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FOUND! About 1200m from home, perfectly parked.

Back from Apex Automotive getting RTABs in (Meyle HD) and steering column change (was making a grinding noise when turning which turned out to be a busted bearing in the column). Car feels great - cheers @BMTHUG for the hard work and the pic

having driven it I am considering buying another one now Dave 😂

Not sure what it is about your car, it always looks great ... maybe I'm just not used to looking at cars that are kept clean and shiny

I had a 2014 F20 116i which I paid $30k for in 2017. In 2018 a black Mtech 1 came up for sale for $18.5k, so I put the F20 up for sale for $24k. Luckily I sold it within two weeks and I went straight away and picked up the Mtech 1 ($16k after bargaining and letting the previous owner keep a lot of extra parts that weren’t original to the car). $16k for this car was asking top dollar in 2018 but I always wanted a black Mtech 1 and didn’t mind paying for an overpriced car at that time. (The asking price of $18.5k at that time put a lot people off and I was the first to go see the car). Moral of the story, the longer you wait, the more you will have to budget. If you see one that’s ticking all the boxes, just pull the trigger.

Alignment done today took a while as the car seemed out of spec on the machine at BMW but everything is even side to side and its aligned "closer" than the last alignment on old susspension Thanks to the diligence at Coombes they kept it overnight to double check it today to make sure it was right, and cause they know im fussy Picked it up lunch time today, went for a quick blat out Te Kowhai and back throuhg past hamilton Zoo, forthose that don't know the area, its got a very good undulations and corners, but not too far from work. The ride height still needs to settle (not as low as a club members E39 withthe same suspension), not sure how long this will take but the handling is exceptional, far , far more direct and adept at handling corners.

These 635s are like buses - Wait for ages and three come at once!

My old one is for sale again, although a lot dirtier and with some new wheels. Don't understand how people put cars up for sale without giving it a basic clean: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/135i/listing/3330547223 This is what it looked like clean🤣

Do you have a wife?

Been doing some wet sands to really get these panels scratch free and looking mint before I start disassembling and masking up. Those lines starting to look OEM Not 100% forensically feathered but In general the reflections in it looking mint I'm using straight black tinter as a base coat to seal off and wet sand back with 600 grit. It's definitely added a little bit of cost to the bill as it's $70/l and I've used approx that. But a good job is worth it. Prefer to wet sand this than see some scratches in the actual base coat which is $150 p/l !

Haha it's a hard one bro, I wouldn't let the e30 go for less than 30k which gets a e60 m5, c63. Throw the e36 wagon in and I'm looking at e46 m3s etc.. the tempt is real Nothing truer... I was waiting on a facelift vert, paid 10k for one 6ish years ago which was alot at the time but now looks like a bargain

I Joined many years ago , but never completed my profile I currently have 10 BMW's that are my daily drives 2006 E60 M5 V10, 2008 E60 M5 V10, 2006 E60 550i MS V8, 2007 E61 550i MS V8, 2007 E60 550i LCI V8 2008 E63 M6 V10, 2006 E63 650i V8, 2009 E63 650i V8 2008 E65 750i V8, 2005 E65 740i V8 It is nice to have a choice of what I feel like driving.

218,xxx km this week marks 1 year with the touring. probably close to spending double what I was intending to spend but that’s old cars for you. Passed it’s WOF with no notes last week. First WOF in my ownership so I’m very happy. thanks to @Sammo for spotting this steering wheel on FB. It arrived yesterday and with a bit of a clean up it’s come up a lot better than the initial photos of it. Still will need to be wrapped again down the track as there is some deterioration on right hand side, but good enough to use now. installation wasn’t quite as straight forward as the bracket the airbag clicks into had a sticky spring and was also missing a couple of springs that fit underneath it meaning the airbag stuck out horribly. 3 torx 30 screws and it was easily swapped over. Iv also swapped my original airbag out as it supposedly had been updated with the Takata recall, however I noted it’s still a Takata bag that’s in there? I’ll have to do a bit more research. The govt website is saying no recall required for my plate, however previous owner insisted it had multiple airbag recalls done. Now I will look at getting the old one fixed up, it’s got some stitching coming undone. Turned the car on and it didn’t explode, no airbag light either. It’s quite a bit thicker than the original wheel so am looking forward to a test drive.

I remember the 200k houses, with a 50k car on the driveway.

hahaha still doesn't give you the enjoyment that driving an e30 does. I'll be honest, there is just something about these old boxes that does it for me. I would sell every car in my fleet just to keep my e30. the e60, the e23, the e28 and the e46 can all go hahha

anytime bro. Your car is without a doubt the most beautiful e46 330ci I have ever had the pleasure of working on. Glad we got that grinding noise sorted. I live my e46 dreams vicariously through you now haha

Agree with @Contrails and @Gaz. It’s only been a few months since I took a leap on mine and I’m pretty sure I would sell it a bit more even if I listed it with $1 reserve on TM. Also the same reason why I may not sell it ever, as it would be very hard to buy one again!

I would suggest that given that line up 10 is the right number to make sure you always have one that is drivable!!

Nice little evening cruise last Friday along the rural countryside. Need to get it out and enjoy it more!

A car is like a women sometimes. you can never have enough.

Given the age the parts are now rare antiques!

Yeah, with total borrowing of 195k against them, and then the GFC hit and they were a 150k house with a 25k car and 194k owing against them... whoops! At least if you spend the money on an E30 you know it's a solid investment right...?? Every time I get caught bringing more parts into the house I always justify it by saying they are an investment in precious metals... especially the E30 M3 bits.

Simple, re-mortgage the house to utilise the increased equity and spend that on an E30..!! Reminds me of the early ‘00s in the UK when lots of people were doing that to buy new cars, great investment - not!!

A little sobering to think 12 months later my budget for this has more than doubled... At least my house has 'gone up' $300K

The best time to buy an E30 or House in Auckland is "Two years ago" You can't drive a house but you can kind of sleep in an E30.

I've just re-read the first post on this thread, from all the way back in July 2019, a whole two years and three months ago, where @Blackie had linked it for a new member. A FL manual 325i coupe with M-Tech bodykit (can't remember if a genuine M325i) for a whopping $15k. If one were listed for that price now then the seller would get trampled in the rush of buyers. Market price would be near double that now I would suggest, (or waaaay above if was an M325i) pretty good returns for anyone that bought an E30 as an investment back then. Conflicted views on that as I'm not keen on "our" cars being turned into investment items that drive the enthusiasts out of the market, but on the other hand makes mine worth more - not that I would ever sell them.

Overwhelming urge to go hang a wheel off a sharp cliff edge whilst all crossed up.

That's a funny story. I think by 2006 I was onto my M635csi and was living in Birkenhead happily married ! I hope this red 635csi goies to a good home. Fabulous old sharks - and one of the prettiest designs by BMW. Still look great today!

I must admit, I had scanned their products in my 'pre build' planning (I quite like their slotted gear knob) but think I'll just end up manning up and getting a $$$$$ Mtech 1 or 2 370mm.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/320i/listing/3325927365?bof=oOiIhbKX @Sammo if you get this then getting rid of the renowned steering has to be first on the list. They are renown for failing

Was free listings yesterday @Sammo I saw that SE, 320i v my 325i but did do a double take! If I could magic it’s gearbox across to mine… The silver SE used to be listed quite frequently this/last year. The seller wanted $12-13k back then but this was before E30-ageddon. It was tidy, had minor rust I think

Positively raining cars the last 24 hours - I'm guessing TM was doing free listings? Most interesting to see how these go: @E28E30 Twinning? Manual Red 320i SE sedan in very clean albeit not perfect shape (needs chrome grill and a wheel cap): https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3325636411?bof=ZXytWsBd And I'm eagerly awaiting images of this silver manual 320i SE 2 door - UK import but has been here since 1993: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/320i/listing/3325927365?bof=oOiIhbKX

Will definitely be in many respects, but the mind heart has been made 🤣

Wowie! Probably the best non M3 E46 I've seen. Great work sir.

Damn, I'd find it very difficult to sell that car Sam.

Wife is out of town so went for a 'blast' out to Piha today - typically, got stuck behind a line of soft roaders and people movers heading out but got space to stretch the legs on the way back.

This is my neighbour’s 70 series that he’s been slowly fixing up and loves. Stolen last night from Mt Albert, probably end up as parts or sold somewhere. If you see it, let me know, thanks, Scott.

There must be room enough for the e28! 😀