ARoosterinaRoadster

Hi to you all out there. Well the spending spree has started (spending or investing !!!) The question when does spending become investing when it comes to older cars - my subject is my recently acquired Series 6 - 635d Auto convertible. Within a few days of ownership I replaced the two front Avon Run Flat tyres because of leaking of air in the OS one and that dreaded visual alarm that that goes off in the instrument cluster. A couple of days ago I had my Indy look into the groaning at the front of the roof upon opening and closing. He identified the electric motor/motors that operate the initial rel;ease and then the final closure of the roof ( the actions that open and close the latching of the grabs. He lubricated - greased the offending internals of the motor/motors but there is no discernible improvement but he did suggest that the grease needs a little time to become effective ! The only other likely solution is the removal of the roof and further investigation. Since the greasing exercise was carried out we have intermittent rain;both showers and the occasional downpour so a thorough testing has not been possible - we will see what the next few days bring !!

Hi Dave. Which part of the UK do you live and suffer the effects if an industrial estate that is enough that it attracts seagulls into the area. Landfill sites are the usual haunt of seagulls ! There is a mixture of birds that fly over my bungalow roof consisting mainly of Magpies,Crows,Wood Pigeons and others with massive bowel issues. The stuff that they leave behind on-route needs removing rather quickly because it affects the lacquer and leaves the paintwork looking pretty dreadful and if it is left even overnight it will not only decimate the lacquer and go through to the paint finish below and boot and bonnets are the inevitable targets.

Hi again Dave. Yes - i suspect an hour or so of labour at circa £60.00 per hour ! I live in open rural countryside and on the flight path of some really filthy birds with bowel issues (it is a good job that cows don't fly !) Leaving the top open outside of my bungalow is not an option;as far as the hair is concerned that is not a real issue either because even with the seat at the high position I am not in the draught zone ! The convertible has a really neat feature that allows the hood to be dropped and yet the rear window can be left in place as a deflector instead of using the folding one that then turns the car into a two seater !! Yesterday I drove back from Fleetwood - a distance of some 40+ miles with hardly a hair out of place - yes,I am still well blessed with enough that I still use a comb No-longer do I have the Elvis and Billy Fury look with the DA and the widows peak; they have gracefully disappeared into oblivion - alas only evident in photographs of the late 50's and beyond.

Hi again Dave. Well I went into Preston and saw my BMW Indy this afternoon and he immediately declared that the groan at both commencement and completion of the cycle to be the motor or motors that control the 'latching and unlatching of the hooks that secure the front of the convertible hood. I will get a 'fix it' date tomorrow when I ring him after lunch. He suggested that the moving parts within the motor/motors expand and contract with the heat and that they need stripping and lubricating and then they will work again as intended and without the very very audible groan from each of them.

Hi again Dave. Mine is the soft-top. This sounds to me like a technicians job as I cannot find anything in the owners manual !! Where are the lines located ? I cannot find anything specific on YouTube and the only one that looked as though it might help was buffering something silly !! I have looked into the storage area by stopping the action of the soft-top and cannot see anything other than a few neatly arranged bits of pipework on the NS & the OS but there is no reservoir or topping-up facility.

Hi again Dave. Thank you but where is the hydraulic fluid reservoir ?

Hi again to you all out there. Upon activating the hood there is an intermittent noise that sounds like a groan (but not Metallic). It sounds as though it is at the very front as the roof begins its cycle ! There is also a similar intermittent groan just before the roof lands in the 'latching' position and the hooks are deployed. Any help/advise would be much appreciated and faithfully applied.

Hi and good morning Dave. Yes the system was rest by the son of the 'owner/boss' he has a much more agile brain than mine and deals with systems such as the BMW one several times in a day. "Back to the book" - you say;practice and perseverance should eventually make perfect - or so they say !! A run out early this afternoon and a short motorway run on the M53 motorway (Wirral Motorway) will be a further confidence booster in understanding further more of the complexities of the 635d.

Hi to you all out there - again. I thought that I had got a grip of the basics with my 'New to me' 635d and the workings of the radio.I have managed to assign a couple of desired stations into the numbered buttons but I cannot find at least of all Classic Radio -Radio 3 - Radio 4 - Radio Lancashire - Radio Manchester and a couple of others that are just not showing in the selection panel ! Whilst I am at it can some kind sole tell me how to turn on just the ignition so that adjustments can be made without running the engine. A really really lovely car but why oh why are they so complex ? To cap it all this morning whilst on-route to my tyre dealer at a steady 50mph there was a rather loud alarm sounded and an image of a tyre burst forward in the display - there was no deflation of loss of the smallest amount of air in one of the front 'Run-flats' ! I was slowing down for a traffic light controlled island on the M58 just outside of Pemberton,Wigan.

Hi Dave. Good morning and thank you for your quick reply. The only reference in the manual is to refer to the label on the 'B' pillar but it does not confirm the tyres actually on the car ! The car has Run-Flat on the front and regular tyres on the rear ! The tyres are as follows :-- Rears Uniroyal RainSport 5 275/35x19 and the fronts Pirelli P Zero 245/40x19 with RSC in a circle. I am going over to my longtime tyre dealer tomorrow for some locking wheel-nuts that have been ordered - the totally refurbished and very well shod 19" wheels are a rather tempting bag for some light fingered individuals.

Hi again to you all. My recently acquired 635d Sport Auto would appear to be running on wheels and tyres that are not listed on the label that is affixed to the drivers door "B" pillar ! The rears are Uniroyal RainSport 275/35x19 and the fronts are Pirelli P Zero 245/40x19. Can anyone advise me as to the best pressures for the car with only two on board. I have search the forum and there are so many conflicting bits of info that would appear not to be helpful in my case - probably manufacturer dependant.

Hi Dave - Good morning. Yes it is,thank you. The car even came with the wind deflector and what looks like a protective cover with the 'gloves' for the exterior mirrors all neatly folded into a purpose made zipped bag with a handle. Keeping in mind the old adage of "if it looking like it's to good to be true" I certainly hope that I am not going to regret it !! The dealers sales chap had a damaged driver side backrest bolster replaced (not the best colour match) but perfectly function-able and had all four wheels refurbished albeit there was only the one that was showing chipped paintwork;he also included a 6 month Momentum Warranty ! My guess is that he took the car in PX for a song and immediately went on to tell me that if I did not want it that it was getting re-advertised at £8,000.00. as he had been reviewing others on the internet and realised that he was selling it below what he should have put it up for.

Hi to you all out there. The one reassuring feature on my 08 plate 635d Auto Convertible is the fact that thankfully it has a traditional 'Handbrake' and not a foot operated Park Brake like in my recently PX'd Mercedes or worse still an electronic push-button park brake !! I am just beginning to digest the somewhat complex Owner manual. I must say that the 'drive' is a very very pleasant one indeed albeit very little of the cars features are anything remotely like those in my 2000 registered E46 325 Ci Convertible Auto ! I was taken a little aback by the size of the car when parked along side of the E46 at home. I makes little or no difference the direction of viewing there is not a bad line on the car and the view with the hood in the up position is rather good unlike some that do little for a convertible image.

Hi Dave. Thank you for your quick reply. SCARY is the first thing that comes to mind especially as I can no longer do my own work on my cars unless it is something like changing wiper blades and stuff that does not require a garage for shelter in the event of bad weather ! I will sound-out my Indy as I have been using him on my previous 4No E45's. A very very brief word with him a little after opening up your post revealed that the transmission service on the forthcoming E63 involves a new sump (made of plastic !!!) which has an integral filter as part of the construction. He was talking a figure circa £450.00. We will see when the time comes.

Hi to you all out there. I am seriously perturbed about the somewhat cockeyed notion that gearboxes in both BMW and Mercedes Benz cars are seal for life and do not require servicing !! Indeed it has been said that they (both marques ) that they only need working on when they totally fail as functioning transmissions !! My question to the forum is simply - has anyone had or got a 635 Auto that has had had a transmission service or is booked in for one and what cost is involved ? I have scrutinized the documentation/service book/record and there is no evidence of the car having had a transmission service in the year since it was first registered in July 2008. albeit the mileage is now as 133,250 miles.

Hi again Dave. Peace at almost any price can often be a relatively life changing compromise !!

Hi again Dave. Truly - my pretend "boy racer" days are long long over and now I am able to simply enjoy what I couldn't afford all those years ago;mortgage;three daughters and the completely broken dream of stability when divorce raised the "hurdles" even higher ! Interesting that you isolated/identified the Lotus Carlton in your comparisons ! A truly awesome car and sadly something that I could never ever afford or justify at the time. My car (Estate car) that I had for many years and only really afforded by using it legitimately for my business activity and having it fitted with a tow bar and twin electrics for when my then 8' x 4' twin axle trailer was called in to collect furniture for reupholstery and or delivering newly constructed hand built traditionally built upholstered furniture. The car was a first generation V70 T5 CD Auto in Aquamarine Turquoise which came on the back of and after a brief spell of running a Volvo 850 Auto Estate - I went on to run a further 5 V70's with both petrol and diesel power;the latter three all with the Geartronic auto boxes.

Hi again Dave. Well the deal is done and collection is scheduled for Saturday 15th June in the afternoon. The colour of the car is Deep Sea Blue Metallic with a Black Dakota Leather interior. I am rather surprised in finding that the 635d Auto is not as rapid as was my recently sold Mercedes Benz SLK 350 Auto and yet the insurance on the BMW 635d is group 50A and the Mercedes SLK 350 was group 43A. I had also seriously considered a Mercedes SL 350 Auto and that was also a group 50A car. The SL 350 was the most sluggish/less rapid of all three and I am blowed if I can get my head around the much lower insurance rate for the SLK 350 Auto.

Hi again Dave. That is an interesting bit of info about the X5. I was looking at buying one some years ago when I was towing the Elddis Crusader Super Sirocco but being only 4'10" tall with an inside leg measurement of 23" the floor was a long way off of my feet and having had a total left knee replacement I risked doing some damage if I landed awkward- so I stayed with my Volvo V70 Auto's. Yes I will hold on to the E46 and see what happens when the insurance for the E63 comes up for renewal. The initial change of policy from the C220 CDI Avantegard Auto Estate at £90.00 will allow me time for a proper Summer and Autumn time appraisal before the renewal is due in November.

Hi again Dave. Interesting that you mentioned Admiral because they were one of the alternative two insurers that quoted me via Meercats and they were within a tenner of the first quote that brought a huge lump to my throat. In truth I had not realised that the car was a Group 50A car where as in the past my Mercedes SLK 350 Auto was a Group 43A car. There is after some serious rethinking of the issue - a possible return to going for broke with the car ! I have contacted him and his sales chap that gave me a PX deal on my Mercedes C220 CDI Avantegard Estate Auto asking is the deal 'still on the table' It is not my intention to letting my 2000 registered 325Ci Convertible Auto go as it only has just turned 31,300 miles - I recently purchased it from a dealer in Derby on the 19th January with a mere 29,830 miles with full service history and a very very tidy MoT history. The 635d is within a twenty mile drive and the dealer is known to me from 45 years ago when I bought a car from him when he had not long been trading. It has 133,350 miles on the clock and is in exceptional condition with full service history and an MoT that broadly speaking many would wish for !

Hi again Dave. Rightly or wrongly I have let the car go ! This was a decision based upon Principal and serious consideration of the old adage - that they do not put pockets in shrouds - yet ! I will not subscribe to barefaced and damned blackmail by faceless/nameless people that site behind desks creaming their salary off of people that deserve better. Earlier this morning I got quotes from the "Meercats" - even they quoted me £734.40. It is high time that the insurance industry was really taken to task by a real life Rottweiler such as Andrew Neil or Piece Morgan. With the two figures that I have quoted you being so coincidentally close to each other there is a reasonable case for claiming collusion/cartel behaviour.

Hi Dave. The insurance quote of £740.30. came from one of the comparison sites (MoneySupermarket) when they flagged up 1st Direct as as being one of the two most competitive. Yesterday I received an E'mail from 1st Direct asking me how they had done !! I gave it to them right 'between the eyes'. I actually have two policies with them. When I took issue with them on the phone they just blamed the 'Underwriters'. The other policy that I have with them is for my year 2000 registered 3 series - 325Ci Convertible Auto. Let us see what they come up with on that one in due coarse !

Hi to you all out there. I am currently running a recently acquired 3 owner/registered keeper year 2000 registered 325 Ci Convertible Auto the car was showing 29,830 recorded miles and all supported with service history and MoT history. This is my second such model having owned the first one for some time but then foolishly sold it on with a mere 64,000 miles some 6 years ago. I am currently looking at dipping my toes into a rather tidy 08 plate 635d Auto Convertible in Metallic Blue with 133,000 miles showing on the clock. I was rather taken aback by the quotation for insurance of £740.00 !! I am just approaching 79 years young with a completely clean license and 39 years of accident free driving. My current insurance company is quoting me £90.00 to swap cover from my current 2005 Mercedes C220 CDI Avantegard Auto from the middle of June until the policy ceases at the end of November. In conclusion - why is the proposed change going to cost so much - I wonder.