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The Don

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Everything posted by The Don

  1. As far as I know the insurance ombudsmans decision is binding on the insurer. You should remind your insurer that not implementing his decision risks heavy penalties and fines by the regulator and they should not test your patience or resolve. The internal inquiry is a matter for them to undertake and resolve. You have nothing to do with it.
  2. The Don

    Madmax In Sri Lanka

    5 years is a long time to be away man. A lot has changed. Since the Army no longer cleans Colombo (a bit of a scandal that was, I mean I don't think anybody became a soildier to become a rubbish picker) its become a bit messy, but if you arrived during the last days of the last regime the place was actually very clean. You might also notice the availability of nice public places
  3. I've read that debug in Dehiwala is quite good, but would probably charge a premium. I reccomend Pitstop for servicing and small repairs like brake pads, tune ups etc. Mr Dhammika Fernando has a good reputation in the forum as well and he is in Borella. Read the good garages thread for some more reccomendations.
  4. http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/15974-good-mechanics-technicians-workshops/
  5. Yes, please pass me the details. The service indicator tells me I've got around 5000 miles to go before the pads give up. I can wait about a year with that. The car doesn't get much use during the week, but I take it for a long stroll every other week or so. Mine is a M56.
  6. The UK imported Hiluxes were made in South Africa and are considered more durable than the Thai made brand new imports. The Hilux is also more durable than the Navara which has sadly developed a bit of a reputation, partly due to its Renault sourced power plant not being the same leagues as the Nissan Diesels of age!
  7. The tail gate struts have no operation when the door is closed. Its job is to hold the door up when its open and dampen as you close the door. Your problem is possibly the lock or something else.
  8. Which BMW dealer do you buy your parts from? I most of the time go to my local, but I have no loyalty Particularly because they keep trying to find ways to fleece more money out of me. The last time they wanted me to replace brake pads (which had 25% left in them) and replace the oil separator claiming there was an oil leak, but this actually turned out to be some residue from the time the turbo was spitting out oil. The oil change interval is not 14K Km in my car. its probably around the same or more in miles, if my service indicator is anything to go by. How did you obtain the diagnostic software?
  9. I've read in forums that the manufacturer advised service intervals are too long, as they were done to keep in line with other manufacturers so as to to keep the fleet managers happy. A lot of these cars are bought for executives and representatives as fleet purchases. This is seen as a primary reason for premature failure of turbos So many service their cars well in advance of the adviced service intervals. I thought it was higher than 14K Kms because its a bit above that amount in miles in the UK (of course these cars have conditional servicing so depending on use the day might come forward). I think the same as every other car in SL probably applies. Do an interim oil and filter change (you don't need to go to the dealer for this, oil filters are fairly cheap, but if the original is extortionate there are good brands like Mann for European vehicles) every 6 months or 5000Km and then do the service at 14K at Prestige (if you want to keep the service history). Thats what a lot of owners in the UK do, particularly as the cars grow older and there is more carbon build up. MadMMX what do you think? Edit: This is a good thread to read http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=105799
  10. Sri Lanka is indeed a small place MadMMx, I might pinch your brain on how you got your diagnostic kit. I remember you had a fairly comprehensive version, which is useful to have for mine as well. Like you I like to be fairly hands on and my cars to a large deggree have been reasonably reliable. But I cannot claim to have local knowledge and have to somewhat go by what users tell me (usually just before they tell me what they need me to buy and bring over). A large part of the issue is the agent and even the specialists. Their price exaggeration is at ridiculous levels, and they almost always advice replacement of entire units when a specific replacement part is available. This disease is common to most agents I guess and prevelant even in the UK. I remember the DVD player in my infortainment system failed and I went to get a replacement from the local dealer. I had already taken the unit out of the car. They quoted me £680. But I went in armed with the part number (I did not want to sound like a know it all so I first just asked for the DVD player by name). Then they searched for the part number and sold me the unit for £80. That was all that needed to be replaced. In fact they took the original as an exchange since BMW rebuilds these things as only the head stabilizing gell hardens and affects operation. But I think even you can appreciate the normal lay user will not be equiped with the information and almost certainly be ripped off. I think the key to the reliability of your car is how you have maintained it, and you have managed to keep costs in check by using a bit of expertise and common sense. I fear for a lot of other BMW owners in the country though, particularly ones who bought these cars for brand prestige on permits and have no idea how to keep them going.
  11. MadMMX, I'm very happy you have had a predominantly positive experience. I've read your original post where you mentioned most of the above as well. I also own a E92 Diesel 330D and I've not had much issues beyond usual maintenance, and the turbo packed up. My opinion is somewhat swayed by a couple of recent examples, some which were shared in the forums and some not. 1. There is another long time BMW loyalist in the forum whose only had BMWs and got himself an approved E90 via Prestige. He listed all the problems he had in the car in just one year (I wish I'm able to dig this up, perhaps you were on the thread as well) and after very many years of brand loyalty he had enough after that and switched to a Jap 2. A similar experience was had by another member on a E39 3. I have been helping a friend with a E46 320i, which seems to have developed all sorts of electronic niggles. Again the car is lovingly maintained. 4. Our own Supra natural went car hunting recently and had a look at a few X1s. Some were still under agents warranty, but the list of issues with steering, suspension etc was extensive, for such a new car. He abandoned the idea, and you have to understand this is a guy who owns a big cat V8 but this car was meant to be a daily driver for his mom. 5. There is a funny problem with new common rail diesels in SL needing rebuilds around the 150K mark. I had a long discussion with Supra about this and he said the information is from reliable sources. He insisted on searching for a petrol as a result. My experience has been in the common rail era the Diesels have less issues than petrol but then I'm talking with experience in the UK 6. Newer German cars are not as bullet proof as some of their former counter parts. Connectors in coolant lines for example are now made of plastic, not metal as they used to. These things have a habit of deteriorating over time and breaking apart. I once had to replace one of these connectors in a friends car, and while trying to replace one I broke two others 7. Maintenance is not straight forward. You need to know how to take these cars apart as there is an order to everything. You miss the order you will more than likely break something. One of my friends, a mechanic managed to break my engine cover by trying to take it off without taking the air filter off first. He was only trying to investigate the oil leak (which we found to be a failed turbo seals). Though he was a good friend, I took the car off him and took it to a specialist who did a really good job The above is true of a lot of European cars. I find things in Japanese are more obvious, and though has gone into disassembly as well as assembly. On the point of self diagnosis, the system is very good, but some issues cannot be resolved mearly by the output of self diagnosis. For example I was trying to help a friend with a new AUDI recently and the error being recorded was NOX sensor, but it was an intermittent error and the engine used to cut out from time to time. It was finally traced back to an intermittent high pressure fuel pump issue (this was a TFSI). So self diagnosis is all good, but there is still no substitute to experience and a big of common sense rather than blindly following the computer. I hope you realise I'm a big enthusiast of the brand. But people who buy these cars need to accept the pains with the gains rather than blindly walking into it.
  12. Again this might be inexperience, but the thread has layn dormant for 3 months now. If you want to bump up an old thread atleast do so with a meaningful contribution. Else just leave them be....
  13. Your car seems to have multiple unrelated issues from your description. The steering stiffness can be a result of the power steering belt slipping if you have hydraulic power steering The brake pedal going down could be the result of leaky brake seals. This should be investigated immediately When was the last time you changed ATF fluid?
  14. In Sri Lankan garages accountability is a big issue......
  15. You are responding to a question which is 3 months old.........
  16. Recirculation mode does not completely seal the outside world. Its a plastic flap that changes around so most of the air is circulated. You do realise if you achieve 100% re circulation you will die due to oxygen starvation. againg gunk on the lines could affect the flap operation, but its also possible the cable thats supposed to make the recirculation has either come off, stretched or faulty. As with most things you need to take a few of the plastic bits around and observe whats going on. We can discuss till the sun comes out but its no substitute for a closer inspection. Any AC shop will do it and your mechanic can manage it as well if you are not handy with a screw driver.
  17. There is a resistor in the blower compartment that is responsible for controlling fan speed. What you might be smelling might be this resistor heating up, which it does after normal function. Basically when the car starts from cold mid day, the interior is warm so it is normal for the system to start at full speed, and then after a while it will cool down and slow down. As you can understand the ambient temperature is around 30C and inside the car it can be even warmer due to the green house effect. The above resistor does become faulty after a while, but is cheap to replace. Its heat stink might also be covered in gunk. So this might be the reason why the fan speed operation seems to be buggy. When did you last have your AC serviced?
  18. If you have to be on the road all the time, you need a car that has relatively low use. In that price bracket you are limited to the Viva Elite and the Maruti A Star (which is a bit better than their other offerings). A N17 1.3 might also be an option If you can go up to bout 2.5m you might be able to bag a sparingly used Lancer CS1, 2 or 3 or N17 1.5, Vitz, Swift or our Favourite the Demio DF3 The Corollas and Sunnys (AE100, FB15) have all been around for a while and would have done a lot of miles. Whiles its not a big issue for standard use, a sales exec you might hit the major repairs mileage quite quickly, as your job is mostly driving from one client to another. Thats just my 2 cents.
  19. BMW's are very robust machines. The problems with BMWs in SL come from a few sources. Design/ Manufacturing issues 1. The petrol N series engines always had issues with top end seals, which have to be replaced at some point. The newer petrols also have high pressure fuel injection which is a bit sensitive to quality of fuel 2. The older diesels had issues with timing chains, swirl flaps etc, the newer ones are a bi turbo design so can be quite expensive to fix 3. The suspension is quite complicated and steering components don't seem to be as able to take bad roads as some other brands But most issues stem from 1. Poor maintenance. The whole reason why Diesels are popular is because a lot of people who bought BMWs are image concious cheak skates. A friend owns a 320D from new for 4 years now and apart from regular maintenance and a few accidents nothing has gone wrong. Its his daily driver and he drives a LOT. This is the primary cause of most issues. 2. Maka basses, one is enough to ruin a perfectly good car. Some of this comes from cheap skatism above 3. UK imports, cars that were never meant to be run in the tropics. These had more options but will also fade faster than the others. 4. Attempts at messing with electronics and mileage damaging electronic components permanently. I know of a few instances that the instrument clusters are now showing funny values which I suspect may have come from trying to alter mileage 5. Extortionate costs of maintenance by the agent and some specialists. The price of parts are hiked up considerably for profit by both parties. This in turn has driven some owners to use other mechanics messing the cars up. Now if parts were available at reasonable prices and a good mixture of original/ genuine, OEM and third party replacements were available, maintenance would be a lot more affordable, and the general quality of the cars will improve. But of course nobody in the business have such vision. Everybody is after profit and owners get fleeced. I bring a lot of parts for friends when I come down and I know the price differences. I guess some of it is down to crazy taxes we pay but most of it is excessive profiteering.
  20. Because it is salt, you need to take off the interior and do a through clean to avoid future rust in those areas. May I suggest you consult the agent on this matter as it probably needs to be physically inspected. Also there might be protocol to follow before trying to steam clean the interior of a hybrid vehicle particularly close to the main battery.
  21. Indeed, but remember this is a Diesel as well, possibly common rail which bring their own plethora of problems. An inspection at Prestige will reveal all and they are very through. Also how cars age in SL isn't comparable to Japan as well, and how a Toyota fares can't be compared to a BMW. I've heard stories of mould growing in the sound deadening form under the carpets in non tropicalised cars due to humidity. The other funny thing is the provenance of the car. Prestige charges around 1 million to register a car not imported through them. Only service history will reveal the true mileage though its not easy to change the mileage on a E46.
  22. As far as I know you are reliant on the station to provide you the correct grade of fuel. So there is an element of trust. When pumping fuel, you need to be vigilant anyway.
  23. The only problem you have is thanks to the crazy tax regime, its become difficult to buy newer non hybrid cars at a reasonable price. Try to opt for something bought under a permit, as these brand new imports are hardier and might weather under use a bit better than some of the JDMs imported with unknown histories.
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