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Went for $18,100. These auctions seem to be going very well for nice cars, think I'll auction my E46 when the time comes.

Yes please!

Yeah I know right. Apparently I’m the only one that likes it. I was thinking of putting one on the other side and making some rubber looking grips for them. Then when I open the sunroof I can call it a wheelbarrow.

Today I did a machine polish of my E34 540i. Car has done over 370,000km so I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely the original paint managed to come out. All up took about 5 hours including a pre-wash and then application of a ceramic wax after the polishing had been completed. Used a cordless Dewalt polisher which worked very well, and used Turtle Wax Hybrid Black Polish. Usually for hand polishing I stick to Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, but went with Turtle Wax this time due to the large amount of Polish dust Ultimate Compound produces which is annoying when you are polishing an entire car. I did do a little side by side comparison between the two polishes on the bonnet and the results seemed identical to me. An added benefit of the Turtle Wax product is it has a dark pigment so for a particularly nasty scratch on the passenger rear door of my car, the scratch was darkened and is less noticeable. Only down-side to polishing the car is the insane amount of rock chips that have been accrued over the 370,000km are now more obvious lol I then coated the car in Turtle Wax Hybrid black wax and will hopefully do another coat of it tomorrow (takes about 24 hours to fully cure). Included is a before and after to display how well the Turtle Wax Polish did, as well as some photos of the car post polish.

The exhaust finally sold, booked in and had Hyperdrive come out with the mobile van to fit some Michelin PS4s. Absolutely chuffed with how much better the car looks vs the black wheels.

@Olaf reports of N47 timing chain issues I think are a case of internet echo chamber magnifying what is a clear issue affecting a small number of a common engine. 30k km oil change interval is pretty unlikely to help...

Ok so I may be new to BMW’s but I’m not new to the joys of European car ownership. I’ve enjoyed cars from all continents, including the US, Australia and Asia but the Euros are the ones that were the hardest ones to part with. Shout out to the DTM fans! And for the enduro fans, that’s my old twins. Go Corvette Racing!

now I'm not a lawyer but if i were to convert a car I'd keep my fat mouth shut about doing the deed on the sale post on a public forum. But hey it'll be a great gauge on price for every other 318 coupe when it sells Edit; for anyone that missed it

Here’s another 328i Motorsport Coupe that popped up on TradeMe yesterday - will be interested to see where the pricing ends up. This one’s a factory manual and NZ New. Doesn’t look to be as tidy as the Estoril example, but still appears to be honest. https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-3258069709.htm

I hear David Clarke is keen on testing the range next lockdown.

https://cdn.recaro-automotive.com/fileadmin/00-corporate-website/pdf/en/downloads/recaro-classic-ls-lx-en.pdf?v=1621256416 Pricing down the bottom… They’re quite a bit more expensive than I thought they’d be.

Thanks man. No, that one wasn’t on trade me since before I owned it. Without a doubt the 6.2. I did a custom exhaust on it. The OEM on the CLK was a single pipe from just behind the rear cats and through a single resonator and split behind the rear axle. I took out the rear cats and resonator and did a twin 2.5 inch mild steel all the way to the back mufflers. It is the best sounding v8 in Wellington IMHO. The guy who brought it most recently works next door to my company’s offices so I get to hear it most days. It wasn’t the fastest of the 3 but it is still is a special car. Black, coup, perfect height, insane sound and a period correct set of mags it was and still is an amazing car.

M30 would have struggled with cambelt failure I think...

The Phaeton was VW's ultra luxury car, to compete with the S-Class, 7 Series, A8 etc. Shares the same platform & parts as the Bentley Flying Spur.. a poor man's Bentley! This would be a great buy for someone that has outgrown the Golf R32 (same engine) or Passat R36 or just wants something more unusual than a big Merc or BMW. This particular model is a Singapore Import, was owned by an executive limo company. Phaetons are all pretty decked out and this one is no exception (& has a few extras): 3.2l VR6 Engine - sounds as amazing as it does on the R32. Easiest & cheapest to service. Chain driven. 4 zone independent climate + rear climate screen Premium 14-way electric seats: heating, cooling & massage functions (front & rear!) Side Sunblinds + rear blind is electric Put the alternate front grille (from V10 model) I saved from when I had one of these in Europe, 8 years ago but looks fresh! Loooong Wheelbase model, stupidly huge rear seat room Double Xenon, Dipped & Main beams are Xenons which is pretty rare, but effective. Sunroof, Parking Sensors, Electric Folding & heated mirrors, Infotainment, CD Changer Auto close doors (aside from drivers) 4 Motion AWD - proper mechanical Torsen based, quattro type as in A8 Air Suspension, self levelling, adjustable heights (for snow, floods etc) Genuine Audi RS5 19" low offset wheels, were new, look amazing 4x Pirelli's, near full tread Servicing; I did the following (& have receipts etc): Complete front suspension arms upper and lower! Oil and Filter change (inc. cabin filter) Bonnet / Boot Struts Front Parking Sensors changed Replaced Power Tailgate (boot) module 6x Spark Plugs Rocker cover & spark plug gaskets New Mass Airflow Meter New Xenons / wiring harness Wipers & washer pump Headlight washer plastic covers - nearly every VW seems to be missing these (not installed in photos ) Rear Air Con controls fixed and screen replaced (its missing some pixels but works fine) Finally OZone treated the interior, leaves it fresh smelling and kills off anything and everything from the last 15years. Supplying parts I didnt need or use Water pump (appeared to be fitted recently), belts Thermostat & VW coolant pipe Leather dye, had some left over Note, the not great things Front lower bumper is cracked in spots Despite replacing all the front suspension, I couldnt get it perfectly quiet when cold, little bit of noise there still on really bad roads Most of paintwork is great, but some stone chips on front Pop up washers not installed (supplied though) Brake pad change alert popping up, due at some point in the future. Price these at about EUR450 for discs & pads front and rear, so not insane pricing Its a 15 year old luxo barge with about 190k KM, so some awareness of future TLC recommended! Asking Price: On Trade Me for $9000 buy it now, but will definitely do better for Bimmersport Members.

Yeah, but, there is almost nothing else worth taking off an e36 and selling, especially a really rough 320 Good, tidy cars are going up, but piles of crap are still piles of crap

2008 E82 135is. New to BMW ownership.

Fishnets are a good look in E30's, they're also identical to Recaro LS aside from the headrest (obviously). Plenty of places stock bolster foam, so you've got the option of rebuilding some shagged seats to your perfect spec with new cloth etc, ooooor you could buy some brand new LS / LX straight from Recaro, who are now making them again. I know which option I'd be going for.

Nothing says the E30 market has jumped the shark like publicly admitting to a charge of conversion. Why oh why would you do this instead of spending $450 on a cert to get the 318i shell legal with a 2.5 - Further to this; the M20 and M40 airbox mounts in the engine bay are located differently, did anyone save a photo of the engine bay? At least the guy who did it was up front about it, otherwise you can add fraud charges to that as well. https://motoringmessageboard.com/topic/71613/page-2/swapping-vin-plates-and-tags seems this might not be super uncommon with E30's in NZ...

You would have to overdrive the piss out of an SC14 to get close to 8psi at reasonable rpm on an engine that size It's not worth the hassle on an m54b30

Do not work under a car supported by jacks, multiple blocks of wood or wheels laying on their sides!! You will probably not know that the car has fallen off as you'll be dead! The car needs to be supported by 4 (four) good quality jack stands. I use 3 ton 4WD jack stands. The car needs to be quiet high off the ground so you can get the transmission out. Measure the height of the transmission at the bellhousing to engine join. If the car is not have more than that measurement off the ground, then the transmission will not come out. You will want to clean inside the bell housing and maybe replace seals and pivot pins. Best done with the transmission out away from the car. The less time you spend under the car the less the risk of it falling on you. You need a good quality 2 ton floor/hydraulic jack, so you can support the transmission when you take it out by yourself and carefully lower it to the ground. You'll need the same jack to lift the transmission up to re-install it. A 2 ton jack has the lifting height to do the job. Make a cradle to hold the transmission on the jack. No jack and you are trying to lift a very heavy transmission while lying on your back. One slip and your are off to A&E due to the injuries' of dropping the transmission on yourself. Or if you actually manage to lift the transmission up to the engine, it will hang there supported by only the input shaft sitting in the piolet bearing. It's going to slip out, just when you have your head arm or body under the transmission as you try to fit some bolts. Not nice. Am I over dramatising this. No I am Not!! Been there, done the foolish silly things 30+ years ago and been to hospital to heal with lots of time to reflect on my mistakes. I replace clutches by my self these days, but I have the right gear, take it slow and spend a lot of time working out the heavy lifts to minimise hazards. Do not get nominated for the Darwin Awards.

But does it connect to the internet so when your subscription ends it stops working?

It's true that the PS4S's run a little wide, but I don't think the difference would be so significant that you should downsize from the OE tyre size. Most of the increased width is right at where the tyre meets the rim (Michelin call it a rim protector or something). It would probably be fine.

Its also tag swapped..

Finally got around to implementing boost by gear... went with 8psi in 1st and 13psi in 2nd as a first approximation. That has eliminated the annoying hard hit in 1st that was immediately followed by DTC taking the power off when hooking out of a side street into a gap in a stream of traffic. Made me think I was driving like I should have an "L-plate" on the car Now it just hooks up and goes without any DTC intervention... self respect is restored So thanks for the heads up Herb. Cheers...

https://www.pickapart.co.nz/webpage/WebPage.asp?Ref=10381&VehicleID=12990&SeriesID=6520 looks like the lights are gone though.

There was one at Pick a part. Auckland though.

Another vote for Menzerna Powerlock - its a great product. Lately I've been seduced to the dark side of easy apply spray sealants - currently using CarPro Elixer but will likely get some of their Hydrolite once my bottle of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic runs out (also a good product - smells nice and can be buffed on or sprayed and hosed off). Ceramic coatings are technically superior, but I tend to wax my car very regularly so maximum longevity is less important to me.

True, they are not terminal in their own right but unless you are a very good panel and paint guy it’s all $$$s on top of the $42k+ purchase price. Most are either E30 weak spots or E30 M3 rust points - like the front scuttle which is probably down to a bad windscreen replacement at some point. Screen that’s in there is buggered anyway so has to come out. And if it’s that bad on the outside, what is it going to be like in the other suspect areas - floorpans (water will have been pouring in), firewall and behind the M3 sideskirts, shudder. Again all repairable but more $$$s. If someone wants to pay that much coin, you have to think it has to be for a restoration - even with E30 M3 parts prices you’re not going to get that back by parting out.

Having run an N62B44 for 4.5 years and nearly 30k kms, my experience is that the N62 V8 is fekkin' brilliant. Sure, valve stem seals are a given (mine were replaced), and this is bad news. The coolant tube is a risk, though that risk has two mitigants in the form of annual coolant flush and replacement, and the collapsible tube replacement. For context, this replacement - should it be needed - is less costly than the M6x and it's timing chains and guides! The N62B44 is smooth, very powerful for it's capacity (just compare with M6x), lightweight, and bloody economical on a trip. In short, another sophisticated modern engine. It compares very favourably to the N4x motors (which I agree are a disaster). The N62 needs gaskets to stem oil leaks, and plugs/coils just like M5x motors (or most other BMW non-diesel motors). What's the big deal? People were bagging the M54 just five or six years ago; now they're understood. N52 is approaching the same status (yes, you all know you were freaking out about failing expensive electric water pumps until recently!), and is now becoming accepted and respected. The N54 is approaching the same (do fix your vacuum and exhaust leaks, don't fack it up with outrageous MHD tunes). In summary, the N62 is rather good and should absolutely not be lumped in with N42/N46. N62 simply needs regular maintenance, and does not respond favourably to neglect (like pretty much any BMW except perhaps the M10?). The N62 is frequently encountered in poor condition after some oik has tried to run them like a Camry. If you want bullet-proof out of a BMW you're shopping the wrong badge, buy a Landcruiser. PS: One assumes you meant SATAN, not Satin?

@leichtbau Funny you say that, when I looked at buying this car and took the initial photos the owner told me he was going to put a rotary in it. Originally the vehicle came from Northland 11+ yrs ago and in the engine bay it has a lot of aftermarket wiring and aftermarket gauges around the speedo cluster.

I did get the head to a shop… the day before lockdown! I’ve been doing what I can with all this time we have on our hands, but not having the head back has slowed things down. Boredom got the better of me and so I started removing some of the ancillaries to give the engine and bay a good scrub. I think I’ll replace the engine mounts while I’m at it. I hope everyone’s cracking on through lockdown and keeping well.

Fixed the twisted seat in my e34. Reclining adjustment on the right hand side was stuck causing the seat to twist. Was a bit of a mission though.

Moved Red car outside to put dinghy in it's place while I finish off the underside. First time the car has seen rain in a long time. Fitted 4 new door handle gaskets to red car; I'm really not sure there is anything else to replace/tidy up on her!

I'm in my mid 40s. Sold my 130i to get back into an E36

Saw the flakes, certainly they're more at the sparkle end than the chunk end, and nothing I could see in the filter.

I'm not overly confident in the cornering stability of these small but quite tall cars. Personally I think that lowering the CofG is a better way to go....