***** Motors chat - round 12 *****

Dartz wrote: »

There's nothing quite like Irish roads for snapping suspension parts

Ramps and pot holes or craters....

punisher5112 wrote: »

Ramps and pot holes or craters....

I drove from Cahersiveen to Carrols Cove as we were meeting people for dinner and were running rather late. All I'll say is my better half wasn't in the mood to eat by the time we arrived.

job seeker wrote: »

Brother's friend bought his first car last night.. He's just gone 19..

I hope he's not planning on insuring it with Liberty

Rear plate and tail find look ridiculous.

Get him to put 2 new genuine lettering reg plates on...
That car screams pull me pull me.....

How did he manage to get insurance on that @ 19?

Edit: I probably have a fair idea.

Didn't some insurance company remove or restrict some 3rd party extensions from their policies recently? I think it was Liberty.

Unfortunately like many things in Ireland it gets exploited and abused.

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Fill your tanks! Brent Crude now $80 a barrel.

Petrol here now at the €1.65 mark.. what difference does it make?

A local station has 98 unleaded at €1.829

Anyone know of a decent indy mechanic around the stillorgan/ south Dublin area? I've an e46 that's sprung a coolant leak and I'm too lazy to go looking for it & fix it myself.

Cheers in advance

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Have a look at your radiator. The E46 I had years ago had a coolant leak and there was a hole about the size of a fist in the rad despite the mesh in front of it not showing any signs of damage.

Ha. It's an e46 though, it could literally be anywhere. Rad, expansion tank, hose, water pump leaking. And as for finding it, it's not necessarily easy. If it's a slow leak then it is a pain in the arse to find, if it's more serious it gets easier.

As for mechanics... I'm not sure, haven't used one in a long time.

I'd be looking at the coolant expansion tank. They are notorious for developing a hairline crack regardless of engine. But as Alan says, it could be anywhere, it wouldn't be an E46 if it didn't leak coolant somewhere !

But since you're going to have to change parts of the cooling system anyway, you really should do the water pump and thermostat if it's a six cylinder petrol, as these are well known weak points.

Any time I've asked I've been told Motor Confidence in the Fox and Geese are the best in Dublin for BMWs. I wouldn't be letting any old garage bleed the cooling system in an E46 that's for sure (which you will have to do if there's a leak and parts need to be replaced), there is a very specific procedure that needs to be followed to the letter otherwise you'll get airlocks which will result in the car overheating.

twin rotor..

Manic Moran wrote: »

Since I no longer commute to work, I finally turned in the 2015 Passat TDI yesterday. This one. https://i.imgur.com/OlAQm2P.jpg

Under the terms of the Dieselgate agreement, I received $32,600

I purchased it March 2015 with the maintenance plan for about $33,200. Add the interest payments on the loan, and total expenditure was about $34,200, plus additional maintenance, of about $1,000 as I recall.

Not counting registration ($1,200 total) or insurance (about $2,000) (or fuel), for the three and a bit years I had it, over 51,600 miles (some 83,500km) in effect I have had a Passat for about $40/month.

I am not going to complain. It was a good car. Not exciting at all, but did what I needed without fuss.

It's insane that a Passat is more expensive than a Mustang / Camaro / Challenger! :eek:

AndyBoBandy wrote: »

Valdas - Motor Confidence

Disappointed you will not be.

Yep he is a wizard at all things bmw

The e46 failed its NCT a couple of weeks back for handbrake imbalance. I replaced the offending shoe yesterday and having it fairly well set now, so I've rebooked the NCT for Thurs. Fingers crossed lads!

And in other news, I have a new painted wing on its way, I took a bit of a gamble on it. But hopefully the colour will match well enough. My drivers side front wing is rusted to bits at this stage, it was long over due.

Saw a Bentley Bentayga driving around Rathmines yesterday. Looked unattractively shiny/blingy from the back - more Lincoln Nav type chrome.

Augeo wrote: »

Did you do just one side?

Yes. I know I know, not ideal, but time constraints were at play. The handbrake is completely separate from the foot brakes so I'm not too concerned. I'll get to the other side soon.

Is it a spurious or genuine wing ? Silver is always a dodgy one - hopefully it matches

Last few nights noticed my headlights were pointing at the ground, suspected broken level sensor - which one is it - can you guess ? :P



Visual check to confirm - she's broken alright..



Ordered a replacement this morning - adjusted sensor manually with hand to get some safe range on my headlights till then.

Delighted with life. Got a renewal gor the E36 of 495.. rang them up and she dropped it to 350 immediately. I then said it was only on the road for 3 months and she said well we will do an off the road policy so for €100. Ring us up when you want it back and it will only be the difference which we will refund when you take it back off the road. Had budgeted and put away way more so feels like I just got free money!!! A very productive day off work today!

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

I'm currently waiting to get my resonator removed from the 540, I'll either love it or hate it but has to be done at least once :pac:

Oh baby. Looking forward to hearing what it sounds like. I'm thinking about some exhaust mods for my own...