Sundayjumper wrote: Sun Sep 10, 2023 3:59 pm
Stickers off. They virtually fell off once I started, and the adhesive all cleaned off no problem. There’s a slight shadow though, more visible IRL than in the pic. I’ll have to live with it.
Overall appearance with / without ? I’ve compared before & after photos and I really don’t have any strong feelings on it. Genuine ones are probably quite nice things. But the car also looks fine without them. Shrug.
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It sounds like it's worthless, I'd take it off your hands for £100.
On a more serious note, you seem to be using more than say an Aston, are you enjoying it more?
Sundayjumper wrote: Sun Sep 10, 2023 10:27 am
I adjusted the window angle back as far as it will go, and I also - eventually - waggled the seal back into place all along its length. This was a right old faff. It's not abundantly clear in this photo but the lip above the screwdriver needs to locate inside a lip in the shiny black trim above, while the lip below remains on the outside. The window now closes properly at last.
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I took it to Waitrose and got an excellent wide parking space in the shade
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It has also come to my attention that the "SJ" wing badges aren't original. Factory badges are metal and are actually recessed into the wing; mine are just stickers. So I want to remove them but I'm scared of what state the paint is in underneath I'll let them get nice & hot in the sun today and then see if they want to come off.
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You know its not SJ right? Tell me you know its not SJ...
Shlergen wrote: Sun Sep 10, 2023 8:27 pm
On a more serious note, you seem to be using more than say an Aston, are you enjoying it more?
Fair question. I think the answer is "yes" but it needs qualifying, and viewing in the context of me being a bit weird
Before that though, the very first thing has to be that I've only had it just over a month. We're still in the honeymoon period. I've not needed to experience it in the cold or wet. So there's that.
Then there's me. I get a lot of satisfaction from fixing stuff. It's the way I bond with a car, getting to know it inside out, understanding exactly what's going on when I'm driving it. This puts me in the slightly perverse situation where reliable car = boring car. It's the reason I sold my first M3, and I always cite my 530d here too - I drove that every day for two years and apart from a screen wash pump replaced under warranty *nothing* went wrong or wore out. It was just a car. A very good car objectively. It didn't manage to feel special to me even after all that time.
The Aston is dangerously close to that fate. I bought it in 2017. I replaced the thermostat just after that (a Jaguar part, not very expensive), and the bonnet latch microswitch (Ford...), and one of the rear lights needed a repair to the LED driver last year. But that's it for six years' ownership. Whenever I need to move it / use it, it just works. I've not needed to pull it apart for anything. It does beat the BMW by feeling special though. The leather is lovely, and the instruments in particular are gorgeous, like a quality watch. So it stays.
Having said all that, although I like fixing stuff, I don't like spending money so a car that's constantly needing expensive new parts is not a good thing - obviously. And this is where the 360 is winning my affections right now. I've spent a bit over £700 on parts since buying it but all of that has felt like good value, and it's proving to be an easy car to work on. Several jobs - like the window - cost nothing but make a noticeable difference. Those are always the best. £700 is far more than I've spent fixing the Aston in six years (fixing, as opposed to routine servicing).
If we finally get around to talking about the driving, they're sort of similar but also different. Both are 2-seat V8 coupes. About 400bhp. 0-60 & top speed are almost identical. They do it differently though. The Aston is on the same page as the Bentley - it's refined luxury with the power to back it up if requested. It's solid (it's about 200kg heavier). Iron fist in a velvet glove kinda thing. The 360, it's all up front. It's vocal about it. It's lively. The weight difference is very noticeable. It's far closer to the 911 than the Vantage. 996 GT3 vs. 360 would be a fair match if you had £70k-ish to play with. A 360 CS is more like £200k, so maybe pitch that against a GT3 RS. Top Gear did:
(and I found it quite amusing that the whole segment is talking about track days, yet in nearly every shot of a car it's going sideways, which would get you black flagged instantly on a track day)
I always said I'd never sell my 911, and that I wanted to keep my Vantage, but if I had to make some hard decisions right now, I think this year's purchases have this effect:
After doing leeds to herts to london to leeds, I've noticed that the BMW is very loud on the motorway.
As I might be doing more long miles again, the idea of chopping it in for something with a fixed roof (or, as there's so many about, an E92 convertible with a metal folding roof) is kinda tempting. Just to get the road noise down a bit.
Swervin_Mervin wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 2:49 pm
Do you really need a drop top? Bearing in mind what I suspect your use profile likely is (occasional and on motorways)?
How else will he maximis the percentage of the populous who see him rollin' ?
Swervin_Mervin wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 2:49 pm
Do you really need a drop top? Bearing in mind what I suspect your use profile likely is (occasional and on motorways)?
No, but if you look on AT there are more convertible 335is on there than coupes, and most of them look in better condition/lower mileage etc then the coupes (There's only a handful of saloons/estates). Probably because most convertibles would have been 'the wifes car' for a solicitor or similar, as my 330 was.
So really, it's more a case of 'availability' than anything else.
Beany wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 1:21 pm
After doing leeds to herts to london to leeds, I've noticed that the BMW is very loud on the motorway.
As I might be doing more long miles again, the idea of chopping it in for something with a fixed roof (or, as there's so many about, an E92 convertible with a metal folding roof) is kinda tempting. Just to get the road noise down a bit.
Door handle on the x5 feels dodgy. They’re notoriously weak, and apparently it was ‘fixed’ by the previous owner before I picked it up. I’m guessing they used a cheap £10 eBay carrier.
Genuine ones are £120, bought a Febi “3 year guarantee” one for £35 hopefully that works ok.
Can be sure that if it does totally break it will be at the most embarrassing and awkward moment possible
For some completely unknown reason bmw decided to use a mechanism which means you have to pivot the handle up as you pull it. Yank it straight out and it snaps a pin in the carrier.
Fine on a e46 or something where the handle is bellow waist height, makes zero sense on an x5 where even at 6ft tall and having lowered it a good few inches it’s still very awkward to use properly!
Febi is one of my favourite brands. You should be fine there.
Cayenne update - the tyre that I re-seated is holding pressure perfectly. A small win. One of the rears has a very slow leak too so I guess I'd better do the same again there.
360 update - with the stock exhaust & the window seal correctly fitted, motorway cruise at 80-90-100 is now perfectly civilised. Surprisingly so. I do wish it had cruise control though. It seems it was never even an option.
Beany wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 1:21 pm
After doing leeds to herts to london to leeds, I've noticed that the BMW is very loud on the motorway.
As I might be doing more long miles again, the idea of chopping it in for something with a fixed roof (or, as there's so many about, an E92 convertible with a metal folding roof) is kinda tempting. Just to get the road noise down a bit.
