A massive thanks for this thread! After a year of a broken handle I fixed it tonight using this guide, a lot of swearing later and its done.

My upper tailgate release switch has stopped working. The upper part of the tailgate works on the dash switch and also the fob but the switch between the number plate lights doesn't. Is this common? I tried using search but nothing obvious came up. Is it just a case of new part from the the dealer? ...

Now has 6 months tax, price is £7000.

Thanks again for the replies. I do have the option of fitting some Range Rover Vogue 19's that are in my garage. These are 255/55/19 Goodyear Wrangler HP with M&S markings. Could be worth a go?

[quote=""smeeagain""]As has already been said it really depends on what conditions you are in and what you expect. However, I drove up the bealach na ba in Scotland last New Year in snow and ice with summer tyres on my 19" wheels. The hairpin bends up to 200 ft can be 'inter...

Thanks for the replies, it's currently on 255 & 285 x 19 tyres all of which are a mixture of accellera and 1 Nexen (all on the vehicle when I bought it) but they have a fair amount of tread (6mm+). Just seen the weather forecast and I may be finding out tomorrow how it is in snow as the NW is se...

I was at friends today and we got onto the subject of spending NYE in the Highlands and this got me wondering how well the E53 would cope in snow. Mine is currently on non-winter tyres and I was wondering how well everyone coped in the snow earlier this year? My main concern is the size of the rears...

[quote=""rusty nail""]Lovely motor there, just doubt I could swing it with Swmbo.


Sent from my iPod device using Tapatalk[/quote]
Cheers, it is a great car and I spent a good while look for one with this spec.

[quote=""brewer""]First registered? / No. Owners?[/quote]
It's a 2001 so lower VED band but has the later LED rear lights. It has had 8 former keepers.

The X5 is staying but I am gutted that this is now for sale: Titan Silver, Manual, currently SORN & 12 Months MOT. 118K miles but FSH including the running in check. Spec: Airbags - front plus optional side and rear (option 261) Elec folding mirrors Climate comfort windscreen Elec glass sunroof ...

Thats a valid point about holding the insurer to account, why should I suffer as the consumer because of their cost cutting? Definately worth a try, thanks for the common sense!

:x Just read the insurance small print about windscreen claims... Excess is £65, fine cheaper than paying for all of it, however I have to use their authorised repairer (AA) or they only contribute £100 to the cost of replacement. This makes things a bit sticky as its a case of insurers T&C's ...

Again, thanks for the advice. I think the best course of action is to wait until the stone chip that is slowly starting to spread worsens then give our friendly insurer a call, being mindful to mention about BMW's warranty conditions.

I thought as much. In the interim, if the sensor is unplugged, will the system allow the wipers to work or is it more likely to throw a code and disable the wipers?

Cracking report as always Nige. For those of you not on Northloop, Nige does the best write ups on track days usually with many pics!