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Hey Nick - lots of good advice from Kyu and I think you're approaching this the right way. I think people tend to fall into 3-series or 5-series 'types' and you'll have a preference one way or the other - especially after some test drives. PPI + Autosure = good plan.

It depends what you're after. If a super-low look is your goal, then yes - a cert will be needed for <100mm ground clearance. (And for the adjustable height.) If you want to drive it, enjoy it, and not worry about pebbles on the road, you need more height. 100mm is actually very low as a static height - suspension compression is going to see it go (much?) lower than that.

+1, though it must be recognised that a 130i is not a family car in any measure; particularly alongside a Stagea (which is also commonly known as Starship due to it's galactic capacity). Other than a round-town shopping cart with two sub five-year old children in tow, the 130i will not work. I think a 1er anything is likely to be too much of a shock, unless the car mix changes completely and 'Dad's car' is for work commuting only, and has no family duties to attend to. An e60 will be a quantum leap after the Nissan in terms of ride and handling**, still features 50:50 weight distribution (uncertain about the Diesel), and will do duty as a family car, and will be damned comfortable for your daily commute. I commuted mine 80-90kms round trip per day and returned around 11.5l/100km, extra urban, and found it a really nice place to be. Previously I'd done a very similar trip in my e46 325i, and although still enjoyed the journey, was not as relaxed as in the e60. YMMV. The key thing will be to figure out which chassis is most appropriate - e9x or e6x, and go from there to find your powertrain combo. You can find NZ-new 330 e90 with Motorsport, though it'll take a while to find a good solid un-molested example. No reason a 335i shouldn't be workable, particularly if you develop a good relationship with an independent workshop (or BMW dealership) and have a solid MBI to back up your maintenance bills and help mitigate the risk, E60 your main areas to consider - again, covered by MBI providing you're taking care of solid maintenance - are the V8 Valve Stem Seals, and possibly the Transmission if it's not serviced. The trans is the same as that used in the e9x, just has a bigger torque rating. They both require maintenance, ignore the 'sealed for life' philosophy. You can find a sheet online called "so you've bought an e60" (or similar) that is regularly updated and well worthwhile. They're (BMW's) all going to reward you with a good driving experience, leak a little oil, and take your wallet for the occasional night out only without the hangover, but a bunch of parts and service receipts as evidence. You can't run them like Camry's. ** FWIW I ran an A32 Maxima 3.0 for five years with young family; it was excellent, though not at all in the same league as a 5er (e34, e39, or e60). Also have experience with the Stagea - great value. HTH

Buy an NZ New e91 330i from Wellington... but seriously - I agree with most of what Kyu says, but most importantly; drive a few different cars/chassis/engines and that'll (hopefully) give you an idea as to what suits your needs, and your taste. Then get the best (or best enough) of that within your budget and what's available ?

damn.. no popcorn/show for you nathan looks like the admins have removed all the fun that was about to happen

Hey Team hope you all had a great weekend. So managed to put the style 135 on the touring, at 1st i was like ah maybe i chose the wrong colour. But like the ones on the sedan which are plastic dip the colour is growing on me.

It makes me laugh that people invite realistic offers but provide no indication what they view a realistic offer to be. That coupled with the sellers attitude would count me out. Also interesting that they mention the bad pixels being an inexpensive fix yet they've not bothered doing on their "pride and joy". Nice car yeah, but no thanks.

Tell you tomorrow ? looking good at this stage

Heh. Was just looking at this. Moonbeams. It does look in top condition, but... some serious haggle room built in I guess. Still. Good luck to him. A rising tide and all that...

have some , brent@bmworld.co.nz

Yip, had to get Navy from Mister Mint but same stuff. I have some great Black colourette I used on the Audi and Sport which was even better.

After much trial and plenty of error with getting the colour match for the blue interior right to ensure the leather is nicely restored and all the scuffs and wear removed, simple answer has been Kiwi liquid polish in Navy. $12. Ive now been able to make the interior look as good as new but it’s getting to dark for pics so will shoot some tomorrow. Sometimes it’s the easy answers that are the best. will see how it lasts but initial impressions are very good. Now how to get Navy polish off fingers .....

The 130i has a slightly different version of the 3L engine compared to the E90. The first thing is, a 330i is quite rare especially in msport whilst the 130i is much more common. It drives and handles well probably due to the 50/50 weight distribution and nice chassis and is definitely more of a sporty feeling car than the sedan which is more "sensible" The E91 is definitely not a fast car so maybe give it a miss. The E60 540i/545i/550i is definitely nice, maybe this is the way you want to go, big engine, fuel guzzling but comfortable and powerful. Lots of E60 owners here and they seem to love them. The E9x 335i is a light and powerful twin turbo but you might want to be careful of the maintenance costs associated with owning a turbo car.

Hi Guys, first post in here. I've been a fan of BMW since 1984 and have owned 6, here's my favourite so far.

you really need to drive both chassis and a few different engine configurations to see which feels right for you. the E90 is not a big car nor is it super comfortable. but the 335 can be very quick. The E60 is quite a bit bigger and more comfortable but you can really feel the heaviness when driving it. if you want something fun I wouldnt look past a 130i hatchback (if you dont mind the looks) it is way more fun than a E90 330i sedan and a bit more reliable and cheaper than a 335i twin turbo. But it is definitely smaller in the backseat which shouldnt be a problem. The drivers positioning is excellent and the hatchback is super convenient compared to sedan. Alternatively you could look at something like a E91 wagon 325i (popular and plenty around) which is sensible but its not very fast. E61 wagon's are also quite good too but not sure about pricing on those these days. How about the 535D diesel which is for sale by a forum member? high mileage but looked after well it seems and fairly priced too.

211,000 km loving the Xenons. Worth every dollar. Couldn't resist a quick pic on the way to work this week.

Cleaned it, still some work to do but coming along, I love the look of the BBSs

Great afternoon wandering around the twin rivers car show in Christchurch today. This pastelblau 2002tii was my mvp.