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At some point you will find yourself with a cracked windscreen. This is a recommendation to NEVER take your car to Smith & Smith Wairau. For the past 10 months I have experienced the most appalling workmanship and customer service that is so bad I have decided to go to the effort of writing about my experience so hopefully no one else has to go through the same thing. If anyone knows someone who works at a Smith & Smith, or their head office, please send this to them because I am fed up with trying to deal with them. A little back story… Last year I was driving my (at the time) Skoda Fabia VRS when I got a cracked windscreen. This was a car that wasn’t necessarily valuable, but I was very fond of it nevertheless as I had spent the best part of an entire year restoring it. I booked my car into my local Smith & Smith branch to have the windscreen replaced. While the windscreen was out their recommended panel beater tidied up the apertures (as recommended) and I got them to respray the bonnet, roof, rear quarter panels and boot spoiler (as I planned to have this done anyway). After about a week my car was ready and I picked it up and took it home to discover a myriad of issues. For a start the paint match and finish was, well, only acceptable from a distance… but that’s no fault of Smith & Smith technically. (Although you would expect that their recommended panel beater would have a higher level of workman ship) Issues: I first noticed my wipers weren’t on properly - obviously that’s an easy fix for me. However, I would like to note that its still unacceptable as if I was someone who wasn’t into cars and didn’t have any tools, I would have had inoperable wipers which could be dangerous in a sudden down pour etc. This serves as a mild taster for the sloppy workmanship… To fix my wipers I pop the bonnet to realise the paint shop had broken my plastic release tab and replaced it with a badly cut piece of metal with some electrical tape on the end. This was eventually resolved by them, but once again adds to the awful experience I had. With the bonnet open I first adjusted the driver’s wiper and then went to adjust the passenger one. That is when I noticed what ended up becoming a frustrating can of worms. My windscreen VIN plaque was gone! Naturally I was very annoyed. Now I had a car that looked like it had been stolen with its empty VIN plaque in the windscreen. The following day I contacted Smith & Smith with the list of issues and of course they first questioned me on whether my car even had its VIN plaque there to begin with. (Which of course it did). By a stroke of luck many months before I had taken a photo of my rego label which was the proof I needed to prove to them that my VIN plaque was there. I was expecting an apologetic business intent on putting things right and getting it sorted, but what I got was the opposite. The manager of the branch thought it was ridiculous that I would complain about them losing my VIN plaque. After all, it was “just” an old hatchback… However, that is no excuse for a blunder like that. If that was one of my Porsches, or my M Coupe, that’s an issue that would genuinely impact the value of the car. And beyond that, on any car, if you are obviously missing a VIN tag, that would raise eyebrows if you wanted to sell the car. Plus, it's just plain ugly. So with that reasoning in hand I demanded the car would get another VIN plaque at their expense. The counter offer I received was absolutely laughable. They were happy to print me a label with one of those cheap portable label makers and put that where the VIN plaque used to be. Like WTF?! Seeing that this was going nowhere I contacted Skoda NZ myself who informed me I was 367 days too late to order a reproduction plaque, as that was something that had been discontinued the prior year. Now I was stuck but still determined to resolve it. I requested I sort the plaque myself and got approval from Smith & Smith that I could invoice them once I had it sorted. So I sourced an OEM plaque cradle, and then had a sign writer make a Vinyl overlay with my VIN in the OEM font. It was a perfect replica. Smith & Smith then removed the glass to fit it, and I sent them an invoice of a whopping $240.40 to cover the costs incurred by me to source and make the VIN plaque. That invoice has been sent to them over 5 times by email, and dropped off in person. They still haven’t paid me... That REALLY annoys me. Yes, it’s a small amount of money. But regardless, it is owed to me and clearly they think they can get away with just ignoring me. So here I am, writing this, recommending that you STAY away from Smith & Smith Wairau. Personally, I will never take any of my cars to any Smith & Smith branch ever again. Some photos for context: My 2003 Skoda Fabia VRS. Originally the NZ demo car for the Fabia VRS so had an Oettinger tuned ECU from new. Incredibly rare to have the tune. In fact, I couldn't find another tuned one anywhere on the internet. Had the bulletproof 1.9TDI engine and was a torque monster. 150hp & 360Nm! 6 speed manual. Was destined for scrap until I saved it. Will write an article on it one day. Was a great little car. The paint match... 1. Wipers that weren't even on the windscreen and would have been unable to move. 2. The bonnet pull tab with some electrical tape on the end so the roughly cut metal wouldn't cut you when you opened it. 3. A great way to make your car look stolen - when there's clearly meant to be a VIN but now there isn't! My VIN tag that I had made. Was very pleased with how it came out.

Hi all, I am a DIY car enthusiast from Whangarei. Always keen to have a crack at most things with the help of the collective knowledge of others....hence my joining Bimmersport NZ. Thanks all in advance.😀.

Try putting some of these cars on a hoist when it automatically goes into park when you open the door. A mechanical key for ignition usually coincides with the lack of bs in general.

Don't go for the mystery rental car at Budget. Was meant to be "Something" that had at least 4 doors and 5 seats. In my mind anything that had that combo would be okay to take to the coromandel for the weekend. They gave me a 8 seater Van.. A clapped one too. No way was I driving that absolute turd over the ranges. So paid extra for a Yaris Cross thing. Don't go for the Yaris Cross thing from Budget. Full of tech that barely works. I spent the entire trip fighting the lane assist. Which struggled the entire trip even on the motorway. Able to turn the beep off but the auto steering was locked out. Cruise control was so jerky trying to keep to the set speed it made my wife feel sick. Just not a nice handling car at all.

I think the Van would have been the better option in the end. The lane assist on the Yaris was actually taxing. I had had enough of driving it by the time we got back to the airport on Sunday. Just the constant adjustments it tries to make to your steering. Always attempting to place you in the center of the lane even if it doesn't make sense. It kind of made the entire drive twitchy. My wife doesn't usually get motion sickness but she was getting it with this car. I actually googled if this was common. AI told me it is. Yes, some Toyota Yaris Cross owners find the Lane Keep Assist (LKA) or Lane Departure Alert (LDA) system to be overly sensitive or aggressive. This can manifest as the system providing excessive steering input or beeping when the driver is intentionally or unintentionally drifting within the lane. Fortunately, the system can be adjusted or disabled through the vehicle's settings.

Another 6 months, and thought is might be time to check in with another update! As ever, car just continues to go and go, and nothing to report in that department! another few trips around the country including a trip to Hawkes Bay to the Wheels on Windsor event (parking alongside the GH Automotive fleet), and to auckland and back last week. I much prefer to take this car than my F15 X5 M50d, which im sure will be a surprise to those that havent owned one of these E46s! In my last comment, I mentioned that it had a very minor incident with a guy giving it a wee nudge: At the time, i just left it, because the minor scratch just added to the patina of the car, the body was very very straight for the age and milage, but paint clear coat gave up long ago, and really couldnt be bothered with going any further. I told the guy that at the time too, he was already going to have enough costs! However, I got an email from my insurance company, saying that a claim had been made, did I know anything about it, and what was my version of events. So i told them all about it, and said I was surprised to be getting a call since the other guy had no insurance. What actually happened was I was waiting to turn right, and he came from behind and tried to squeeze between me and the curb, and hit his front right bumper very lightly onto my back left door. I cannot believe how much his car completely fell to pieces in the process, with just a few scratches and not even a dent on my car ha. Apparently, he made up quite the story about how it was all my fault, and that I turned into him! The part he tripped up on tho was that he mentioned something about seeing my brake lights, which of course if I came from behind would be impossible for him to see. Now those that know me know that I am a very reasonable person, but if you try something on with me, I will show you no mercy. So as they agreed I was not at fault, I told them I want my car fixed, and he can pay for that bill too. Remember, he has now been found at fault and with no insurance lol. So, like that, the left quarter panel and rear door were approved for paint, as well as a curb on the M parallel I really couldnt tell you if it was there already or not but hey. Got quotes, but two different body shops both said because the clear coat was stuffed and to ensure a quality repair, they needed repaint the entire left side of the car, which is many thousands of dollars. I figured insurance would back out at this point, but the repar was already under way. Of course, at that point, they may as well just repaint the whole thing, so I paid for on the other side, so I got a full professional respray for half price! The funniest part is now both the young fella and his father gave me the death stare every time I drive past them, so I usually give them a nice friendly smile or wave to thank them for committing insurance fraud and paying half of my respray. Thier brand new merc is still sitting in their driveway pride of place with the front corner stoved in ha.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-bmw-m3-coupe-46/ 2024 BAT listing. Probably my favourite spec. Steel grey metallic, shadow line trim, cinnamon nappa leather and 19" style 163 wheels. But this one has an LS7 and it sold last year for 87k USD (not far off 150k NZD). But S54 out for an LS7? Way more horsepower, but still. I'd rather the S54. Can understand maybe if it is for the track.

GT3 RS v's M2, in the worst possible way, weekend just gone. https://www.motor1.com/news/765022/nurburgring-crash-porsche-911-gt3-bmw-m2/

NO WAY would I have expected a Yaris of any kind to be better than the van 🤣 As long as the van wasn't a Toyota! Every Toyota I've had (all work cars!, never owned one, myself) feel like they're about 15 years behind the clapped out old euros I've owned. Toyota can't even make a car where the front and rear suspension feel like they're from the same car. While driving a 2019 / 85K Corolla in Wellington a few years back... I found myself continually yearning for my mrs clapped out 2006 VW Touran 2.0 with 280K kms on it. The VW would have done EVERYTHING better, except economy. The rental guy looked pissed, when I told him it was "fine", just as sh*t as I'd expect from a Toyota. The trans was forever in the wrong gear - it was either doing 1800 RPM, or 6000. "Sport" mode meant it was just as slow, but it would drive the revs up to 4000 as you stopped, but it would still die on every hill. It would hold onto a high gear, until it was so slow, you needed 6000 RPM to get back to the speed of everyone else. It would hold on, until you ended up with your foot hard down, then try to go to max RPM, while Nanas in their Hinda Jazz were cruising past you. The boot was smaller than the storage cubbies in the VW. It made a horrible buzz at anything over 3000 RPM. The SatNav told you to turn just AFTER every intersection. We nearly had accidents, from flooring it and (wrongly) expecting some acceleration, when I was in the wrong lane on the motorway or trying to match speeds of other lanes etc. I ended up using manual mode on the trans and just keeping it between 4000 and 6000, unless it was flat and straight... and even then, the CVT would decide what the RPM should be in any "gear" and not do the same thing every time. Then there was the "steering"... Horrid things. Dull as f**k. Possibly reliable, but I'd rather die early, or be in debt longer, than own one 🤣

Have a 4.6is engine I may sell if the price is right, but probably best to do what I did and grab a car with issues and part it out

I wouldn't tighten it more than that, those threads are really easy to strip out. Wouldn't mess around repairing the valve cover either, just straight replace. Should be cheap enough from Pick-A-Part or similar.

Hi all I've recently bought a 120i & I'm loving it!

On the same vein. This has been relisted for months. listed for 2x what they go for. At least its a V8. But auto vert. He was getting really stroppy with comments at the start. It hurts my eyes https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/ford/listing/5409674582?utm_source=tmm-savedsearch&utm_medium=email&bof=nMDFg9ua