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A big test for the M3 weekend before last when I dropped my son off at Uni in Wellington. What a bonus that the rear seats drop down and if you remove the rear squab, the floor is flat and easily fitted all his gear in. Despite being the land of the long roadwork we were down in 6.5 hours in including stops for petrol (even treated it to $2.19 for 98 in Upper Atiamuri) and coffee. Car ran perfectly despite me being over sensitive to any knock or squeak ?. Coming back I left early Monday morning and to make the drive interesting went to visit family in the Hawke's Bay via the Rimutaka Hill. I couldn't get over how smooth the seal was and how glorious it was holding 3 gear up through the corners with the window down. Little did I know the best was yet to come turning right after Masterton and taking the back way on Rte 52. This is an entertaining stretch of road with little traffic. It does get a little hairy from Weber to Porangahou where the road has collapsed and the seal is broken for about 20ks. 'Followed' a new Hyundai Sportage through here which did remarkably well for a small SUV although with it's long travel suspension coped better with the broken road. Got back to Hamilton on the Tuesday with an extra 1500ks on the dial and the car ran faultlessly... phew. As a reward, plus I have been meaning to do it for a while, I replaced the rear quarter window lower seals this past weekend. They were cracked and brittle with numerous coats of polish discolouring them. Using plastic trim levers to get the old seals off (they use adhesive strips to glue them down) was a case of sliding the lever along underneath the seal lifting as you go. Using the flat tip of the level to scrape and some turps on a rag helped to clean off the old adhesive left behind together with the build up dirt and grim over the years. This is key to ensuring the new seal seats well and stays for in place another 25+ years.

This is a really nice example of the current F80 M3 with Competition Package, just popped up on TradeMe. Link is here... https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=2553440829 I know this car and owner, they live opposite my parents place in Napier. Don't be put off by the kms this car has been fastidiously looked after by it's current owner, and you would never believe it has travelled that far from the condition. Rare colour, and interior upholstery combo as well. If you are in the market for one of these, then this one is well worth a look.

Kia ora guys, Recently I have bought this lovely car. It was imported from Japan with only 20k on odometer. I am first owner and I love this car. Before I had experience only with Japanese vehicles (mostly Subaru) and this one is my first Euro. I have a lot of plans for this car, so probably I will create YouTube channel to show all upgrades ? Thanks.

91 oct fuel ?

M2 comp

Not an M Sport so doesn’t look externally as good or have the sports seats. The red body colour over white leather with wood trim is not a common (read popular) combination, so unless it’s really hit a spot with you look for other examples. E91s are great all round cars, extremely practical and drive nicely, although as above the mags and lowering will probably have a negative effect on that.

Spec looks good for a Jap import, xenons / pan roof / front + rear PDC (rare on jap import) / full leather interior. Ride will be terrible on 19's, my E91 on 17's had a pretty harsh ride. budget for new cooling system for the N52 probably. 9k seems on the high side.

sounds expensive at first glance but without details of spec/options hard to say. also service history can be important. is it private or dealer? 325i wagons (E91 shape) is a great all round car, have owned two previously. a bit thirsty on fuel around town but fine on open road. not super quick but still enough power for most situations. i suspect the price is due to "lowered with aftermarket mags" which can be a good or bad thing depending on who it is for. much more reliable than 320i and doesnt use any more petrol so just try to find one within budget and you like the look of. try to get one that is well maintained or consider a mechanical warranty if buying from dealer. post up links of trademe etc if you want opinions on specific cars

John Deere suits the BMW owner demographic quite well, you will get comprehensively screwed come servicing time ? the twin cylinder Kawasaki engined ones seem to be the ones to get, I got mine (not a Kawasaki engine type) as it was cheap, low hours and local

Thanks Jon. Be nice to pick up a comp spec in manual. pretty sure most of the imports were DCT. May have been one or two come in a gray cars. Cheap as chips in the UK now.

Powerstop Engineering in Tauranga did all our repairs

$8-10k for an engine rebuild? $1500 to tidy up the interior? What condition is the gearbox in? Then you have a 400,000 km M3? Worth $15k? Plus hassle, so $2k?