jeffbebe

Can't help with your request but will say that Oct 26th is an excellent day to get married... I'll celebrate my 6th anniversary when you get married, so I'll raise a glass for you!

Ours is a 5 speed auto, 2.3L, chain-driven. Very economical. Think you can get a turbo version which puts out plenty of power.

You're not wrong. Our 2006 Mazda never goes wrong... It's the only reason I can afford to have the E39 as well, because I know our annual maintenance bill for the Mazda averages about $250 - including the cost of a WOF!EDIT: Ooops... Hope I haven't just jinxed it!

Bugger! Explains why you are not as fond of E39s as I am! I [for my sins] owned a 1994 Vauxhall Astra wagon for a while and it singlehandedly made something I love - driving - the worst and most (comparatively) expensive experience of my life.It was so bad in fact that I must've blocked it from my memory when I posted my first car... It wasn't a MkII Cortina at all, it was that god-awful piece-of-sh*t murky blue Astra. I still f*cking hate it and hope that it has not gone on to curse too many other poor unfortunate sots like me.

Amazing job!

My old man had a 2003ish Peugeot 406 diesel wagon as a company car just before he retired. Wasn't good. Permanently in the shop and the interior was very cheap and nasty in what was a highly spec'd car. Bits just kept falling off and he was a pretty careful and sensible driver in his 60s. Promptly went back to his trusted VWs when he retired. Might have just been bad luck but the build quality of that car was p*ss-poor. That was always the complaint about Renaults and Peugeots when I was growing up in the UK... Though some of ill-will was probably because they're French... Something many Brits still can't see past. EDIT: Sorry, can't add to the discussion re: Mondeos - never driven one.

Martin and I drove down to Hampton in convoy to watch the Icebreaker races. Fun, and he's done a great job restoring the M5 so far. Looks and sounds great.

Bugger, that is sad. Least someone should do is try and save Brian's plate.

Seriously Tom? I thought you were born on the (insufficient) back seat of an M3!

I realise that... What I mean is that a well maintained 90s Corolla will almost certainly appreciate in 30-40 years time as there will be very few left and certainly very few that are in good condition.

Any well maintained car will begin to appreciate eventually. The volume made originally and exclusivity (and therefore how many survive in good nick) will determine by how much.

Very nice. Love a tidy motorsport E39. Welcome to club!!

^ +1That said, one of the things we love about BMW is that there's a small chance they have been concerned how the boot catch would be working 15 years later.

Yeah, I'm old... Thanks. $5,800's still quite a bit, even on $50/hour. Great commitment. After having a pretty bad smash in my mum's car when I was 17 in the UK, it was a good 10 years before my insurance had come down enough to be able to afford anything of my own. Fortunately, I buggered off overseas to work and was able to borrow a few choice cars before I came to NZ, which is when I finally bought a car of my own!

I think it's more likely that it's some 16 year old who takes the opportunity of posting anonymously on a website to be a d*ck. He's probably lucky someone doesn't come and view the car and knock him out while they're there. Seems he's withdrawn the auction... Probably just before TradeMe pull it down.

Or more specifically, what they paid for them! When I was old enough to get a driver's license you could still get a brand new E30... Just. So there wasn't much chance of picking one up for under GBP30K!

First car I drove (legally) was my mum's... I did everyone a favour and crashed it (nearly killing myself and my best mate in the process). The first car I owned was one of these. Exactly the same colour except mine had ridiculous 10" mags and [badly] homemade flares:

I did trust them... Until that happened!! Think the poor new kid that was responsible got an absolute roasting for it and rightly so!! Set of runner wheels sounds a good plan though - especially if I ever want to do some skids as well! haha

A friend of mine came across these about 10 years ago whilst on tour in Japan. In an inexplicable fit of entrpreneurialism he managed to convince the manufacturer to make him the sole importer in the States (he lives in LA). He made millions. Still makes a tidy profit (about US$250 per year) barely lifting a finger, though the influx of new brands has curtailed his mega income. Can't say I approve of making money from people's addictions... Probably because I'm jealous.

If it's just braking at high speed most likely the brake disks need skimming or replacing (and new pads). If it's noticeable when you're not under braking could be wheel alignment or control arms/bushings.

Yep, Wheelfixit can polish on site. Some noob at my mechanics put my wheels face down on gravel and scratched up the lips so they paid for Wheelfixit to come out and polish at my house. Did an excellent job, highly recommended.

I'm a fairly compulsive person but was somehow able to give up smoking almost 10 years ago after being a heavy smoker for around 16-17 years with barely a tinge of craving when I stopped. It was kind of unplanned, I'd just always told myself - even as a teenager - that I would never smoke past the age of 30. Of course 30 seemed a long way away when I was 13-14 but suddenly there I was... 30 years old. Psychologically, I think I had so utterly convinced myself that I wouldn't smoke beyond 30 that I just stopped dead on my birthday and haven't smoked - or really craved ciggies - since. Totally agree with Graham that food never tasted so good so I have to exercise (run everyday with the dog) in order to still satisfy my addiction to lots of food without becoming massive.

Agreed on all counts.

Finally got rid of an annoying rubbing sound on full lock steering by working some silicone grease into the plastic/rubber boot around the steering column at the bottom of the footwell.

Duly noted, thanks all. He's committed to buying subject to inspection and production of the complete service history. I've passed all this and more on, so maybe he'll be able to push the price down if anything's not quite right. Cheers