I purchased a 2005 330Ci ZHP with black leather interior and silver cube trim on December 15, 2017 with almost 156K on the odometer in Virginia, and drove it approximately 350 miles back to North Carolina. From a few feet away, I was satisfied with the car's appearance. A detailed inspection revealed a number of punch list items I wanted to address right away.
This car is for my son, and will be given to him at Christmas, though it isn't really a Christmas present. As a BMW enthusiast, I hope to pass on my love for BMWs to my son and share some good times teaching him maintenance, detailing, etc. Most of the more critical components that are common failure points on E46/M54 have already been addressed on the car, but we will be doing quite a bit of on-going "refreshing" of the car's components.
Here is the car in the condition I bought it hiding out in a nearby town:
Here is the punch list I'm trying to address before Christmas day:
- ✓ Interior - Re-attach material to A-pillar and B-Pillarl(C was already done) and motion sensor dome
- ✓ Interior - Restore and Dye Leather on Armrest and Seat Bolsters
- ✓ Interior - Complete interior detail, leather clean and condition
- ✓ Interior - Replace cracked dead pedal
- ✓ Interor - Tighten and adjust back seat latch
- ✓ Interior - Replace Battery cover plastic screws and metal bracket
- ✓ Interior - Tighten rear view mirror
- Interior - Restore faded color of back window deck and speaker grills
- Interior - Glue foam backing and velcro pad on floor mats
- Interior - Possible LED lighting swap
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- ✓ Exterior - Replace Trunk Roundel
- ✓ Exterior - Replace UV damaged clear side markers
- ✓ Exterior - Replace both side mirrors heated glass
- ✓ Exterior - Replace chrome grills with ECS Tuning black grills (may go gloss if I can find or paint chrome)
- ✓ Exterior - New center caps for wheels
- ✓ Exterior - Replace all wheel bolts
- ✓ Exterior - Grease hood and trunk struts (will replace soon)
- ✓ Exterior - Remove older clear bra from hood and sides - leave on lower bumper for now
- ✓ Exterior - Complete paint correction (Iron-X, Clay, Strip, 3-step polish, coating, etc)
- ✓ Exterior - Paint Rotor Hat shoulders and calipers black
- ✓ Exterior - Replace oil drain panel on underside of car and new quick-lock screws for plastic belly pan
- Exterior - Repair ribbon cable for driver's side mirror
- Exterior - DIY Weatherstripping Repair on complete Shadowline trim (upper and lower)
- Exterior - Paint orange bumper reflectors Jet Black body color
- Exterior - Repair front bumper where tag was removed or replace with euro tag to cover holes
- Exterior - Gummi pflege all rubber weatherseals
- Exterior - PDR Dent Removal for some minor dings
- Exterior - Touch-up paint for some scratches
- Exterior - Possibly paint front bumper mesh
- Exterior - LED License
- Exterior - Replace window edge quarter glass trim piece on passenger side
And this is a partial list of items that will be addressed after Christmas and over time:
- ✓ Interior - Replace factory NAV with dead pixels with aftermarket head unit (already purchased)
- Interior - Replace arm rest
- Interior - Window tint 40%
- Interior - Replace plastic covers at bottom of driver's seat in rear
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- Exterior - Replace front windshield
- Exterior - Wheel rash repaint
- Exterior - Possibly LED fogs and LED Halos
- Exterior - Bumper fang touch-up
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- ✓ Maintenance - Replace spare tire -- thought it was missing, but it was there all along under the plastic storage tray
- ✓ Maintenance - Replace cabin filter
- ✓ Maintenance - DISA valve preventative (German Auto Solutions aluminum DISA valve fix
- ✓ Maintenance - Thermostat
- ✓ Maintenance - Replace both front brake calipers and brackets
- ✓ Maintenance - Install stainless steel brake lines
- ✓ Maintenance - Complete Fluid swap (power steering, brake, coolant, oil, transmission, differential)
- ✓ Maintenance - Transmission filter
- ✓ Maintenance - Replace DSC Brake Pressure Sensor 1
- ✓ Maintenance - New Spark Plugs
- Maintenance - Strut tower reinforcement
- Maintenance - Replace power steering reservoir o-ring
- Maintenance - Refresh entire suspension
- Maintenance - Front end alignment
- Maintenance - Engine Fan and Aux Fan Delete and Swap with Electric Unit
- Maintenance - Expansion tank and cap and fluid level sensor (hoses recently replaced)
- Maintenance - Auto trans thermostat
- Maintenance - Final stage resistor replacement for fan
- Maintenance - Address passenger side strut tower mushrooming, install strut tower reinforcement on bottom end, and top with strut bar (sandwich method)
- Maintenance - Check/Clean CCV
- Maintenance - Water Pump
- Maintenance - Replace Pulleys
I found this car was previously owned by a forum member:
http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...near-Baltimore
The gentleman that purchased it drove it very little. He, too, purchased it for his son, but because of a family situation, it didn't work out, and he wanted to get rid of it.
Here is how the car was presented on Christmas Day. I didn't quite get everything I wanted done, but got close:
Salty