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Hi, have a 2 owner Z4 as above in Toledo Blue with 54000 miles. Now retired and losing my racing budget bought the open top Z4 about a year ago for some road driving fun. So far so good, after an E36 M3 thought it would be a bit lame but the 6 cylinder engine is hard to beat, great linear power and the convertible adds another dimension to road driving. Handles very well. Have put a Dinan air box, braided brake line, mogul fluid, CDV delete and front strut braceDoes raise occassional derogatory comments from the bogans unfortunately, each to their own. Just joined the BMW club and considering a 130I as a daily, roll on end of lockdown. Please see my other post that I should have placed in the correct forum.

Have you ended up coming back to New Zealand since your trip?

A boot liner helps, but I found, only if your dog stays in the boot ?. As mentioned above , and depending on the dog, dog hair will get everywhere. So you may also want to consider seat covers and rubber mats. For seat covers I use/d cheap imitation leather covers in most of my cars and they are awesome - no worries about having dogs jumping over the seats. And the seats actually hold up really well. The seat covers 'ain't the prettiest' by they do the job pretty well, and it may be a trade off. For mats I use deep dish ones for front and back, I wait for the 25%-40% supercheap sales and they are great. Carpets are 'as new' and keeps dog hair away from main floor areas. I also double the back with an all in one rear rubber mats (the one that goes over the tunnel, also from supercheap). I've been using these for close to 10 years and they have helped preserve and protect my interiors, well as much as they can anyway. I did consider installing a cage/barrier in the rear but I wasn't willing to lose practicality - which is the reason why I have a wagon. Oh - and you might also want to get a protective cover for each of the rear doors. They may also suffer from an overly enthusiastic dog (my old X3 doors became well scratched pretty quickly). And last thing - scratched trims is something you may have to live with as well. Hope this helps!

I have used this tool for a few years now the flanged bushes are a problem but the non flaned versions are a piece of cake.

Got around to sorting out the crusty “chrome” window trims.

Considering a 130i as a daily and looking for comments from the members re how good the auto gearbox is. Prefer manual but so few around and those that are (apart from IainR’s recent purchase) appear to be a bit untidy with doubtful history. More auto’s for sale and much lower priced so considering an auto and if I don’t like it could do a manual conversion which ballpark appears to be around 4K +/_ Have raced various cars over the years including a 3.0 E36 M3 so need something engaging. Some really good threads here, the one from M3an seems pretty relevant to me. Look forward to the comments, cheers.

Afternoon everyone! A few firsts for me here: First BMW First RWD First Larger Displacement Engine First time posting here! Just picked up this 130i after selling my Subaru Legacy GT Spec B wagon. I've been a long time jap/turbo fan and just got itchy feet after having the GT for 1 year. I actually really missed it but didn't need the space it offered and decided I wanted/needed a hot hatch. I almost went for a Golf R32 but was desperate to stay in a manual car and it's near impossible to find a manual golf in NZ (I'm originally from Scotland). it wasn't until relatively recently that I realised the 130i was within budget.... I've spent many, many hours reading and watching reviews and decided to focus my attention on the little car with the massive engine squeezed in! At the time of posting, I've only driven the car once along the highway after picking it up. A very different power delivery from my turbo Subaru but I love the instant get-up-and-go offered from the straight 6. One thing that's putting me off driving it any further is the exhaust. It's been fitted with the MSport Performance back box and I actually hate it. It initially put me off buying the car but I've sourced an OEM back box that will be installed as soon as it's delivered. I find the noise pretty unbearable and want to keep the sleeper image that the 130i came with. Is there much of a demand for the Performance muffler? I'll be wanting to sell it on once changed out but no idea of what it's worth. Any honest opinions on what I should ask for it? I can't wait to get back in it and take it for a spirited drive. I'm absolutely delighted with the car and really look forward to all the road trips!

Id do a standard drain and refill, drive it for a bit and then drop the pan/filter. Helps mix the old and new fluid up to drain more old fluid, since only about half comes out in one drain.

Oil pan filter and fluid are the main service points.

I bough the 3 bottle kit from Soft 99, its pretty good, and well priced. Smell reminds me of old Tamiya polishing compound from toy cars in the 80s Have had good results with Meguiars ultimate compound and polish too, but its pricey. I just use a cheap nasty supercheap DA and a Luxxio pad. The stock BMW paint is hard...

Well, as you know I have an auto but that was a conscious choice, not a matter of budget or availability. In Auckland, especially on my various regular commutes, a manual just wouldn't suit me. And I have the M3 if I need to shift manually. I used to be a "it must be a manual" guy but I softened on that when I got the auto 328 and the 130 has convinced me that auto's have their place. This box is so good that it's fine for a daily. My opinion would probably be different if I didn't have the M3. The NRW paddles have totally transformed my experience, I can drive it as hard as I want in manual sport mode and I reckon the box is at least as fast as an early 2000's SMGII "manual" box (e46 M3). I'm not here to convince you either way, just to say that the 6 speed auto really does seem quite a good gearbox, it's not detracting from my experience, it's actually making my daily commute more enjoyable. Having said that, manual 130's do pop up from time-to-time at really reasonable prices (sub 9k), there were a few about 4-6 weeks ago so if that's really what you want and you can afford to be patient then I'd say wait. It's worth noting that I do not know if my transmission software has been changed (the engine software has) and once we're out of lockdown I'm keen to try a known stock auto back-to-back with mine. Edit: regardless of what you get, 130's are a bucket of fun and I think everybody here who owns one would concur.

De chrome time on the wagon. Did it on the car as I didnt want to remove and re adhere. Takes agggggges to mask all the surroundings tho

Thanks, under rated imo. Have taken it round Manfeild and surprised how well balanced it was. Ditched the run flats and have Schnitzer version 3 in 18” x 8.5.

That's an amazing looking result, nice one.

Week 1... Making it shiny. Might be going crazy. Soft99 KoG over top of Fusso 12.

Cheers for that @///M I reckon once my replacement muffler comes I'll head along to Auto 38 and hopefully they can help me out and tell me if/what has been removed from the exhaust system.

‘Ooomph’ green degreaser from bunnings. It’s cheap, works well and doesn’t stink of diesel.

Replace convertible roof fabric & seals - April 2015, 177,000km After almost a year of enduring a 'leak free' roof (as described by the previous owner) it was time to replace the leaking convertible roof fabric. The leaking was coming through the perished stitching that connected the fabric to the frame... most of the loops had separated from the frame (don't drive with your soft top closed, windows open at high speed!). Parts: -New original pre-cut 3 layer fabric (canvas, rubber inner, cotton interior lining layers) -New front & rear bow seals -New tension straps -Sikaflex 225 (original rubber sealant as used at factory) -ADOS F38 high heat contact adhesive -Stainless steel high strength screws for tension straps and rear bow seal retainer (Auckland Engineering Supplies is very useful) -Litres of solvent (for old glue) -Rust-Oleum black satin spray paint Unfortunately I don't have a lot of photos from this job, but I used the original factory service video of canvas replacement (I have a copy if you need it) + the instructions that came with the fabric. It was easy to tear off the original fabric, with frame attached to car, then a few days with clothes soaked in solvent wrapped around glue cover bows (horizontal bars fabric attaches to) to remove all traces of the glue. Once the old glue was removed, I decided to remove frame, lightly sand it to remove some spots of corrosion and respray all parts with a black semi-gloss/satin spray paint. Refitting the frame is straight forward, however be prepared to spend many hours with shims getting correct alignment of frame to body (happy to assist people with this!). Then it's a process of re gluing the canvas to the frame (there are specific alignment cuts in the canvas to attach this correctly). It's very important particular attention is paid to the way the two layers of canvas are attached to the rear bow, and the final layer needs to be glued so that it pulls the canvas in around the rear bow. Done correctly, the canvas should meet at almost a right angle with the rear tonneau cover when it's closed. Some original inscription from the factory on the old canvas Before it's first outing I also used 303 Canvas protectant (kind of like scotch guard) to protect the fabric and make the surface hydrophobic I reapply this every 6ish months - 4 years on it's still looking near new: I also picked up an original rear window 'bra' on german Ebay to protect the rear plastic screen if it's parked outside on a hot day (it's been garaged since the roof replacement):

Hi guys/girls, Jono here, new to forums, taking my time to look through the topics (love jeffbebe's E31 who must live locally to me as I see it about all the time) and introduce my ride.... Brought this NZ new '91 E30 facelift 325i convertible manual done 165,000kms two years ago sight unseen from Rangiora ... Drove back to Auckland with the heater on full as temp gauge didn't work and some funky steering thanks to the tie rods being wound all the way in one direction (1 turn to lock left, 3 to lock right haha)... I'm pretty handy (and particular) so replaced ALL fluids, cambelt, waterpump, all water hoses, thermostat (old one was fine), temp gauge and adjusted valve clearances soon after getting back. Since then I've replaced the roof canvas and seals (last month, including stripping frame back to metal and repainting; b**** of a job getting the frame re-aligned after removing it) and various bits of trim and assorted suspension bushings... it's a labour of love, still plenty of things I'd like to do... PS: Always on the look out for the removable hard top on the slim chance anyone has one they want to sell...