Fen

I haven't owned it for any time - whatever it is it'll hopefully be in a container in December and I haven't even bought it yet! My understanding is that BMW say no e34s meet frontal impact standards and I further understood that the only way round it is that it has to be over 20 years old. I don't want an M5 anyway - one of the things I won't miss about the RS6 is the size and weight (the other being the fuel economy - being able to keep up with a 430 Spider is pretty cool though ). I don't want to spend what an e39 M5 costs and the intention is to keep it for some time as a daily driver rather than sell at a profit. Any idea what the blue M Roadster was up for? No point importing a car and paying 12.5% if it's cheaper to buy one when I get there.

Possibly, but for the sort of cash I'm happy to commit it would have to be an S1 Elise and I haven't seen any of them for sale in NZ which makes me think only the S2 has the necessary frontal impact testing certification? In any case they aren't really powerful enough nor practical enough to use daily; you need Allen keys to fit/remove the roof on the S1 and a mate who bought an S2 new eventually sold it "because I want a car I can hear the stereo in to drive to work". I'm thinking more like the M Roadster, e36 M3 cab, Golf R32, Audi S3 or Mini Cooper S with Works kit.

Yep, it went about 3 months ago.

I'm in the UK currently but hoping to make the move to Welly in January (house sale agreed in principle, PR visa waiting for a case officer in London). I was going to bring the RS6, but to be honest I think it would have to go soon after to contribute to the house fund epsecially as we are getting less than expected for the house here so I'm looking into what may be worth bringing with me that's cheaper by enough that I can justify keeping it. I nearly bought an S54 engined 2002 M Roadster when I was looking (and eventually bought the RS6 - slightly different cars I appreciate, but there you go!) and mainly didn't buy it because of the blue interior. The black turbo one sounds interesting - they aren't exactly slow out of the box!

OK thanks. They go for anything from the equivalent to $25k to $45k for a late S54 engine version here. I know from previous questions I've asked that the Z-cars don't seem to sell well in NZ so I wondered if they'd be cheaper - assuming they can be found! Most of them here are blue with blue leather (yuk!), but I fancy an all black one.

Quick question as subject - any Z3 M Roadsters in NZ? None for sale on TradeMe or AutoTrader right now - are there any in country? If so how many and were they officially imported? Do they come up for sale much and what sort of money do they go for?

It's summer here which means it's raining every day. The car is black so it's filthy. I'll take some when it's washed, but I'm off to a national Porsche meet today so it probably won't be for a little while. I'm keen to get some decent ones though.

I picked up the Beast yesterday. I can see it's got a bit of a drink problem, but I can forgive it that; there's a guy on a decent sized bike near me who has just been owned by an estate car on an uphill section of dual carriageway

It's done 149,450 miles as I type and things are starting to wear out. It needs another PDC sensor (no big deal I know) the info pane on the dash is starting to fail (£200 to fix or £500 to replace) and I'm pretty sure it needs new rear subframe bushes that are £600 from memory. I also think it's getting smoky again on the new injectors that were fitted 15,000 miles ago at a cost of £1,700. I think there is a clonk from the drivetrain sometimes under brisk standing start. It's also starting to feel baggy both in terms of the drivers seat and the suspension. It's worked hard for its living all its life and its starting to show basically. Add to all of that that it is no sportscar (nor meant to be; it's an SE not an M Sport) and I sold my sportscar already so I could get something to replace both and the gravel rash on the front means it could do with a respray and I think it's time to move it on. I did consider a 535d (not available in NZ it would seem...?) and also a low miles e39 530d Sport. Ultimately a V8 and 450bhp won out though. On the alpina the probelm is that officially Alpina are a manufacturer in ther own right, so officially the car has nothing to do with a Z4.

Problem solved: After becoming concerned I'd miss the Touring's practicality I changed my tack and today I put a deposit on an '03 RS6 Avant.

It's entirely possible that if there is a sticker or plate on the car it might help. The car is a Z4 3.0si with the engine removed and replaced by one that is an overbored e36 EVO bottom end with a custom Alpina head and no Vanos, custom pistons, rods etc. Apart from that it's really a quality retrim in full leather, different suspension settings and some (ugly) 19" wheels. The thing is because Alpina are a manufacturer in their own right (as opposed to a BMW tuner) then the car is a model in its own right and they can't claim it's a Z4. Anyway after the comments above on the Z4 market in NZ I'm going to give the whole roadster idea a miss so I'm not overly fussed not to progress it further. I think Alpina are saying they know nothing about NZ regulations (which I offered to get info on for them in my email to them) but that BMW Ag say that it is an expensive process to get compliance when Alpina ask them. Whether or not that's true is another question of course - the supply of engine blocks to Alpina for the Roadster S stopped almost exactly when the Z4M Roadster was launched, effectively killing the Roadster off when BMW had a product that it might have competed with.

To quote Alpina: "Hello Fen, Thank you for your interest in ALPINA, there are so many terrific cars out there, we're flattered. BMW ALPINA automobiles are not marketed in New Zealand, and we are not aware of any ROADSTER Ss in NZ. BMW ALPINA products have not been tested for fulfillment of the NZ-unique front bumper crash standard, and as such could never be exported to New Zealand to our knowledge. This test (as per BMW AG) is apparently prohibitively expensive for the small volumes that we might sell. We couldn't be of any assistance anyway, as we know nothing of the laws of NZ in general. Sorry we couldn't be of more help. It would be our advice to not purchase the car for the sole purpose of taking it back to NZ. All the best, " and BMW NZ via VTNZ: "Sorry, but I have just received another e-mail this morning from the LTNZ. Included here is an extract from the e-mail they received from Mike Thompson at BMW. It is not good news. "After talking around the office it seems we cannot issue a statement of compliance for this vehicle as we are technically not the manufacturer. Our advice would be for the owner to see Alpina about a SOC, failing that maybe LVV is a possibility. Our recommendation would not to bring it at all. Regards Mike" Looks like you have to get a SoC from Alpina or go for Low Volume Vehicle certification here. MOST IMPORTANT make sure that it complies with an accepted Frontal Impact Rule, and you have documentary proof of this, or it can not be registered for road use here until it is 20 years old. If you can supply photos of any vehicle id plates on the car, I may be able to help you later on." Admittedly they seem to suggest that they may be able to do something if I can supply a photo of the Euro Compliance plate on the car, assuming it has any. Fen

Thanks for the replies - I've been on holiday in the middle of nowhere so only got 'net access again just now. I now have emails from LTNZ, BMW NZ and Alpina and they all say don't buy the car as I probably can't bring it in - I'm trying to get my head around exactly why that conflicts with what you all say. Interesting on the Z4 market - I was going to stump up the extra for an M Roadster, but I'd probably have to sell it when we get round to buying a house (or building on a section more likely) so I may just steer totally clear and stick with an M3 SMG cab - would that sell in NZ when the time comes? Probably silver grey or carbon black with red or black leather and nav/TV, bluetooth, 19" wheels, Harman Kardon etc. They are on every street corner here so I can choose the spec I want pretty much.

OK, I know I've asked about CSLs in the past, but in truth I can't bring myself to drop quite the dollar necessary to own one and I really want a cabrio of some sort anyway, so... I have very nearly put a deposit on an 04 Alpina Roadster 3.4S. One of my reservations is that if I want to ship the car to NZ when we get our visa granted (end of the year most likely) will I have loads of hassle? On the one hand it's basically a Z4 and as such it meets the frontal impact standard and has the airbags etc it needs, and it's one of the 163 RHD ones ever made. On the other hand the log book says it's an Alpina and it has an Alpina rather than a BMW chassis number. Assuming they were not sold new in NZ does that mean Alpina as a manufacturer isn't recognised by the LTSA? I'll check their site and try to contact them about it direct, but any advice much appreciated. I could just buy a Z4M Roadster, but they are newer and hence 35%+ more expensive minimum and the Alpina is much classier in the way it's finished, plus there are unlimited numbers of Z4Ms and only ever 163 RHD 3.4Ss.

My 530d Touring has a 2,000kg (or maybe even 2,500kg) braked capacity and significantly more space in the back than an X5. It's only 2wd though so wouldn't do well off wet grass and if image is important it isn't a 4x4.

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/180708.htm

I've used a number of them in the UK since they started to appear about 10 years ago. Most don't have NZ mapping however so your choice is more limited and for our trip to the north island a few months ago I bought a used Navman iCN650 from eBay in the UK and got the NZ maps from Navman for it. I have to say it is a quality unit if not the smallest available. The screen is very clear, the speaker is plenty loud enough and it didn't take a wrong turn the whole time (it did get me in the wrong lane somewhere in Belgium on the way back from the Nurburgring at Easter though). It even has a small remote control. Not something that will possibly bother most of you, but I got off the ferry in France and set it to take me to the hotel in Germany. The other units that my mates had couldn't cope with a German address while they were in France and they had to break the journey into a leg each for France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. In actual fact what the did was follow me TomTom is the biggest seller here and it's OK and quite cheap these days, but it did fall over on the France / Belgium / Holland / Germany thing because it doesn't have enough memory to keep Europe in as one map so you have to switch them at the borders.

Cool, thanks. In terms of wanting to do events that's possible, but I built the car for non-competitive track days and it's modified to the extent that the class it has to run in puts it up against cars prepared for the specific race series with big budgets. In other words it's never going to be competitive even not allowing for me as the merely average pilot. I'm happier it won't be an issue now though. I'm looking at selling it just now rather than have to build another engine for it as it blew up last season (Pistonheads here if anyone is interested: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/159469.htm ), but I don't expect it to sell so I'll finish the jobs it still needed doing before it went bang as well as get the engine issue rectified.

That's good to know, though it sounds like it has to be used for competitive motorsport before it's allowed a full cage and harnesses?

A quick initial look suggests it will need to be certified in lots of areas, but nothing I've seen so far suggests it would fail certification.

That sounds really helpful - I'll take a look later when I'm not supposed to be working. Thanks.

Thanks for the links. I had seen the Porsche frontal impact data before, hence my saying any RHD after 1986 complies. We'll be moving to the Wellington area and I have a good personal recommendation for a shipper - in fact I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with the process if the car was standard, but what I haven't seen any information on is what difference modifications will make.

OK, this isn't BMW specific but I'd really appreciate some advice from you guys. As some of you may remember from my previous posts I am intending to move to NZ either late this or early next year (depending how long the visa takes to come through). One of the cars I have been intending to bring is my 944 Turbo, but another post on here has made me realise I might need to look into modified car regulations before I get too keen. The car is pretty heavily modified: coilovers and lowered, (European at least) road legal track tyres, larger capacity engine, bigger turbo plus lots of other changes in the engine department, bigger brakes, rear seat removed, front hard shell buckets, should have a roll cage but doesn't yet etc. It's a 1990 and from what I can tell Porsche say anything after 1986 passes frontal impact standards. It's RHD and has never had any airbags. I don't especially want to drive it on the road a lot, but I was intending it to be road registered simply to be able to exercise it now and again. Am I going to be out of luck or will there be hoops I can jump through to get it registered. I've owned it since June 2001 if that matters. Thanks in advance.

I completely forgot the M6 cabrio - that would be the stablemate of the M5 Touring for me if we're talking noew cars and money no object. Basically the same car capable of carrying a wardrobe or catching some rays.

M5 Touring (is it out yet I didn't download the images to look) and something with a removable top for me. I've never been a 3 series fan particularly, but possibly a new M3 cabrio when they are launched. The new 3 is one ugly car in all but coupe shape (and even then it's just not actively ugly) so I'll reserve judgement until I see the M3 cab. Z4M coupe doesn't quite do it for me somehow.