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The latest in a series of "e39 rescue" is now available to its next guardian... I picked this one up just before lockdown as it had a certain style of wheel I thought I needed as a spare set... Lockdown was very busy in the garage as I "worked from home" This early e39 528 with M52 engine has had a lot of attention and too much $$$ thrown at it in a short space of time... Everything is now up to date, all working, and is oil and watertight... As a few highlights... Waterpump, thermostat, front rotors (gen BMW) and pads, rear pads, front brake hoses, new windscreen, windscreen trim and cowl, rear windscreen trim, new console tray and compartment, facelift headlights polished and adjusters replaced, replaced foglight, excellent set of standard wheels with near new tyres, front sway bar links, rear suspension upper control arms and lower inner bushes, power steer hoses and pipes, fuel filter, window regulator replaced, bonnet/boot struts, cupholders.... The electric rear blind has been replaced and the parcel tray dyed black. The entire car has had a time consuming paint correction to remove clear coat scratches, along with the dent magician taking care of a few small dents. The door handles have been painted along with other touch ups around the car. There is still minor evidence of 24 years or so of life, low on the front and rear bumpers, and on drivers door as examples... but in general the oxford green metallic paint is pretty good... This car was imported from Japan in 2005 and has had one NZ owner before myself. The car was fitted in NZ with a widescreen monitor and navigation, the last map update being in 2011, which makes it a bit of fun... Other features include rain sensitive wipers, fold in mirrors, heated front seats, a quiet working sunroof with clear drains. 241,xxxkm or so. https://www.mdecoder.com/decode/bv73322 I have decommissioned the intensive washer function, but the headlight washer system has been repaired with a new supply hose. This car is in excellent all round condition and is "good to go" The engine is silky smooth and the trans is also good, albeit being a Jatco it has the mandatory "jatco jerk" shifting from 1-2 and 2-3 when cold. After a few changes it's all good... Looking for around $3900 or reasonable offers.... "nothing to do" but of course I cannot offer or imply any sort of guarantee / warranty. Fresh WOF.

Hey guys I'm Nige, based in Chch however like bmw I'm also a European import. Throughout my driving life (23 ish yrs) I've had numerous cars but always keep coming back to the beemers. I've had a couple of E30's an E34 an E36 and currently an E24 project and an E82 daily driver. I was looking around for a 335i but everything here in NZ is auto ? then I found my manual 135i ? and I fitted in it! ? So I've had it a year now and 10,000kms later big smiles every time I drive it. The maintenance side of things is a bit of a worry but it's had a new hp fuel pump and new vanos and new diff oil and the intake valve walnut blasted. I've replaced the oil cooler/filter housing gaskets and spark plugs and of course engine oil. About to do the serpentine belt and plugs and coils maybe clean the injectors and new seals. Always something to do! Meanwhile the poor old e24 died and has been neglected. I've sourced a fresher engine with motronic injection and am on the hunt for a getrag 260 to do a manual conversion while I'm at it. Some day she will grace the roads again! I even thought about going electric for a cool different project but I don't have the time, skills or funds for that atm. It would be great to touch base with others to make friends and compare notes as I'm very much an amateur when it comes to all things mechanical.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-2694436066.htm Well worth a look-see, these must be pretty close to the bottom of their depreciation curve, if the current upswing in previous generation M3 prices is any indication. Love the Mineral White!

I dunno, manual and had rod bearings done: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/2689453782

edit: good for the price considering the market for these. good luck with the sale. I would have been keen but the kms are creeping up there for me

Sound dampening material from engine bay firewall?

Yeah I plan to try and make it. However I still haven't figured out my issue with it yet.

just for 100% clarity, you're selling the 4 door black one with beige interior right?

Got a WoF today, VTNZ with no issues. Did have a note on the sheet to talk to the guy who did it, he said it's a nice car but my right fog light is too high and needs adjusting. Will add that to the list of stuff that will get done in a couple of weeks(exhaust/wheels/brake fluid). Car is still running sweet, will be at cars and coffee in Welly on Sat arvo, so will hopefully see a few people there. Maybe another 130i? I know @IainR and @Driftit are local.

3/4 ain't bad...(red E87 notwithstanding). The blue one is a manual, maybe the only one in NZ?

I have a staggered set of style 24 or a staggered set of style 68s if interested?

Oh the good times.. Had the Merc, the boat, but that is all gone now. Just the bimmer and the nissan leaf. According to the Auckland Council forecast, I am already living in 2035, as they expect that in 15 years, the average household would have 1 electric car and 1 petrol car. I gotta say, I'd happily change the leaf for a Tesla Model 3 or a Jaguar IPace, but the bimmer will stay. (Edit, I follow a couple of Electric car blogs and I have to say, I F**ing hate when they refer to the Tesla Model 3 simple as "M3", hell no, Call it Mod.3 #3, but not M3, M3 is just another thing... Sorry for the rant) After another couple of months, the mirrors were the next mod... I just couldn't stand to see those beautiful wheels (yes, the curbing will be addressed sometime) but the rectangular mirrors... they HAD to be the M3 ones, but being a compact, only Sedan and Convertible works if I'm not wrong, not the coupe, so, quite tricky. Again, some time later a pair appeared, they were some sort of black and after an afternoon of sanding, priming, panting, sanding, painting my hands, painting the mirrors and so, finally, M3 mirrors in a fairly decent termination for it to be a home made work by a non paint professional.. By the way, some context, I work on IT now but I went to a science school, not sure how it would be here in NZ, but when I was 13 (26 years ago) we were taught how to use a lathe, electricity, and some welding, plus we learned the very first things on CAD, so, I get around with some craftmanship. With the mirrors, this started to look way more nicer. I'll follow up with the first time he "ran" Hampton downs.

i had a "80 percent" map put on my 120d,revved a bit faster and generally felt better if you can call 4500 revving!.NZ performance tuning did i think ,they came to me and did it on the side of the road at work!

New cabin filter in, one that came out was dirty but not terrible, probably replaced already at some time during the car's life. Much, much easier than the PITA e36 equivalent which is at the back of the interior centre console. I also installed the e92 M3 front anti-roll bar and new droplinks and am slightly amazed at how much a difference it's made, it's noticeably stiffer and really aids turn in. In fact I'm glad I didn't install it immediately before or after the alignment as I might not have been able to tell the difference with so many changes. The replacement drop links are much beefier than the originals that came out. This thinner section on the 130 bar and bushing flanges on the M3 bar are the only obvious differences between the two bars but there may be other meaningful ones, they weigh about the same. However the aluminium M3 brackets and captive bushes are far superior (and lighter) than the originals. And finally the replacement droplinks are also superior.

Thats real nice. It has been very hard to stick to budget once you start browsing. I had to draw the line somewhere however if the car is right, i dont mind stretching a couple pennies. Also, thanks everyone for the recommendations and TM links. Apart from the member saying to stay away from the BMWs ?. I'll digress by saying I've had years of trouble-free (TOUCHING WOOD) motoring from the aging fleet. The M52 E36 I currently daily is an absolute tank and hasn't missed a beat from the last 60,000kms I've owned it. Rigorous inspections, research and preventative maintanence are to blame I reckon with perhaps a touch of luck. With the current cars being the M52B28 swapped E30, E91 N52B25 & E36 M52B28 and 10 years as an aircraft technician, I'm no stranger to budgeting for maintenence (I wasn't triggered, I promise ?). Indeed I can see where you're coming from, but 95% of Japanese cars just don't do it for me and i'll be damned if i drive something and don't look back at it in the carpark. So far I'm looking for a facelift M54 E46 touring or an E87 with a sidewards glance at the odd golf/polo (blasphemy).

so how many 130i's have you got atm? surely you have at least 1 good one haha

Staggered BBS CH016/017

BMW Motorsport works driver Alessandro ‘Alex’ Zanardi was involved in a serious road accident in his home country of Italy on Friday, 19 June 2020. He is currently in stable condition at a Siena hospital, but is in a medically-induced coma due to the severe head injuries he incurred. Since the accident, BMW has been in close contact with Alessandro’s family. We are shocked by this news and deeply concerned. Zanardi is a two-time CART champion and former Formula One driver. In 2001, he was involved in a racing accident that resulted in the loss of both his legs. Despite his handicap, he exhibited superhuman determination to recover, designing his own prosthetics and learning to walk again. From 2003 to 2009, Zanardi raced modified BMW race cars and successfully competed in the FIA European Touring Car Championship (FIA ETCC) and the FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) with BMW Motorsport. After a break of four years he returned to racing in 2014 as a BMW works driver and competed in the Blancpain Sprint Series in a BMW Z4 GT3 that was modified to suit his needs. He then competed in the gruelling 24 hours of Spa endurance race in 2015, sharing the cockpit with non-handicapped drivers for the first time. Zanardi’s story is one of fearless human spirit, inspiring us all to reach higher and go further. The thoughts of the global BMW family are with him, his wife and his son during this time.