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Irrespective of the market you can always give yourself the best chance of selling. I reckon $80 worth of cleaning products and a day's effort and you'd have that thing looking sharp inside and out, including the engine bay. A clean car is always easier to sell, might be worth the effort? I don't think the price is unreasonable if it were spick and span.

It's been a while since I've owned a BMW, been in company cars for a while with a urs6 and mgbgt to play with. Anyway picked this up a while back and have been returning her to spec- hence my advert seeking standard hellrot wing mirrors and an Alpina rear spoiler instead of the m3 items. She is a 3.2 Switchtronic, which is basically a tuned 5 speed zf auto with buttons on back of the steering wheel, Effectively always driving in sport mode, then using the 's' position as manual mode(normal s function is not available)

A recent example: me question - "Hi, how long have you owned, what servicing has been done (waterpump, coils, inlet clean, sump gasket, etc) and can you elaborate on the de-registration? Also, would you consider a part-trade with a clean 130i? Thanks " seller answer - "Feel free to contact me to discuss" My thoughts about this response?... nope, sorry not going to call anyone who isn't bothered to put up an answer to a few simple need-to-know questions and some which every potential buyer is likely to ask and which should have been addressed in the listing anyway. Then later... seller comment - "Re-registration due to front r/h hit resulting in insurance right off. Easy repair with all bolt replacement items. Repair certification and re compliance done. very comprehensive process to re vin." Wouldn't you think this information would be kind of crucial to include in the listing? Had I called, let's say it was on autotrader or advertised on the side of the road - what do you think the chances are he would have just volunteered this information? Likely I would only discover it when I came to sell or my mechanic says "did you know the chassis is bent?"*. This is on a 20k car by the way - a significant investment for a lot of people. The listing including the terms "excellent condition" and "unmolested". This is why I personally like trademe the way it is. Anything else, just say "thanks for your comment". ? * not saying it is, but we all know someone who has been shafted in this situation and I'm not looking for a damaged/repaired vehicle

haha no doubt im going to come down this way again. will drive thru the wairarapa next time on a side note, the wagon performed beautifully along the trip. I am very very pleasantly surprised with the E61 platform. Ive only ever driven a PFL E60 530i sedan long time ago. it was very nice and stable, handled the bumps on the roads really well. Got it home hooked up the scanner and low and behold, bunch of fault codes that look like a lot to do with a bad battery or maybe it hasnt been coded to the car. the fun begins..

Agree, especially under the bonnet and those front leather seats would look great with $35 of Coulourlock leather fresh (toning dye) and an hours elbow grease.

FCP euro are highly recommended.

The motor trade is reporting vigorous activity with good numbers being achieved. This has seen good quality trades moved onto the general market at realistic prices. Some of us have been lucky with our "special interest" cars too. A surplus of average cars in the average price brackets like Ahmedsinc, coupled with a format change to our beloved TradeMe has seen a slow up in this sector. Best to use your personal network, and thinking outside the square, like making up a spec sheet, price etc with contact details stick it on the window, and park it up on the roadside in a high traffic area works well for a surprising number of people. There is a lot of money floating about for discretionary purchases. Reverse marketing (putting the price up) works well in a situation like this too Ahmedsinc, not like there are 10 wagons to compare with!

Changed the brake fluid and headed up to Manfield for the MG CC / constructors CC Driver training/shake down track day at Manfield. Was a super fun day throwing the E30 round. Low drama day of redlines and yarns. Shout out to @skidz for the race suit. ^ photo: Jarod Carruthers

Flew Akl-Palmy return yesterday, on the way back the pilot skipped the "there may be some turbulence on the climb, but we expect the cruise to be smooth" and just went straight to "there are sick bags in the back of the seat in front of you"

Actually, it's an interactive medium and I appreciate the transparency of being able to see what people are asking or pointing out. The sellers responses often tell you all you need to know. I find if your listing is complete and honest you get very few questions or comments. It's a myth that serious buyers will call. Every car i have brought i have asked questions first and then screen-shoted the answers for peace of mind. Maybe the auto trader type site (do they still exist?) or Turners would be more suitable for you?

Actually weather was fine over in the Wairarapa ?.

Thank you, we see it more in the cars for sale section. Watchers are quick to comment, off the cuff or not, on a wide range of topics quite often so diverse from the item for sale. Vendors are listing a car for sale in a visual medium. Really, those bona fide watchers will be calling, or making a call, I know, the old fashioned way, instead of making fatuous comments online. We would be quite happy to use TradeMe more if it deleted the "Ask a question" function

I can also virginise used proximity keys so it can be programmed to another vehicle.

I can program/cut and supply keys on all euros and jap vehicles. get in touch if you need it done. 027 4444 233 (no texting).

A couple of weeks ago there was a post about ambient lighting updates available to the F12/F13/F06. Long story short, without significant wiring and software updates there is no way to get multi-colour ambient lighting in our cars. This got me thinking about what options we had other than sticking aftermarket LED strips over the existing optics. I found THESE on amazon. The thing that stuck out was that you could use the existing optics with the new light units. This is the result: Obviously the photos from my phone are enhanced so I did some manual adjustments to more closely simulate what it looks like in real life, and this is the result: The result is not crazy bright or garish at all. I attached the supplied LED drivers to the factory optic strips. Running the connecting wires into the car was a wee bit of a challenge since there is no wire tunnel through eh door harness. I overcame this by running them out the bottom of the door, under the rocker panel covers, illuminate sill plate and up into the car under the weather seal. Pretty clean, invisible install. I added footwell lighting front and back using the supplied fibre optic cables. The optics are hidden under the trim panels and the rear seat bench so they are not directly visible. Pretty happy with the result. Took a fair few hours to do but I did remove the seats to properly hide the fibre optic cables for the the footwell lighting. The cables are all routed to the armrest storage. The setup for the app was seamless and works as expected.

ad hominem's aside, I never seen anyone 'trolled' who wasn't just being called out for being dishonest or profiteering.

I'm not suggesting you get work done elsewhere, just that you go somewhere that will read and print the codes for you. BMW themselves aren't very good with M cars either. They often have 1 tech who's been certified and then they either leave or forget what they've learnt for older cars. In fact, a BMW dealership is probably the worst place to take an older M car tbh.

Personally i think it at least partly due to E39's being so common and cheap on today market.

Thanks, yes it's one of those strips of rubber that I'd like to (but don't need to) replace.

Took some photos from the strip I pulled off @M3AN . It doesn't have a gasket but two different sized bits of rubber each side. Can see the totally broken clip and one with two tabs remaining. Covered in pollen but hey.

It sits in there with multiple clips, I thought it would slide out but you need to lift it straight up. I started from the boot end and lifted it out clip by clip. Every clip has three tabs on it and guarantee you will break a tab on each plastic clip pulling it up. I broke a tab on every one of mine, and the replacement strip already had tabs broken (from removal presumably) but still had more than enough to lock it back down solidly. I believe you can buy replacement clips or at least they have their own part number on realoem.

Good stuff, how do you get that strip out? I want to replace the gasket on one of mine.

I was just floating around as a lowly spectator. Some great machines on the track for sure.

So I got my Bluebus around 6 weeks ago. Plug into my E39, no power on the unit, no communication. Troubleshooted everything in my car and found issues to be with Bluebus. Contacted Ted (bluebus creator) and asked for help. Unit diagnosed as DOA. I sent the unit to him for repair, he offered to pay for the shipping back to the USA which I declined as his support and firmware updates so far have been bloody brilliant. He repaired it straight away and sent it back with 3 day shipping, at his cost. Unit arrived and I plugged it in, unit now powers on and the system recognizes it, but wouldn't allow control input to adjust settings/pair bluetooth. Contacted Ted again, had a reply within 30 minutes. Plugged the unit into my computer and opened a terminal (putty on windows machines) Set a different user interface settings as some NZ/JDM BMWs Video modules are coded for TV Only or Navigation only etc. Unit is now working perfectly, such an awesome upgrade for our older cars. Highly recommended and Ted's support was 110%

Guide coat on just to get a fresh look at the panel curves, been alot of rebuilding on it. used the rest of the graphite, an expensive guide coat that was Its looking 1million times better than when I started and happy that I spotted the dodgey guard flaring and didn't compromise on the body work. Not entirely 100% with it but can definitely see the end in sight. Might start on the other side and use the other side as a guide to Match up he RHS.

Ordered some cosmetic parts for the car recently, first one was something I'd been after for a while and it showed up the other day. Replacement strip on the roof in white, my one was missing the flap that covered one of the roof rack mounts. Hard to find part so getting one in white was a great find and at a nice price shipped. Missing tab which you can't replace ? New strip fitted really tidies up the car.

@Sammo maybe he means, because it's not from the BMW Dealership. @Seba FCP is the way to go, all OEM parts, make sure you stock up on some oil filters at the same time, alot cheaper over there than over here

FCP Euro is great, really fast shipping, and cheap if you get a few things at the same time - pretty sure they sell only OEM stuff? Don't get hit with GST either.

Selling: 1997 BMW 540iASE NZ New with 1 owner from new Asking: $10,000 ONO Details: Original handbooks/service history included, owner bought it in 1997 and has had regularly serviced since. Always stored inside garage. Most recent service in August 2020; oil service, four new Michelin Pilot Sport 4's all round. Currently at 113,000kms. Inside and out in near mint condition. Paintwork and plastics etc all in excellent condition. Very rare car in this condition/kms. Selling car on behalf. Feel free to PM me with questions. Thanks

Try unplug the air mass sensor then road test. Its easy way of eliminating a component that can cause the fault your experiencing.

Does it have drive-by-wire? I'm not sure when they introduced it to the M3. Are you able to read the codes or only when you take it to a shop? You need to fix that first if not. It's highly unlikely the car will be going into such an extreme mode without any codes.

That sounds very unusual. So there is no check engine light or fault codes at all when it goes into limp mode?

Sounds like they're applying the scattergun approach instead of diagnosing the issue properly. Are there any recommended indy workshops there that could have a look and pull codes? Its unlikely its going to be in limp mode without codes.

Another option - have a chat with Joe or Oleg at EuroSurgeon?

Yea, it became clear he had less and less patience for the keyboard warriors and armchair experts. It sucks when this happens.

That's understandable. In my opinion the dude was a legend. I have never seen such a drivers arm tan. Reminded me of a farmers leg, where below the gumboot it's white as snow, and above it, caramel brown.

He seems to have quit forums where he became exasperated at how many non-turbo driving web-taught 'engineers' were happy to tell him how to do things. He sells through agencies now, and keeps a low profile so he and his dogs can get on with making things.

With the car rubbing bad in the rear decided to lift it via spring adjusters, then put a smaller profile tyre on and went back out, the difference was night and day, i was able to keep the wheel speed up but raising it had changed the rear toe and it was getting zero side bite, combine this setup with trying to learn drifting at speed and..well... IMG_1162.MOV