used aftermarket but same brand as BMW use (whaler) in the e36 and it's been fine.

Have noticed the merc is running a little cool so will change that at some point too.

I suspect it'll be something something opening temperature, something something looser tolerances, etc.

Whaler one is on ECP for £90 (or £60 with FROSTY80 discount code), Carparts4less has it at £60 (£50 with MERRY20 code) - which is the same part on both sites, so I'll probably grab that come payday and stick it aside for a non-rainy, shitty day.

More complex than that, the thermostat has a heating element in it to let the ECU "tune" the water flow. So even more ways for it to fuckup.

Oh yeah, seen that too. At least it's fairly straightforward to change on the M54 lump.

[Shlergen]

Try Evans Halshaw if you have one local. Sold 2 cars through them, dealer couldn’t get anywhere near. 200 haggle on first, second car they gave me 600 more

‘Only’ had 1k Mark up when they sold it.

[RobYob]

I suspect it'll be something something opening temperature, something something looser tolerances, etc.

Whaler one is on ECP for £90 (or £60 with FROSTY80 discount code), Carparts4less has it at £60 (£50 with MERRY20 code) - which is the same part on both sites, so I'll probably grab that come payday and stick it aside for a non-rainy, shitty day.

More complex than that, the thermostat has a heating element in it to let the ECU "tune" the water flow. So even more ways for it to fuckup.

Oh yeah, seen that too. At least it's fairly straightforward to change on the M54 lump.

Yeah, I'd never changed it before and it was pleasingly straightforward, apart from breaking the stupid barbed fitting on the plastic overflow bottle while lifting the shroud out of the way. Did the waterpump at the same time.

[Beany]

What was the waterpump like? I know they use plastic impellers and are considered a 'if you're there, you might as well do it because they're flaky as all fuck' kinda item.

(I've seen yanks saying you should replace pretty much all the cooling system - water pump, expansion tank, thermostat - every 50,000 miles, but that's yanks for you)

[Sundayjumper]

...pleasingly straightforward...

And this is the joy of German cars ! Someone actually thought about this stuff when designing it.

[Beany]

I do see a lot of this when I'm sniffing about repairs etc. Unless it's something that's going to be a PITA anyway (like subframe bushings, which will always involve a lot of faffing and complication) then they're generally pretty well set up for maintenance and repairs.

[duncs500]

Sadly nothing interesting next year. Focus is up for renewal in August but if I can keep it on cheaply for another year I might just do that, will depend on what's happening work wise and how many miles I need.

All very depressing.