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Riiight... Interview in New Plymouth on Friday arvo. Travel arrangements will be to drive over: driving to Auckland airport and flying would (in total) take about the same length of time, offers no flexibility, and probably costs more (even if I travel alone). Mrs M will accompany me on the trip and we may stay over and have a little tiki tour before heading back. @Breaker - Brent, are you round on Friday evening/Saturday? Any suggestions for somewhere to stay? The company will forward some hotel recommendations, but I expect them to be of the Novotel variety. (Which can be fine. )

Meanwhile I see Hyundai/Kia are joining others into the sensible approach of developing fuel cell technology.

I know this is an old thread but obviously the problem with buying rotors is they are really heavy and expensive to ship. Thats normally a problem but now its not! It seems there is a silent promo going on at amazon currently there are a few NZ web sites talking about it : https://www.cheapies.nz/node/16498 Anyway just bought some replacement rear rotors for my 335i got some stoptech ones I have been wanting for a while but normally the shipping just made it not worth it. I also looked at buying some hawk pads and they were free international shipping too. It seems to only be orders fulfilled by amazon and you have to get right to the last step of the cart before the free shipping option appears. For the doubters here's the proof. Also the prices shown are USD Hope this helps a few people out ?

Its a pre series management car that came into NZ with just 212kms on it. My guess is that BMW NZ imported it as they bring a few pre series management cars in. Also worth noting this is the 14th RHD E46 M3 to be built.

April 2017. The era of Gymkhanas had come to a close and it was time to sell the trusty STi. unbeknownst to the flat-4, my eyes set elsewhere. She was sleek, Italian, two wheels, absolutely insane, and I needed one. As 2017 progressed, my love affair took the form of two Italian two-stroke sports bikes, both of which exhilarated me, but as the months started to pass, I began to worry more and more about firing them off a cliff and not coming home. I remembered the thousands of kilometers i spent with my various cars, pushing each one and loving every second of it. I yearned for long twisty mountain runs, I desired the roar of high displacement engines, I missed air-conditioning. So I began the search, my requirements were simple; lightweight, high grip, and cheap to modify. This led me down the route of something akin to a Type R Integra, then my partner one day surprised me with his DC5-R, so it was back to the drawing board. Should I conform and get some filthy skyline? Or perhaps sink all my funds into the 80's mr2 sitting around the back and embrace being forever poor? Then one day, my landlord visited in his E92 M3. AND HE GAVE ME THE KEYS. I knew I could never afford an E92, but just as every car enthusiast should know, I too was very aware of her older, slightly unhinged sister. What I wasn't aware of, was how affordable they really were. A deep blue one popped up. I and the landlord went out and had a look. She was nice, but not worth the asking, then a yellow one popped up. Cheap, but had a very sketchy history. About 4 months later, just as i had given up and started looking for some RFB stickers, SHE popped up. and my goodness, was she something. I didn't hesitate, I contacted her owner and booked an inspection. YES! she passed with flying colours! Ok then, better tell the boss i'm not going to be in on Friday. Why? Because i'm about to make the biggest decision in my millennial life! The plane landed and i stepped out of the shoebox of an airport. There she was. It was like i'd waited a lifetime to see an old friend. My eyes tinted rose. She really was as beautiful as they said. It took the whole of 80 minutes before her owner reluctantly handed me the keys, making me promise that should I ever decide to sell her, to get in touch with him first. If you made it through that essay of a write up, then congratulations! After the 7.5hr drive back to Auckland and consequent de-bugging, she's now settling into her new home. The whole household have made her very welcome! As have the small handful of friends she's already surprised! So without further Adieu, here she is! Imola red Manual 145000ks Fully documented and thorough servicing history, with photographed works including the vanos refresh about 30000ks back. Aside from the K&N filter and Eibach lowering springs, Completely original (even talked him into including the OEM bits!) I absolutely cannot wait to meet everyone and start taking her out. She does need a new set of tyres and brake pads, but really whats that in the grand scheme of things!!

Hi guys I just managed to buy some new stop tech brake rotors off amazon and found that for some reason I was able to get free shipping on them. Owning an N54 I know what its like constantly scouring the web for the best prices on parts and shipping. Hopefully this will help out a few of you looking at purchasing expensive stuff to ship. The prices shown below are also USD just for clarity. Heres some more info: https://www.cheapies.nz/node/16498

Thanks to everyone for their support. I really appreciate it! If I am offered the role I suspect I'll accept it, and we have plans for where we'll live if that is the eventuality. In which case, there'll be a party come summer...

You can't do it without taking the window and regulator out. The E46 Ci & Cab are the worst to do and I refused to do them after having done one. You also need to remove the outside door moulding to access the window regulator to window bolts and alignment mechanisms. You may find the need to also buy other new parts to complete the repair.

All the best Graham ?

Interesting car, yes, it is a pre-production test car but it doesn't look to have been brought in through BMW NZ from what I can see. Doesn't exist in the NZ records, and brought in from Japan, would have been direct from Germany or possibly SA if it was. So it has had a long and eventful life. Colour doesn't do much for me, although it does stand out from the usual monochrome colour pallette of E46 M3s so understand why others would be keen on it. For the right price it could be a cool little project for someone to bring back to it's former glory.

Erm, I just ordered a hydraulic jack with free shipping... Yeah... wow.

The cable being black should'nt matter just the way it is attached to the door handle mechanismThey appear to have changed Sep 2000 mine are yellow but from a 2002 sedan. Might be easier if you look at trying to remove the door handle mechanism from the car to make refitting the cable easier and know that it want come adrift again. By what you are saying their isn't any room to move. Looking at the mechanism it appears to be held in by one bolt and located in a V shape a the other end. Also their should be some holes that line up with these parts in the door. Play around with the window height to get the best clearance you can.

You will hate to hear that I had trouble finding an E46 or E39 that was the spec I wanted that was not a manual. Had a few rentals in DC that were manual. Even an E60 550i which was good fun. But this is DC. Similar traffic to Auckland at times.

Tips for bodywork: 1) avoid 2) avoid 3) con someone else into doing it BTW I hate fixing rust, which is why I have 2 e21s.

All heart beat and hold your breath material ?

hahaha graham, where did you find this nice project! at the perfect time too!