ssbmw

Hi mate, I had some Eibach Pro kit springs put on my M635csi that were superb. Anyway, once I bought them, I found that they were actually designated for E28's - I had to source some rear spring plates from a E28 to make it happen. They are superb. However, hard to get. I ordered them through a independent BMW specialist in Melbourne. Cost like $500 NZ landed. Don't know of any second had sets, but these are a revelation - lowers the stance and tightens the set up.

Hi there, this thread was about the LHD drive M6 that was / still is still for sale on t/me, and the LHD ex-Japan car with Schnitzer badges and exhaust which is also advertised. Ox1873 advertised currently is a very special car that has been for sale on and off for around 5 years. A friend of mine in Melbourne was keen to buy it 5 years ago and I inspected it for him. He ended up having financial issues and had to scrap the idea. I was going to buy it myself last Xmas, and would have if I didn't see a 840ci sport for sale the next day (which I bought). This M6 is a very nice car. I have owned 635's and a M6. Ox1873 is one of the best in the country- the only problem is the colour. White is not for everybody, especially adorned with 80's chrome. If it was say Lachs Silver, Zinnober red, or Royal Blue, this car would have been snapped up a few years ago. It is also a tad pricey (but in line with UK prices for a similar car). I am huge E24 fan and if you want some advice on buying one, feel free to ask. I have owned a few BMW's but I have a special bond with the E24. I was in Melbourne a month ago. I caught up with a few BMW club members from Victoria and I had the privilige of driving 2 beautiful E24 M635's around the beautiful Mornington Pensinula area (rural) at illegal speeds. I was in nirvana! Even 25 years later, these twin cam sharks are alot of fun!

Hi there, I have never seen on them E46's before. I am sure it is something to do with the dimensions. They first appeared in the mid 90's and were common on E34 540is's, E31's and E39's (and madly sought after by E24 owners). They maybe still available through BMW, but what I have heard is that they are no longer available in the deep-dish format - commonly seen on back wheels when the tyres are 255 or 265's. I have a couple of friends who own E24 M6's in Australia who wanted these wheels in a staggered format who ended up tracking down these wheels from Europe. There is a German guy who calls himself Wokke on many forums who sells like new refurbished Style 5's. He does a great job- but it will cost you around $3.5k You do see them pop up on trade-me, but very rarely. Best of luck tracking them down - they are my favourite wheel.

Hey there, I am pretty certain that nearly all of the 540is's in NZ arrived with the style 5's. There seem to be different specs according to different countries, but in NZ they seemd common. Onething I can I can recall is that when these wheels arrived on the 540is's and the E31 840 ci's circa 94'- everyone with E24's wanted them because they suited the period of the car but offered modern dimensions. The problem was the price - I once had a Highline 635csi and wanted to up-date to the Style 5's, I was quoted $6k + rubber by TMBMW! I know some owners who had these wheels ended up peddling them off. Is there a chance that could have happened here? Irrespective, i do find it interesting that the front and rear spoiler definitely differs on this car to other Motorsport Spoilers on other 540is's I have seen. Good luck with the purchase. That is incredibly low mileage for one of those, and it looks beautiful.

Hi all, I was wondering whether you could help me with a query - when a E39 is defined as a Highline - what does this entail? With the E24's, the last of the cars were face-lifted from September 87 to March 1989. With the UK cars, not only did they have a revised bumper assembly with less chrome, they also had a leather dash-board, leather door panels and headlining. These were officially classified as a "Highline." I owned a 89' 635csi Highline - fabulous car. However, no-one I have spoken to can explain what a E39 Highline is (and you see them described that way in adverts). Is this an expression that signifies a face-lift? Regards, SS

Hey there Simon, Nice car ! I know of 2 Avus Blue examples of these cars and 2 red ones. I live in Hamilton now and today I saw one of the red ones! I was shocked - I hadn't seen one in ages and it looked fantastic. It had the plate M5r. Funnily enough, one of the Avus blue examples has the plate BluM5. Kind of bizarre - I guess the cars kind of were kind of the pseudo M5's for NZ back then because we didn't get any 3.8 6 speed manuals. All of the 540is's in NZ seem to have had the Style 5 wheels. One of the Avus blue examples regularly gets work done at my friend Ross Lamb's BM Workshop in Botany. It is sadly very tired these days. The interesting thing is that on 3 of them that I have seen, there was no 540i badging, simply a M badge. Techno violet is a fantastic colour. I once saw a 840 in the same colour in Auckland.

Hi there mate, been reading through the threads. I personally think (like many of the other contributors) that if you pay $10-$13k, you are onto a good thing. As you say, a similar mileage, same year, example in auto is possibly a $6k car. From what I know, there are only around 10 540is's in NZ. They certainly have dropped alot over the last 5 years. There was a mint Hell red example for sale with similiar mileage at Beech European for $25k in 2004, and there were a couple of 180 kms examples in Avus blue for sale around the same time in Auckland for around $20k. Saying, they have probably bottomed out. I can't see them at around $5k unless the mileage increases substantially and they are poorly neglected. Bottom line, in that colour combo with the Style 5's, the car sounds appealing. They are a very good looking car. Good luck with it mate. I have driven 2 540is's, and I think they are superb - not much in it comparing it to an E34 M5.

Hey Brent, I see that you are a Total BMW reader too. The guy who owns this car is a kiwi - he lives in the UK and is the biological son of Ray Meadows, ex BMW car club member and ex-owner of the E28 M5 you have mentioned before. Ray is a friend of mine and he owned 2 wonderful ///m pwer cars - a lovely E24 and the E28.

Hey Mate, I have never owned a E34 M5, but have had a 535is, and love them. One of my close friends has one of the finer E34 M5's around. These are the cars I know of in NZ (if anyone here knows of any others, please inform us): Macao Blue - NZ new ; in Whangarei. Red, cream leather, - ex UK - Auckland Grey with grey leather - ex UK, Auckland Grey with Turbine wheels, no rear spoiler, Whangaparoa - Ex UK? Alpine White, M cloth / leather ex UK -Auckland Alpine White M cloth / leather - NZ new - Auckland Alpine White , turbine wheels, no spoiler, ex Sth Africa- in Hawkes BAy Blue 1992 - NZ new - Wellington - 3.8 but 5 speed??????? Black 1991- black leather ex Singapore - Sth Island REd, m cloth / leather - ex Uk , Sth island I think there are 2 or 3 more, but not sure where there are. Additionally, as pointed out earlier, there are a few cars which have M5 DNA but are not quite the real thing. In terms of the E34 3.6, they seem to be pretty reliable if serviced meticulously. M power suspension can be a expensive affair if you are looking to replace the shocks - hence many owners switch to Eibachs etc. Don't have the same issues with the old m/88's achilles heel - the timing chain as they are duplex. Some owner still replace as a precautionary measure. Overall, pretty solid build and strong engines even with high mileage.

Lachs Silber means something like Salmon Silver - quite a common colour with the M635csi in the 80's. How many E30 M3's are there in NZ? 30-50? What do you guys think?

Hey Brent, Interesting, I am guessing only in Japan or Germany would you get these types of cars. As a matter of interest, what was the NZ price back then to import this car? And what is with that crazy steering wheel? Around 2-3 years ago there was a Alpine White E23 745i at Turners in very good condition and I think it went for like $7k.

Hi Guys, I found out that there was an unusual E24 for sale in Christchurch recently. It was being sold at the CCh Lotus dealership as an automatic E24 M6. Apparently the vehicle was a special factory order for a Japanese client who wanted the Motorsport M88/3 or S38 to power their 635csi, or they chose to invest in up-grading his or her 635csi into a pseudo M6 ( I believe it was the latter). The Alpine White vehicle has the M-technic body-kit, has the proper M635csi front spoiler (different to the 635csi), m-tech suspension, and interestingly has the ///M logo on the dials (even though it was still set up for an automatic transmission with economy guage etc). There are some signs that this is car started its life as a 635csi - for example it has chrome mirrors ; the ///M 635's were given body colour-coded mirrors. Now being a bit of a M635 nut, I want to know more about this car. I understand it has been sold to someone in Wellington. I am intrigued ; back in their day there were some people keen on a ///m powered auto but this conflicted with the whole ethos of ///M cars and BMW Motorsport emphatically refused to produce one. I believe this car may have the project of a wealthy enthusiastic Japanese person who was prepared to spend some money on a unique and special car. I presume that the automatic transmission would have to have been beefed up to accomodate the extra horsepower. I would love to know the Vin numbers to verify what it was originally (presumably a Japanese-market standard 635csi). If anyone has info on this car, it would be great. Regards, SS

There were two 850i's I'd see regularly see in Auckland which were white. One had throwing stars like this one and the other had the bland looking 16" wheels that originally came with the E31's in the early days... The thing is I can't remember the one with throwing stars having a the rear spoiler like this one. Ridiculously cheap these days though huh? I recall a conversation I had many years ago with Guido from BM Workshop about the cost of running one of these as a Daily Driver. He told me running costs would amount to $10k a year. I steered away from the concept. However, if you bought one of these at the right price and you drove it only on the weekend, could be a value proposition.

Hey there Graham, that really is amazing. I have seen your old M5 many times over the years. What a car! I know nearly all of them have pretty big mileage these days, but I still cannot get my head around how cheap they are over here. Australia evidently received about 50+ E34 M5's but they are still often marketed for $30kAUD over there. We had only 4 NZ deliveries (and maybe 8-10 imports) and ours are often marketed for for $12-$16k. Saying that, the E34 M5 and the E36 M3's are extremely cheap in the UK (often 2-3 k pounds). Then again they had 450 RHD E34 M5's and bucket loads of E36 M3's Why are our M5's so cheap here? Decent E24 M6's sell for $20-$30k more

Do it Sammy! They are beautiful cars. I always wanted a E24 since I was a boy and I have now owned 2. As as they are devoid of rust, they are solid cars. The M30 engine is near bullet-proof. The few we see on the roads these days look tired. This is an exception. The colour combo is what appeals to me.

Its a very nice car ; desirable colour (arctic blue?) and great interior. Has the M-technic bodykit too which is rare. He had style 5's on this car a few month ago which he sold. One of the nicer chrome bumper 635's around.

Interesting isn't it- until Clarks closed down 6-7 years ago, they were the yard in Auckland that you went to scope out the likes of special M3, M5, M6's, Alpinas and 8 series (not to mention other Euros). However, nobody is really doing the same type of thing these days...except for Trading Post and they are just down the road....

Het guys, I have a friend who is looking to buy a very nice E30 cabrio - ideally a 325i and with manual gearbox. Does anybody know of a nice example that maybe up for sale? I think his budget is around $8-$10k. If you could come back to me that would be great.

hey guys came in a little late on this one, but if you are referring to the car listed on the link- what type of body-kit is that? Zender? It's not M-tech. How much is your budget? Because I know there are some very nice 635csi's out there which maybe up for sale again. Alot of people in the past have priced themselves out of the market and thus never got any real traction. I once owned the 1989 635csi Highline in burgundy and style 5's that was marketed on t/me a year ago for $20k. (the owner did not have one bite at that price). He maybe keen to part with it for cheaper. It is like new (and has had about $30k spent on it over the last 7-8 years). Irrespective of the fact it has the Highline bumpers (not for everyone), it is arguably one of the best 635csi's around. Like new. There are a couple of beautiful 635csi's circa 86-87' I know of as well that maybe up for sale. The best bargain IMO with a 635csi in recent times was the 1990 140,000k Lachs Silver Highline that came up for sale on trademe 18 months ago. It went for like $14,500. It was a very tidy example. There are only about 5 Highlines in NZ as they were designated for the UK market. I simply love the six. Even though I have a mint 8, the E24 is my first love. I think they are simply beautiful. The 635csi is a little 'boaty' compared to the M635csi or modern cars, but they are still lots of fun. My 2008 Xr6 has a lot more grunt than a 635csi, but you know which car I'd drive every day!

Interesting - does anyone know who ended up buying this car? That has got to be a steal for someone! Brad - yeah I know your car; have seen it at BM Workshop Botany. I saw a 840 in the same colour as your colour a few years ago in Auckland and have never seen it again. It had style 5's like most of the 840's. REgards, SS

Hey Ari, I agree, some cars in white look naff. However, one of my best friends has an E34 M5 nearly identical to this in Auckland (number 69 /524) and his looks fantastic in white (quite possibly because he is fanatical about grooming it too). IMO one of the best colour combinations in this car is the Macao Blau / Cream leather example owned by Bruce Miller. Not that many in NZ seem to have the full leather option- most have the ///M sport cloth inserts.

Man this is bizarre, this car was owned by Jock Styles over 4 or 5 years ago, then it heads to Taupo for a few years, was then sold at Rotorua Autohaus about a year ago, then it comes up for sale in Warkworth only a few month ago. Now at Trading Post Auckland. This and the omni-present ex Singapore Black E34 M5 seem to be going through a few owners very rapidly. One thing I have to say, irrespective of the fact most of these have clocked up inter-galactic mileages, there are quite a few like this car in fantastic condition. Testament to good build quality and owners who seem to have cherished them.

Hey Brad you don't like your t/stars on your 840csi? Would you look to replace your wheels with the M-Parallels for good, or do just want another set of wheels? I'd like a set of M-parallels too. I think being 18's they fill out the arches great on the E31.

To be honest mate, they aren't too bad in manual - they are far more fun than the autos. They don't have the extra grunt nor chuckability or have the tactility with the steering of a M3, but they are OK. You don't feel any bumps, the car is extremely comfortable and smooth and a lot more refined. Additionally, they look great. Apart from a similarity to the E26 M1's nose cone, the E31 looks very unique and still looks modern even if the first one left the production line in 89'. You'd just need to check this thing out to see if it warrants the investment to get it right...