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Car Forum / BMW Cars / November 2006Bye Bye E39, hello E46. Alarm help needed please.
Hi, all. Well, after lots of small niggling problems with my 523iSE, including the return of the front-end vibration and steering shimmy, my dealer offered to purchase the car back from me for the exact price I paid for it at the end of December!! Must admit, I was somewhat shocked. Dealer claims to be acting in the best interests of the customer (me!), however I can't help but wonder if they've realised that A. it was a friday afternoon lemon, and B. I knew what I was talking about! Would be nice to assume that it was a genuine attempt at customer relations though. I bear them no grudge. 2 days later, I'd found and test-drove a 330dSE Sport Auto, 2001 model. Hooked? You bet! It's awesome, accelerates like a bat out of hell, handles better than the 5 (obviously, due to size, weight etc), I personally feel that it's comfier to sit in and has a better controlled suspension action, no weird vibes or wheel shimmy, and it drinks less fuel as well! Now to the problem. Twice, the alarm has gone off falsely, the second time with the internal ultrasonics disabled (via the second push of the lock button on the fob). I don't want to have to lock it overnight with the key as it's not alarmed or immobilised then. What I need to do (I think) is keep monitoring it until it gives me the fast red flashes again as I lock it, then unlock it and try a door at a time, locking it again each time, to try and isolate the fault to a certain door/boot/bonnet(hood) switch, then get back onto the dealer. He feels that this is a good idea, as the car could end up being with them for some number of days and not display a fault. Apparently there aren't any codes that indicate what sensor sets the alarm off if it gets activated. Anyone got any ideas, any known issues with E46 alarm systems etc? Thanks in advance, Badger 330dSE Sport Auto, somewhere in Scotland. >Anyone got any ideas, any known issues with E46 >alarm systems etc? Yes, remove it. It's more annoying than necessary. -- marcio at compudimensions.com > >Anyone got any ideas, any known issues with E46 > >alarm systems etc? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > -- > marcio at compudimensions.com That would be really clever, wonder why I didn't think of that myself! Don't think my insurance company would like that somehow. As I asked, anyone got any ideas as to why it did this, not how to remove it? It hasn't done it since I disconnected the bonnet switch, yet the switch checked out ok on a test meter and the bonnet is striking it fully. Oh, how I hate electrical problems!! Badger. >That would be really clever, wonder why I didn't think of that myself! >Don't think my insurance company would like that somehow. Did you bother to ask your insurance company or are you speculating based on your own bias? I asked mine about a discount if I install the BMW alarm. Answer: zero discount. I asked the agent why and he said the alarm does not provide any additional protection, so they don't care if I have the alarm or not. This is AllState insurance here in Los Angeles, USA. -- marcio at compudimensions.com > >That would be really clever, wonder why I didn't think of that myself! > >Don't think my insurance company would like that somehow. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > don't care if I have the alarm or not. This is AllState insurance > here in Los Angeles, USA. ...and Badger is obviously in the UK where the insurance agents care about *any* modifications you make to your car. Heck, they have been reported to raise rates if the muffler is changed. -Fred W > > >That would be really clever, wonder why I didn't think of that myself! > > >Don't think my insurance company would like that somehow. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > -Fred W Thank you, Fred. Indeed, anything at all that alters the performance / appearance / steal-ability or in the case of most British insurers nowadays, any modification from the manufacturers standard specification, will either invalidate your insurance or increase your premium. Crazy. FWIW, the std BMW alarm / immobiliser as fitted in the UK is highly respected for it's performance regarding the security of the vehicle. As to my original alarm query, it still hasn't gone off (fingers and toes crossed) since I disconnected the bonnet (hood) sensor, so hopefully that's all that'll need replacing. Badger 330dSE sport auto Scotland. Hi, all A great solution whit many feature you find here: http://ww.carpassionata.com/english/customer short info.pdf Read about the "eLight"-Modul! Hope i can help you! > Hi, all. > Well, after lots of small niggling problems with my 523iSE, including the [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > 330dSE Sport Auto, > somewhere in Scotland. > Hi, all. > Well, after lots of small niggling problems with my 523iSE, including the [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > 330dSE Sport Auto, > somewhere in Scotland. Hmm. Badger - you should really have mentioned your E39 was actually a CPO that had been in a bad accident. Otherwise, "Bye Bye E39..." sounds more like a general gripe with the model. There's nothing wrong with the E39. Good luck with the CPO E46! Michael > Hmm. Badger - you should really have mentioned your E39 was actually > a CPO that had been in a bad accident. Otherwise, "Bye Bye E39..." [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Michael Sorry Michael, I assumed that by stating the dealer bought it back would have indicated that it was CPO. Apologies for any misunderstanding. As I've said in previous posts, I've driven other E39's and not had any negative issues with them, also I've driven some that were worse than mine, for whatever reason. I looked at a CPO 530dSE, nice to drive, felt "looser" than my 523 even though it had less miles, but the reason I didn't buy it was the shocking state of it's paintwork (for a 2000 car). Almost all the CPO E39's over 3 years old that I've looked at on dealer forecourts all over Scotland have had an excess of stone chips on the front, or had various panels resprayed with some results better than others! Now, our roads are no better or worse than those anywhere else in the UK, so it's not as if we have an abundance of gravel lying around to cause the chips in the first place. Call me petty if you wish, but I didn't want a 3 or 4 year old car that had been partially resprayed to cover up who-knows-what! I never did discover the true history of my "5", it's difficult to know what could cause 3 wheels to be slightly buckled on the inner rim and 1 to be damaged and "bodged" on the outer rim, other than an unintended excursion from the road. Whatever it was, I'm afraid my feelings about the car were never quite the same after discovering that it had potentially had some sort of accident / shady past. At the risk of starting a small war, I'll re-itterate my recent opinion of the E39 in general, an opinion based on driving quite a few different models, not biased on my own ownership. "It's an absolutely fantastic car in it's own right, let's not forget that fact, however it's just a pity it's struggling to live up to an over-inflated reputation". In some ways, it's a victim of its own success, by being so good you start to believe that it's actually better than it is. I still like the E39, I just couldn't find one that I would have been happy to spend the asking price on and to live with long-term. Hope this clears any misunderstandings. Badger 330dSE sport auto Scotland. > > Hmm. Badger - you should really have mentioned your E39 was actually > > a CPO that had been in a bad accident. Otherwise, "Bye Bye E39..." [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I looked at a CPO 530dSE, nice to drive, felt "looser" than my 523 even > though it had less miles, That could be a toe-in or tire problem. Can happen easily with any car especially if the wheels or tires were swapped. but the reason I didn't buy it was the shocking > state of it's paintwork (for a 2000 car). Almost all the CPO E39's over 3 > years old that I've looked at on dealer forecourts all over Scotland have [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > if you wish, but I didn't want a 3 or 4 year old car that had been partially > resprayed to cover up who-knows-what! Yes, it's disappointing to have so much paint damage but a resprayed car is actually worse because you never know what's being hidden. The best used cars here are ones sporting whatever (hopefully low) degree of blemishes collected over its lifetime. Stone chips indicate high speed damage and that's not necessarily bad because high speed cruising is kinder on the car in general than short trips in the city. A bonnet can easily be repainted to perfection so it's not a clearcut problem in all cases. The E39 is a highway car (makes a great company car) - you exit from a long haul without any negative after-effects. Great when you need to do useful work when you arrive. That's also why I bought my E39. So it's natural many E39s will collect high speed stone chip damage; they were being used as intended. I fit a mini-bra on mine whenever I expect to do more than 10 minutes worth of high speed work in mine. Takes 5 minutes to put on. All my vehicles have bras. > I never did discover the true history of my "5", it's difficult to know what > could cause 3 wheels to be slightly buckled on the inner rim and 1 to be > damaged and "bodged" on the outer rim, other than an unintended excursion > from the road. Whatever it was, I'm afraid my feelings about the car were > never quite the same after discovering that it had potentially had some sort > of accident / shady past. It would help if you know a very good non-dealer BMW mechanic. An expert opinion is the only alternative to full service records (dealer and non-dealer). > At the risk of starting a small war, I'll re-itterate my recent opinion of > the E39 in general, an opinion based on driving quite a few different > models, not biased on my own ownership. "It's an absolutely fantastic car > in it's own right, let's not forget that fact, however it's just a pity it's > struggling to live up to an over-inflated reputation". Yes, I also think there's a degree of hype in the media but when compared with the other cars in its class I think it does live up to its relative superiority. It's really a very sporty and classy highway 4-dr saloon, not the more agile lively run-about that the 3er is. The 5er and 3er have different design criteria. I actually like the challenge of wringing out some liveliness in confined spaces from an extra heavy E39 like the 540. Like many things it can be more fun from exploring technique than to just let the car do it all for you which in fact appears to be one of the main gripes about the newer BMWs. Many drivers like a challenge and the involvement a car imposes on you. The 540 can be very quick in tight spots but you must use all the gears and engine braking or its extra weight becomes unsettling. In some ways, it's a > victim of its own success, by being so good you start to believe that it's > actually better than it is. I still like the E39, I just couldn't find one > that I would have been happy to spend the asking price on and to live with > long-term. I think you need to drive a new or near-new one to judge correctly as too many owners are clueless about maintenance and of course, an accident will not do justice to any car, regardless of brand or model. One always has to "go back to default" to judge a design - just like with computers. Many owners muck things up as soon as they start using a piece of equipment. > Hope this clears any misunderstandings. Yes, I think so. Thanks for the effort. Michael > Hi, all. > Well, after lots of small niggling problems with my 523iSE, including the [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > 330dSE Sport Auto, > somewhere in Scotland. Hi Badger, Have you closed all windows? If your windows are open even the slightest, it seems to set the alarm off. I had the same problem and it was really annoying until I discovered that I had inadvertently left a window down. Good luck. |
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