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My FCP order finally arrived with all my fresh badges etc - installed new M badges / boot Roundel / 325i letters and new front grilles - so much better. Also did my first polish on it with CarPro Fixer - fantastic one stage product - decent cutting power but leaves a glossy finish. Took some decent clear coat scratches out despite being just a hand job 😬 Finished with some CarPro Hydro2 - Plenty of room for improvement but definitely looking ‘good enough’ for now. Drivers door desperately needs some paintless dent removal to tide me over till I get half the car painted post rust work later in 2022. Looking forward to moving back to our house in Feb where I’ll have a dedicated space to really get cracking with this car - will be buying a decent DA polisher and doing a 2 stage paint correction ASAP amongst a million other things 🤣

Maybe sent some pm's instead of bumping these old threads?

Wash time with Autoglym, beading nicely!

You might be able to get 120d for 5k ... might I think around 10k is about right

Finally finished all the top end gaskets today and a few other little jobs (ex-HellBM 130i with N54 power) Will be putting a For Sale advert up in about a week after getting it groomed.

Thanks Sam @Sammo it isn’t too bad, just needs a tidy up, making a few cosmetic improvements etc to sell sometime soon

Thanks mate! It definitely is good enough to look great in for photos now but still be some time before it’s at the level I want it (roof / boot and drivers door have plenty of defects). I really rate everything Carpro does - for a minor correction I would suggestion Fixer as a one step polish (remove minor swirls and scratches while leaving a great finish). For heavier scratches / a two stage correction I’m going to be trying out their Clear Cut compound and Essence to finish (highly glossy finishing polish with some SiO2 sealant in it).

It's not on TradeMe, but it IS on Ebay usa (but it IS rhd). Nice car in the right colour and great mods Would love to see it here in NZ!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/185245357261?hash=item2b217bd4cd:g:xgEAAOSwVidh1x9a&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338535179&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1&ul_ref=https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1&fbclid=IwAR2Ho_QKakh0_AGvKH70mASrUQUeAUp8oe61Y93o8FXMpoohydz8ZQPxE_w

You’re not hanging around are you @Sammo Sam? Looks awesome, such goodness. Great to see it getting the love. I have to cut and polish my GP, will research your products. Lifting it to perfection one step at a time!

Wow, that is looking spectacularly good !! A credit to your efforts & car sir.

That's firmly 130i territory, I can't see a 170k 123d fetching that even if it's mint. Now, in fairness I did just look at TM and see most are in or above your quoted range, damn, there's even someone trying to hawk one for $20k which is idiotic. I simply can't see how one could be worth more than $5k, it's a 14 year old car but the used car market is insane at the moment so I suppose if you're patient then aim high and see how you go. Regardless of my ramblings, GLWS OP.

There are many for sale on TradeMe at the moment, maybe $9-12k?

Fixed (or something grammatically close haha)! Do like this example though 😊. GLWS!

Did a little refurb on my Mtech 1 wheel - disassembled and re-dyed the original (good condition but faded) leather and centre section with Colour Lock Leather Fresh which came up fantastic - retained original texture but evened out wear and colour fading etc. Finished off crispy OEM roundel and ///M colour badge - looks great for only $100 or so spent. I do like the Tech 1 wheel but Will be keen to trade up to a 370mm Mtech 2 in near future however as I believe that is what was originally optioned on the car (although not sure why someone would swap out on a Tech 2 M325i?)

It definitely is still noticeable but does not catch the eye so much (reducing contrast right down). Basically I taped off the sides of the crack to minimise getting goo everywhere and used those little orange trim remover things to ‘surgically’ fill the crack with very small amounts of the RTV. I practiced to get the feel on a very small other crack that is out of view in case I cocked it up. Removed excess using the trim remover over the top of the crack as rags tended to ‘pull’ the RTV right back out of the crack. Let dry a little before removing edge excess with a rag and bit of Isopropyl. Did it a couple of times to fill in the depth better, could probably use another go so will take some picks when I do that. Again, it’s still obviously a crack but just tones it down enough - hopefully stops it spreading too as I’m not ready for dash mat life (although your one from Auto 38 looks like one of the nicer ones I’ve seen to be fair)

Welcome, Boston. Amazing to me that the Alfa was a write off with that damage. I'm guessing its value was not too high, and we all know the cost of repairs in this country is horrendous. All it really means is there are a lot of vehicles meeting premature deaths here. Shame.