Driftit

Takapuna Panel and Paint. Used to race with Marty in the BMW series. He has won the series more times than anyone else. He owns the place. It is in Wairau Valley.

VAG. Not even once. Vag however

You can preload too. Hold brakes and start accelerating. Sometimes helps autos. Sometimes makes zero difference. I took my old 2003 Mitsi Vr4 there once. It ran the same times no matter what I did. Over and over. Got bored of that pretty quick.

I had an 05 530D M. It was NZ new with highish NZ highway mileage. I never had one issue with it. Amazing tow vehicle which is why I purchased it. And very good economy. But still well balanced through the hills. Towing an E30 on a heavy hire trailer from Wellington via Masterton had an average of around 10L/100kms. I owned an E39 before that and I enjoyed the E60 far more. One of the main issues the diesels have are the swirl flaps in the intake. They can come loose and kill the motor. However I think the 2007 models don't have the issue. And you can easily remove them from the older cars.

Well it was 20deg C here on Wednesday night walking home. And tonight it was snowing at 0deg C. The weather here is nuts.

It's a strange place. Nearly ran over a squirrel that did the old left right left right dodge on me. Ended up locking the brakes across the front lawn of the naval observatory (where the VP lives). Later that night after a bit of a session at the embassy bar I walked into a deer (whilst txting) that was grazing on the lawn of the Brit embassy which is next door to ours. We both got a fright. And many times I get held up buy the VP's motorcade or his helicopter landing. But his chopper is actually Airforce 2 not Marine 1 sorry. Got chased off the track in the park behind the embassy by a big ass stag the other week too. It's illegal to hunt in DC. So the deer are everywhere.

I walk or ride 1.4 miles. Work has a bar that stocks NZ wine and beer which makes it a relaxed trip home. I just have to watch out for Deer and Squirrels running in front of me and Marine 1 landing.

Air New Zealand's US partner is United Airlines. United is one of those airlines where you have to fight the urge to jump out the entire flight.

Wouldn't cloth interior have to have been requested? I thought all E38's came with leather standard. Wow it looks horrible with cloth.

Have you seen the Gran Coupes up close? I have a few parked outside my apartment every day and I am really not sold on the back half at all. At first glance they are okay. But after having a good look, well.. Though they are very popular here in the states as the lease programs are amazing.

And for converted what ever the the bolted on parts are worth + body.

It's like .70c a liter here. I am pretty okay with this.

I thought that was just for Audi drivers now. Edit: Haha just noticed you also have an Audi.

As beautiful as it is. I feel sorry for it. It doesn't look driven hard. The way they should be.

Almost as long as you have dragged out the whole Automatics suck thing. Anyway. I am looking forward to the new show. I already have Amazon Prime which is awesome. Just a free service as part of my free shipping service from them. I am glad it will be on a paid service. Mainly because I can no longer be stuffed downloading all the shows and I can't stand TV commercials.

Good to see you back out there. And the best track for racing and antics. No 540 towing E30 convoy though.

It's in NZ. In bits stored away. Depending how I go with convincing the Mrs to stay here for longer I will look at shipping it here at some stage. Otherwise I will just buy a seat in the Spec E30 or Spec E46 class they have here. Raced the E34 a bit with its stock motor. But got the need for speed.

I want to hunt down a nice late E34 M5 next year. But I will look in the southern states where they don't salt the roads. But also have some big trips planned so will see how it goes. There are few really nice E34's, 21's, 2002's and E30's around my area in DC. They are all worth a bit now though. I was thinking an E46 or E39 for a daily too. 330i and 530/40's are less than 3k. I even saw a E46 ZHP 2005 manual for $4500 the other day. Best non M3 E46 you can get. Spoiled for choice. Also you may want to ask on the forums for any local wreckers or stateside wreckers that deal in older BMW's. There are a few smaller NZ style ones around that run more on word of mouth than anything else. But they are the ones that have the hard to find stuff.

Will keep a look out for you. Though it is a long way from DC to VC. Bimmerforums is a good place for market stuff too. I am surprised you found something as old as an E34 in good condition up there though. Was just in Ottawa and every old Bimmer I saw up there was full of rust. Good score. There is an S62 with 6speed for sale here for 6.5K btw

There was an entire mint 525 manual here in DC for $500 the other day. The shipping alone from NZ will cost you over $100. There should be tons of the stuff in the US.

Good man. I drove towards the Hurricane whilst they were all coming the other way. All I got was rain though. Cleared out all the tourists for a clear run of Skyline Drive. Prob the best twisty roads for driving on the East Coast. Just have to dodge the bears and deer.

Careful when selecting a shipping agent. Make sure they visit the closest port to your vehicle often. Had cars sit in the yard over there for a month before they left. Just make sure the car is of a high grade. If there has been any prior damage often you will need an engineers report. I have had grade 3 cars turn up that required me to cut off a rear quarter and stitch it back on because they were not happy with the Jap job. Agent missed the damage... There are a few agents in NZ who will do the whole lot for you. Sitting in customs house getting your paperwork slowly looked over is hair pulling madness. As for collecting the car from the port. It is hard work trying to find a trustworthy transporter. Not only to pick the car up on time. But one that won't rip off anything they can unbolt. Get Insurance that will cover the vehicle right to your driveway.

Hamilton. It's the only answer.

I have looked at them in the US as a possible buy. But anything under $15K US is an expensive rescue. A few being advertised with "Funny sound from engine". Had it serviced just last year.

After looking at that I don't think that is a cheap M5 at all.