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Thanks @Olaf and @qube! I have thought about listing on TM as a $1 reserve but not sure I have the kahunas haha! I can honestly say that I've never had a FB profile and have never logged in so FB's not an option for me lol! @francoisv - when I first got it I did think a manual conversion would be cool but a full S54 manual set up would be epic! A prefect canvas for a project ? For transparency I have been contacted by an interested party so I'm going to put a 'sale pending' sign up...

May I recommand Subarus and Altezzas? Some of their models are prety realiable and cheap. I have a stock my99 WRX with now 280000kms on the clock any missed any beat that I brought three years ago for $4000, and my dad had a 2.0 na forester, brought new. sold with 380000kms. never had any issues with it. And From what I heard from some of my friends, the 3.0 liter flat six is also a really soild engine. Legacys with 3.0 flatsix with 6mt sometimes sells for about $4000-$5000. An alterntive to e36 318is (better in many ways) is the Altezza rs200 with 3sge. Just look at the recipe: double wishbones all around, front engine rear wheel drive, LSD. high reving engine, close ratio 6speed manuel, good weight distribution. I sold one in fairly good condition a year ago for $2800

Can i change my vote? Definitely get this!!

of course, I'm not biased, but I think you should buy for your sister a beautiful 1997 Volvo 855-T5 Wagon. With a stunning black leather interior. a mere 198k kms, a fresh VTNZ WoF, a new AA premium battery, and a full tank of gas. She can woody it up a-la family truckster, but she'll have the last laugh when she can travel with her mates and camp in the back of it, shift flats and do it all in one load, not be concerned about safety or traction alongside an e36, and never be concerned about theft. Comfort, great stereo, great braking, acceleration to surprise any XR8 or SS commode owner, and the cred of the only wagon entered in the BTCC, and it won races to boot! it's the anti-cool, and you know she wants it. Under $5k to boot.

colt ralliart turbo manual

Anyway. Serious option : late 90's MX-5? Fun, safe, easy to maintain, and a quick scan of TradeMe shows reasonable ones available for around her price bracket, e.g.

Surely you're not trying to tell me that oversteer is, in any case, a bad thing???

I lived in Amsterdam for years and have to wonder why Wellington/Auckland/wherever need to reinvent the 'pedestrian/bike/vehicle' solutions that already exist all over Europe and aren't dumb.

Have had some interest in my '332i' project, so will post up the details here on Bimmersport. This car started life as a 2003 330i m-sport sedan in black sapphire metallic and is being built into an 'M3 sedan'. While the car existed as a standard 330i, I replaced the seats and door cards with black leather units, and retrofitted an NBT from an F30: HellBM then removed the M54B30 and replaced it with an S54B32 & 6-speed manual gearbox: The VANOS was then 'bulletproofed' using the full Beisan kit, uprated cam gear bolts & S62 diaphragm springs, and the valves adjusted: I then rebuilt the donor M3 brake calipers; the front caliper pistons weren't in great shape and were replaced: Caliper carriers media blasted & painted: Calipers prepped & painted (Duplicolor gloss black): Next up was preparing the remaining M3 suspension and driveline components. New Bilstein PSS10 coilovers: Donor M3 subframe bushes removed: CMP Auto Engineering solid subframe bushes were chosen for this car, even though it's intended for street use. The reasoning is two-fold; no movement of the subframe against the RACP should help prevent any future cracking, and the bushes are designed to move the subframe closer to the body to account for reinforcement plates & the vehicle being lowered. The M3 LSD was cleaned, drained and the rear cover replaced: And reinstalled back into the subframe: Trailing arms disassembled, wheel bearings, balljoints replaced & Syncro Design Works monoball RTAB installed: Handbrake shoes & new springs installed: For the front, new CSL kingpins and wheel bearings were used: The old rear suspension & fuel tank were removed from the sedan: And the boot floor removed: No turning back now . A brand-new E46 M3 floor pan was purchased and the centre panel extracted: CMP Auto Engineering reinforcement kit installed: The decision was made to go the 'full way': Donor rear arches extracted & prepared: Test-fitting with M3 rear bumper: Tacked on & then welded fully: View from behind: M3 rear muffler brackets installed (pre-arches): The rear suspension & fuel system were then mostly reinstalled: ECS Tuning Monoball RSMs & reinforcement plates installed: And some more parts removed: A genuine M3 bonnet was then fitted. The guards will be created by joining both sedan and M3 guards: And that's it for now - more to come soon

Some photos on our first 2 weeks with the E60 M5 while we where traveling about 2,500+ kms on both South Island and North Island. Oddly enough it was reliable, clutch was getting sketchy when it was doing its bridal car duty for my friends, possibly due to 30c heat and I did downshift it a bit. We also encountered 1 red cog error after going down slowly on a 200 meter driveway, I think the computer panicked or got confused... it was a really stop and go moment for the tranny. Turn off and on the car seems to have sorted it. I then did it again a few more times but just set to neutral and coasted it down. Overall it is a great touring car on the country side (V10 sound is really different), just avoid the city and it is a very fun car. Hopefully with proper maintenance and luck we get to a keeper and we could use every now and then going around NZ. Our R34 has now retired of its road trip duties, now it's only used for cruising on nearby places until it gets upgraded. We saw a few BMWs along the way, not sure if they are here on this forums including a 650i F06. Thread that started this adventure: New here, seriously thinking about E60 M5 - New Member Introductions - bimmersport.co.nz

Hi all, Since I've been browsing here for info I better sign up and introduce myself/my car. It's the second BMW I've owned, my last car was a 2007 e90 325i M-Sport in Le Mans Blue. I looked for a new car for 6 months, wanted a 335i coupe but drove a 130i and was immediately sold, reminded me of my old 3.2 A3 which I loved and funnily enough my old Celica. The handling and power was so much fun I immediately switched to looking for LCI 130i and found this one. It's an e81 130i M-Sport with pretty low kms and a beige leather interior that looks way better in person ;D Super comfy and a hoot to drive. There has been a couple of things done to it, wheels and tyres replaced by what I understand is the newer 1 series models wheels and 245/45 non run flat tyres fitted. Its also got a Supersprint back box, sounds fantastic when you boot it. Got some things I want to do with it so will be a WIP for a bit.

Hey guys I have landed here a few times looking for info so I thought I would sign up. I'm currently restoring a 1969 manual E3 2500. This is my first BMW and I am quite fond of it. Cheers!

Hi All, Have just found this forum, thought I'd join and say hello. Had my 2008 M3 manual (UK model), for just over a year now. It's my daily drive and I'm very glad to have picked it up. I collected in Christchurch and drove up to Auckland last Dec through Kaikoura (awesome roads), easy car to live with and enjoy it every time I drive it. After a year I'm getting around 14L/100km, mostly motorway driving. Gets more thirsty when booted but I didn't get it for the fuel economy I'm now up to around 153km on the clock and I'm looking at replacing the rod end bearings as preventative maintenance. (Will probably post on this elsewhere for some input). Obligatory pics attached. (Nurb sticker will probably go once I do the bearings and move on to cosmetic stuff -paint touch up, mags tidied etc.) cheers

Thanks Michael & Kyu; definitely special blessings rather than a sacrifice. Only a small update today; have had a review of the welding work with an LVVTA certifier, only minor adjustments required. The arches are currently being filled and smoothed, and are coming along well: And with the front bumper lightly held in place (not properly attached):

Is this where I mention it's had - in my ownership of some 11 or 12 years & just 54,000kms it's had plenty of care lavished on it: cam belt/waterpump/tensioner/rollers, total & complete cooling system replacement including heater core and turbo cooling hoses & genuine volvo radiator, shocks & all associated bushes, H&R sport springs, lower control arms, endlinks, drilled & slotted rotors, braided lines, IACV, cam position sensor, crank position sensor, fuel pump relay, front factory rebuilt brake callipers, coil, leads, plugs, cap, rotor, trans flush, mounts, fuel filter, air flow meter, PCV system, CV boots... and a fuel injection relay is on its way from the US of eh. It's not perfect as any 21 year old will remind you; it's well-dressed and well-behaved until you activate the party switch and then it likes to dance. It does like a drink. Show it a trip and you can nudge it under 9.9l/100, though blatting around the urban village teasing XR8/SS/STi and it'll chug 15-16/100. In serious leather, yesterday. (yes, it's a Frank Zappa reference). PS: and for trumps, it has FIVE cylinders. Yes, FIVE. They sound so cool.

If she's a "very competent" driver and the primary consideration is "fun under 5k" then hands-down it's the MX-5, you're unlikely to have as much fun unless you have an Evo. They really are that good, and at such low speeds.

Those city slickers... always curbing their wheels... But hey, for reassurance he says he would drive it to South Island. Must be a good car. Got to love facebook marketplace.

Agree with you on this one. I should unsubscribe to this thread ?

looking good!

You may still find an R34 4 door for about $5k, it used to hover from $5-10k a few years ago. Now it's on $15-20k now. Definitely fun, although different from the M5 but if I had to choose only 1... I will still choose the R34. Manuals are more rare, a few years ago I know a lot of the auto got converted so maybe you can see them now. It is reliable, so far with more than a dozen year of ownership it has only let me down once... because it was my fault. I raced a HSV up the Rimutakas and decided I had enough fun and pulled over to take a photo of the hills... amateur hour... turn off the engine..... no turbo timer... boom! I am glad the RB engine are so tough, only cost me coolant and new radiator everything held on with no damage. For me it is safe, has dual airbags, ABS and TCS... yup the TCS lights up a lot especially on rain. Cheaper to run than BMW M car, but still it cost more than a Camry. You want to buy good tires for these cars... factory alignment eats the tires like an M car, has still big 4 pot brakes, drinks fuel if you spool the turbo up but economical enough if you just cruise along. Not cheap to run, but it is one of the cheapest fun car to run. Coil packs and spark plugs cost a bit, but so far only done mine once.

Went to visit Mike Page today (thanks to Greg for the info - unsure if I recall correctly, previous owner of Pete's E60 M5), Page European in the city was already sold a few years back. Mike has a shop at Kapiti, Mike Page European. He checked out the M5, also test driven it. Error code was shift selector, that was the error I encountered about 1,000+ kms before. He has reset and checked it, it looks to be no issues. Mike also said our M5 actually drives well compared to most E60 M5 he has serviced. He also said it is clean as a whistle, no signs of fluid leaks, very clean underneath the car. The clutch shudder I encountered when it was a hot day and was really shifting on the high revs is a probably sign of clutch wear. Mike said it is an unusual circumstance he recommends to leave it for now, there is very little shudder on normal conditions. So I guess for now until I change the clutch, no hard driving on hot days and then using the car on slow speed immediately after. Greg (sorry if I didn't recall your name correctly) also measured my M5 to be 10 cm lower on the rear compared to 2 M5 at Southward museum meetup. Mike had a look at the shocks and springs. He said they are definitely BMW shocks, springs may have been changed though. As we can see the bolt on the shocks have some marks on it, so the shocks had definitely been worked on, Mike said it is too early for the any shock work to be done on the car with my milage so it might be the springs where changed and the springs had paint markings. I do like the look of the lower rear, wheel arch is nice and flush on the wheel. So keeping it as is. Oh there is a 850i on Mike's shop, V12. I guess only a few people can repair these old cars, Mike will be one of them. Cleaned up the interior this weekend, finally got some time to actually detail the interior. We also drove out the south coast to enjoy the sunset. 3,000+ kms now and so far it has been ok. Need to prepare for those repairs, I hope it would be just preventive maintenance bills.

Have driven a few hundred k's so far. Quite loving the car - it's a very fun agile little machine with a heck of a lot of torque. I was surprised at the lack of lag. Have had a few small bad lucks over the last week. One of the intercooler pipes at cracked 2 days after I got the car - it threw off some sensor and put the car into limp mode + displayed a drivetrain problem on screen. Replacing the pipe (under warranty) resolved the issue. Then this morning, some evil soul scraped my rear bumper when parallel parking behind the car (see last image), and left no note! Now there's a little bit of repainting i'll need to do to that. Apart from that - loving it. Very stoked with the alcantara interior and steering wheel. There are a few things I have plans to do in terms of exhaust, sound system (those who know me, know I'm obsessed with quality sound). Anyway, here's a few recent pics

https://www.trademe.co.nz/1915665451 https://www.trademe.co.nz/1914332005 https://www.trademe.co.nz/1917770824 https://www.trademe.co.nz/1920117678 https://www.trademe.co.nz/1920226665 https://www.trademe.co.nz/1921810341 but my pick would be https://www.trademe.co.nz/1739388008 or https://www.trademe.co.nz/1915186568 R53 Cooper S manual

I had a 92 so I was definitely in the thick of it. Controlled oversteer is the greatest joy in driving. Uncontrolled oversteer, especially lift off oversteer when all you're expecting to do at the time is slow down, is scary AF. Especially when you wind up on the wrong side of the road about 1m from the cliff edge you were heading towards. Only time in my driving life I've ever had to pull over at the top of the hill and gather my nerves for a few minutes. Even remember the exact corner : https://goo.gl/maps/5GxfGt43E5S2

Post 93(ish?) they changed the suspension geometry which reduced that tendency, I had a 95 SW20 for awhile, was well behaved.

I was 100% gonna recommend an SW20 MR2 but the lift-off oversteer can be horrific if not managed well and is probably not ideal for a beginner driver. Almost killed myself twice on the Hundalee's in mine and I wasn't even driving that aggressively.

MR2s are one of the things that popped up in my brain, even a "dull" non turbo SW20 (2nd gen) are quiet fun and very reliable 3SGE camry underneath. Bit long in the tooth, but.. MR-S (3rd gen) is also an option, would meet more modern safety standards, and are convertible which gets girl bonus cool points. 1st gen AW11s are very rare in any condition that would be worth buying, unless you're an absolute enthusiast (they're awesome fun though)

Boston, does this mean we can go car shopping?

Someone should buy this and chuck in a S54 manual set up - that would be cool - If i had the space and not so many projects i would be all over this. GLWS

The dashed lines? They are the carefully designed high-tech force field that keeps pedestians alighting from parked cars - such as your children or your wife or grandmother - from colliding with a head-down-arse-up cyclist doing 50, just 30 cms to your left. It's a f%#king disaster.

it was beautiful alright. Just had a few days away down there (live in Auckland) decided to take the E30 for a good run as the weather looked good , best decision I made. Left Taupo to see what was around the area and realised very quickly that there was a great road to follow so just kept on going round the lake until I got back to Taupo a few hours later, quality time with the young 'un and the old girl. My lad commented that it was like a scene from a movie, great landscapes in an old car .. loved it

Hi all, sort of by accident had a fabulous drive around Lake Taupo on saturday in the trusty E30 with my youngest . Took a couple of hours and some of the views were breathtaking, very little traffic and glorious weather - heres some pics and the GPS tracking for the day - didn't take anywhere near enough of them.. cheers

Nice E30 325i Cabby in Island Bay this evening...

Or...

215,000 km. I was able to get in touch with FCP before they shipped it out and canceled the order...probably saved me $120 in postage alone. Thanks @BreakMyWindow ..I gotta stop being lazy and keep cross referencing realOEM. After messaging with Martin and Russell I think I'm just going to live with the clonk for abit longer...hopefully it gets worse making it abit more obvious to what it is. In other news, gave it a clean this morning.

Very new to the e30 ownership but have had quite a few friends own them Only purchased this 325i a week or so ago, had to have it even though its a 4dr surprisingly has no rust in the usual areas only real plan for it at the moment is tidy up the engine bay get it a wof and daily it for the mean time while my other car (r32 skyline) goes thru the cert process any thoughts/opinions/knowledge is appreciated

Back where it belongs, now the hard part, connecting all the wires and hoses.

And in other news, finally got around to purchasing the suspension

Hey guys, 2kcup competitor here. I’ve been running the only ever Lancer to compete in 2KCup, but have just picked up an E36 323i that I’m building up for next season. Was an auto, but Ray at HellBM has already done a great job fixing that!

Wanted to chat with the owner but was in a rush. Very nice m5

Depends if u diy the chain guides job. Paying someone for it is probably around 2-4k it’s a big job. The chain cover gaskets were done however which seems odd as at that point you’re over half way to replacing guides and chains etc.

i’d say timing chain guides will need doing pretty soon.

Spotted an e60 m5 in this same park today.

got the tranny changed to a manual last week, still only a wee 318i but feels alive now, more than enough for the daily work and school run .. next job on the list sport seat reupholstery ..

Found this image on the M140i Facebook page I'm part of. Interesting comparison of the front dimensions of the current gen. 1-Series vs the upcoming one. Can see how the layout changes with them moving to FWD from RWD and switching the engine mounting to transverse. Looks also like the AWD option will be very similar to the Haldex system Audi/VW uses. Can't say I'm a huge fan to be honest. The long nose and RWD were to me the hallmarks of the 1-Series, giving it away to make something that looks like a Hyundai i30, I just can't understand the logic.

a couple of you already know I did a stupid while moving house last week and left a bag of frozen goods in the back of the old beema. This little surprise knocked me to the floor when i opened up the garage-queen a week later, preparing for a Saturday afternoon blat. the affected area (thankfully) only appears to be the LH rear passenger seat, where the curdling mess has seeped below the seats and into the bottom of the foam/ under the rubber mats on this side. The glorious Christian ( @CSET ) agreed to take a look and although his cleaning has made a MASSIVE difference, there still is a lot of smell coming from the seat unit. if it's unable to be rescued, i will resort to buying a new unit, but I'm much too stubborn to admit defeat just yet! if anyone has any advice on ways to rid of the foul stench emanating from the Germans insides, please do speak out! I fear the longer I leave this issue un-resolved, the more likely CYF's will come knocking on my door. THINGS DONE SO FAR: removed rear seat washed, cleaned and dried the curdling mess pooling beneath the rubber mat where the seats lie. soaked, ringed, and further soaked the foam in a hot bath filled with washing powder for a good half day half-removed the leather cover (the smelly section) to soak the foam, and later somehow clean (have wiped with heavily diluted washing powder and hot water, with no success) coated the affected surfaces (including back of affected leather) in baking soda and let sit for 24hrs I should note that the leather cover itself has not touched any contaminated water, i did wipe it down with a damp cloth however, dye had started to seep out so I quickly wiped it down and left it be. Photos attached for viewing dis-pleasure

charge pipe exploded so have ordered replacement aluminum charge pipe and boost pipe too.. will probably get an intake pipe and maybe a different airbox too sooner or later.