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I live in Rewa, Only place the wife and I could afford (first) home. Its pretty funny sometimes, but in all honesty we have never had anything pinched/broken/tagged etc. Wifes car was broken into 3 times in central Auckland... Unfortunately the drop kicks are the most visible around these parts, but plenty of normal people around here too (and its increasing as the number of first home buyers get pushed south and the "winz renters" get pushed out). Got a house with a section big enough for the big dog (he may influence security..) and unobstructed views of the water out to the waitakeres, could never afford anything like it anywhere else in Auckland.

I had pants made from that material when i was 7

Hi Everyone, I bought this car just before Christmas last year, and have been driving it as my daily since then. It's a '96 318ti with a stroked 328i motor & 5 speed box, 325 diff, 330 brakes and bilsteins on all four corners. I've progressively been working to tidy things up as various bits of trim are a bit tired, but in general it's been great fun. Have had issues with passenger seat occupancy sensor, vacuum leaks and broken wires at the speedo sensor, all fixed with relatively little drama so far. As it's a struggle to drive it at anything close to its potential on the road, I took it up for the MCC Envirowaste Autocross on the full circuit at Manfield a month or so ago, which I highly recommend (there's another one in November). While my times didn't set the world on fire, it was pretty respectable for a comfortable road car. I look forward to meeting up with the Wellington crowd at some point. Cheers, Hamish

Thanks! Now I don't have to turn up to the AGM in a jappa lol

@Olaf No, I bought it earlier this year. It's an ex-army short wheel base radio one (88" FFR), with 24v electrics and a generator the size of my head. I'm currently restoring it with my cousin in Hamilton. Once it's done (enough) I'll post it up in the other euros section. And yes you can buy the 6x6 one's surplus, my Nana nearly bought one Back to BMWs... It runs much better now, temps are good, power is good, idle is smooth and it's back to being a joy to drive

Little update, mounted my oil accumulater and removed my floor trim to run the hose underneath to feed it, while there I'm going to change all the plastic mounting clips to riv nuts and bolts to stop debris coming through around where the plastic wouldn't seal correctly

Early E46 318i got the M43TU19 engine - solid, reliable and easy to work on and maintain. I'm driving an E36 318i - M43B18 engine - on a daily basis. It's not going to set the world on fire with it's performance, but the economy is excellent (over 15km per litre, 1000km on a tank is possible if you're really careful), and the maintenance costs (4 spark plugs vs 6, less leads, and so on) are lower than with a 6-pot, especially if you DIY. Certainly heed @zero's advice re N-series engines in the E46. A search on here will reveal a sad tale of his woes.

Oppps! I keep forgetting that! I meant the 318i non-valvetronic motor. D'oh! Yep, the 320i is the baby six, nice work if you can get it.

Yes I didn't pay him any money because I was suspicious from the start. Using a photo from someone elses ebay listing was the first red flag. Not letting it be picked up and paid on delivery was another red flag, as was the constant pressure for money.

Scammers. Maybe we need a minimum post limit before selling something to stop scammers?

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I see your red interior and raise you, GOOOOOOLD. This one is actually quite a cool car. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1388079145.htm

Sounds like i've been sleeping on the job and missed something...

A Forward Control military ambulance? or a 130? What was the triple-axled jobs the Australian SAS used? Wonder if you can get those surplus? Edit: the mighty Perentie

The lack of refinement the 4 cylinders offer is why I'd avoid them, they seem liked a cut price half arsed engine from the 4 cylinder E46s I've driven, and way down on power. If you're not after a fast car, a 320 the baby 6 cylinder 2.0 or 2.2L is the way to go, MUCH smoother engine and a bit more grunty than the 4 cylinder.

It was actually quite entertaining (in light of the fact we didn't get scammed, I'm assuming) how pissy he was getting that we weren't willing to play by his rules. I even tried to be nice lol

No response from that seller with regard to any other items, either.

Cost of facelift 320i: $4000 Cooling system failure: $2000 Suspension parts starting to wear out: $1000 Enjoyment of owning a BMW: Priceless For everything else, there's Mastercard.

Auckland. I reverse searched his physical address, so if anyone was scammed by him we know where the money is. Also, hopefully it puts him off making another account and trying again.

320i is the 2.2litre 6 cylinder. Its the 318i in the e46 which had the four cylinder motors. Personally I think any 6 cylinder e46 is fine if you dont want crazy performance. My wifes 320i is fine to drive. Of course if you are after performance get a 330i

e46 325i is good. I've run mine for 5 years. Essential would include: - belts, water pump/thermostat/sensors/hoses/reservoir and of course genuine bmw coolant. - transmission service (sealed for life is a croc) - PCV system service, get in early and avoid vacuum leaks and misfires. - oil leaks - if not already done it'll probably need the oil filter housing gasket done, the valve cover gasket, and the power steering reservoir done run it on 95 or 98 you can easily change oil & filter yourself with the right hand tools, air filter and cabin filter are easily done too. plugs and coils are easy enough to change with basic hand tools they're not a cheap car to run if you want to maintain it perform and drive as it should. Better serviced by a BMW specialist than a corner garage. If you're interested in more, or want the full list of 5 years of maintenence by a slightly unlucky owner who always gives the car what it needs - and sometimes more - just sing out. The e46 is a neat car, way under-rated and leagues ahead of the venerable e30. They suffer from exciting uses for plastics that we're learning about now. Much more fun than the equivalent Toyota or Nissan. Welcome to the forum, you should find us a helpful bunch. And please, pay heed to Zero's advice above. If you want a 320i, ensure it's an early one before they inflicted the N42 or N46 on us. The early 320i is rudimentary, reliable, economical, if lacking a couple of cylinders and a bit of kick.

Was that the gearbox?? That's a real shame! Sucks, sorry to hear

No point buying a BMW if you're going for the bottom of the range. You're paying Euro car maintenance costs and getting no more performance or luxury than a cheap Jap car.

Buy a 6 cylinder. If you do get a 4 cylinder completely avoid the N42 or N46 motors as they will empty your wallet and still leave you stranded.

I reported the thread, and I pm'd an admin. I also strung the spammer along and got his full name, bank account number and reverse searched his phone number and address. I just didn't want anyone to get scammed.

There is one, but it doesn't appear to be automatic, so has to be enforced by Admin, which is a bit of a pain in the arse. If you have details of a particular scammer please pm them through.

I cleaned it up a bit yesterday. Going to polish it today. I don't think it has been polished since new. So it will take a while. Ordered some new trim and a few other bits and pieces from ecstuning. Just damaged weather stripping etc. Oh and no roadtrip time Stupid DMV is closed on Sunday and Monday. And my insurance didn't start till Sunday. So I couldn't get it registered. So I will just clean it instead. Should be a great little runabout.

Driving through Manurewa as I was looking at some open homes. Come across a group of about 30 Maori and/or Islander kids on bikes taking up the road, some on the bike lane and some riding the median. As I pass through, carefully, the little f**kers start hitting on the car (so I thought), then they pull a door open. Trying to steal stuff? Wish I side-swiped the f**kers right there, because I have zero faith in the police being helpful here. Is this normal there? Must be scary as hell for people who aren't very capable of defending themselves. Made me pissed. Will be sure to lock doors next time and be ready to ram them. Makes me think it's not worth looking at places there, what kind of s**thole has that going on.

innovative if anything,

I totally agree with you Dan. Most of the facebro pages are crap

E39 Touring > E46 Touring all day every day (edit: and E91 too.. I had a E91 325i msport and this E39 is miles better)