Tuvoc

Ha ! Thank you for your enquiry received on 19 June 2018 regarding the ULEZ. Based on the information that you have provided we can confirm that your vehicle, registration xxxxx, meets the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) emissions standards. This means you will not need to pay an ULEZ charge to travel in the zone, from 8 April 2019. The vehicle compliance database will be updated to reflect the correct details of your vehicle, before the scheme commences.

My coolant is the pink stuff. That is what the garage put in and I trust them to use the right stuff. I had it changed as soon as I bought the car, and two or three times since then over the last five and a half years. If it is wrong I'd know about it by now.

Yes - just submitted the V5. The emission numbers are so far below Euro 4 it is laughable. Laughable that is that they think it is subject to the charge. It actuaklly meets Euro 6 petrol standards. The checker must now be a blunt instrument - simply goes by the date of first registration. Imagine the amount of people who don't know any better who will pay the charge when they shouldn't be.

I know what you mean. I've had mine for five and a half years now. Spent a scary amount of money in the first couple of years - almost as much as I paid for the car actually - but last couple of years it has hasn't needed anything much. MOT next month will be a worrying time, my luck is surely due to run out. Don't buy these cars if you want a stress free life.

Well I put my reg number into the checker today, and it says that the charge DOES apply to my car. When I did that earlier in the year it said I was exempt. I wish I'd kept a screenshot of that. However the is a facility to challenge it by uploading your V5 document, so I will do exactly that. When I ran the checker earlier in the year I had to input some information from the V5, so I suspect once I send them the copy I may be exempt once again.

Odd that some meet it and others don't.

I plugged my reg number into the online checker, and my car is exempt. I also plugged in the reg number of an 2000 E39 that was for sale here, and it was exempt as well. Euro 3 was the standard in force at the time our cars were made, but it seems that they meet today's Euro 6 standard as well, although I think for petrol cars all that is required for exemption is to meet Euro 4 stats.

New units are no longer available. At one point BMW offered reconditioned units, but I understand that they are no longer available either. A call to your BMW dealer would confirm. If so then the only option is to get it repaired by an electronics specialist. At one point there were a few people offering repairs on ebay, probably still are. One option is revtronic https://www.revtronic.com/ which is the more expensive option. https://www.revtronic.com/product/bmw-ccc-failure-professional-business-idrive-failure-e60-and-other-bmw-idrive-models/

Yes, almost certainly a failing CCC unit (the thing that powers the iDrive)

A few on ebay that fix them for £250 - £300 depending on if you do the removal yourself or not, and if you also want them to update to the latest software at the same time. And from memory some are in the Birmingham area.

You've done pretty well to get over £200k on it. Spend £3k on a remanufactured box, and as long as you keep the car another couple of years you've got your money's worth I reckon.

Yes they all wear down, so produce some "dust". But the types of pads here have different compound so the "dust" is different.... My EBCs did not produce black dust for example.

£100 per corner isn't that bad ? Especially if you are talking about premium tyres.

I ran greenstuff pads on my old E36 several years ago. I suppose they would be available for the E39. They were more prone to squealing than standard pads, but I understand that they solved that issue with an updated compound not long after I got mine. I'd certainly be happy to buy them again.

Yes - theoretically I would like an older BMW, E34 or earlier. But mint rust-free or restored examples are justifiably high priced, and require garaging and proper care, neither of which I could give.

Well put it this way, I doubt I will buy a BMW ever again.

I went for Pagid, which I expect to last just as long as genuine BMW.

Ha ! I guess it depends on the driving but that is certainly what I'd expect.

OK I did discs and pads all round about 35k miles ago, so hopefully they will be OK for a while yet. That was 5 years ago though, so age could be a factor too. I'd expect that the fronts would be the first to wear out.

Interesting, I always thought the rule of thumb was that one set of discs would last through two sets of pads.

Well don't get a limo tint, which is what the previous owner put on mine (rear side windows and the rear window). Awful to zero visibility in anything other than bright sunlight. From the outside, the glass is as black as the paint, or more !

So even my ancient M54 engined E60 is not supposed to need coolant changes.... I change it every 2-3 years anyway.

So I take it then that insurance companies would have no idea also, although personally I'd always declare a re-map regardless.

Yes. No music, and unable to reset the TPM warnings are the main issues. I've got used to it. Also can't alter air-conditioning settings etc, but that doesn't seem to matter much. Before it failed totally I set the aircon to the middle setting, so that was a good comprise.

Or just do nothing. I've been running without a working CCC for over 3 years now.