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NZ roads are not the best or easiest to drive on, as such the education and hence skills need to be higher than most countries. I come across an ever increasing number of drivers on the road that have basic to non-existent driving skills. The skills of many young drivers and dare I say it, new to NZ drivers are particularly bad. Just because someone can drive in another country, different roads, signs, side of road / car does not mean they have the skills for NZ. Until more effort is put into driver education, across all groups, the road toll will continue to rise with more cars driving more kms on the roads.

There really is no fix-all for reducing the road toll. But they could start with a look at the root cause of fatal accidents and then actually publish the results. But i'm guessing that wouldn't actually sit well with the various lobby groups out there that push their own particular "solution' But my pet peeve: Few months back, i drove from Akl to Wgtn, significant stretches we were trucking along at 80-90... until we hit the passing lanes, then miraculously those car's at the front of the queue that didn't seem capable of breaking 85 up a hill were suddenly able to do 110+ WTF ?!?! Now i took it mostly in my stride, but i saw a few road warriors letting loose to get past so they could catch up to the next queue 5 mins further down the road.

Speeding, mate... It's all about the speed. Or so we are continually told. Of course, placing wire strand barriers on either side of the highway, reducing available space for vehicles who have stopped for any reason to get away from the carriageway, won't be a factor. Even the police are up in arms about this - when they are pulling speeding motorists, they now place themselves, the person they are stopping, and other road users at increased risk. Some f%&#wit at a council obviously thought this was a good idea. Poor driving standards (which aren't addressed in any way whatsoever) remain the biggest issue on NZ roads. That's too hard though, so let's go after people who are speeding instead.

Gave it a much deserved wax, as a nice break from pulling the sump off the toyota...

166699kms. With the assistance of Autosure Extreme MBI, I've purchased a box of these: Yes folks, 32 hard, filthy, worn-out valve stem oil seals. Not much said quickly, and not that pricey to buy. A bunch of other gaskets and seals. Collateral damage of one auxillary water pump (it's done behind the radiator by the left chassis rail); it fell to pieces during strip-down. Good old BMW plastics, eh? Rather it happened now in controlled circumstances, than out between towns in use! For reference, if you're doing this job, factoring in BMW Auxiliary Water Pump - Pierburg 7.02078.37.0 would be useful. I bought OEM Pierburg item. I digress. It's a long and complex job. I got the car back yesterday after two weeks (I'd prefer it wasn't rushed, or they felt under time pressure). Great to have it back. More details coming. I think I'll edit up a movie. PS: I also took Page European's recommendation, and had them run a Wurth Intake System Cleaner through it. Initial impressions - after all the work - are that it's running better. I'm sure there'd have been a vacuum loss through the knackered guides, it builds vacuum on liftoff faster than before... wonder if the fuel economy is going to improve as a result of all this work? Anyway, it's no longer making like puffing billy, which is a good thing.

As of Friday, 125 compared to 107 last year , and for 12 months to today its 398 compared to 329. we obviously had few lucky low years and things were maybe skewed into thinking they had it solved. Time to get rid of some of the sillyness like 3km holiday limits and actually makes some changes that work. Not that were ever going to achieve miracles on our simple 2 lane overcrowded highways. Compulsory insurance would be a start and more cops on roads. Last 12 months Ive driven up and down north island and barely seen a cop. Can't be just luck. The fear of a ticket is the only thing that keeps my speed in check to be completely honest. ex.Over Xmas and new year went HB to Wanganui Taranaki Taupo and home saw one cop going in other direction and one speed camera. I guess because they were all on leave after doing allnighters on the 23/24 Dec handing out lollies and things to xmas travellers.

Ex Singapore? Rather your money than mine.

Nice, got to remember this, the regular crowd of windscreen repairers are useless.

Have you driven one though? I think its plenty fun even in auto. Not trying to start up the auto vs manual (msg vs manual m3) debate but the 130i and 135i are both excellent in auto in my opinion.

Damage: driving on SH1, impact damage sustained (bullseye and crack 15-20mm) from flying debris. Insurance: Car fully insured including glass cover. Called insurer, lodged claim. Asked who my preferred repairer is, nominated Winger as local BMW dealer. Repairer: Supplied claim number to dealer, who then assessed and quoted. Replacement screen recommended. Quote process and approval managed by dealer, furnishing my claim number. Once quote accepted, dealer updated me on process, then ordered new screen, booked appointment with me *after* they'd taken delivery of screen and confirmed no transit damage. Repair: I elected to leave vehicle overnight to leave additional time for sealant to cure. Genuine BMW screen fitted. Point of difference: new exterior seal/trim installed. Whenever I've had a Smith & Smith replacement, they say "nah we don't do that/can't get that/not part of the job" and burgerise around with old seal/trim. Plus the standard Smith & Smith poor service, glass left in car or tools left in car... Contrast this with BMW dealer finishing touches new replacement WoF sticker fitted, and Rego label holder fitted, both sensibly positioned. Clean car, no broken glass left behind or rattling in vents, no tools left in car. And of course that wander around the showroom (with my kids, on collection), and courtesy ride back in to town on drop-off. If I drank coffee, a complimentary coffee too. A good service experience. Summary: the BMW Dealer experience significantly better than run-of-the-mill "windscreen specialist". Not to mention great service from AA Insurance. I received some great prelim advice from BMW Car Club NZ members. Now I just need to clean & Rain-X the new screen, and fit new set of BMW wiper blades from my parts stash. Hope that helps

Personal preference, id take a 4 door manual over 2 door auto. If it were a dct or 135i it would be a different story, but NA + slushbox auto just doesnt scream fun.

Your comparison between roads in rural Europe v NZ is way off, major "highways" in NZ are with only a few exceptions, poorly surfaced, poorly maintained, very twisty, much hillier, un-lit and single carriageway. Even minor roads, well off the beaten track, in Europe have bridges and tunnels so they can be relatively straight and level. Older, small towns and villages can be more of a challenge with narrow streets and confusing junction layouts and road rules. NZ is slightly better off in this respect as the urban development is much more recent and most town planning has accommodated the motor vehicle. However, as the traffic speeds are relatively low in these areas, the size of the accidents are smaller and don't contribute so much to the road toll. The roads in Sweden were amongst some of the best I have ever driven on, even well up to the north of the country away from the major population centres. Why do they not crash on them in the snow... because of the level of driver training I would suggest? Having just been given an NZ licence for being able to answer 30 multiple-guess questions on the road code, I have no idea how much of the driver testing in NZ takes place on the "open road" or highways. Is it like the UK used to be where the test is all in and around town, with no motorway training or testing? As you allude to, this is the more difficult driving situation, higher speeds, fewer sign posts, etc. I used to think those big yellow "cornering speed" signs were a good idea, until I got a decent car and realised you can go round them at much higher speeds without detriment to you or your passengers. Perhaps more training in these driving situations would be a step to reducing the numbers?

Oh cummon, get real. Setting that goal is the solution we have been missing all these years. All we need now is an inspirational slogan- Let's do this!

Stripes are yuck for sure but wrong trans? Sure it's not a manual and would be awesome if it was but for the sake of a rare e81 u can't say no cuz it's auto. And actually this gearbox is flippin awesome imo. Very smooth and shifts pretty quick for what it is. Rev matches on downshifts and can even be flash tuned so definitely not 'wrong'

q&a says its singapore import. I would still buy it if I was in the market. these things are awesome, always wanted the 2 door and its got the right engine too

for anyone interested in the rego history of the LSB e46 here it is: https://www.carjam.co.nz/car/?plate=mholic I remember seeing this around 10 years ago, MHOLIC was the plate. I was not wrong Looks like the owner of this car "BMWMMM" has moved onto a 2009 Black E92 M3 Also the Pheonix Yellow one was sold by Brent not long ago and until recently was up for sale on trademe without much luck.

Yes incompetency is rampant across the NZ driving public. Tailgating is my biggest angst... if I'm doing 103 I don't expect someone to be 5m off my back bumper... they are though, and they are always the younger ones, they have simply no idea of the danger they are putting everyone in - stupid. NZ society is dumbing down and an increase in road deaths comes as absolutely no surprise and is only one symptom of many...

Drivers are the issue. There are some inept numpties on the roads. I do 1500km a week, I seen some sh*t

I think @HELLBM owned this one a while ago? Or similar spec.

Could use a lesson in photography, makes it hard to tell if it's actually nice or not.