M3_Power

Fifth gear did a segment on the smart car ages ago crashing it into a concrete barrier at an insane speed .... the door still opened post accident. Go search it on youtube. The smart car is built incredibly strong - the passenger cell is designed much like an integrated roll cage. That picture isn't of a smart car ... if memory serves it was a Ford Focus or Fiesta.

Just spotted this and I thought it was pretty cool!! Might be worth while solution for those that want to keep an OEM look to their cars but with a much powerful aftermarkete system?? http://www.dynavin.com/products/product_dnv_e46.php FEATURES Single DIN mounting chassis Motorized touchscreen car Multimedia AV player Beautiful pictrue OSD touchscreen function SD card slot and mini-USB port full I-POD function control Great 45Watts x 4 sound output DVD support discs played:DVD,DVD-R,DVD-RW,DIVX,MPEG4,CD,CD-DA,CD-R,CD-RW,MP3,WMA,VCD and SVCD. Electronic and mechanical anti-shock system Video system:Auto ,NTSC and PAL TV receiver function with PAL;PAL N;PAL M;NTSC and SECAM Video system:7-inch Digital LCD(16:9) Horizontal resolution:800x480 Four preset EQ and manual control Rear monitor video output 4-CH RCA line out for headrest monitor FM/AM preset 30 station(AM 12 /FM 18) Built-in RDS function Full-function remote control Built-in Bluetooth funciton Built-in Navigation(GPS)system Looks like there's a NZ distributor too ... anyone dealt with this company before or know much about the product? http://www.prestigeaudio.co.nz/Shop/tabid/.../5/Default.aspx

You can ship a used s54B32 with a gearbox for that money ....

Welcome Jim! Great purchase! The colour's called silver grey!!

And I definitely agree with them on that aspect!!! They are great motor cars and really the only GT3 that was truely a racecar for the road (i.e. The only model to come out with very minor deviations from the actual GT3 Cup cars of the same era) I agree with you completely - the E92 M3 is a great car. Many say that it is a soft car, but I can tell you that it is not - it just does everything so well in a package that is liveable on a day to day basis. I really do think that BMW tried to emulate the capabilities of the CSL in a package that was user friendly to the widest range of customers when they created the E92 M3. There's so much "CSLness" in it when you look carefully (and it's not limited to just the carbon roof either). I can't say I like any of the aftermark exhaust system on the E92 M3 though. Yes they do give it a louder and deeper tone, but in all honesty, the E92 M3 exhaust note is very unique and special for a V8 - and definitely not what I would call muffed by any means! Thanks for your feedback!! Funnily enough I only like the MK1 996 GT3, or perhaps the MK2 996 GT3RS ... have never really warmed up to the 997 or the 997.2 versions. Thanks Simon 10 official NZ import - 9 remaining on the road (one written off, driver training car) and I know of 2 private UK imports, 1 South Africa and have heard numerous rumours of a Sapphire Black Aussie import. The price range quoted by E30 325i Rag-Top is about right - most in the UK go for around the 27K pound mark, with majority of cars in the 40+mile range. The thing with UK cars however is rust - they are all plagued by it. It must be a climate thing over there, but there's certainly loads more corrosion on UK cars than any of the NZ new ones - mine's rust free of course !! : ) Thanks for all the feedback lads - time to do some thinking me thinks ... looks like I'll be looking at a range of between $80K to just over $100K with the right buyer from the feedbacks I am getting. Thanks all!

Basically a giant iPhone without the phone .... As bizzar and pointless of a gadget as it maybe it is still cool for some odd reason and i don't even own an iPhone haha .. But this is the thing with Apple - they always release their products in stages - they always take away or leave out certain specifications just so they can release another version with it. It gives them the ability to sell the same product multiple times !!

That's the thing with this car - I think there is a market for them, just not a lot of people that are willing to pay for one - especially not 2x the price of an ordinary E46 M3 (circa $45K for a good one now days). I know most of the owners and many have said that they will not sell ever and most have said they will certainly not sell for the likes of $8?K. It is hard to price, hence this post - I wanted to gauge what the 'market' might perceive a car like this to be worth. The $85K car that everyone here is talking about is CEQ1 (2004 register) - that's the highest km one in the country (over 66K km) and it was sold for just under $70K - this was sold at this price because the dealership that had the car DIDN'T KNOW what a CSL was, and priced it just slightly above the E46M3 back in Feb 09 - it sat on the lot for a while and they decided to just get rid of it. The E92 M3 is surprisingly user friendly : ) I should know. I do feel that the V8 M3 should be getting better than the lukewarm reception that it has - think back to the days of the E46 M3 GTR and basically that's what BMW attempted to do with the E92 M3 - they delivered, yet the public didn't like it, or have since moved on from it. The reality is it is a really good motor car, albeit slightly overpriced when new I suppose (I guess the way BMW saw it was, it wasn't quite a CSL, so below $200K new, but better than the E46 M3, so over $145K new ... hence the $170K retail price tag when it first came out - then all the potential customers went and bought Porsches or the 335i coupe ...) I am going to get blasted for this I am sure, but I've always dreamed of owning a Mark 1 996 GT3 ... I personally perceive these to be the next 911 RS and think they are by far the best looking GT3s around. (The question is then I suppose, is it better than the CSL? hmmm ..)

ok ... there's a certain porker that's come onto the market for sale that has gotten me tempted. I've not decided whether it is worth while doing at all or whether I actually should (I do love the CSL and have never thought I'd put a post like this up ever), so I am just trying to gauge an indication on what you guys think the CSL might be worth realistically? Chances are it won't be worth while doing, but it'd give me an indication on what you guys think it might be worth? If it is sold, it will be sold with an extensive spare parts package (listed below). Ideally a collector or a true enthusiast. No expense spared maintenance of course on a car like this (well above and beyond just the normal manufacturer's recommendations - full details and receipts available). 2 owners (me being the second owner). 23,3XXkm (as far as I am aware, the lowest NZ new currently - there's another that's really close circa 25,XXXkm and an UK import that's slightly lower 22,XXXkm) Silver Grey of course Recent new RTAB + limiter kit and FCAB (just because) Recent re-adaptation of the SMG clutch - including clutch slip reteach also (I can do this via the autoengenuity tool that I have and it works brilliantly - night and day difference to the way the clutch engages) - And it actually had a new clutch put in around 18,XXXkm because of a faulty release bearing - I bought a brand new clutch kit seeing it was warranty work and the gearbox was already out, even though it really didn't need one. Car can be returned back to full original specs (full original parts available - everything), otherwise the only modifcations are: 6 pot monoblock Alcon brake kit with braided lines Genuine AC Schnitzer Racing suspension Borla muffler Carbon fiber interior dash trim and SMG surround Full ventureshield paint protection film to close to 80% of the car Fully certed for the modifications. Prestine Condition and absolutely nothing wrong with the car (always serviced by 2 top technicians at Team McMillan - the only 2 I trust with the car) - and no it does not have a ripped subframe floor just in case anyone's wondering - I check this like weekly LOL ... Full spare parts list: 1. Genuine CSL bootlid 2. rear diffuser x 2 (one genuine, one a really good replica) 3. centre console x 1 4. CSL alcantara Steering wheels x 2 (one brand new, one near new) 5. hand brake leather cover (I swapped over an alcantara one, so this it the original from the car) 6. dash pieces (swapped for carbon ones) 7. SMG surround (swapped for carbon ones) 8. spare sets of SMG paddles x 2 (one perfect, one's quite worn from an used steering wheel I got) 9. spare driver side door handle (brand new) 10. full set of shocks and springs (the originals with less than 11,000km - running coilovers in the car) 11. spare set of CSL wheels and Cup tyres 12. spare set of white indicators (long story on this one) 13. spare oem muffler (running a borla on the car) 14. spare Vorsteiner replica CSL front bumper 15. spare E46 M3 front bumper and aluminium bar 16. spare passenger seat airbag sensor mat 17. front brakes, bracket, disc and lines (running Alcons on the car) 18. Front splitters x 2 (one vorsteiner, one OEM) 19. Single piece carbon fiber race splitter (vorsteiner) 19 . spare front grill (this is for the vorsteiner bumper) 20. spare intake pick up tube (for the vorsteiner bumper) 21. spare airfilter x 1 22. spare rear centre console + alcantara trims (console is slightly damaged but repairable) 23. one rear bumper (brand new)

Glenn from DRS (Dent Removal Systems) - great guy to deal with and highly skilled (a Corvette enthusiast however) 0800 NO DENTS

23,000km and 7,900km I need to drive more I think ...

Most definitely not as good as the one that used to be offered by BMW NZ on all NZ New BMWs - I took one out for the CSL before they canned the scheme - that was about $2300 for 2 years factory bumper to bumper cover and no excess. But there's only that many M cars in NZ - and if it wasn't even profitable for BMW NZ to offer it at such rates, then I'd say an aftermarket supplier will no doubt struggle also. You are right Glenn it's already happening and probably has ever since performance vehicles were produced. I remember meeting a really young fella late last year (he'd be no more than 20) that just picked up an E46 M3 for pocket change - again exaggeration, but certainly one of the cheapest ones I've heard (high ks and lots of previous owners) and he couldn't believe how much the Castrol TWS oil costed for a 5 litre bottle (close to $300 retail). People fail to recognise that if a car was expensive to buy initially, it isn't going to get cheaper to maintain when they've become affordable - almost always the very opposite. Good reason why I am collecting spare parts for the CSL already (nearly bought a spare engine late last year) - when I sell it, hopefully it'll go to an enthusiast and all the spares will go with it.

This is inevitably going to sound a bit elitist or snobbery - but people forget that most of these cars are about 7+ years old and just because they've become a little more affordable to the masses doesn't detract from the fact that it'll possibly now cost a bit more to maintain them in prestine condition and will no doubt cost an arm and a leg to repair should anything major have a catastrophic failure. There's always an associated risk when buying something like a M - there being a lack of competition in the market for mechanical warranties on the likes of it also dictates the sort of terms you see above - whlist it won't cover a brand new engine, it'll certainly be enough for you to source an used one from off shore and possibly just enough to have it put it. At the end of the day a mechanical insurance is just a peace of mind - these cars really don't fail on a regular basis and are in my opinion no less reliable than a comparable high strung piece of motoring from the Japanese equivalent.

Anything not tuned on a dyno is a fail - each car is different, there's no such thing as a generic chip that just work wonders.

You probably spoke with Sean at the service reception - what he should have done was transfer you to one of the business managers that deal with these sort of queries. No matter though, I consider the 03 models to be the best year of manufacture - the 04s and 05s actually have more Vanos issues than the earlier 03 manufacture (some of the bolts on the vanos gears were changed for a different part on the post 04 products and they seem to contribute to a bit more failures than the earlier models for some reason).

Okay, just asked the wife. She just sold one today at Team McMillan. The product is called Protecta Pinnacle (not sold on the normal Protecta website) only sold through the dealerships. You have to get a pre-purchase inspection from Team McMillan at $150 For the M cars the warranty is sold on a yearly basis - annual premium $2850 incl GST with $10,000 maximum per claim and a $500 excess - it covers pretty much everything and includes AA Roadside assistance. FYI should any of you want one - it is quite expensive, but when you look at the possibility of say a gearbox failure and you'd be looking at minimum $10,000 just to replace it.

Which dealership did you enquire with? Because AFAIK Protecta's the one sold by Team McMillan and it covers M cars (I've got their cover booklet as they offered one to me and it only says no covers to Ferrari, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Aston Martins and Bentleys) - you do have to get an inspection from BMW Service first though I believe. Whilst it is sold through the dealership network, it really doesn't matter if the car is purchased from the dealership or not - the finance and insurance department from a dealership is usually a separate entity anyhow, so they are free to sell an aftermarket product independent of the dealership. Any way, congrats on the new car and getting a 2 year cover with it.

I just asked the wife last night about this and she says they sell a warranty for the M3 ... I believe it is protecta, i forgot to ask, it's definitely aftermarket though, but it's apparently quite expensive, circa 2k+ with excess per claim about 3xx+ If you are interested give team mcmillan a call.

Have a look at this thread on nzhondas ... http://nzhondas.com/forum/general-discussi...e-nz-japan.html

team mcmillan will sell you one i am sure - protecta warranty; but you'll probably need to take it in for an inspection. Mind i ask which one you looking at buying?

Anything over NZ$400 including shipping is taxable - some times customs will let it slip, other times they'll collect. Undervaluing is illegal and if caught you can get a big fine, but most of the time customs will just let it slip on small items like that. Putting it as a 'gift' works also occasionally - especially if you don't import a lot of stuff (again the $400 limit applies). For personal use items duty is rarely collected unless it is worth their while - most of the times it'll be collected if sent via the likes of Fedex, UPS and DHL. PM me if you need more info - I've imported so much from around the world I've become a bit of an expert on the topic now if I may say so haha .. so much so that customs makes routine checks on all my imports now as I believe I am now on their "must check database" haha ..

Got me Christmas present yesterday!! Will let you all know how I get on!!

Premium has gone up across the board for insurance (be it motor vehicle, property or house and contents) There's been quite a few large payouts recently and big losses from certain companies. I'd shop around - try AMI first (over the phone) - they would be the cheapest around I would say and a lot of panel beaters seems to like them when it comes to claim times. Provided your car isn't a modified beast, AMI should welcome you with open arms (if it's a modified beast, don't even bother, they'll just refer you to CLIC - AMI's version of NAC)!! I've been with NZI for quite a number of years and have noticed an increase for this year's renewal (they've had some big payouts this year, but not as bad as BMW Insurance - i.e. Allianz (way too many full write offs, to the point that BMW dealers don't actually bother quoting their premiums any longer as it's just ridiculous) - the thing with NZI is they've got quite a few different products for motor vehicle and not all are equal - just make sure that you are on a good policy from them and you'll be fine. My word of advice to those seeking insurance - go to your favourite panel beater and ask them who they like to deal with when it comes to claim time - they'll tell you straight off the bat who the best insurance companies are and who to avoid - afterall, a policy's only as good as when you really need it.

In Newmarket this morning ...

Series 6, 46 inch LED ... wife likes the exterior look of them : ) Personally I prefer the Panasonic Plasmas - just think they look a bit better watching movies, but the new Samsung LEDs definitely look pretty cool and well priced at the moment!!

Yeah I know I probably could go down that path, but frankly I can't be bothered. Seems to be a common fault with this model, as I've seen at least 3 on trademe in the past with similar problem, all failing around the same age. LOL Bugger, just bought another Samsung too : \ Fingers crossed haha ...