M3_Power

Fairly sure I saw Hybrid's E46 just before lunch today out East Auckland on Ti Rakau drive? Was that you Josh?

I do hope those are real 6-piston front brakes and not just a look alike cover ... looks promising for sure.

Details? BMW Car Club website seems to be down

AWESOME!!!

If I am being completely honest, I really think the Aussies have the better formula and design when it comes to the 'supercar' build - they are more than likely to sell a few more than the Hulme. This is not to say that Jock shouldn't be commended on what has done with this thing - I've met him in person and have seen first hand all his enthusiasm for the project - I just don't think the overall package is there really. The Aussie Joss Supercar: http://www.worldcarfans.com/109070120221/j...ng-launch-debut

Out of E46 chassis - can be from coupe, sedan, touring or even the compact - they are all the same - should have part number 51118195287 on it. 021 281 0155

Well I don't want to get into a mud sling fight over which is the better system - plus you need to tell me which system from Glasurit you want me to compare with the others? The new 90 line waterborne or the old 55 or 22? I prefer the system because of the following reasons: 1. It's the original OEM system on high end euros (including BMW) - Rolls Roys, Bugatti, Maybach, Ferrari ect are all Glasurit based systems - you can't tell me that these manufacturer use the Glasurit system because it's an inferior product. Also I personally prefer having the same OEM paint back on a car. 2. BASF is the largest chemical company in the world and they own Glasurit - on a pure R&D basis I'd say they are pretty much market leaders. 3. This is second hand information from various friends I have that are panel beaters and painters (I am not, so I am passing on their experiences): - Better and more accurate colour matching - better basecoat system - better UV inhibitors - easier to work with - better clearcoat system (much harder and clearer compared to others) - with the new ceramic coating it is also much more scratch resistant (but apparently a pain in the ass if you do scratch it) - better pigmentation and deeper colour metalic - the blending agent eats in lot better allowing a better flow colour match - less solvent and better for the environment - especially their 90 line - longer shelve life and shorter drying time. 4. It's the preferred paint system used by a lot of high end restorers - for eg.http://www.specialchem4coatings.com/news-trends/displaynews.aspx?id=11332 Anyway - my original reply is purely subjective although partially from experience and second hand information from friends who have been in the industry for a long time - I never said it was better per se - I just think it's the preferred system and the only system one should consider using to maintain originality of paint quality on a BMW. Put it this way, if I had a Lamborghini, I'd use PPG, because that's the paint system Lamborghini uses to paint its cars. At the end of the day, a paint job is only as good as the painter

Can't really comment on Bay's Car Painter and Collision as I've not had any dealing with them - but personally I would not take my car there as they use PPG paint systems and it's not the same as Glasurit paint (the original OEM paint system). I know for a fact that Team McMillan uses 3 different panel beaters - and only Euro Collision and Eurotech for the best repair jobs (both uses Glasurit paint systems) - the other outfit is reserved for Minis, and used cars. I would say that JC would be the same. Having said that I am in no way making any assumptions about Bays Car painter and collision or implying they are not good (they could simply be the alternative to Precision Auto for JC). But as I've said, if you treasure your BMW, then use nothing but Glasurit paint on it for repairs and touch ups - price up their paint and you'll realise why it's different to everything else out there. Sounds like the car is going on a JIG - if that's the case and they are doing a proper job then the wait time doesn't sound too bad to be honest. I'd be concerned if you got that car back in a week or so.

Purchased this out of curiosity ... I've corrected 4 out of 8 mounting tabs with marine grade glass gel coat - it now mounts properly (I'd say 90 to 95% - for perfect fitment you can always glue the piece onto the rear bumper) Rest of the details in trademe link: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=224745577

How much for the aluminium carrier? cheers.

In reasonable condition - don't care about paint condition or colour. Must be the aluminium carrier type (not the kevlar+foam carrier type). If anyone know of one for sale please text or call 021 281 0155. Cheers. p.s. sorry the title's wrong .. should have been pre Sept 2001 production (so Feb 02 NZ new is about right) ...

I've had nothing but good experiences with Team McMillan ... but I am biased I guess ... They have a real coffee bean machine in the service reception - you just walk up and press a button for a latte, flat white, hot choc or whatever you desire ... they don't usually serve it to you unless you were really old and incapacitated to do it on your own - it's a self serving machine. The magazines are just layed out on the coffee tables ... you can just go and pick one up. Who did you speak to at service .. there's Aaron, Andrew and Joao as the team leaders and Tony is the service manager. If you have an issue with the service take it up with Tony - he's great to deal with and very knowledgeable (he won the BMW Tech competition a few years back in Germany so he's a very very good mechanic. You also have to remember that they will often get customers of all sorts on a daily basis - some nice and some not so nice - so the stress does build up and they get rather busy - so have a little patience and be courteous to them and I am sure you will receive the same back - act like a snob or an idiot and they will treat you the same.

You have to remember that it's a stone chip protection film, not a miracle film that's going to prevent all forms of damage (and the purpose of the film is so that it protects the paint under it .. so I am expecting the film to get damaged). Also any damage on the film would look no worse than the damage you would get on the paint - the difference between the two obviously is with the film you can replace it quickly and easily. The film is reasonably scratch resistent and yes you can polish and wax it (trust me when I say it is reasonably scratch resistent (you do get the odd ones .. but better on film than paint I think!!) .. after I had the film done, my wife just had to test out how good it was, so she promptly picked up our Jack Russell and put her on the bonnet to run around on and it didn't leave a mark ) - but no cutting compound. There's also a plastic polish and cleaner that you can use on it which works a treat. The beauty of the system of course is you just replace the film that's damaged or swirled. The applicator has the film all over his ute and it's been on there for 4+ years and the car's always parked outside and never washed (he's not based in Auckland and has over 240,000km on his odometer) and I can honestly say that the film looks almost as good as the new stuff applied to my car (yes it has dulled a little, but certainly not to an extent that you'd notice it straight away). As for leaving residue behind - I've been told by numerous people that have had this on their cars for a couple of years and ones that have reapplied - they all say that it doesn't leave anything behind. There is a particular method of removing it though, but I need to find out from the applicator how it is done. Cheers for all the compliments by the way !!! Yes custom job - no pattern for the CSL. To be honest I looked at importing the product myself - but trust me it is not an easy product to apply or cut. I have located a dealer in the US that will ship it out - but by the time it gets here you are better off having the official local distributor install it with a warranty. It is also a quite heavy for a film (I was actually surprised when I picked up the sheet for the bonnet).

Quite a bit ... but cheaper than a respray ... We do indeed Josh ... text me when you are free?Let me know if you want a number for the film guy .. or the panel shop .. It's guaranteed to stay clear for quite a while. It's a urethane based film - on a white car however you will notice a slight colour change (as many have pointed out overseas) - on a coloured car, less likely to notice. It's guaranteed to not go cloudy and even if it does, you just get another film put on.Honestly a very good product - now owned by 3M so I am told ... but Ventureshield still hold the rights to the patterns I think. www.ventureshield.com Google it ... it's the only approved paint protection film for Ferrari. They have patterns for most cars - but for a custom job like this they have to do the scoring on the car to get it right (i.e. they don't cut through the film so it doesn't damage paint. What they do is they will score the outline, then it's teared off)

Have been wanting to tidy up some of the stone chips on the car, so decided to hand the car over to the best panel shop there is and had the car fully recleared and all the stone chips tidied up (took about a month to do, as parts that needed to come off the car came off to ensure a perfect factory finish - all new trim mouldings clips ect ect ..) Given how good the job turned out, I felt that it was the best time to invest in some paint protection. After doing a bit of research and speaking to a few other regular trackers both locally and abroad, I took the dive and got the car clear filmed with the Ventureshield product (AMAZING PRODUCT) Found the best applicator that there is here in New Zealand (I can't name them as I have been warned by the mods on not to do any advertising for non paying advertisers - so PM me if you want to know who it is) and did the following: - Full bonnet - Full bumper and splitters - Headlights (he threw these in for free) - Full front guards) - Full length side skirts - full length rockers - half of the doors - 1/4 of the rear guards (in line with the doors) I have to say the results are AMAZING Really pleased I went ahead with the job and finally I can enjoy the car without worrying about stone chips too much!!! The applicator took 2 days to do the job as he wanted a perfect finish and he was only a one man band operator ... 14 hours later .. results!! Honestly, you hardly notice that it's even there and the clear film has a high gloss finish much like the rest of the clear coat on the car ... amazing. I took the car around the panel shop afterwards and they were all very impressed with the job. Now for the photos:

Forget the chromes ... I am waiting for this new trend to catch on in New Zealand ... yes it's rust .. not paint ... Does look kinda of cool in some strange sort of a way though ...

straight from e46fanatics: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpost.php?...amp;postcount=1 Gauges/Instrument Cluster: Difficulty: ?/10 DIY: ? Part Number: INSTRUMENTS COMBINATION UNCODED MPH 62117837972 $504.43 This has not been successfully done yet. People have plugged these in, and here are the results: WORKS 100%: - MPH - RPM - OnBoard Computer Functions - Lights - Indicators - Engine Temp. - Gas Info DOES NOT WORK: - Oil Temp. Needle - RPM Warmup Lights - Little orange ODO Tamper Light comes on...which is bad This is a DIRECT PLUG AND PLAY, but will not work 100%. You be the judge... Safe Alternatives: - Bimmian M3-Style Gauges - UUC Whiteface Gauges - Silver Gauge Rings w/ Red Sharpie'd Needles

Very nice .. congrats .... and you are definitely one patient guy I have to say ...

Buy the BMW Mini battery ... it's the same as the one in the CSL.

I can't praise Euro Collision enough - they are the ONLY panel beater that I will trust with the CSL - in fact it's there right now getting a full stone chip tidy up. They are definitely not the cheapest around (in fact many would claim they are overpriced - I beg to differ) - but when it's an insurance job, why would you care right? Dave has been a panel beater since he was 16 and guys like Todd and Anthony are some of the best in the industry (and I know quite a bit about the industry and what is involved in a factory like repair - actually I've been labelled the fussiest customer by Dave ). The thing with Euro Collision is they are one of the few outfits in New Zealand that are authorised to repair alloy chassis, plus Dave actively sends his staff to Australia for advance training and even competitions (for which they've won a few). It is also one of the few outfits that uses Glasurit paint - the original paint system for BMW and the likes. And unlike a lot of panel beaters out there that reuses clips and trims they will replace it with all new items - this ensures an absolute new and rattle free repair. I can't comment about Precision as I've not had any personal dealings with them, but from what I have heard they are definitely one of the top repairers in Auckland - so you should be in good hands. Another one that I would trust with my cars is Ray Hasler - they are the authorised Porsche and Audi Repairer and they do a good clean job - althought I would still rate Euro Collision above them. The only gripe I have with Euro Collision is they get really busy, as they are now - so it does take forever to get your car back - but good things take time and the guys in there won't rush a job for just the sack of it.

I sincerely hope you get your money back ... Although if you had googled or checked on nzhondas I'd say you wouldn't have parted cash at that place in the first instance.

Can't have been a very good law lecturer to say that ... the law on Citizen's arrest is fairly clear in my opinion, the problem is the citizen's don't actually know what they can and can't do.

Darren - 021 277 1267 NZI approved vehicle valuer - nice guy to deal with and knows his Vtec from Vanos

Nah it's actually not ridiculously high (comparatively speaking to BMW parts prices) - The BMW dealerships use Protecta for all their used cars that's outside of BMW Approved period - Just spoke with Sandra and she said the excess is around about $195 to $395 per claim or lower (depends on if you get the car serviced by BMW or not) - M cars have the same excess. The premium is also different if you have an M car - slightly more apparantly. Best to call Protecta to find out. Or alternatively you can call Sandra on the number I listed below - she can help you out and sell you a cover from Protecta. She said that before you can buy a Protecta insurance you'll have to have the car inspected by an authorised BMW dealership which is I think around $150 or there abouts. Alternatively give me the details of your car - make, model, import or NZ new, and mileage on it and I'll get a quote back for you. Also bear in mind that you get what you pay for with Mechanical insurance - the parts they use to repair your car, the time allowed to do the repair (for the workshop) has a bearing on whether your car will be repaired properly or even repaired at all and whether ancilliary parts are covered or not (e.g. do they replace the seal or that particular bolt ect). So if you are in the market for mechanical breakdown insurance, ask around the workshops and see which one they have had dealings with and whether they are any good or not. Protecta does seem to be popular with a lot of the Euro car dealerships for sure.

If your policy is one of market value then there's really no point getting a value done now for $12K - That only dictates a higher premium for now. It's at the time of loss that they look at market value and that's when you will more than likely have a fight with the insurance company trying to 'prove' its value. If your policy is one of agreed value then it's worth while getting a specialist valuer (not a car dealer) to value the car (if it is worth that much to you). Classic cars would be your best solution I think and just keep the km within the prescribed limit.