4aceman

Glad to hear the good news on the gearbox! I reckon it should be good for a long time to come 😁

Another drain will not be the worst idea anyway. The initial service would’ve only changed about half the fluid, so there’s benefit to doing another

Why is the dust boot not attached to the bump stop? What's that on the lower dust boot holding it in place? edit: sorry, I think i'm being stupid here. Bump stop seems okay, but I do believe the dust boot has the lower half torn off

Were the bump stops replaced? M-sports have different, shorter, bump stops. Regular bump stops on m-sport springs will cause the car to ride on the bump stops, ruining the ride. Missing/shorter bump-stops will also have an effect. These newer BMWs are designed with the bump stop behaving as a secondary spring even in normal driving.

Each code should have a mileage associated with it (stored in KM). INPA does show this information. You should be able to tell if it's a newer code or not

Was a genuine crank sensor fitted? I've found the cam/crank sensors can behave worse when hot than cold. They don't always immediately throw error codes, but eventually they should

Ah, not you then! Weird coincidence, same colour B10 3.3 and disappeared from the drive just a few days ago down the road

Yup, it’s really quite weird. Found an Alpina B10 3.3. Sold for £9k in may last year, then £12.5k a couple months ago, and now on sale for £17k! https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2000-bmw-alpina-b10-33-manual-e39-nAJJm4 https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1690606 Now there’s a rather ropey one being sold on ebay, with a current bid of 6k. No doubt it’ll sell for more than that one did last year, with almost double the mileage and a Cat D!

Hey, Weird question, but is there any chance you also have an old Merc on your driveway? I have a feeling that’s that alpina I walk past on my evening walks! Admire it every time

"Even rarer than an M5!"

Well, it has 5k wheels!!

Anyway, back on topic to the thread. Found this gem on autotrader No, it’s not a typo 🤣

I’ll probably go view the car and take it for a test drive. Haven’t driven a manual since passing my test so might be a bit embarrassing 😆 The steering box of the 540i is putting me off it a bit. Steering feel is one of the most important things to me in a car, one reason I love my E46 so much. However, I don’t think a manual 530i with this colour and spec will come up for sale anytime soon. Let’s see!

4 months later, still for sale & dropped to 13K! And still really want it 😄. Maybe I'll go and lowball him a bit. What's a car like this worth, realistically?

Usually the older cars will have clip on lenses and rubber gaskets. You’ll have to investigate how the alfa does it, but should be pretty obvious