Driftracewake

On the off chance anyone knows of a vehicle for sale (I've been through trademe) Must be a Motorsport touring.

The E60 sitting at home all lonely before we left yesterday.... And the X5 on family holiday duties yesterday evening at the bach.

Recompliance shows up clearly on all carjam/virus reports and yes it does affect saleability as people will know it's had a crash and, regardless how minor the damage, 95% of potential buyers will walk away then and there. It's only a 7k car anyway, probably more like $6k as it will be harder to sell. Is it worth it?

Roo.... Black 3.8 E34 1992. Time to stalk the owner until he sells it to you....

That link wouldn't work for me but I need to do this to an import E90. Could you direct me to the topic? I couldn't find it in the search.

Maybe I've missed something but, if they don't have bimmersport on them, wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to buy these off trademe? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/personalised-plates/auction-655887434.htm

I saw this around Albany Highway area this morning. Photos don't show how cool it looks driving down the road, it's pretty low!

This is going to force me to upgrade as well isn't it? Peer pressure is so expensive.

I'm also looking for one at the moment, there's a temptingly cheap silver one at a yard in Greenlane. Drove it and it has multiple oil leaks and a bad thump in the trans. They are quick, comfortable and great value IMO. My mates bog standard one laid just shy of 200kw at the wheels on the recent dyno day, so they are hugely underrated from factory. A lot faster than those other cars you listed. They do have the failures though, High Pressure Fuel Pumps are common to fail (multiple times even) on the pre 09 cars

Someone should jump on this.... http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-655746364.htm

All hail the dictator!

Hi guys, I've been offered this low ks 750il as a trade in, http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-649161493.htm It's not what I'm after so I'll be looking to on sell it Immediately. Ignore the price on that auction, he's dreaming. But, Given its low ks, What would people realistically pay for it for a quick sale? Is anyone here interested? Any help would be appreciated. Dan.

I'm after a piece of the lower bumper grill from an e60 msport. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=NC72&mospid=47753&btnr=51_5675&hg=51&fg=15 It's part 13 in the diagram above. Part number 51117897184 Any ideas where I might find one... I'm scared to ask for the price from bmw NZ.

Colin @ Euro Car Services can code them for FM. Last time I had one done was a 525i as well, and it was less than $220.

Interested in this comment, did you have an aftermarket LSD or did you throw the weight around to make it slide?

Clearly you got a good deal 2 years ago Ron, or they haven't depreciated much since (which I can also believe). Although it's hard to put a price on manual models as they are rare on the market. My pricing is based purely on what we brought ours for 5 months ago, we watched the market for around 3 months before jumping in, we paid 22k, it's a v8, facelift, sportpac, NZ new 120ks, black leather, PDC, hill descent control, heated front and rear seats, service history, no pano roof unfortunately!. My friend brought a similar specced diesel in black for 31500 the next month. As you said only 30% of e53s were diesel, so they are in shorter supply than petrols as well. As we both said, newer models won't suffer the same price disparity as the majority of the e70 models are diesels.

Sorry it was badly worded, made more sense in my head! If I was a buying a new BMW X5 today I would buy a diesel. I run a 2013 Ford Ranger diesel everyday, (50ks p.a) and I understand the payoff. However for a second hand BMW the argument is different, especially if your not doing much mileage. We brought the wife's 2004 E53 X5 V8 for $22k. The equivalent diesel would be 32k, not so much because of higher demand, but I would suggest because of shorter supply. In 2004 diesels weren't very "fashionable" and most people (rightly or wrongly) brought petrol X5s. Whilst I agree diesels have slightly lower depreciation rates in percentages, let's use dollars and cents, because higher value vehicles lose more $$$ in depreciation than cheaper vehicles. And at the end of the day, you bank dollars, not percentages. For resale figures I used the preface lift e53 models currently for sale, they are 3 years older and therefore a good idea what my car will be worth in 3 years. a2001 petrol V8 X5 sportpac with 150ks is worth around $16k today, and a diesel version around 22k. Therefore if I owned a diesel it would cost me $10k in depreciation in 3 years and the petrol one would have cost me $6k. So there's a $4k saving alone. Add in the fact that it's not used more than 15kms a year, the petrol version is cheaper to own. I haven't even factored in the money saved by throwing the spare $10k on the mortgage The sums work for a a lot of the early diesel cars. The premium they command (because they aren't as common) is not worth it unless your planning to do at least 25-30ks a year. Another prime example, my E60 545i Motorsport was 10k cheaper than the comparative 530d model and a whopping 17k cheaper than the 535d model. Again it will do less than 20ks a year, so the decision to buy a v8 was an easy one. Bit of a shame because a remapped 535d would have been lovely indeed... However, it's different kettle of fish with the new generations of diesels. The E70 diesel models for example, barely command any price premium at all over their petrol brothers, because there's so many diesels on the market. For this reason, when we do upgrade to an E70 it will most likely be a diesel.

I think you all missed a crucial number in this calculation. The diesels are more expensive to buy in the first place. Our x5 fits the framework above, 10k per year etc. An equivalent spec diesel E53 would have been 10k more to buy in the first place 22k vs 32k for a facelift, NZ new, 2004 model with high spec, full service history and approx 120ks on the clock.. We drive only short trips around Auckland and our economy is not as bad as quoted above around 16l per 100ks. When we sell it in 2 years or so it will have 150ks, be worth about 16k (looking at comparative 2001-2002 models) So we lost 6k in depreciation, a diesel would be worth around 22k by the same logic. So we would have lost $10k. I think I'll stick with my V8....

Valves stem seals. Leave it idling for a few minutes when warm them stomp on the gas and look for white smoke.

2002 Mazda 626 wagon. 160ks, NZ new, white, auto, $4k. Cheap to run, insure and repair (not that they ever need any repair) . Pretty spacious wagon too if you need it.

My brother is selling his Primera wagon. I think he was going to let it go for $3650 which is pretty bloody cheap. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-639498359.htm

Toyota Landcruisers

Have you driven a nice e60? What does it lack that your e39 has? Manual trans? Even comparing M5s is realistic now as the E60 models can be had sub for $40k with under 100k. E39s are $30k plus for same spec. The price difference is very nearly negligible. I take nothing away from the e39, clearly, in its day, it was the best around. Even today they are a great drive. But you only have to look at the build threads on here, they are all about restorations (and its great to see people giving these cars a new lease on life and preserving them future classics). For me personally, I have enough to do without worrying about working on my daily driver. I haven't got a build thread for my e60 simply because in the time I've had it I've not had to do a single thing to bring it up to spec, just standard servicing. I think in this situation, a newer model, lower k, better specced car would suit better. If he was replacing his 180sx with another project (and I know the attention to detail and Build quality of his projects) I'd say grab the older model. I've been here before, and personally, the pride and good feeling I got from owning a top spec, immaculate older vehicle didn't outweigh the trade offs it came with( lack of features, higher running costs etc). But everyone is different, uses their cars in different ways, and has a different set of expectations from a vehicle. As mentioned above, the cost of a good older M car will be comparable to a good late model e60 so there is no savings buy buying the higher maintainence older model.

If it was me, I would be looking to get a late model, low ks, LCI 550i Motorsport. Nearly as much grunt as a e39 m5, new (thinking 09 year), low ks, great to drive, much better specced than a e39, and I reckon you could get one for 34-35k if you hunted around. The LCI have the trick electronic shifter and flappy paddle as well. It will also be much easier to fine an example that meets your high standards. I may be bias, but I love my E60 motorsport. i reckon they look great in motorsport guise and they drive brilliantly. I wouldn't go back to an older e39 for many reasons.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-632070144.htm This one would be worth a look, for a lot less money.