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Hmmnn. Not sure I get your logic. So you hit me up and I apologised because I felt bad and didn't mean to offend you, but it's okay in this post because 'Ron is just being Ron'. I suppose I should be pleased that my trolling seemed out of character!

Have you got a whole 530iT, Ray? Got a new job and need a work hack... I reckon an E39 530 touring would be perfect!

Good to see a few Bimmers at the Bayswater Auto Show yesterday. They decided to go ahead despite the TC warnings and it was a good decision. The whole event was done and dusted with nary a spot of rain, just a bit of a breeze. We managed to get six 8ers there - not bad but it's a pity we didn't manage to get some of the more colourful ones around (Neil's Dakar 840 and Wayne's Atlantis 840 spring to mine!). Good to see a few from the Euro Car Club there too. A couple of pics from the day and more here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97854197@N07/sets/72157650955833509/ Peter Farmiloe's 850csi, 'Stella' leading the charge. Stella was born at Dingolfing exactly 21 years ago yesterday and has barely reached 30,000kms. Fair to say she's mint. I've also heard she may be up for sale soon... Might be time to remortgage the house! The little girl in this pic is completely mesmerised by the beauty and cleanliness of my engine bay. She has good taste. 5, 6, 8... Just missing a 7. Amber's UK rust bucket. Pretty happy with how the Kaiser is looking now... Could almost (but not quite) argue she doesn't need the csi bodykit I've got in the shed. Yes. You can see the standard diffuser that was removed on mine to make way for a tow bar... But I do prefer the csi diffuser...

How is this not trolling? ... "It all comes down what you value and who you are trying to fool. The manual is lighter in the front and better balanced and will 'teach' you how to drive properly." You've hit me up for saying I don't think much of a Soarer's styling once too often, Mike, which I don't think is nearly as bad as suggesting the OP is trying to fool anyone and that they need to learn 'how to drive properly'. Ron could have just said a manual is lighter in the front and better balanced in his opinion without the sledging... But he didn't.

The context was the OP suggesting an M3 with DCT might be a great compromise for road vs track use but as usual Ron took the opportunity to jump on his high horse and slip in a throwaway insult or two. Support that if you wish but I call it trolling. Being able to drive a manual on road or track doesn't make any of us better drivers than someone who drives an auto, it just makes us better at driving a manual. I don't think I'm a better programmer than the Android developers because I learnt on a ZX81.

Ron, your trolling is sensational.

Best have a chat to Ray then.

To be honest, Lionel, the E31 isn't that bad. As you say, a lot of the wear and tear items are shared with E32 and E34. Only gets really expensive when electronics start to fail or you start factoring in E31 unique parts. You'd want very deep pockets if you weren't prepared to get your hands dirty. Still, I'd bank on a decent 8er costing at least $20K, even if you buy it for less than $10K!

Double or triple the cost of everything above... And get yourself an 8!

Looks good, quite pricey for an auto though IMO.

Freud anyone?

Bummer.

Is that the one that's for sale on TM? Did you buy it Charile?

Good story with that plate. The car belongs to one of my colleague's mothers, her name is Violet. Her husband bought her the plate. Don't think he realised his small but significant error! Haha

Presuming that they're referring to people that leave the device (e.g. aftermarket sat nav) plugged in all the time even when the car is not running, so it's drawing power when the car is not in use. I noticed on my old 540i that if I left my iPod in the car (via aftermarket media gateway) it would charge off the battery so I unplugged it all the time but I bet a lot of people don't.

Just noticed my car sets off nearby car alarms if revved a little.

Agreed but I think we - as a nation - are getting a bit too high and mighty at the moment. Everyone seems to think they are perfect and never make mistakes and that the rest of the world are a bunch of incompetent f*cktards. Makes look ignorant and small-minded in my opinion. Sure, we need educate o/s drivers on our rules better, particularly drivers coming from locations with very different driving rules and etiquette to NZ but I also think people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and there is some truly shocking driving by NZers. Sorry, back to topic now. The problem with fines is that law abiding people pay them, serial offenders don't. We need to get tougher on that.

You're such a mercenary, Tony!

The same could be said for some of the poor decisions people (not just tourists) make on the roads.

Americans definitely love their in car tech. If it was an option, then in my experience with BMW the wiring etc will be there, you may just need to buy the module, etc.

It's too simplistic. Average wage in Auckland for example, is higher than small town mid North Island towns, but the cost of living is higher so their disposable income is probably much of a muchness. A higher fine would potentially hit them harder. Most of the people I know that earn a lot more than me, have also borrowed a lot more than me so they don't really have any more actual cash in hand. I think we just need to be tough on sh*t driving and tough on repeat offending. You only have to watch one of the reality cop shows to see that repeat offenders continue to repeat offend with little or no penalty. Sure, their license gets suspended but no-one checks if they're still driving. Just read this morning that one of the key-taking douches didn't have a license. Go NZ double standards!

I was only joshing, Graham. Actually, I temporarily lost the remote for my wife's wagon about a year ago. Massive PITA, especially trying to get the dogs in the car when the only lock is on the driver's side (on the road), or attempting to unlock the door while preventing a shopping trolley from rolling into the boot when you're at the supermarket. So yes, I do appreciate the small things... That said, a new remote for the 8er is $550 from BMW... So I'll keep using the key for now.

I hear you Graham... Why would you consider driving a car you have to unlock yourself with a remote button? Imagine, over the car's lifetime that probably costs you 9 or 10 minutes. Nightmare!!!!! Imagine if you had to unlock it with the key!! F*ck that... Only idiots use keys. SO.MUCH.TIME.WASTED.

I agree. The original wheels are perfect, but these are a great 'spare set'!

Yes!