Leaderboard

In 1978 as a nine year old i was fortunate enough to travel to Germany with my now departed Grandma.We spent a year there,learning the language,going to school and doing lots of traveling.It was on one of these adventures unbeknown to myself,that we happened to end up at a car factory.Bavarian Motor Works none other.She took delivery of a brand new Pale Yellow(green cloth interior) E12.That whole experience left quite an impression on me.Of course the car is long gone but i still have the original German plates. After her passing a few years back my desire to own my own Bmw grew.An E30 M3 popped up on Trademe and so i went to see it.I instantly fell in love.The kind people at Botany Motor Works carried out an inspection for me....yes it had a few problems but nothing really major.I sat on it.....should i buy it???Then the owner called me to say i could have it for $21500.Even at that time it was a great deal.Once again i thought about it....a few days too long and it got snapped up by an Austrailian Enthusiast.Im still kicking myself to this day After some searching for another classic i read an ad once again on trade me for an E28 535i.The description was average.The photos were average too.But upon seeing it i just about wet my pants.It was in amazing condition and had been pampered to death.A barn find if ever there was one......in Nz that is.So for the cool sum of $5K it was in my garage.A car man at heart i couldnt but help personalise it a little.. The E28 was such an enjoyable drive but i really missed having a manual box.It was too good to convert and as such was advertised again.A new home was very quickly found....in fact the new owner paid my asking price sight unseen,flew up from Hastings and drove home.He says he often just stands in the garage at night and just stares at it!!! Having missed the E30 M3 i started the search again.Well 2 1/2 years of worldwide appreciation now made owning one beyond my reach.....for now.On a trip down to Chch i met a fella in Wellington and very quickly checked out his E36 M3.Seemed like a decent bloke,car was garaged,full service history with stamped service book,new rotors,pad,shocks,bushes,shock mounts,black nappa interior,NZ New......took it for a very quick drive(had a ferry to catch)and once again fell in love!!! After a few weeks of negotiation i was on a plane back to Welly to have a closer look.To be honest it only took 5 mins and the deal was done.So next up was 670km drive back to Auckland!!!What a hoot this car aws to drive...i found myself laughing out loud at how well it just went about business.It just gobbled up the desert rd and pretty much anything that came its way.A couple of VERY close calls with the Constabulary,a few Bp coffees and one tank of feul and i was home.What an introduction to M3 ownership. Well thats me for now and no doubt more to come in the future.Hampton Downs???

My 20V Ur quattro - 1st road trip from Hamilton to Cromwell for the opening of the Highlands Motorsport Park, Easter 2013: [/url] [/url] [/url] [/url]

*Warning* Big Read I was recently invited by BMW to the ConnectedDrive Launch for New Zealand. I spent around four hours of my Thursday learning about the new system that we should expect to see across all NZ New BMWs, the services ConnectedDrive has to offer, as well as testing the new X3 LCI’s through Auckland (which had equipped the ConnectedDrive service) BMW ConnectedDrive Driver Assist is a new technological revolution that will be present in all new BMW’s. It has pretty amazing features which see the car run off it’s own personal Sim Card, which in turn can be efficient for GPS, Calls to BMW Concierge, Internet availability, Emergency calling, accident notifications, TeleServices and remote services from your Phone. BMW have really put the effort in to present a service which is one like no other. I will jot down the brief explanations of each new service and what they are for (Direct from BMW NZ) - Intelligent Emergency Call: In the event of a severe accident, the system automatically transmits your location and crash information to our Contact Centre, which can determine the risk of severe injury and then request help on your behalf. - Emergency Request (SOS): In the event you or others around you require emergency assistance, push the SOS button to transmit your location to our Contact Centre and the appropriate help will immediately be directed to you. - Enhanced Roadside Assistance: In the event of a vehicle malfunction, select the Mobile Care menu option to transmit your location and vehicle information, so we can quickly and accurately dispatch help. - 24/7 Concierge Service: Want to know the best French restaurant or a five-star hotel? Talk to a friendly Response Specialist who will direct you and can even transfer the destination address and telephone number to your vehicle. - TeleServices (Service Request): Your vehicle’s service status and needs are transmitted automatically or manually upon your request. Your BMW Service Advisor then contacts you to schedule a convenient appointment. - My BMW Remote: Use the My BMW Remote app on your compatible mobile device for Remote Door Lock, Remote Light Flash, Remote Sound Horn and Vehicle Finder. You can even send locations and businesses to your vehicle right from your device. - BMW Online keeps you updated on everything that’s happening. Read the latest news and weather reports. Find local businesses using Online Search. You can even find nearby fuel stations as well as ATM machines and parking buildings. - MyInfo allows you to send business locations and street addresses to your BMW from the Google Maps™ website. The destination and phone number can be linked to the BMW Navigation system or your Bluetooth® phone. - BMW Apps provides you with the ultimate integration between your smartphone and BMW. You can check your calendar, catch up on your latest RSS feeds, listen to web radio or Pandora, hear your Facebook News Feed with Text-to-Speech technology, and so much more And now my experience with using these news services. Some of the ConnectedDrive services run on a subscription (generally lasts 3 years +) which is what you can expect for an individual sim and concierge service direct to your car. The free services which are available for the lifetime of the car is the SOS/Emergency services and of course the TeleServices. The ConnectedDrive Services and Apps comes at a reasonable cost of $600 for 3 years. This includes everything minus your internet and Concierge service which comes at an extra cost of $150 a year for Internet usage, and $400 for 3 years worth of Concierge services With the above subscriptions, you get an online access portal which can be used to send things direct to your car like lists of directions to upcoming locations you could want to visit. It’s actually really impressive! When we set out on our journey, the event organisers set in the address and sent it to all of the individual cars so when we jumped in, it allowed us to open up ‘messages’ and follow the Nav System. Navigation to the first location took a bit to get used too. The heads up display features the arrows, directions, and distance before turns/stops etc and of course that wonderful voice which shuts the background music down to tell you to ‘Turn in 500m’. You also have the Nav system on the On Board screen, so you can follow both if you choose. We then manually set the directions in to the Nav to head on to the next location point. Using the dial as your keyboard was again interesting, but there is also the voice activation function (which we didn’t get to use as the manual is the size of a dictionary!). Next up on the test the services list was ringing up the BMW concierge service, which is a 24/7 Call Centre for all your needs. We rang them up, asked them to locate our next destination (Ostro for Lunch) and they sent the information direct to the car to confirm and we were on our way.. I found it slightly edgy that my cars location can be pin pointed anywhere, at any time.. Is there a potential for this to become a breach of privacy in some cases? After Lunch we headed back to BMW NZ. The services all round were a great feature, but I felt that because I only had a short period to get used to the new cars, and this new service, it was distracting. Give me a week and I wouldn’t know what to do without the services, I am sure! Onto the driving section, the New X3s. I have never driven an X car, nor have I been a huge fan of the smaller versions (X1 X3) so it was a change to jump into something with a bit of height, and also, a diesel. I LOVE the diesels, and I certainly didn’t before. The power is something I would of never expected and the Torque is a whole other story. BMW have done something right in this department because I felt like I was driving a car, not a Diesel SUV. The steering is light, the interior something you would find in an elite sedan but placed delicately in the X3 as if to compliment the fact your are driving a ‘prestige’ SUV. The car is packed with technology such as reversing cameras, Parking Assist, ConnectedDrive, the list really does go on. When I gave it some gas, it felt like you left your pleasant Remuera Shopping Trolley behind and were in a beast that just wanted to keep going. The 3L Diesel has nice figures of 190KW with 560nm and the 2L diesel is 140kw with 400nm. They both made my car look like a slug. If I have the opportunity, I will almost certainly be wanting to test the Diesel in a Coupe or Sedan with a sportier feel.. I can only imagine the experience will be a shock. You either hate or love the X3 Exterior, but I personally liked it a lot. It complements the fact this car IS a BMW. The M Sport package is available, and presents these cars with some extra features like Rims, HUD, Adaptive headlights, etc. At a pleasant figure of just above $100,000 for the 3L and around $90,000 for the 2L, it seems like an achievable target for those later on in life that want a nice daily driver. I had a fantastic day, with fantastic people and fantastic cars! Thank you to BMW NZ for the attendance of the Launch and some fantastic lunch filled with a few little gifts. It was a great day all round and loved the experience of yet more New BMW’s

Trademe noob

This is because trademe is a pass time for people unfortunately.

these are still soo cool.

Looks like an RE002 Bridgestone. Assymetrical

Hardcore bro I went up in size for my good motor but for this one I ended up staying with stock size studs, they cost alot bloody hell haha

E39 therapy lol

I'm keen to help with photos if needed. Need to look at a nice e39 while mine is munted - I call it e39 therapy.

I've got an underground carpark at work that is vacant at the weekends. Used it to photograph my 540i when I sold it... http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/48829-sold-2000-e39-motorsport-540i/?p=527436. EDIT: And it was filthy but low light and photoshop are a black car's best friend.

Agreed on the nice pics! If you guys dont do it this weekend pop round to the meet and u guys can do it here!

Jesus Titty f**king Christ this is a nice car. That is all.

Think you need some help with some better photos, Darren. I took some fancy ones of my 540 and sold it for a pretty penny. I could take a few this weekend if you're around.

K24 all the way! The days of b18c and k20 have passed!

Make sure you visit in Jan when a new icon will be hanging around......

the front view for those not familiar with them

For my stock motor im using a cut-ring head gasket, the rings have groves in them which cut into the cylinder head allowing it to seal like a gangster bitch. MLS are good but dont want any issues so this is the way to go. On the good motor im running pyramid rings which are similar but hold alot more boost.

This explains why I haven't seen this cruising round chch in a while, looking good man