jimbo01

With you on the silly questions: Questions from some moron who lives in the far north, about something for sale in Wellington - when delivery is pick-up only! Morons who ask the same question several times! Idiots that ask if you are prepatred to swap an HQ Ute for your CBR1100 Honda Motorcycle - sorry I didn't see where I noted that a peice of crap was suitable as an alternative for cash! People who win your auction, then readvertise without paying you, and without telling you wot's going on! Trademe support - it doesn't matter how badly the seller has screwed up (photo not of advertsied goods, incorrect description, not contacting you after 3 emails) you are obligated to complete the sale. People who sell you some goods that are not as advertised, then when you post neutral feedback to that affect they post crap feedback back, claiming they offered a refund etc - when they never did - and ignor any emails asking for them to make good on claimed refund. Only 1 tosser did it to me but damn I'd like to rip the nasty git a new one! This seems to be how feedback works making it worthless! No being able to put contact details - hey Trademe arseholes, if I am selling something worth over a $1000 or buying something worth that sort of money i expect to be able to check it out, and for people to inspect it - afterall you take a big enough bloody cut! (while providing absoltely no f'ing support anymore). How expensive it is now - fees everywhere - tried selling a car lately, it's a big chunk of cash to list, then an even bigger sucsess fee - about $60! (while providing absoltely no f'ing support anymore). There is no way to contact customer support anymore, except by hijacking someother message that goes to customer support

Welcome. 323's have a great engine - should notice the difference from the old Ford/Mazda V6, plenty of torque.

I'm only after 2 tyres for the front - and will be getting Yokohama's to match the rears (the 245/35R19's which gives me the old front tyres as a spare pair of rears).

Went to Dave Hadley tyres this morning - they are going to get back to me with a price on Monday. Will check out Mark at mag and Tyre DEirect on Monday. Thanks.

Thanks. Checked and a 225/35R19 will fit from a 7.5" to 9" rim. The rim is 19 x 8.5". All in all I think this is the best option - reducing the overall diameter by 14mm, and just 9mm more than the orginal standard tyre. It will also be 20mm narrower so chance of hitting should be significantly reduced. Leaving the rear at 245 restores the original 20mm staggered difference between front and rear. And this way i'll have 2 spare rear tyres. Will go and try and order some 225/35R19 tomorrow.

We love it. It can really get going once the super charger is doing it's thing. It also gets a lot of attention - people assume it's worth way more than it cost. It actually has a decent amount of room unlike other's we looked at like the Boxster, S2000. It gets more use than we had thought it would - driving to work on fine days - even though we have a company car with free petrol. No issues with the roof. It work's well. I guess the key is if looking to try with the roof up and down, and put the roof up and down a few times. However it is true about the soft touch covering on the plastic - it does rub off. We have though about just removing the lot and going black, at the end of the day it's not a biggy. Only had 2 exisitng issues when I bought it, We had to get the glass in the drivers door re-attached to some metal plate. There was also a rattle in the back parcel tray. Both fixed by Wellington Star with service.

Too true

Since they moved the dates and added another concert (some people have cancelled with the date change) so there were still seats available at all 3 Justin Timberlake concerts.

Welcome Scotty Nice straight looking car. The E36 drive's well, and has plenty of power. If you paid less that the window price for just 122km, for NZ new, and a service histroy - you have done very well indeed. I had a 323 E36 Coupe - it was a great car, and surprisingly low cost to maintain, and more economical on fuel that I expected (especially given how we drove it - god it was fun - no traction control on ours!). My 2 cents worth; Colour keying the lower black bits would lift it a bit, or add a front skirt, side skirts - and colour key thoses. Some after market 18" alloys would lift it too. As others have said - once you have a BMW you are hooked. Jim

Thanks. We are pleased with the 2 cars - the SLK is in mint condition - and I drove it to Weelington and back this morning top down - it's just great . Together they make a nice set. The SLK gets a lot of attention - I've even had one of the kids school teachers just jump in and demand I take her for a drive! As yet no ones done that with the BMW. Wish list For the SLK; try and get 235/30ZR19 or 235/35R19 tyres for the front. It's got 245/35R19 currently as these come with the alloys. The originals were 205/55R16! Conventional wisdom say's I'm about 1" too big. new higher rated springs Once the others are done; Get the guards properly rolled / repainted - tyres have rubbed and damaged paint either fit an AMG body kit, or at least colour key the lower black parts of the car new IPOD friendly head unit like the latest alpine new belts (maintenance) and a new drive pully (to over drive the super charger) which adds about 40hp AMG front brake disks and calipers (the standard ones look like a joke behind 19 inch wheels). Wish list for the 740;get a couple of small dents repaired, touch up rear bumper paint refurbish the drivers seat leather up grade the door speakers maybe add a couple of rear shelf mounted 8 inch subs and a quality amp refinish the clear coat on the alloys get the power steering oil leak fixed (actually this is top of the list).

My wife and 2 kids are going to Auckland to attend the JT concert, well until last nite we had 3 tickets. My plan was that the rest of family would see JT while I was going to be entertained by a certain club near Vector Arena where the girls have an aversion to their clothing. Perhaps telling my wife my intentions was a mistake. My kind wife has now got me a ticket for JT, sitting on my own, but within site of her and kids seats (so theres no sneaking out). I do wonder what people are going to make of a guy who looks like he's in his mid 30's sitting on his own in a JT concert - waving out to someone else (they won't know it's my kids) before it starts. So is anyone else off to see JT?

Thankyou - it worked like a charm!

Tried running our Mitsubishi Outlander on 98 once, the manual says 91. Car ran like crap - burn't fuel like you wouldn't beleive - about 5km / litre!

BP Ultimate if I'm paying full price, alternatively the 15 cent discounted 95 octane fule from Pakin Save. Is it worth it, probably not - the 740 gets slightly bettter economy on 98. I guess if i was worried about Petrol costs I would have a Suzuki Swift and not a V8. Why BP? - they have Wild Bean Cafe, and a nice eco themed logo, and they have Ultimate! Why Ultimate? (98) - coz my BMW V8 engine is worth it, and afterall it is ULTIMATE, just can't better that.

I vote Koya - for looks. If these have the Inox stainless steel rim check the weight - my Koya rims were heavier that the original factory rims. As unsprung weight is a factor in handling (reducing is good - increasing is bad) you may want to weigh this up in your decision (pun intended).

Guards already rolled. Suspension needs to be firmer / wheel diameter smaller - currently it is 654mm - originally it was 631mm. A 235/35/19 would reduce that to 648. The front tyres are 40mm wider that before. I would go 225/35/19 BUT thats too small for the rim. Maybe I'll sell them and get some 18" wheels with staggered fitment.

"Houston we have a problem", basically the tyres are hitting the guards - and both guards are now damaged! The right guard will need to repainted - its popped te guard out and the paint is no longer attached - but still appears OK to the causual eye. I'm gutted. Lowering is obviously not an option! So much for Dave Hadleys guys saying they were a good fit; as long as you dont try to turn in a corner and either touch the brakes, or hit a bump - May have to look at 235/30R19 if available for the front!

I've got the Euro Style Blue Plate - only big difference is the 0, NZ plate has a line through it, this has a small break in the upper top right of the 0. Any cop that does you for an illegal plate is just being an officious dick. Does anyone know where is it stated that plate must be a legal one, and what comes under the term a legal plate. For a Euro plate to be illegal they have to have a diffination of a legal plate. Where is it? What law was broken when the cops wrote out the ticket? Anyone tried raising it with the AA? Automotive News?

I've got German Plates, with the holder. The holder screws to the bumper, then the plate clips in. No screws in the plate to spoil it, no rattles. I've used double sided tape on my wifes merc to stop rattles, but kept the screws on as well. Works OK too.

I just went somewhere where they know what they were doing!

I got the re-machining of the tims done at Dave Hadley Tyres 64 Victoria Sreet, Alicetown, Lower Hutt. I tried 2 other places which talked about bogging and painting - and mentioned prices of up to $300! I don't think a machined rim is going to look very good if it's been painted! If the curbing isn't too bad they get it done locally - the BMW wheel was away for a while - it was badly curbed!

Linkin Park rocked. A little short - they came on at 9.20 and all finished by 10.55 - but when you sing like that hell it's amazing they last even that long. The Bimmer went well - 11.4 litres per 100km over the whole trip, with 9.8 litres per 100km from Taihape to Upper Hutt via masterton and overthe Rimutaka hill (I was averaging 9.5 litres per kilometyer at the bottem before the hill!). This about what I'd get from the Misubishi Outlander on the same trip - not bad for a V8! By the way the only really quiet driving was Taihape to home. I passed everything that was doing less than 100kph like they were standing still - the acceleration is corrupting. This included some tooling around after the concert where the consumption was up to 28litres per 100km - it was the Linkin Park effect - sports mode and full throttle from every set of lights The roads were damp, and the tyres new, and the traction control didn't come on once. The new tyres are Dunlop SP01A 245/40ZR20. They have great traction but the ride is harsher and there is more vibration than the previous Nexen 3000 245/35ZR20 tyres. They resist turning in more as well, with more effort is needed to turn into a corner. The are also noisier. So I'm revising my opinion on the Nexens - they were actually pretty good - apart from 1 unexplained crack in the sidewall - and I'd rahter have the Nexens on for comfort, sound, and handling. We will see if the Dunlops improve with a few more k's.

The 2nd concert is tonight at the Vector Arena and still has tickets. The 1st concert is tomorrow nite. I know that seems backwards but it's accurate in terms of when they were announced.

Thanks - found the bently manual on Amazon for my E38. This will be ordered shortly.

Well I'm off to Linkin Park with my son, ny neice, and nephew. Highlight for me is that I'm taking the 740i for it's 1st big drive. We are driving up from Upper Hutt via SW1 leaving 7am - then going via Tamuranui, hooking back into SHW1 after Hamilton. I will be using the Escrot 8500 but really will be in cruise mode - however I do want to do one leg driving to see just how economical I can get it, the other leg will be more enjoyable and involve some overtaking. Then it's back home on Saturday with a load of dunkin donuts for those that stayed at home.