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So I finally got a good finish on the roof, and learnt how to polish something properly finally it seems !! Never really had the hang of it before it seems. I'll likely leave it like it is and then get it re-cleared after summer perhaps so I can be sure there is a good thickness for UV protection. Only thing left to do is reinstall the weather strips now, these will be glued in with polyurethane. It's pretty hard to get a good picture of it in the garage ... will try and get something more fancy in the future.

If anyone is in the market for a high k's diesel wagon (not quite as high as @gjm's old one) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/320d/listing/4272832377

If these threads are anything to go by car dealers never replace any worn trim pieces it seems. Along with the big markup you get a wash, vacuum, silicon spray and maybe some sort of paint correction if you lucky.

Yeah no doubt, still a fair bit of work though. Every manual swap ive done (E36,E39,E46's) owes me 3.5-5k when refreshing parts. If you got the car and kit cheap then it probably makes sense. Most manual conversions tend to be missing bits for the more OCD peeps, so i prefer buying the more costly complete wreck.

Looked at this car today, intending to buy the M5. It's really in rough shape, even the wheel caps are totally destroyed. You think the dealer would replace them at a cost of 40 dollarydoos. The SMG paddles missing off the steering wheel stand out like dogs bollocks. Little wonder it hasn't sold for several months. Thanks to other members who saved me from buying the e39, this forum finally helped me 😁

Hey mate, that would be this flesh light/number 4?

Weitz has a 130i conversion kit for $3400 so it's hard to imagine this cars worth any less than 5500 imo unless it's really rough.

Got the roof finished bar the weather strips finally, see the other thread for more detail. Also had the windows tinted to keep the heat down in summer ... hopefully this makes a big difference.

Thanks Matt - found it 😉

Mileage is steady and appears to have had decent life being 1 owner and imported in NZ early on. K's mean very little in regards to engine health but you'd do the relevant tests on it anyway. Suspension is stuffed on most old BMW's regardless so you'd likely be replacing most of it if not already done.

I hope the seller makes all the scummy car dealers fight in driveway to see who gets to list it at double that price for the next 2 years.

So 5 years to the day after my wife's Golf GTI got side swiped by a kid learning to drive while we were having breakfast at the local cafe, the M5 got backed into at the same cafe. Thankfully both times someone witness and recorded the whole thing for me and then found me to provide all the evidence. Without sounding like a racist POS, the "taxi" driver in a Prius backed into it, got out, freaked the f*ck out and then ran for it. So I need a new drivers headlight, support panels, guard and possibly liner which had some rubbing on the way home, front bumper is cracked and possibly the bonnet has a tweak. Who do I go to when insurance asks to get this properly fixed and not just thrown together and kicked out the door. In this age of CCTV and cell phone cameras why do people think they can get away with this sort of BS. This picture is after I pulled everything off the tire, I only got a wheel alignment done two days ago FFS!

Here's the reason that m5 is so rough: it sat outside with the window slightly open for about 3 or so years. Found it there 5 years ago and knocked on the door and the guy didn't want to sell. At that point it had already been there for 2 years i think because he said it wasn't running right. I told him to at least close the window but he seemed pretty grumpy.