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Hi all, Longtime lurker and first time contributor. I'm an automotive enthusiast with deep interests across all areas and eras. I often research and embark on deep-dives into manufacturers, models and automotive history. My favourite BMW is the E60 M5. I truly believe it's the greatest super/sports saloon ever built, and the S85 one of the greatest engines of all-time along with the S70/2. In my opinion it's a historic high-water-mark and represents the pinnacle of BMW, saloons, q-cars and Germany's engineering & industrial-base. So around two-years ago I started the search for finding my perfect E60. Whenever I purchase, I try to find the best possible example with the intention to hold it forever (I've never sold a car and hopefully never will). As you all know it's incredibly difficult to find a good-condition, low-milage, well-maintained E60. After scouring all RHD markets for the perfect example, I finally found 'the one' in an October auction on Collecting Cars UK. One-owner, 52k-kms, high-spec, meticulous history/records, only dealer serviced, completely factory spec (unmodified), UK-new. No expenses spared and kept in a supercar storage facility for the past few years. 2006, Silverstone, Full-Indianapolis, Olive Carrara, clear glass, Silver 166s, active heated front & rear seats, Logic7, etc... Essentially every box ticked, except for blinds & cooled seats (thankfully). Full old-money geezer spec. Hopefully it comes across well in the photos. The car landed in January and is now compliant, registered, emissions approved (ffs...), and is out on the road. This is my first BMW. Loving every kilometer. I'm excited to have joined the club. Will likely meet a few of you at club meets/events. Cheers

I thought I'd do a quick shout out - backstory is I wanted shift paddles for the E61 and I managed to get my hands on a M-Sport steering wheel from an E60 but it was in rough shape. Before I spent any money on repairing the wheel I got the shift paddles working which was easier said than done (the factory wiring diagrams were wrong and I had to spend a fair bit of time reading up on the right way to go about it.) I'm a massive fan of the shift paddles and I'm really happy with them now they work! I don't drive the car in manual mode but I do like to shift gears now and then - e.g. going up or down a hill the transmission doesn't always drive the car the way I want it to. Anyway I struggled to find someone in the Wellington region that could do a steering wheel. I was initially looking for someone to re cover it as I thought it was too far gone, but I ended up reaching out to Erika @ The Leather Doctor https://www.myleatherdoctor.co.nz who said she could fix it up without re covering. I offered to remove the wheel from the car which made the job a lot easier for her. The Leather Doctor is a mobile service so they came to my house meaning I didn't have to faff around dropping the car off somewhere for the day etc. I'm really happy with the result, it looks a million times better now! Here's a before and after photo. Apologies in advance for the background, I took the photo on the front steps and in hindsight that wasn't a good spot, but you can still see the difference , it's night and day.

Smoking jacket spec indeed, wonderful!

That is potentially the worst looking vehicle I've laid eyes upon.

I was wondering when they were going to do something to make the grilles more noticeable..... 🤣🤣

manditory pics and meetup when you get it

Stretched it’s legs over to the Wairarapa today. She really sings all the way to redline.

Theres a few pics on Autostance's socials

Offering up my 1996 NZ New E36 M3 3.2 Evolution. As much as I love this car, I’m finding I don’t get to use it as much as I’d like ( 2 doors don’t work with young kids). Looking to move to an E90 M3 instead. details: •NZ new •166,000kms •Factory 6 speed manual •Non-sunroof •Aluminium doors •Black leather interior •Near new Bilstein suspension •Plenty of service history Best description of the condition of the car is that it’s a true survivor. It has a few stone chips but not one dent or clear coat fade. It presents very well and would be hard to find another in this condition. Please get in touch if you’d like to view. Car is in Central Auckland. 021 657 522 Thanks, Brad

Reading this makes me kick myself for selling my e36 328 manual, such great cars! That was ten years ago, around the bottom of the market (around 5,5k🤬) Great to see tidy and well loved examples getting used, and that B3🤤! Super stoked with the current e39 540, but still have a major soft spot for an e36 coupe, one day…….

Six months of trouble free daily driving. Grabbed a coffee with @nath and his B3 yesterday. Only Alpina I’ve seen in NZ since leaving the UK almost ten years ago, worth the wait.

Stretched the legs earlier this morning and gave her a fair bit of jandal over a solid 4-5 hours seat time down to Karioitahi beach then up the Āwhitu peninsula - such a stunning rural / coastal setting and the roads are sufficiently twisty and deserted too. Got some good pics with the E46 up here 3 years ago and essentially recreated half of them with the E30 😂 Great way to start another perfect summers day, off to the beach now and then time to clean the car again for a meet tomorrow.

After getting a new wheel bearing and sorting the outstanding thermostat bits, have just been enjoying driving the car lately in the great weather and a fantastic run of big Auckland meets. Still saving my pennies for rust and respray over winter but still looking good and singing sweetly in the meantime.