M3AN

lol - this will be a terrible story about 'how much damage could be done' - you've not described anything that could remotely hurt one of the most durable engines man has ever made.

If your car overheats for 4 or 5 minutes (or even less) you're looking at damage, the actual amount of coolant you have is irrelevant, as long as your engine doesn't overheat you can have zero coolant. I must note though, coolant is very important and without the correct amount an engine can overheat very quickly. If it's cranking and not firing then it's likely spark or fuel, difficult to diagnose from afar. It's unlikely to be a major job but you need a mechanic to take a look.

So it's just not firing? 1 kilometer from cold? The coolant wouldn't even be a factor over that distance. Heck, you could probably run it with no oil over that distance and not do permanent damage (perhaps - don't try this). And it's a Toyota. Maybe just fill up the washer bottle and give the bumper a kick?

That's a good example of where our system totally fails, in many cases we're looking at the wrong thing. Okay, gotca. But I'd say the rego is irrelevant in this case. If a car needs a cert it needs a cert, period. Rego, WoF whatever, it needs a cert. Anyone selling an uncertified car for road use without disclosing the compliance requirements is dodgy, period. If it could have been certified they would have certified it. Their reputation is dust, walk away.

Realised I've been driving around with my MAF-less induction tuning mod for the last few days after topping up PS fluid... wondered why idle and pull were better that usual.

This is an important consideration. I have 18's on the M3 so couldn't even fit a spare in if I wanted to carry one and runflats are not a performance option I'd consider at this stage. If you're in such a situation then roadside assistance is an invaluable consideration. Whether it's part of your warranty, comes with insurance (I thought most insurers offered this free now anyway) or you pay for AA it's a very smart idea if you don't have or can't use a spare. I get a couple of free callouts and flatbacks per year with State for the 328 and the same or similar from Swann for the M3. Touch wood I've never had to use it. Last puncture I had was on a expensive rear tyre that had done less than 50 km's and was irreparable. In the US it's common for damage insurance to come free with new tyres, I wish that were the case here.

lol @ Graham, why does that even bother you? I often forget to renew my rego for up to months...

@KwS No, I abandoned that project because I got a full M-Rain interior and the complexity/compliance of the Recaros turned me off (once I'd spent most of the money). But I considered the following to answer your questions: Seat Belt receptacle - can't be mounted to the base or sliders even if they have the facility so you need to use use E30 receptacles (no pre-tensioners) and bolt them to the transmission tunnel in the same way Mark (@sweetm3) has and his is fully cert'd. Seat height - shouldn't be a problem if you're using side mounts but if you're using bottom mounts (like I was) then it's more complicated. I have sliders so they lift the seat about 15mm but still I was going to need to use 25mm standoffs (and longer bolts) between the sliders and the mount base. I'm not sure how certifiable this would be but they'd be pretty difficult to see in there so I was prepared to take that risk. FWIW I have, surplus to requirements: 2 x NZKW e36 bases (certifiable) 2 x NZKW sliders for Recaros to mount on above bases (certifiable) 2 x used e30 seat belt receptacles If you need any of that.

Only a genuine BMW part will do here and anyone supplying them in Auckland will have to get them from BMW NZ (mortgage) or from an overseas supplier, normally FCP Euro. You're better off ordering them yourself and avoiding the no-value-add margin. Having said that they're expensive wherever you get them from, period.

And we all know BMW's cooling systems are bulletproof!

^ yeah, I also wondered just how much you might expect from them... going from "silly power" to "slightly more silly power" (it's a station wagon after all lol) probably can't be felt through the undies. What pulleys are involved? If PS pump is there any concern about over driving it? Some of the E36 long-termers in the US seem to think they kill PS pumps... not sure how much veracity there is to those claims though.

Nice and not too expensive either! Don't apologise for calling it foam, many people, BMW included, called it "structural foam" when it was first made available... and they're not mutually exclusive anyway. Enjoy the driving. ?

Do you have a break-in period for the bottom end? And if not, is there a seat-of-the-pants difference with the pulley kit?

Wow. Martin, that's not cool at all.

^ Is that what Walter White drove? I recall there was an on-set effort to get the worst looking car they could for the show.

^ I was going to say... "how did you all miss the ACS stuff?" because it was pretty apparent to me. So they've changed up the auction then or perhaps posted the wrong pics first time? Really, unless the engine has been fettled it doesn't matter whether it's a "genuine" ACS or not because everything else is bolt on. I think you'd need to plug it in (at best) or send the VIN to ACS (at worst) to confirm. How easy is the ECU to pull in a RHD E46? Should have a sticker on it if the engine has been worked.

I wonder how they wrangled this plate...

I wondered about that and concluded (perhaps incorrectly) that "undersized" meant "the wrong size" rather than simply "worn" which would be a less ambiguous way of stating it. On the basis that it's the width/thickness then yes, of course that should be check for any WoF. Edit: if I got failed on missing bump stops I'd cut up a pool noodle, wrap that around the strut and ask them to prove they didn't work.

That's fascinating... I believe you but it seems totally arbitrary... ...for a start how do they know if the vehicle came standard with bump stops or not? e.g. E36 Ti none at the rear and other E36's do have them... no workshop can be expected to police that and no consumer could be expected to prove it... also, you can't test them even if they are present... so what constitutes a viable bump stop? ...and there's no plausible way for a mechanic to determine if a specific diameter rotor is good/bad/acceptable/etc nor can they reasonably look that up and a consumer can't prove it (in any practical sense) one way or another... rotor diameter isn't even a valid metric with respect to absolute brake performance... I'd be quite interested in failing on one of those points because you can be sure as hell I'd be disputing it! If it weren't a PITA I'd remove my rear bump stops just to see what happened at the next WoF lol. Just goes to show how subjective a safety test, that should be objective, really is.

I can't help with Wellington or Christchurch recommendations sorry but there's are few clued-in people here from both regions that should be able to help. I think that pricing is pretty fair although that VANOS quote can't include a replacement hub (https://store.vacmotorsports.com/s54-vanos-hub-upgrade-p3771.aspx) because they're pretty expensive and it's a fatal flaw in the system that, to the best of my knowledge, was never addressed by BMW. I think you can get less expensive options than VAC (who tend to be in the upper price range for most things but quality is second-to-none). Subframe quote is reasonable if no damage has already been done (otherwise it will cost more for labour). I would NOT recommend poly rear subframe or transmission bushes for a daily, if the repair is done properly (ideally structural foam and welded reinforcements) then standard rubber bushes will be fine and will provide a much more compliant ride. Airbag is a compulsory recall so shouldn't cost you anything, bottom end bearings is NOT a recall (in NZ at least) and won't be fixed out-of-warranty for free by BMW. If the car has always been run with 10w60 then a bottom-end failure is a much lower risk.

They actually sound pretty cool with the stock exhaust, not sure why you'd want to change that. Arguably up there with the sound of a Ferrari or Lambo in terms of audible car porn pleasure.

Well I don't suffer fools gladly so yep, I'd be a nightmare if you kept saying stupid things! ?

Well, I can't tell you what to do but I don't believe it's worth $32k without the necessary fixes (see Tom's for $30k with the fixes). I'd also question how it went from $28k to $32k in 3 months and why somebody would want to flip an apparent unicorn (blue E46 M3 manual) in that timeframe? A desperate buyer makes for a happy seller, keep that in mind! I'd challenge his offer of $32k armed with the knowledge that you'll need to spend literally thousands more, if they won't budge then I'd walk away. The only E46's that are truly going up in value are the ones that have been fixed and the owners of ones that haven't been fixed know this all too well and are trying to cash in on a rising market. Look at the one recently purchased by a member here... looked great and now needs multiple thousands put into it to fix the subframe less than a month after purchase...

My personal opinion is that it's lusty. I'm paranoid about rust on imported cars so I would have that really thoroughly checked but if it passed that inspection (behind the wheel well liners) then I'd set my base price at $30k and negotiate down from there based on: Front wheels are clearly too wide or the wrong offset so need to be replaced, factor that cost in. No mention of subframe repair and it will be required because of the suspension so factor that cost in. No mention of VANOS seals or pump hub being fixed so factor that cost in. Big end bearing are problematic and need to be inspected (minimum) and potentially replaced, factor that potential cost in. Seller seems to be a dealer also, ask for it to be supplied via the dealership so you're covered by the CGA. Given how the market is at the moment, if you want a manual one then even with the above to be considered this does look like a nice pickup (edit: if it has no rust and you can get it for ~$26k then pounce and use the saved cash for repair/preventative).

If I were in your shoes Tom I'd probably see it the same way as you so no need be concerned about 'bad' days' or 'self promotion', your comments are perfectly valid (even on a 'good day') IMHO. Indeed if I knew somebody that purchased any other Phoenix/SMG I'd call them a fool because yours can't be overlooked for the reasons you mention. Even though SMG is a personal preference I'm pretty surprised you've not even had a nibble... I also don't think many people appreciate the difference the CSL control makes to the SMG. My best guess is that if you can hold on and stick to ~$30k, the market will come to you.