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A package finally arrived from Schmiedmann today. Some of the parts probably aren't very high volume and there was a bit of a wait on some of them being available, but Schmiedmann got everything in last week and managed to get it shipped out before their summer vacation. Mouldings for rear side windows Front door channel seals Inner window channels inside entrance covering panels Entrance covers A pillar airbag cover inserts couple of trim pieces around the doors Washer nozzle for headlight washer to replace the one that bailed on me during a drive 😫

*insert joke about indicator subscription*

The M5 got its annual done at BMWorkshop Botany, great service. No dramas, no issues with the wagon, captured some mid stream oil for me to send off for analysis. Having an independent workshop that you can trust makes the ownership experience much less stressful.

Interior retrim almost done - I went to do an inspection this AM (first time I’ve seen the progress in person) and it looked great. Still a few days away but together enough to get a good idea on how it will look. Very happy I went with OEM fabric and bolster fabric as it has a beautiful almost wooly nap to it that looks so good. In the flesh the seats are quite dark and the pattern more subtle so am leaning towards putting the Mtechnic badges on the fronts now - I don’t think it will be too busy / gaudy.

Should also add I got all the gear out to detail the interior of the M5 then jumped in my wife's car and had an aneurysm at the state of it. So to get to my happy place spent hours cleaning that instead, then did a half ass interior cleanup of the M5. FFS, how hard is it to keep it vaguely clean. Vented leather seats just love crud in all the holes, I discovered a kiwi shoe brush with the shop vac is amazing at moving almost everything without doing damage to interior trim. So that was a positive.

pull the gacha and then you get an M3 when you had only bought a 318i

Wonder what this goes for - looks like an absolute honey - one owner! https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3683360525?bof=FuHFYUBY

I wish. No, it is the famous Passo dello Stelvio in the Italian Alps.

To quote the mighty 1/2 Man 1/2 Biscuit “irk the purists… it’s a right good laugh”

Good thing we nearly all drive classics huh. BMW Marketing right now: We will attract people to our disturbingly ugly cars by adding subscription services to them. Next we will add micro transactions to punish those who do not like subscriptions. I'm convinced the BMW Marketing and design departments have been captured by another brand.

It is, but don’t let the facts get in the way of a click bait story. The parts cost is not insignificant, but putting that to one side, it’s the cost of handling and planning and balancing all the variety that racks up very quickly. Often viewed as an un-seen cost (as it’s outside old fashioned cost analysis methods) it has become very apparent to most manufacturers with the explosion of complexity over the last few years. Hence why pretty much EVERY company is now scrambling to dial back the number of choices. I’ve just paid the subscription for the heated seats in my E30 ‘vert so I could drive it more this winter. They don’t seem to make much difference tbh.

Lucky you. I'm waiting an extra month because of one item out of 50

Looks like I’ve got a Christmas tree a bit early this year…..