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Without trying to sound self promoting but I fail to see why any of the current crop of E46 M3s for sale is actually good value for money ... potential owners really have no concept how much these things cost to bring up to standard properly. $30k I am asking for mine and it’s a full CSL clone and not a single interest with all the expensive hard to do items all done. And then I get messages from all these new owners about how to fix things on the cheap because they’ve decided to buy something on trademe without doing any research. Maybe I should start to charge for my services and advice to others ... Ignore me just having a bad day : P

You must be fun to live with Dave....

9 December 2018. 171760kms Prep for service: 1. Replaced hood support struts. I was jump-starting my neighbour during a storm a couple of weeks back, and the bonnet slammed down on my jumper cables. Fortunately no damage. They clearly needed replacing. Sourced OEM Stabilus, they're easy to install. (1) Old struts. Slow to rise, fail in winds. (2) And the new struts, push together right to the top of the travel, and raise the hood from approx 2/3 of travel. I'm sure they'll work better in Wellington's winds. 2. Replaced Air Filter. Bit over a year since the last one. Another Hengst E728L. Easy job. (last changed Mar 2017, 152k kms) 3. Replaced Cabin Filters, cleaned the surrounding area of debris. I bought a second set of Meyle filters last time, they were cheap. replace in pairs. Tomorrow's a general (annual) service for the MBI. Oil & Filter, Coolant, anything else required.

Autel Maxisys Pro When I grab the tool again from brothers workshop going to upload more to this post, and hopefully eventually get to the end of it so it provides some help for others in the future thanks for replies so far

Its likely to be a vacuum leak between the MAF and throttle body/idle control valve. Check your short term fuel trims with your scanner to see if they are high. Look for a crack in the rubber tube that goes to the idle control valve, its a very common problem. Also check the tubes for the crank case ventilation system for breaks. The vacuum leak is large enough to give you misfire codes but not large enough to push the long term fuel trims to the end of range and trigger lean codes. The problem goes away when the engine is warm because the engine management is in closed loop mode and uses the O2 sensors to detect the lean mixture then compensate by adding more fuel.

Strange that they went to the effort of putting arguably the wrong offset Apex wheels on that blue one, they could easily have gotten ones that were a better fit.

This was the first thing that needed to be done on my M5 … a droopy bonnet sucks!

Yep... Was following one through Ponsonby today. "Carbon” wrapped bonnet and no mufflers. I mean no mufflers at all, not even muffler deletes. Looked extremely dumb imho.

Uh wot? There's not a single ACS piece visible in the photos...

My personal opinion is that it's lusty. I'm paranoid about rust on imported cars so I would have that really thoroughly checked but if it passed that inspection (behind the wheel well liners) then I'd set my base price at $30k and negotiate down from there based on: Front wheels are clearly too wide or the wrong offset so need to be replaced, factor that cost in. No mention of subframe repair and it will be required because of the suspension so factor that cost in. No mention of VANOS seals or pump hub being fixed so factor that cost in. Big end bearing are problematic and need to be inspected (minimum) and potentially replaced, factor that potential cost in. Seller seems to be a dealer also, ask for it to be supplied via the dealership so you're covered by the CGA. Given how the market is at the moment, if you want a manual one then even with the above to be considered this does look like a nice pickup (edit: if it has no rust and you can get it for ~$26k then pounce and use the saved cash for repair/preventative).

If I were in your shoes Tom I'd probably see it the same way as you so no need be concerned about 'bad' days' or 'self promotion', your comments are perfectly valid (even on a 'good day') IMHO. Indeed if I knew somebody that purchased any other Phoenix/SMG I'd call them a fool because yours can't be overlooked for the reasons you mention. Even though SMG is a personal preference I'm pretty surprised you've not even had a nibble... I also don't think many people appreciate the difference the CSL control makes to the SMG. My best guess is that if you can hold on and stick to ~$30k, the market will come to you.

Woohoo, isn't it fun pulling the trigger on the parts cannon! Nice going

Those ignition coils very rarely fail, even at age. Ironically they are usually the first thing to get blamed for poor running. But - the new one is shiny ?

10/11 Nov 2018. 258,252kms 1. Clutch kit (Luk), RMS, gearbox input and output seal (Elring) 2. Timing Belt Kit (Gates) 3. Radiator (?OEM), top and bottom hoses (Genuine), thermostat (Vermet), fan coupling (Meisterstats), Coolant (Genuine).

not interested in an E39 M5 because 1. almost impossible to find a good one for a good price 2. doesnt really suit my lifestyle needs 3. im not the kind of person to keep a car forever which I think is what the E39 M5 deserves from an owner - a lot of love and money to keep it tip top condition. C63 AMG - too many idiots hooning in them making a loud noise, high running costs in fuel and tyres etc, again not too many good ones around anymore and a bit too old styling imo. btw decided to keep the M135i for now mainly because the M3 I was looking at is no longer available. It was asking around $26k for a quick sale which would have been a great deal but I wasnt ready to pull the trigger on it in time anyway.

@eliongater Coupe to coupe will just bolt up and plug in First. Most headlight internals can be swap pfl coupe into fl sedan for example. So you can buy almost and pair and make them work for you (except fl coupe) Second. You do not need to change lcm in fact it will cause more problems. Tamper light on the dash as kms are stored on that. Third. You dont always need to code but if the lights flicker or the lamp failure lights come up it will need coding. Some im happy to help with for free.

I have been running an MHD Stage 1 plus for nearly 2 years now. Whats most important is a bigger inter cooler and replacing your charge pipe before it splits. Its also very worthwhile to get your intake ports de-carboned. Straight pipe or any aftermarket noisy pipe is a waste of cash. All it does it make the car obnoxious and a magnet for the cops. Remove the cats and you will have all the power the standard turbos can support. Note at this stage you will have real traction issues save the money you would have spent on a bogan exhaust and buy and LSD and the best tires you can afford. Coils die its just a a fact of life my first one went at 91k. As to injectors plenty of guys running MHD tunes with no issues.

I quite like both wheels sets. I just wonder what the E92 rims would look like with the CSL colour. Hmmm

Do not straight pipe your 335. It is not a cefiro.