M3AN

Great example Martin. Could have picked up an air cooled Porsche in 1995 for ~$30k. Same one is now >$130k. NSX? $40k - now ??? 22B? As low as $30k - can't even fine them now but $100k+ Add E30 M3 - 2001 ~$35k... 16 years on...

Yes, I'm lucky enough to have had a fair bit of e46 M3 seat time, SMG and manual as well as various SMG 'flashes'. Absolutely fabulous car and that's why the CSL is so good. It's simply better in every regard, it's quicker, more precise, more nimble, more encouraging and has much more power on tap when and where you need it. It's instantaneously noticeably better than the benchmark. And when that benchmark is an e46 M3 then you have something really quite special. I'm pretty confident it's a car we'll still be talking about for a long time to come. Might be the very last of the NA goodness.

The black one advertised earlier this year is my mates and is still available via private enquiry. No current link sorry but there are pics floating around this forum somewhere. It was detailed a few months back including underside and is in humidity controlled secure storage, looks brand new. Too rich for me unfortunately but at least I still get to drive it occasionally!

They're that much better, totally different car. The e46 M3 is great, the CSL is spectacular. The black one is still available also, if anyone is interested drop me a PM.

Lowering springs for your Bilsteins = Eibach.

I have Dragon Sports (on the 328 slushy) and they're "Sports" only in name, they're not in the same category as the others you mention. For a commuter car I consider them great value and they perform more than adequately for your A to B stuff. I like them for this purpose.

I had small STI stickers on the sills of my Evo 6.5 for shits and giggles. I also had 21lbs of boost if anyone wanted to give me sh*t. One thing that gets me is people who use the wrong era ///M badge (or any badge for that matter). Like the curved e46 ///M used on e36's. Nup, just wrong.

Look really closely and squint a bit.

Replace the gasket perhaps? http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=BG92-EUR-10_1995_E36_BMW_M3&diagId=63_0273#63121387311

E36 has dash lights, two in fact, front and rear. But I agree with you Graham, they should be auto-off.

It does but your point holds, it's very infrequent and idiot mugs drive around with their rear fogs on all the time, blissfully unaware that they're being a nuisance. What's actually becoming worse in Auckland (elsewhere?) is people that think rear LED tail lights are actually brake lights. I don't know what's worse, manufacturers including auto-on tail lights (they seem to solve a problem that didn't exist), or the uninformed masses that don't seem to know auto-on tail lights are now a thing. Every.damn.tunnel and people hit their brakes because they think the person in front of them has done the same. Nope, the car in front just went into a darker area and their tail lights automatically came on. No 3rd brake light? Who cares, I'm hitting the picks. Getting a license should be much, much more difficult. And I'm inclined to start feeling that everybody should be retested every year... :-/

Not sure what comes from the factory in your car but EU and US law only require one (at the rear) and it has to be on the driver's side. If the car's fitted for two then left/right/both will be programmable.

I think you should, yes. Now, having said that you may have limited success whatever your rights. I think a determining factor might be how clean the wheels were in the first place? If they were pristine then they shouldn't really argue but if they were already curbed a 1cm scratch might not justify a fix. And you need to consider what you're going to ask for, it may be impractical to "make it right" cost effectively. You may be able to negotiate a discount on future product/services but then you might not want to go back there. If it were me I'd go back and and let them know that I was "disappointed" that there some scratches and ask them if they have a policy regarding that - this way you start the conversation but aren't being confrontational (they may also point you to a plaque on the wall that says 'all care, no responsibility').

I was going to opt-out thinking this would protect me from a casual request but: I think it'll just throw a spanner in some works. Nevertheless, I appreciate the link, thanks.

"It's okay sweetheart, we needed a new BMW anyway. I'll look for one this weekend, you just rest and recover from the fright."

Don't worry Steve, with a username like that I suspect you're likely to stimulate more "lively" discussion around here. Welcome back (I hope)!

Agreed @Olaf that's why I'd never post identifiable information about somebody else. I'd never hesitate to post a picture with a plate but I wouldn't make it any easier to identify the owner, that wouldn't be on. Lol - wouldn't be difficult to suss mine out!

Welcome dude, consider coming to our informal meet. http://bimmersport.co.nz/topic/49568-auckland-monthly-coffee-and-cars-meet/

I'm pretty dumb but isn't that a gearbox warning light rather than an engine warning light?

If people don't want their plates made public then keep the car locked up where it can't be seen. Forever. It's silly that this can happen but it's even more silly to suggest the solution is obscuring license plates in photos. If your car is somewhere I can legitimately take a photo of it and you've not obscured your plate then the working assumption is you don't give a toss if anybody can see your plate. If a mate asked me to obscure their plate in a photo I took and posted online I'd look at them sideways, decline and suggest they came to their senses. But yeah, it's a bit crazy that this change of ownership thing could even happen, that's a process deficiency.

Purty! They are a total copy of the RC but hey, I reckon that's perfection! Now replace those Apex caps with BMW ones.

Some people clearly don't understand the concept of a budget. Sometimes, however rational an options seems, it might just not be available. Period. But Nigel their general advice is sound and it is worth pointing out that you might be able to get a set of conventional wheels and tyres for the price of the one tyre you're looking for.

Six episodes in and I like this new Top Gear (sans Evans) more than I like The Grand Tour. Clarkson erupting and the other kids throwing their toys out of the cot might have actually saved Top Gear. These new three (+) have injected a new life into Top Gear IMHO and LeBlanc is doing a pretty good job. Harris has yet to find his stride I think but if/when he does he could be brilliant. On the other hand I find The Grand Tour rather underwhelming, it's just three old geezers regurgitating schoolboy humour from a bygone era to a cursory backdrop of cars. That's pretty much what I thought Top Gear was becoming. But at least Top Gear had guests, this 'Grand Tour 'kill the guest' thing is beyond its 'use by' date.

The indicator in my 328 (e36) has started to go on the blink (lol). When indicating right the indicator works fine sometimes, not at all other times and somewhere in between occasionally. When it's not working it doesn't make any clicking noise. Occasionally it will start fine then randomly start and stop. Indicating left seems fine for the time being. Aside from simply driving around town anticlockwise, where's the best place to start looking? Is this a common problem? Stalk, relay, elsewhere? Cheers.

lol