M3AN

All three e36 M3's have had a recent price drop... https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/new-listing/3118113298 (down 3k) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/3082890008 (down 5k) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/3306085270 (down 6k) Still not sure I'd pay that much for any of those examples.

No problem, happy to help. Same with oil and tyres, there are some people who consider themselves "enthusiasts" that still think there's a meaningful difference between Castrol "10w60 Titanium", "10w60 TWS", and "10w60 Supercar" when that's just foolish... or that your car will handle terribly and fall off the road if you're not using Michelin PSx tyres when that hasn't been true for over two decades. Unfortunately some of them still frequent BS and pedal their tired BS.

Looking fab Chris, lovin' the track look. I'm assuming, no confirmation required, that "essential services" requires a 100mph speed test... just to make sure the tyres and brakes are up to spec. 😜

It's not unusual for any car to use a bit of coolant over time, and if it's low it can just take a single corner to trip the sensor. The best thing to do would be to top it up and see if it's still fine after a week or two, if so ignore it and move on. I'll keep saying it, BMW coolant is just G48, it's a standard so there's no point in paying for (or importing) BMW branded stuff when you can get it from Repco or Supercheap for less. Valvoline and Penrite are both readily available in NZ.

Indeed, lucky I didn't place a bid I was sure wouldn't have been enough! 😂

$5,255 with ~3 hours left. Edit: and I see yours is for sale?

Price drop on this one already... $6,999 ONO which means you could probably walk away with it for $6,500, that's not bad buying if it's sound.

Can a smoke test even work effectively in a boosted intake? None of the machines I've seen could run much above atmospheric pressure, let alone multiple times that. 🤷‍♂️

Ouch on the disc and hub, neither of which are required on the S50. It's amazing that BMW designed something worse than a design they already knew was faulty. If it's the same as the S50 the rattle kit repair makes the job many times more complicated because it's a cam out and re-time job. I did mine, wish I hadn't bothered. But then again, if you have a rattle you can't isolate further than the general VANOS area then it's best to do it once you're in there. Good luck, post pics.

Lovin' the Bible, fingers crossed you don't need many prayers (or penance!). That much? 🤨 Wow, that surprises me. Anyway, since you have the parts you should be able to simply follow the Beisan instructions pretty faithfully (yes, pun). I think there are some variances to the procedures that haven't been updated in the instructions but, as per the S50B32 instructions, you deal with them with common sense and logic as you encounter them. Edit: your apprenticeship equips you well better than most people that tackle a VANOS rebuild so you should be fine, it's not actually that difficult.

Whilst I'd noticed they were black on that one I didn't realise they were M clones like mine so 'yes' is the answer to your question. These are the ones I got (or at least same seller and description): https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/other-accessories/listing/3354359519 It's a bit of a minefield with various types/specs but I took a punt and got lucky, direct fit on my LCI. They're sure to be cheaper on Ali but searching for the correct ones there caused me too much anxiety lol.

$7,200 for PFL auto seems very sensible to me, looks like some of the interior trim is wrapped in matte carbon. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/130i/listing/3354969997

If it's a coupe (this probably goes for sedans also), you need to disconnect everything in the trunk lid before you can pull that loom out. If you remove the 3rd brake light you might be able push the wires out, I don't recall. Only other option is to chop. When I had to replace the loom on my coupe, I cut the whole thing in half and added a connector in the middle so (entire) boot lid removal in the future would be simple.

That looks fantastic. The paint on the roof of my 130 is rubbish and was thinking of a carbon wrap, if for no other reason than it's cheaper than paint. Does OCD do wrapping or do you recommend anyone in particular (in Auckland)?

Even relatively modest amounts of horsepower can benefit from a mechanical LSD in everyday applications. Pulling out of a side road at moderate speeds the 265-odd hp 130i will spin up a wheel without an LSD, and that's with a noodle-sized sway bar. It's also important to understand than any electronic trickery, whether that be limited slip or traction control, reduces slip by bleeding power whereas with a mechanical LSD you lose no power, it just gets redistributed. A well tuned right foot can achieve the same thing as an e-diff whereas with a mechanical LSD you can just lean into it, it's a totally different, and far more satisfying, driving experience.

I can't help with the suspension sorry but you'd be safe to start with a stock 18mm bar, no need to go aftermarket and you should be able to find one cheap as chips (they're on most, if not all e46's other than the M3). If/when you add an LSD then I'd bump the rear bar up to 21.5mm as per the M3, you can go aftermarket there because a genuine M3 one will probably be prohibitively expensive if you can even find one when you want it. You'll probably want to bump the front one up to M3 spec (26mm) at the same time.

A small one if you don't have an LSD, I wouldn't go any bigger than a stock rear bar, 18mm. if it will have an LSD then more info required on powerplant and suspension.

To be fair, it that was the only qualifier there'd be a lot more M3's on the road today! 😉

Looks good, other than the armrest, can't stand the things, glad mine didn't come with one.

Not sure about least loved, I think that's subjective, and I'm biased anyway. NZ new slicktop with no rear spoiler, that's a good set of options. The absence of interior photos is compounded by the totally screwed up registration (I assume BMW NZ or an official dealer is to blame for this sloppy work). Registration (CarJam) says it's a 5-speed 3.0 which it is not. The VIN decodes to almost nothing as well, none of the usual details are available on mdecoder, (the only one I checked), and it claims it's LHD. That all could present valuation problems in the future, especially if you wanted to prove it was genuine and not a cut job. Can't be worth 60k IMO.

Well, the assembled units are different, it's not a direct swap. The have the same basic components and you can convert an SMG to a manual, I think the reverse procedure is impractical (and probably worthless).

Wait. Did the owner kill himself? Over this? Suicide is a serious mental health problem but a trigger is not a cause, and this video is most certainly not a cause. It's the only video of theirs I've seen but their narrative seemed fair even if there was a boatload of scripted disingenuity, changing tense throughout the video was amateur. Regardless, they deserved their money back, seller shouldn't have made that difficult.

That was conveniently timed! Expect big specials around Bathurst weekend also (first weekend of December for those living under a rock).

Or consider your own, something like this? $90. https://www.sulco.co.nz/MACPHERSON-STRUT-SPRING-COMPRESSOR.html

And now I can't unsee it, damn! 😂