ApriliaBoy

A good friend has a 535d and ever since he has had it (switching from high-performance v8 cars) I get text's on each fill bragging about his economy. He hasnt got worse than 7.5l/100k [edit: daily driving mostly around town], and when he does a long trip with his golf buddies, he's into low 6's and has managed a few trips into the 5's. I get his text's monthly, he gets mine weekly I've had his car a few times and around town - the torque is perfect. Open road for cruising is typical 5 series quality (very quiet and comfortable) and plenty of grunt for an overtake if you need it. Personal preference - aim for an LCI version as the external mods over earlier model give it a cleaner look and bit more mod interior. Oh, and definitely try and get the M spec. You shouldnt really be paying a big premium over non-M at this price range, but the extra's take a bit of the blandness out of the standard car.

*bump* Just in case I used the wrong lingo,the cable is the OBD2 compliant cable for connecting to, well, OBD interface from a PC. The "D' means it's used on later model beemers of all descriptions and, combine that with software floating around, we change any options that come with the modules installed in our cars but set at factory in a way that may not be that great - for example, I just want to put indicators into the HUD display as I tend not to use the dash and my mate wants to have his DRL's turned on to the full power setting when the headlights are on, rather than the hald setting (plus his 535D has loads of options missing from i-drive which I want to have a crack at turning on for him. But you can do things like swap normal bulbs for LED's without resistors and bypass cold start checks so you dont get the idiot lights on the dash, program your sunroof to close if the rain sensor senses rain, turn audible lock confirmations on etc etc. Anyone?

@M5V8 - Are you the first owner of your plates? Memory is a bit vague, but I had a friend of a friend that had a blue E39 M5 and thought he had those plates though it could have been V8M5. Nice wheels btw. @adams202 - yeah when you hit a road so regularly thats empty, you get to know every bump - mindyou, when you have youth on your side, you tend to think you're bullet proof eh! @Glenn - Yet another machine that is way better than me but a heap of fun all the same.

Thanks all. @Nick G In order of ownership: My E36 3.0 (not pictured) was my fav - a bit down on power compared to the evo but still the benchmark for me. E36 328 - boring. I had the manual but sold after 3 months because I felt like a grandad. M3 Evo (Dakar) - more grunt and certainly quicker but missing a bit of feel from the original E36 I think. I used to skydive in the weekends up in Dannevirke and I used to race myself with every trip. This car got me from start of Wgtn motorway to there in 1hr:15 (in the wee hours when no traffic around) oneday - that particular day I had a mishap jumping and was the last time I got stupid on the road and the last time I jumped (unfortunately, I hadnt quite applied that lesson to two wheels till a few years later!) The early M3's were hugely confidence inspiring in a way that modern ones can not replicate. Cant really write like a motor journo, just know that this and the earlier M3 made me feel like I was a touring car racer. E39 M5 - brilliant family car but I had computer problems with that one that BMW couldnt fix, or should I say, I wasnt prepared for it to be off the road as they went threw troubleshooting. Very luxurious cruiser and brilliant for the long hauls, but as you would expect, not great on the twisties in comparison to the M3's. Must admit that it felt odd having loads of torque AND could rev its neck out - ausi V8's had not done any justice to a well made v8. X5 - surprisingly a very practical vehicle. Stunning that so much mass up so high could still handle really well. E46 - bigger and heavier and I never felt as confident as with other M3's - in fact got into a couple of tight spots racing others that got the sphincter muscle working out (on closed roads of course ). High-speed handling wasnt a strong point I dont think, though that could have been tyre/crap driver etc. Loved the SMG and the exhaust. Still, an awesome car and would love another. Current M5 - it's pretty much exactly the same as Jeremy Clarkson vids ... around town its not flash at all and yeah, sometimes you think that BMW went overboard with electronic options and ways to configure stuff, but press the go pedal and just drive the car, and its very exhilarating. You notice the weight, but incredibly it can still be chucked around like an M3. The V10 is just spectacular - it revs long and hard and no weak points till the redline so you are never in the wrong gear in a corner. The noise from the exhaust addresses a lot of criticism of BMW since the E30/E36's - its loudest of a standard car I have heard and when revving out to red-line, and is just music to my ears. How they made a heavy car handle like it does is a amazing. Definitely like all the gadgets on this type of car, high-beam assist and active headlights, comfort access and first ever stereo from BMW I like (Individual). The ONLY negative - current tank of gas is on 29l/100k (around town) @Greg - I had to look twice at your sig. Brilliant colur alright - unfortunately a bit too visible to local uniforms tho. @Dylan M3 - very envious. The E30 started my lust for the brand watching them virtually cause ear-bleeds with the high-pitched scream around the streets in wgtn years ago. Never driven one but I'll have one in my garage oneday I hope. Actually toying around with the idea of the convertible thats on trademe at the moment but prefer fixed roof. I know it would be exactly what I love about the old m's I have had and then some. But then again, apart from putting them on a track, I probably wouldnt get the same grin factor that they deserve to have, as the roads are just too busy these days. I did take an F10 M5 for a spin last week - oh la la they are awesome, but its not a fit for me till I get councilling over my addiction for naturally aspirated screamers.

Put it this way, the bank profits you read about make me cringe. That, and I dont have a woman to re-distribite funds to a shoe collection

Once it's in the blood it's hard to shake Right then, I wasn't blind .... OK, hopefully here's a few pics of some of the ex's plus one of the few I have of the current (with my daughter poking out the roof : ....

Hi folks, Tend to not have much to add to conversations so have never registered, and whilst I still dont think I have much to add, thought I'ld say hi. Currently have an 08 M5 - would upload photo but havent figured that one out yet without having to refer to a hosting site. Had a string of M cars and a few other beemers: E36 3.0l E36 3.2l evo E46 M3 E39 M5 E36 328i X5 Dean

**** Attention Mods - just realised this is more applicable to electrical/technical section - could you move please? **** Hi, Just wondering if anyone in Wgtn has a DCAN cable I could borrow (beer rental fee expected of course) for a few weeks - want to play with options but heard bad things about dodgy ones from ebay. I also need to know what model car you have used it on as it may have wrong pin configuration (ideally its good with LCI e60). Cheers Dean