Leaderboard

Welcome Liam - mine's a manual too - I avoided the SMG due to the amount of chatter on forums and an unpleasant experience in an E36 version - if you ever get the chance hook up with Tom for a ride in his CSL - the speed and directness of the shift under acceleration and the blip on downshift is to die for - given the choice again I may well have gone SMG

All sorted now Thanx for all the input guys... much appreciated Going to do mirror imaging on an external hard drive of all my computers now to take away the risk of loosing my info and tech documents

Hi mate, I am curious - (and I have forgotten)- what's the colour called ? Burgundy? When I bought the old girl she had done 83,000 miles. Everything was original except for the radio. I recall it had a HUGE folder of receipts and paperwork from its first owner - from memory a director of Laura Ashley in the UK. Paul Curran (ex car-dealer at Clarks on Stanley st) brought it in to NZ and sold it to Helen Clark of Hamilton. At some point it went back to Paul - he owned it whilst living on Waiheke. In late 99 I was living in Sydney and contacted Paul to track down the best 635csi he could find. 8-9 months later after looking at around 10 (including a 1983 identical coloured burgundy example) Paul told me he had found me the 'best 635csi' in NZ. I was doubtful when I saw the colour but I soon fell in love with it - and the condition it was in was simply outstanding. It had the original metric wheels back then which soon proved to be a nightmare sourcing rubber for- I recall once spending $700 for a tyre! Had no problems with the car during my ownership except for some minor suspension issues . I truly loved this car and during this time in my life spent hours every week grooming it. I sold it after I once took a M635csi out for a drive - I knew I had to get one. So I sold it, bought a 535is and 'hung in the weeds' until a M6 popped up (and one did pop up 6 months later). I sold your 6 to Oracle ex-sailor Graham Fleury who I say conservatively would have easily have spent 25k + on that car - adding staggered Style 5's (think $4k back in those days), had the car re-painted, had the interior re-trimmed at Retro, had the suspension done completely - including new springs / shocks, added a customised exhaust, chipped the engine, over-hauled the auto gear-box, etc. Graham said it was putting 240 bhp post-chip. He loved the car too - it certainly seems to have had some passionate owners. It was then sold at Giltraps around 5 years ago for $27k. The subsequent owner resided very close to a friend of mine in Mt Eden who saw it regularly. It was one of the few ex UK Highlines imported into NZ. From memory, there are two grey examples, a red one, and 2 black I know of. One popped up a few years ago for sale in Christchurch, and had very low miles but had encountered some minor damage whilst in storage due to the quakes. I have a close friend who has a beautiful black 88 highline. It is his pride and enjoy and is in marvellous condition too. Like me, it was his favourite car growing up. The NZ examples (88 / 89's) despite having the revised bumpers were called 'Half-lines' - identical to the Aussie spec examples in that they didn't have the leather dashboard. There are a similar number of NZ examples floating around too. I have some wonderful memories driving your car. It certainly caught people's attention back then too!

i would adjust my priorities and keep it

I could park that on the drive and smile every time I looked out of the window.

Ooooh. Popcorn time! Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

Lol, probably still more than the rover But only just!

I think poo is bit of overstatement, i mean its not like its a Renault next to it

There's nothing wrong with the CGT. It is an amazing car to drive on the road and is actually very easy to drive even around town. The clutch can however be testing in stop start traffic. A CGT does have traction control, however like a GT3 it steps in very late. At the end of the day there are plenty of fast super cars that kill if you are being stupid. F40, Enzo, Ford GT are just a few. One of the big issues with cars like the CGT is that they hardly get used and you end up with a car that has 10 year old tyres that are very hard. That could have been the case in this crash? New tyres will make a big difference in driving something like a CGT.

I must say, I am partial to the BMW V8. Its a lovely piece of kit that makes me smile on the inside. Every time. There is another in my future sometime, but I'd really like it to be a keeper (and Manual) so, not yet. The 528 is a great car, with enough power for most people.... however for the last 5 years or so, i've been driving 200kw+ jap turbos, and 200kw+ Bmw V8's - So whilst i find the 528 nicely balanced, with nice steering feel; It really is just a bit lacking when you stick your knee up it.

I totaly agree with Grant (hotwire). I also don't agree with this: " I'd be rather unhappy to pay $80/h for somebody to change the brake pads on my car because it's a low risk job that requires only elementary skill and tools" Taking wheels off and doing brakes is one of the highest risk jobs you can undertake. One interruption. like a phone call and you could end up killing someone. A high degree of skill, know-how and special tools are required on allot of late model vehicles as well. Scanners are required when replacing brakes on most of the late model cars now. Especially on cars with electronic hand brakes. Knowing when to say NO to a job is a skill too. When you can see your exposure to risk could be too high ( for what ever reason ) This can apply to people supplying their own parts to do jobs, especially if the quality or brand is unknown. Sometimes it's better to say NO, have a coffee & read the paper

^^^^ With respect. To start throwing numbers around & arguing/justifying them & then admitting to using them only as an example doesn't wash. I do seriously take issue with a lot of what you have said. I am only on wages in a small Auto Sparky business but I am fully aware of the costs that are involved in running the business. I am on realitively good money (I wouldn't get out of bed for $15 an hour, even 20 & barely for 25) It would have been 15 or more years ago when I was on $15 an hour We charge out @ $72 + (par for the course here) & we need every $$ we can get to make it work. Business costs - lease, rates, phone, insurances, wages etc etc... Equipment costs Then factoring in down time (& there ALWAYS is), quiet times, holidays etc & there needs to be a substantial margin between wages & charge out. It is really no different for a decent mechanic either - they cannot now get away without up to date equipment. Gone of the days of a mechanic being any good without electrical knowledge/diagnosing ability, & the tools to practice with. Infact I maintain an Auto Sparky with a sound mechanical aptitude is better off than a mechanic that knows a little electrical. The bridge between between electrical & mechanical now is very murky at best. There is no real place now for a "basic" mechanic. This nullifies somewhat your statement of only basic tools etc. I have been in the game for a long time & seen substantial changes in this time, it is getting harder & harder to make a buck in the trade - there are no, or very few, "cream" jobs as there used to be 20 + years ago. Repairs are much more labour intensive due to component access & even overhaul times so there are not the same "swings & roundabouts" there used to be. There are now plenty of curved balls that "cost" time! So, I do not agree that there should be a lesser charge for fitting brake pads - it still comes down to the competency of the technician as to the time they take & then charge. And, from a business point of view - this could be deemed one of those "cream" jobs. Yes I agree you should have a good business model, but the "real" world is different to the "ideal" world. Agree the market will dictate, but when all in the area are on the same page, & offering similar service, productivity will be dictated by the climate at that time. We are not always busy, but then again - nor is our competition at the corresponding moment in time.

i prefer to do my own dentistry so i can see the connection.

Don't you start Michael, there's enough twats in Auckland doing that already!

Haha nice. Back on topic - I can't help you but I like the idea of 3D printing replacement clips! Let us know how you go.

3