GTAMADDOG

330d is booked in for swirl-flap removal tomorrow so that will be one less thing to worry about. Then I've just got to put the new air filter, pollen filter, fuel filter and EGR thermostat in. Also got the Wyedean Rally here today, I've got no-one to go with this year and it keeps bucketing it down with rain at random intervals so I'm still undecided if I'm going yet, plus the walk through the woods to the stage will be a nightmare due to all of the rain we've had recently. The stage I normally watch the rally at doesn't start until 13:35 as it's the last stage this year for some reason, so I've got a couple of hours to decide.

I've got to say I do much prefer the earlier Evos to the later ones. Nice car, and that's coming from an Impreza fanboy ;) I think a guy who used to work with my dad had one in the same colour, never got a ride in it though. I eagerly await videos of it on full chat :cool:

Gave it a quick clean and it was sunny very briefly so I took a couple of photos.. 2004 BMW 330d Sport by GTAMADDOG, on Flickr 2004 BMW 330d Sport by GTAMADDOG, on Flickr I can see that it is in desperate need of a polish now that I've seen it clean. I don't know what the dealer meant when they said they'd get it polished and waxed up because I can't see any evidence of it taking place. I think a lone bucket of water was probably what they used and nothing else.

Awesome. I remember being on Test Drive Unlimited and running into Loz and TheScottishSpotter who soon pointed me in the direction of these forums, so I have to thank them for that. I have to admit I've had some pretty bad moments on these forums which I won't bring back to light, but for the most part it's been a great community to be a part of who haven't shunned me away despite my bad moments. Admittedly I don't contribute a lot any more with regards to photos/videos etc., but there are plenty of people who do things a lot better than I can, so I'll leave it to those guys. I hope I'm still around to see the 10th year anniversary :cool:

Windows 7 Home Premium x64. Not even remotely interested in Windows 8 to be honest. Never had any real problems with all of the different versions of Vista I've used over the years. Couldn't wait to get away from XP.

My old knob was a bit worn out, so I replaced it with a new one :oook: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/GTAMADDOG/IMG_0044_zps6b24479c.jpg

Purse Phone: I do like bands with strange names, I must admit.

Cat died of kidney failure today. Crap start to 2014 among other things. How can it be worse than last year already.

I just make do with AutoGlym Tar Remover for de-tarring as we've pretty much got an infinite source of the stuff here :p I think it's pretty good though, for tar spots you can just dab a bit of tar remover over the tar, go and do another 1/4 of the car then come back and the tar spots you prepped previously come off quite easily. I've always wanted to try TRIX Iron & Tar Remover, but because we've got so much AutoGlym Tar Remover here I might as well use that up first.

Any proper polishing or anything else will probably have to wait until Spring at the earliest when I do my usual 'big' clean ready for Summer. De-tar Clay Polish, as you said using Gtechniq P1 Maybe steal one of the products I got my dad for Christmas - Poorboys Black Hole Glaze Possible try Finish Kare 1000p as a sealant and move away from Collinite 476s as I've pretty much run out of that now. The inside got a wet-vac from the dealer including the mats which are in pretty good condition so it'll just need a hoover out and a dash cleaning product of some description to get the inside sorted. Then other random stuff like cleaning up the engine bay, giving the wheel arches a proper clean and protecting the arch lips with waxoyl or something to hopefully keep any rust away. I've now realised I've done it wrong as none of the products I bought for the 306 aren't really applicable on a dark coloured car, and it'll probably take me twice as long to do all of the above compared to the 306. All of that is after the swirl-flaps are gone and it's got all new filters and a new crankcase breather. Seems a long way off from when I'll be where I want to be with it, but it was the same sort of thing with the 306.

It is Sapphire Black Metallic. It has got some light scratches on it which I think I'll be able to remove with a dry enough day and some elbow grease.

Here's a crap phone photo I took just now as it has decided to stop raining for five minutes. Still not cleaned it yet.. http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x104/GTAMADDOG/IMG_0042_zpsbf713fdb.jpg

I somewhat agree, but GTDs command about £5k more than GT TDIs over here, couldn't even tempt her into a GTI (was only being silly but thought it might be worth a shot). She'd have to make do with a MK6 GTD for her price range, but I told her ultimately it would seem like a waste of time 'side-stepping' to a higher trim level in a very similar vintage car. Got the 330d home last night, put half a tank of fuel in on the way home and the car is saying half a tank will last 280 miles which is my weekly mileage so that'll be fine for me, even better is that was on small country roads with lots of accelerating and braking so hopefully that may go up a bit on my A-road commute. Haven't been able to see much else as the weather really closed in on the way to pick the car up so I took it very gingerly coming home. Typical dealer clean of putting wax on the windscreen so I could barely see where I was going, but I'll treat the windows to some AutoGlym Fast Glass as a temporary solution. Hoping it's stopped raining this morning so I can have a decent look around it.

Picking it up later this afternoon. As they're putting two new tyres on it I'm not holding out for two new Continentals, in fact I'll be impressed it they've put Avon tyres on it. If it does have two Continentals on it they'll obviously be part-worn tyres. Not too bothered really (as long as they aren't Ling-Longs), I'll still use them and then probably put Goodyear Eagle F1s on it at some point. Might try and get a video of some description up about it, but the weather is meant to be diabolical this weekend so I won't even be able to clean the car. To throw a spanner in the works for this thread (and no I'm not joking, I'm 100% serious) my mum text me today to say she has put a deposit down on a MK7 Golf GT TDI :p

I need to buy new diesel cars more often if it's going to lead into discussions like this one :p Haven't seen a thread escalate so quickly on this forum for ages :D

I foresee a long week of looking at videos of E46s on YouTube.. I doubt I'll be getting it that sideways in a hurry, if sideways at all :p

In my opinion it's just criminal to order a convertible with a diesel engine. If I was to have a convertible half the reason for having one would be to be able to listen to the engine properly. *Pulls up at lights* *dagadagadagadagadaga* Nah, a convertible would most definitely need to be a petrol for me :p

As with most cars these days, 'Sport', 'GT', 'AMG' and 'S-Line', etc. can be as little as a body-kit on the outside, some shiny bits on the inside with some heavier bolstered seats and if you're lucky lowered/sharpened suspension. Most notable one from my memory being the MK4 Golf GTI 2.0 8v over here. The engine wasn't exactly quick in the MK3 Golf, but because VW added some GTI-spec seats, wheels and put some GTI kit inside the MK4 this suddenly allowed it use of the GTI badge, even though the petrol engine of choice for the MK4 Golf was the 1.8t. You can get a lowly Mercedes over here (see 180 CDI) with AMG kit on it which is far, far from being what most consider sporty, but because car companies have seen a market for slower cars that look like their much faster counter-parts the companies offer the kits on basically any engine in the range. The 330d doesn't have heated seats, don't think I've ever seen a cloth/alcantara BMW E46 over here with heated seats, it seems reserved exclusively for leather interiors. It does have very nicely working air conditioning though which will be more than welcome this Summer, no doubt :p

I'll leave the pictures until I've given it a proper clean as I don't trust them to clean it properly. Specification is pretty much standard to be honest, no leather or sat-nav, but a surprising feature is it has split-folding rear seats which I don't think is standard (?). Just the usual features of auto-wipers, auto-lights, auto-dimming rear mirror, phone prep, CD changer in the back and cloth/alcantara seats. Nav, I'm not bothered by because even if it had nav I'd still end up buying a Dynavin head-unit to replace it. Leather, likewise, not fussed. Crucially the wheel arches aren't rusty, clutch and brakes seem very good, pulls really well. All but one service was done by BMW, two owners who bought the car directly from BMW dealerships. 93,000 on the clock which is oddly the same mileage my step-dad bought his 330d Sport Touring at last year. First things first is removing the swirl-flaps as it's the later 204BHP manual which does have them. Then I'll concentrate on getting the car up to my levels of cleanliness and order.

Just put a deposit down on a 2004 BMW 330d Sport. Pick it up at the end of next week as they're servicing it, MOTing it, taxing it, putting two new tyres on and washing, polishing and waxing it. To say I'm gutted to have to part with the 306 now is a major understatement :(

w00t, wondered where this thread had gone. Two potential cars tomorrow. One 330d and one 330Cd. The 330d seems a little on the cheap side, but it's only across the river to see it so not much lost if it turns out to be a shed, interior looks quite tidy from the photos though. 330Cd is (in my opinion) over-priced, and 150 miles further down the motorway, but it only has 67,000 on the clock vs. the 93,000 on the other car. 330Cd has heated electric leather and Harmon Kardon speakers. 330d is pretty much a standard car which doesn't really bother me as I'm not entirely fussed by leather and I plan to add a Dynavin headunit at some point so even if the car doesn't have nav (which is apparently pretty crap by today's standards). In two minds about the 330Cd due to its price and distance away. The dealer gave me most of the servicing info which looked pretty good, but it's still too expensive I think.

I just cracked 1.1Mb/s downloading BF4 from Origin. That's pretty much a revelation in my house, any more and I'd start to wonder what had happened to my internet connection overnight. My mum can now apply for BT Infinity (76Mb/s down, 19Mb/s up), but I tried explaining it to her and it seemed to go straight over her head :p Meanwhile I'm stuck with a maximum of 8Mb/s down and they are still only evaluating my exchange for the potential of 'super-fast' broadband.

I got to sit in the driving seat of a 'Antonov' AR500 Mustang today. Couldn't get a passenger ride in it though as the battery was flat. Imported from the US and is currently sat in a Land Rover specialist garage owned by my step-dad's friend. There's also a substantial collection of Holden Utes there in varying states of dismantle/repair. I even found a 2002 Audi RS6 Avant huddled in behind some Land Rovers which has had a few bits and pieces removed, but it wouldn't take a lot to get back on the road providing the engine is fine. Interior mint minus the sat-nav unit which has been removed - it even had four matching Michelin tyres on it with good tread. Don't understand why half the cars were sat there like that, but I expect a couple of them, Audi included, will make some decent money in future as the Audi was a low mileage example as well.

Happy new year for when the time comes :) At home playing Counter Strike here a bit later than normal. Sleepy times at 12:01AM though :p