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Bought myself another E30 M3!! Unofrutnately it's only a 1:24 scale plastic model kit, but at least it is an M3. I can add it to the long list of cars I have in bits at the moment as well! A project for the cold, dark winter nights.

Hi all, Clearly this post has caused some heat so let me clear the air. This page was first setup in 2014 as an M3/M4 owners club. I recently became involved as an Administrator and changed the description to cater for all ///M owners across New Zealand. The intention is to broaden the audience, not be elitist. I am not discrediting Bimmersport, BMW Car Club NZ or any other BMW group for that matter, however I think it is acceptable to form sub-groups which build on the BMW brand, of which this is an outlet to do so. The ///M CLUB Australia has built a fantastic culture which has a great relationship with other BMW communities, however it's also provided an opportunity for a more focused sub-group of BMW owners to meet. As for eligibility the group is aimed at ///M owners, including those which have a subjective history (i.e. Z8, M535i, M635csi, 850csi) and conversions alike. I personally am a huge fan of HELLBM's M creations and would not want to exclude such cars. I will update the description if this was not clear. On the point "We do not allow committee members of other clubs to be members of ///M CLUB," This is an oversight on my part. I took some of the language used (by permission) from the ///M Club Australia page. I don't see an issue with committee members of other clubs being part of this group so I've since removed. Apologies for this. I'll be discussing the purpose of this club with BMW Car Club NZ this week as they expressed concerns from a copyright perspective. If the wording of the club needs to change I'm happy to do so. I do hope this helps clear the air. My sole intention of this group was to build (on what I thought) was a fantastic concept formed across the ditch, which has had huge success. The original M3/M4 owners of the group thought this was a great idea so I hope of you also see the good intention here. Cheers, Alex

I'd worry more about that on NZ new - at least the import has to pass compliance, NZ new just has to pass a WOF - plenty of dodgy cars on NZ roads after "repairs"! Or a trip down 90 mile beach. In NZ, it's only de-reged if it was water damaged and insurance claimed. If insurance can't be claimed, it's the hose, a dehumidifier for a week, then onto Trademe, or (more likely) Turners.

results of oil analysis back today, lead level is high, copper is quite low, so bearings have started to wear but are not terminal. Sodium level is also elevated which can be caused by coolant contaminating the oil (or about 4 other things) but water was 0%. Recommendation is to drain and replace the oil (due now anyway) and retest ASAP to monitor levels. Bearings will be getting replaced.

I spend a lot of money with FCP Euro, and honestly have never had a problem. If you're in a local business and waving about none of the postage rubbish with your shop, can you drop your prices so it's actually competitive? At the moment one can save upwards of 75% (or more sometimes) buying from overseas, paying shipping, paying customs fees, and paying GST. Relying on NZ Post being rubbish (They aren't, try USPS sometime...) your business model is failing!

So uh... drove by the E65 today with my wife in the car, and mentioned the idea to her... "What? That?! No, it's ugly. Looks like a bad Honda!" (I don't know where this sudden hatred of Honda comes from...) but there goes that idea. E39/61 Touring might be the ticket, although some plans afoot and if all goes well, I will simultaneously have a large garage, and a lack of need for two cars.

Took some scrap into Macaulays Pnth last week had 80kgs all sorts light panel, pipe, car seat frames etc got $22.80 for it. Not sure how they rate a car body for price though. If you can't get anyone to come and collect it release a bit of agro on it cut it up stack it in a trailer and take it to them problem solved.

I am getting ready to have the rod bearings replaced in the M5 as i am on borrowed time with them (157000 kms), looks like there are plenty of options for getting the parts at a reasonable price, but i doubt BMW will be interested in doing the work if i supply the parts, so i am hunting for a reputable shop to do the deed. I have seen Taylor automotive mentioned a few places and am wondering if anyone has any first hand experience with them good or bad? PM me if you don't feel comfortable mentioning here. I have also asked BMW for an estimate for the whole job. I am probably going to use the BE bearings replacements as i will be monitoring them with oil analysis at every service and they use a copper/ lead bearing surface which gives plenty of warning of impending doom, the new BMW bearings are aluminum/ tin which don't. I am also going to try and sneak a power pulley kit past the accountant at the same time....

I am planning a big order from FCP if you want to chuck it in together. PM me

The SI batteries in them are also common to fail now they are 30 years old. If your car has been owned by an enthusiast it is likely they have been changed already, otherwise they are worth thinking about.

For what its worth Chris is very easy to deal with if anyone is considering this car. Ive seen it.

Simply, BMW Car Clubs - worldwide - are under the umbrella of BMW Group. They're the world's largest single-marque motor club, and use the BMW trademarks with permission of BMW Group, and are supported by the BMW Group. The copyright concerns would come from BMW Group; the local BMW Car Club would be doing the 'right thing' by making ///M group aware of this, such that they don't end up with lawyers letters from BMW Group. I used to belong to an active, well-organised and very financial club in the UK, BMW Driver's Club GB. Not sure what happened since I left, having a poke around on the inter web all I can find are companies house records with directorships changing to BMW GB and the club is no more. It's understandable that BMW Group would want to protect their trademarks worldwide. As for your charges of flying lunch boxes and vociferous armchair critics; interesting way to enter a party, on your sixth visit. We don't take ourselves too seriously here, prefer to leave that work to others!

VIN Numbers - hmmm, and how do they securely store this information, once they've requested it. Still, easy enough to furnish an M-Car VIN, isn't it? More importantly - by excluding "committee members of other clubs" (BMW Clubs, Car Clubs in general, Knitting Clubs, Cricket Clubs, Cycling Clubs?) from becoming members of ///M CLUB, one has to ask: what have they got to hide? I mean, really... is the establishment of ///M CLUB born of dissatisfaction with http://www.bmwclubsaustralia.org.au or BMW Car Club NZ, or is it simply misplaced elitism? I expect they'll come under the magnifying glass of BMW Group soon enough. I for one like the easygoing nature of Bimmersport, and am hugely impressed with the egalitarian and social nature of the BMW Car Club NZ since joining last year. Cheers Olaf Disclosure: I won't qualify for ///M CLUB membership as I don't have an ///M car, and am a local committee member of another club (BMW Car Club NZ - Wellington).

How do Z8, M535i, M635csi, 850csi fit in then? As they’re not //M(insert letter here), yet some obviously are M cars, others are the subject of debate

(Apologies if you did this!) Did you ensure you got the correct gears? There are two types of odo - Motometer, and VDO. The fascia of the dash isn't sufficient as it is possible (and not uncommon) to replace the entire odo unit with a working one, so a Motometer odo could be found in a VDO-labelled dash. And vice versa.

cheers guys, found it!!. main power relay in the ECU box. the white one was dead. I managed to find a replacement a voila. it started first thing.

I find the trick to be a magic eraser, followed by rubbing alcohol on a microfibre cloth works really well.

in all my time looking at bmws and bmw wheels i dont think ive ever seen this set anywhere in NZ. not for sale nor on actual cars for sale, not on bmws seen around the streets. you will have much better chance finding a nice set of BBS rx or similar i would say

If I buy an ///M badge from TradeMe, can I join too?

Not quite, from the source themselves: http://www.pqiamerica.com/apiserviceclass.htm SN is just the "latest" standard, it's not targeted at a specific type of vehicle. You could use it just fine in your non-turbo Ferrari all other things being equal. The other thing that strikes me about this thread is that OEM certification will only be for the current range of vehicles. An "M" approved oil produced today won't necessarily be "M" approved for vehicles a decade or more older... so that certification is practically useless, perhaps even misleading, for older vehicles. If the original recommended oil for a vehicle isn't available I think valid questions of an oil manufacturer are; what's the replacement product? are there any additives or characteristics of the replacement product that will be worse for my engine than the original? The problem is I doubt we'd ever get a straight or reliable answer to those questions - manufacturers deliberately obfuscate oil product details. It's a less painful process if we can assume every product evolution is better than the last iteration but I'm not sure we can.

Guess I'm just used to the long stint I did in the UK where anything metal that wasn't tied down was gone off your driveway within a day. You didn't even need to phone hahaha

rare , I got one myself recently , my new 2 tonne sports car ,

Hey Team Just a small update. Did a little road trip up to Auckland over the weekend and picked up a 2nd hand set of XYZ 6pot 330mm brakes. Thanks to Raymond for giving me a great deal. But the high light of my trip was when i went to buy some fruit for the trip home around Greenlane. Saw this beast that caught my eye. I'd have to say the mintest 750i possibly in NZ. I was lucky enough to catch the owner while putting his grocery's in the boot. Donny is his name, brought this back in 96 brand NEW! at $270,000 haggled down from $300,000 WTF. has all the bells and whistles as he got to pick what add ons he wanted. Having AC Schnitzer body kit and 18inch mags made it look stunning. Custom two tone leather, T.V , Phone Sunroof etc. And heres the kicker for a 21 year old car Donny's only done 90,000kms in it. Had a good old yarn with him and took some pictures. I said this will probably be the only time i would see this. Bloody awesome