ssbmw

Hi I have a friend who has a like new E39 M5. However, the car at some point had an after-market muffler/ exhaust system put on this vehicle and he wants to go back to the original. I know it is a long shot- but would anybody have a set in good nick?

Hi there, The person who maybe be able to help you in Steve Daly from SD European in HAmilton- I know he had a couple of 8's that were wrecked in his hard awhile back. He may have something you need. Keen to hear about your car- I am putting together a register on the 8's in NZ (and it is not easy). I also know of a guy who is an 8 enthusiat who bought a wreck for parts; he mayb able to help as well. REgards, SS

Hi Glenn, I have a question, is there a reserve on this auction? I presume there is, given that last time the car was marketed for more than double the new starting price. (I can't access t/me on this laptop so haven't seen the advert). Secondly, I have heard that the advert states that there are 2 of these in NZ. As far as I know, there are 4 (a black ex Uk example in Auckland, red ex Singapore car in Tauranga, and ex UK Daytona violet car owned by a member here, Bradin South Auckland). However, I believe your silver one, and the red one are the only cars currently on the road. Good luck with the auction. This is a special car! It deserves to be put in a collection.

I hardly ever add a comment to the spotted thread as I hardly ever see anything that is worthy of mentioning. However, today I was having lunch with my father and kid at a cafe at Karapiro near Cambridge and saw two interesting cars. One was a mint M Coupe in Estoril blue. ZMcoup was the plate. I believe it was recently traded at Coombes Johnston in HAmilton. A very nice example. I have subsequently done my research to confirm it was owned by a BMW CC member from Tauranga until very recently. 20 minutes later I saw a very well looked after E39 540i Touring in Lemans blue. Sat on Style 5's. Plate L0cum. Another relatively rare car in a desirable colour and nice wheels.

I use Autoglym products these days. I think it is sensational. I get it from Ross at BM Workshop in East Tamaki.

Hi Brent, I am intrigued about the seats. HAving owned a ex Sth Africa 535is many years ago and having kept a close eye on the 535is's over the years, I have never seen one with 'comfort' seats. I have seen them only with the BMW sports seats with the extendable thigh supports at the front. Were the comforts original or did you put them in?

Provided the body is in good nick should be a bit of fun for someone. The 1st thing would be to get a new timing chain and get some new springs / shocks. I would be panicking - the rule of thumb is to get a chain at around 100 k miles - and this has done nearly double that without getting a chain done. Zinnober red was the most popular colour in the old M6's and this car had the ultra rare original Recaros seats that generally only appeared in the early M6's. This has the be the cheapest M6 ever sold on trademe - $13.2k! A guy called Warren evidently bought it (from Auckland). Is he a member? Regards, SS

One of my close friend's E34 M5. A very lovely car. He's a member but not on this site much.

I think Alan is realistic, but to be fair, I am not sure 100% sure what he wants. Best to possibly contact him. Regards.

Hi guys, I have a friend who is looking to potentially sell one of his beloved BMW's. He has been a BMW enthusiast, especially Alpina's for the last 30 odd years and is looking to sell one of his special cars, his 1989 E34 Alpina B10. In Lazerblue Metallic and cream leather, it is a 3.5 that has been given the Alpina engine and suspension tweaks that made this a true 80's super-sedan. Sporting 260 bhp, this car was supplied new by Frank Sytner of Nottingham in the UK who was the Alpina agent during the 80's. The current owner owned this car in the 90's and bought it for the 2nd time approximately 10 years ago -illustrating the passion he has for this special E34. Even though it has now done over 300,000kms, this car has an exceptional service history - almost exlusively serviced with Ross Lamb at BM worskhop since it has been in NZ, and the car's performance belies its age and mileage. My daily driver is a 2008 Falcon with similar output. Even with modern technology, the Falcon is no match for the B10 in terms of performance and handling capabilities. This car performs very well. This is a reluctant sale but if you are interested contact Alan Thomas on AThomas@xtra.co.nz b104.bmp

I am almost certain there aren't. But you just never know...it's amazing what you hear people have got in warehouses in private collections..! Alpina's in general are pretty rare, especially in NZ. However, there is a NZ new 840ci in Auckland which was fully spec'd with AC Schnitzer kit. It lives in Auckland and I am pretty sure is Avus blue with grey leather. Interesting enough, it is a 6 speed manual - one of only 57 in rhd with the 4.0 engine. Rare and very cool looking car.

Hi this car has the M-tech bodykit that was unique to the 850csi that also became standard on the 840ci sport circa 1997. A few 850i's over the years had their appearance up-graded with the body-kit. From what I know, this car has been neglected. Hearsay, but I had a freind look at this car closely and there were numerous issues to sort out. The thing about buying one of these is I think you have to buy a good one and this is translated to a higher asking price. You get a bargain with one of these early v12's, and it could be an expensive exercise in the long run.

I am figuring around $15-20k and I think you are on the money. It is a classic but in this market you have to be realistic. A lower mileage 1990 grey Highline from Wellington didn't sell at $15k earlier this year. These things like the E31 are kind of in a niche market now. When I bought it it had like a massive folder of receipts and I know the subsequent owner reconditioned the gearbox, replaced the whole suspension, added the style 5's, added a customised exhaust and resprayed the bonnet. The interior in cream leather is superb. I have never seen a another Highline 635csi in this colour (however there are a couple of 86's in Auckland) and from what I know only 1 M635csi in RHd was ever made in this colour. This is truly a special car and though I think the asking price is a tad unrealistic, it is a very nice example and I hope it goes to a good home.

Hi guys, As I may have mentioned about 6 months back, I was aware my old 635csi Highline was up for sale soon. Well it is now up for sale at Giltraps - I believe it was traded. A few of you have seen this car around in Auckland. The mileage has ramped up since I owned it, but it is still one straight car. The price is probably way out of sync to market but this has to be one of the better 635csi's in NZ http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-308132471.htm

Hey man, this does look like a very nice example. A guy I know from Cch enquired about buying a E31 recently and I advised he look at a car in Christchurch that is identical in colour to this particular car and he virtually bought it on the spot. From what I know, there are about 5 in NZ with this colour- Calypso rot. There seems to be some nice V12 E31's for sale at the moment - sadly for the vendors they are not moving that quickly. The white 850ci in Hamilton apparently goes like stink.

Hi Paul, I agree with you - I think nearly all the 535is's I have seen just had the m badge or were de-badged. Another place that debading is rampant is believe it or not, Germany. Having lived there for a little while, I was astonished how many M cars I saw that were de-badged. Perceived by some apparently to be way cooler not to be flaunting a badge. Especially as they belt past you on the the autobahn at 255 km/h! Total stealth!

Dude, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I am a sad arse 80's boy and I love it. Kind of partial to a 928 in GTS format too.

Hi Richard, I have left a personal message for you. I have put together a register of 8's I know - and I know of around 30. Some are for sale and I can help you if you need assistance. Regards, SS

Isn't it amazing how fortunate we are in this country with comparatively cheap car prices. Over there they have 200km + E34 M5's often commanding $25k + whilst in NZ they have been going for between $12-$15k for the last few years. With that type of mileage / condition what is that car worth over here? I figure someone would pay over $30k. I know I would. I have a few BMW friends in Melbourne and they are constantly scratching their heads over how affordable our cars over here.

My old car....

Hi Ray, A friend of mine owns this car. He has wanted a E39 M5 for the last 3-4 years and finally secured this car around 6-7 weeks ago. The car was not for sale - he tracked down the owner and negotiated the deal. Quite frankly, this car is 'seriously' like new condition. It has no blemishes. I saw it the day he bought it and it was in incredible condition despite being on the road for 2 odd hours. The paint, wheels, and interior were all in sensational condition. When he got back to Wellington he had the front bumper assembly taken off and replaced the lower mesh grill as there were a few scratches and he wanted the underside of the front spoiler re-sprayed. He has also had the underside of the car cleaned, the insides of the wheels polished etc. The car is virtually like new. Because my friend is who he is, he is now wanting to get rid of it. The buzz has worn off. He wants something else. He has owned so many cars, and this is his mandate- he buys immaculate cars, somehow makes them better, and then sells them. He did the same with a 8,000km Sultan of Brunei Porsche Turbo prior to this - he drove it only a 100km or so. I would honestly say that you probably would not have to get this car checked. My friend was going to see Ross Lamb to have this car inspected, but when he saw it, bought it on the spot. My friend has seen so many E39's and was disappointed with every one for different reasons.. He has extremely high standards and he simply wanted the best one in the country and was prepared to pay big dollars for it. I doubt you will be disappointed with this car.

Hi mate, Interesting.....I have suspected something possibly odd about my friends old car as he recently told me that this car was registered as a E36 325i. He never questioned it at the time as it was his first foray into BMW's and thought maybe that the rego was done in-correctly. The rego on that car was UU4268. ERgards

Hi there, A friend of mine bought a 1993 Sterling silver ex Sth African E36 M3 several years ago. I recall that the previous owner was Kayne Scott (the race car driver) and it was anecdotally imported in NZ by Steve Daly of Sd European in Hamilton. It was a nice car and went very well- not sure about the engine being detuned though. It was sold to a guy in Invercargill about 5-6 years ago and the mileage was around 192000 kms back then. Regards, SS

Phil- you are spot on. Well, my friend is maniacal in making cars like new! I will discuss with you later. Regards SS

Hi Boris, The facelifted M5 for sale you see today is owned by a very close friend of mine. He is an absolute car enthusiast and has owned nearly as many cars as our fellow member Clinton here. He habitually purchases exceptional cars and then makes them better by spending all of his spare time (seriously - like - 20 hours a weekend) making the car even better. He has been wanting the best facelift M5 money could buy for 2-3 years now. He has seen many, many cars but they all fell short. Until this one. I saw this car when he bought it only a few weeks ago. It was in showroom condition. My friend has spent the last few weeks making it even better. As is typical of him, the buzz of owning it has worn off, and yes, 4-5 weeks later, it is for sale. Unbelievable, but there are people like him I can tell you now, this would have to be one of the best M5's in this part of the world. I have not seen a better one and I have seen a few. My friend has incredible standards, and if anyone wants the best E39 M5 they can buy (irrespective of the price), this is the car. It is the right spec, right colour, and hsa incredibly low mileage.