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Comments
-nobee
They have to be able to get behind the dent. In some cases (but fewer than you might think) they have to drill a 1/2" hole in a relatively inconspicuous place to gain access. For example, in my case the tail light mechanism was removed and the hole drilled under the area normally covered by it.
Once access is gained, they use metal levers of different size/shape on the back side and a small hammer and sometimes a punch on the outside to remove the dent.
someone really wants your car, they'll simply load it onto a flatbed truck and drive away with it."
If a thief is willing to go to the trouble of loading your BMW onto a flatbed, what are the chances of him not disabling the LoJack?
Recently I have begun to hear this buzzing noise coming from over my shoulder while driving. Initially I though it was the door and then the seat belt anchor area, but realized that it was the speaker in the driver side REAR door that seems to be the culprit. This speaker seems to be buzzing all the time (sometimes even after I have turned the Stereo off). Has anyone noticed this?? I cannot confirm this is the speaker since it only occurs while I am driving, but I cannot imagine that it is anything else that is buzzing.
The sound is not loud but loud enough for the driver (me) to want to rip the speaker out.
Any suggestions or similar experience?
Supposedly, they have several different locations which they can use, which is a good thing, and probably makes for a slight advantage over OEM systems (TeleAid, On*Star, etc). Of course, if you have a lazy installation technician, he will only bother to use the "easy" spots, so the amount of protection is not as great as it can be.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the Original LoJack is not GPS based. It was merely a directional beacon that required the police to have a tracking system in their squad car, so if they're out of range, they're out of range. If there's a new LoJack that is GPS based, I've not heard of it (nor can I find it on their website). This is where the TeleAid/On*Star systems have their advantage: when activated, they literally cellphone in their current GPS coordinates. This assumes that the bad guys haven't been smart enough to disconnect the GPS or cellphone antennas.
No system is going to be completely foolproof, except perhaps for the one James Bond had (Boom :-)
-hh
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
QUESTION: Has anybody returned a lease car to a manufacturer that they didn't buy again from? If so, did you do a "pre-inspection" so that you could have any items repaired yourself prior to return? Do they typically drive the car while inspecting it (i.e., if they heat up my brakes, they'll figure out that they need to be replaced - on visual inspection they still look pretty good)? I'm wondering if a pre-inspection is a good idea, because I can have my windshield repaired cheaper myself, or if I'm just tipping them off that I think something is wrong. I'm REALLY afraid I'm going to get ripped on the disposition of my Maxima.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
So you think letting them do a pre-inspection is a good idea? I'm most concerned about the windshield. That car has been a rock magnet on the highway, and there are three pretty obvious chips in the windshield when its clean. Maybe I'll just let it sit outside the night before and then not wipe the windshield after the dew dries. That ought to hide it.
I've traded a few real stinkers. I traded one car that had a terrible power steering leak. It was so bad that I had to stop at K-Mart on the way to drop off the car and buy PS fluid to add in the parking lot. Another car I traded had a main seal leak that I was told would require them to lift the engine to fix. Somebody got a world of hurt when they bought that used car. My trades (the Maxima excepted) are actually a pretty good argument for not buying used cars.
-Paul
Once again, my preferred config:
325xi, 5 speed, ZPP, ZCW, xenon, metallic
Hopefully dave330i's thoughts are correct. I don't want there to be too many changes to the current style b/c I think the current style is the best yet! I love my X5, which is the main reason why I chose the 330 over EVERY OTHER CAR OUT THERE!!
The joy would not be so much as getting your car back quickly in tact but the ******* getting busted, Any ring stealing such exclusive cars , towing them, shiped over seas ect.. need to be caught.
The recievers are provided to Law Enforcement by Lojack , but if you are in a real rual area i would call to see if they are so equipped.
In addition i have been offered pricing around the $300.00 mark i believe. I would pass for $750.00 i think.
DL
DL
Best Regards,
Shipo
1. Under 4500 rpm
2. Vary speed (Wolfgang sez a 10 mph difference every hour).
Am I remembering correctly? And is there anything else?
Thanks and best wishes,
Ed
On to the driving; I have already put a couple of hundred miles on the clock since Thursday evening, and my impressions are interestingly different from what they were in Europe. Now that I am driving on familiar roads, it seems that I am now better able to compare the 530i with my old 328i, in terms of handling and performance. Simply put, the 530i SP blows the 328i non-SP away in the handling department. In the acceleration department, I suspect that the 530i has a slight advantage over the 328i, until 70 or so, however, once into the mid 70s, it’s all over for the 328i, the 530i just has that much more power. In fact, this afternoon, I hopped on the NY Thruway for a quick trip to our local MB dealership (long story), and as there were few if any other cars around, I had little to judge my speed by. When I casually glanced at the Speedometer, I was stunned to find that I was going just a little over 100 mph! The 530i is that much quieter than the already quiet (in my opinion) 3-Series, this could become a problem, I am going to have to keep a sharp eye on the Speedo, until I get familiar with driving it around here.
Handling: Hmmm, would my 530i SP keep up with Brave1heart’s 325i SP on a tight twisty road course? Maybe, would it keep up with Dave330i’s 330i on the same road course? Probably not. Having driven Stroumpf, the 325i would seem to have an advantage in the transition, and a slight advantage once settled into the curve, however, the 530i has more power, which might make up at least some of the difference. I have never put a 330i through its paces, however, given its smaller size, lighter weight, along with all of the rest of the basic E46 goodness, I am sure that the 530i SP would be no match for the 330i SP.
Luxury: The first thing a former 3-Series driver notices when getting into a 5er with both PP and SP, is the level of luxury. This is a Luxury car first, and a sporting one second, and to that end, it really fits my “Mid-40s” (thanks to all of you folks who wished me a happy B-day ;-)) sense of balance between the two. Sometimes, it is the little things that matter the most. Case in point, I have driven a 3-Series equipped with the SP on two occasions (some of y’all might remember one of them from early last December when Brave1heart and I swapped cars), and one of the little annoying things I noticed on SP equipped E46s, was that when I get in and out of the car, maneuvering my thighs between the seat bolsters and the steering wheel (which I like to set low) was a bit of a pain. This may not be a problem for most folks, however, unfortunately, after many years of some serious cycling, my thighs are uncomfortably round, and so, the 5er fits me better. Why? Simple, when you shut off the 530i, the power tilt feature of the 5-Series, automatically moves the wheel to its upper stops, and then brings it back down when you restart the car, making ingress and egress much easier for me.
A couple of other small items have made their presence pleasantly know to me as well, the first being the two-zone climate control (you E36 3-Series drivers will be shocked to discover that the E46 only has one zone for its climate control). Finally, I can set my wife’s side of the car to 74, and leave my side at 65, that puts a smile on both of our faces. ;-) The next cool thing is how the steering wheel controls work with the preset radio stations. In the 3-Series, the head unit allows for something like 12 AM preset stations and 18 FM presets. Of those, they are broken into chunks of 6 at a time, so, the buttons on the wheel that allow you to step to each of your presets only works on 6 stations at a time. The 5-Series head unit on the other hand, has the same number of presets, however, the groupings are two sets of 6 for AM (AM1 & AMA) and one set of 12 and another set of 6 for FM (FM1 and FMA), so, with the 5er, your wheel buttons can scroll through all 12 of the non-FMA presets. I really like that.
Well, it is getting late, so I will close here. I will keep y’all posted as other observations come to me. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Only knock on my Sport seats is the wear getting in and out on the side bolsters ! however the retractable thigh support makes up for it to me.
DL
Happy driving and enjoy your car.(:-)
Second keys- I do not carry the small carbon key with me, I leave that home. I have the main key and the valet key. Yes I do park the car and 7-11 and leave it running, but I always lock the door. Someone in 60 seconds would have to smash the windows, not a very discreet act to get the car. If I really think it's not wise to leave the key in the ignition with the car running, well safety first.
Third Lo-jack and car thefts. We know that a bound a determined thief can get any car. However, I was under the impression it's very difficult to hotwire and start a late model Bimmer unlike other cars that use the transponder. Also, the fact that the doors cannot be unlocked without the key make it a pain to get it, even if the outside lock was compromised or the windows were broken. The standard alarm, which I think is a great investment, with the tilt protection and motion detector is also a deterrent. And that's all you really want is to make it *more* difficult for the average thief.
I agree with the previous poster on dual zone climate control; we seldom use this on our Volvo. It's actually a bit of a pain to set two thermostats instead of one. I guess my wife and I have similar "temperaturements".
Regarding the steering wheel radio controls, my 325i with HK and SP allows me to scroll through all 12 presets. Perhaps this is a recent change on the 3 series.
Try not to wear out your new car too soon!
-murray
how to de-badge (remove the 352i letters)
your car. I was thinking about doing this to
make the car less cluttered and easier to clean
and wax. I wondered what peoples thoughts were
about doing this and is it done very much and
would it hurt resale value? I guess I could
keep the letters and re-attach them when I
sell the car.
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html
ButMyWife
I've done gone and run it dry oncet (sic) all ready. ;-) I'll have to clean her up tomorrow and (weather permitting) take some nice shots. Given that I have the Black Leather interior, I am really hoping that the “Auto-Lift” feature on my steering wheel allows me to avoid scuffing the left bolster, time will tell.
Naming, hmmm, I know this is kind of weird, however, while I named my 1969 Plymouth Sport Suburban Station Wagon (383 2bbl, complete with rust bubbled fake stick-on wood grain side panels) “Bessie”, and we have sort of named our 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport (with the rare 3.8 engine), the “Green Monster”, I have never felt the inclination to name one of my nicer rides, and I have no idea why. ;-)
530bmw,
I still have not been able to finish plowing through the manual, including the OBC programming part. Hopefully, I will not get a ticket before I finish the manual. ;-)
Climate Control
Hmmm, well, in our case, I suspect that we will use it constantly. I say this because my wife and I have temperature preferences that are about 10 degrees apart, I like it the 63-65 range, and she likes it about 74. That said, our Dodge Grand Caravan has two-zone temperature control (much more of a pain that dual climate control), and I cannot remember a single instance (other than when first getting into a very hot or cold car) when the two of us were using the same setting. This is a feature that I really like. ;-)
Mschukar,
Wow, it seems that you and I have similar saddle time. Your legs haven’t grown too much? Hmmm, I wish mine were like that.
So, your 3er allows you to scroll through all 12 FM presets in one continuous loop? Hmmm, this must have been one of the later changes (like the clock on the radio display when the radio is off), as my 328i certainly did not do that.
Brave1heart,
Yup, I don’t think it is avoidable, we are going to have to do another comparo. ;-) That is, if you can stand being seen in a Black/Black 530i SP 5-Speed, that is. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
-nobee
We will wait your photos Dale, i have tons just dont know how to post them here
Ok time to go boating,
DL
Bob
Any of you care to expand ?? !!
I still say they're going to do it again. LOL
Congratulations on your new black beau! I hope you have not been making too many trips to your garage to eye candy it. I did that a few times during the first week of having our 325iT.
I look forward to your interesting and thorough updates. However, keep your eyes in the speedo before the fez catch up with you; 100MPH is not safe!
Regards,
Wabends
Over here, on a wide-open road with no traffic, the only danger that I can see is what would happen to my drivers’ licenses and insurance rates if I got tagged by the local constabulary.
Best Regards,
Shipo
P.S.
Maybe tomorrow I can finish the detailing on my car and take some pictures.
-nobee