E30 325i Rag-Top

Are we into a philosophical debate now... this reply is not a reply to your post? So is this reply to your reply an actual reply or not as your reply isn't either? Why else does any company exist than to make money, the only thing that differs is the way they do it. From what I have seen it is always a good idea to invest in products that the buyers want, rather than what internet experts tell them that they should make. Even if they do already make it... or not.

It was a great car when Kerry built it up, it's been through a few sets of hands now from what I have seen on TardMe, so not sure how good it is now. It has sold at around that price before.

4 sh*t photos to try and sell such a great car..??

Based on... being the largest car market in the world (by a considerable margin) and the largest luxury car market now as well. The car volumes involved in China are mind blowing. Audi have put many of their eggs in to the China basket and rely heavily on that for their volume growth, hence there is a desire to meet the needs of this market. There are also many, many models produced by BMW and their Chinese partner that you will never see in NZ, or outside of China at all for that matter, all driven by the particular needs of the Chinese market. One single market that has enough sales volume to justify the build, of not one or two but very, very many specific models. Doesn't matter how old their driving culture is, it is much more significant how many Chinese are going to their dealer and buying a car, at the end of the day in any industry or business it is the money that talks and those spending it are the people that matter, not the internet critics (unless it's Clarkson of course).

Unlikely, the list of affected cars is only showing for the passenger air bag are the E46. If in doubt, give your local dealer a shout.

Oh how I wish the factory would build another M5 wagon to take it to the RS6! Strong signs the new M5 is going to be in xDrive format only (and no manual - sorry Ron!), but with the power figures getting huge putting it down on the ground becomes the issue. With an xDrive M5 platform available a touring wouldn't be that hard to justify surely?? Please, pretty please...

A cheap M5 is like cheap Motorsport, an oxy-moron.

Does it do mean skids bro? Free bump for a GC!

As we drive on a different side of the car to the americans, then it is quite possible we do get different air bags to them, especially in the case of the passenger airbag with the dashboard being a different shape / handed to the car. All recalls and quality issues are always handled on a batch traceability process, so a faulty air bag is traced back to the batch it was made in, then the rest of that batch is traced through to the actual cars that they went into. In some cases it can be a handful of cars only, with these air bags it is a wider issue. Once the VINs of the cars are known, then that information is sent out to the BMW companies around the world, and from the local records the owners are contacted. This obviously requires the owners and their cars to be known to BMW, and their details up to date. Many of the imports have never been near a BMW dealership so there is no information. In extreme cases the NZTA will release drivers details for a recall, but due to people running scared of privacy laws this hardly ever happens.

I think you are getting a bit confused here Ron, there is no such thing as "sports line" suspension, there are only: standard, M-Sport and adaptive. M-Sport suspension can be changed back to standard if required, which again, is what most customers do want. Plenty of M-Sport suspension cars out there to drive though.

Rotors work fine well below minimum thickness as well, unless you take it on the track regularly or drive everywhere flat out like a rally driver!

So fewer models - no, fewer parts - no, fewer tools - no (you should see the special tool store - it needs an extension!!), dumber mechanics - if you mean technicians then definately no, with the complex systems in todays cars. Not sure which manufacturers you think are heading down this road Ron but it's certainly not BMW, Audi, M-B, VW, etc.. even Porsche, Jaguar, etc. are expanding their model line ups to generate enough volume to get to critical mass and survive. We have been through this argument before about new car stock, etc. If you want a manual order a manual, you only need a small holding deposit not the full amount (and you'd be amazed by how many buyers walk away from cars they have ordered and built to their exact specifications). There are still a few customers out there that know what they want and are prepared to pay for it .

Is it the 6 speed manual or the DCT box? If it is DCT then the price of the new clutch is up there, and would explain why it's needed for WoF as it won't drive properly...

Excuse my ignorance, but what does SFD mean? The stop / start technology is a direct result of the EU test regime for cars, a percentage is the car stopped and idling - easy way to cut the emissions, turn the engine off. Not an issue with the autos, but lifting a clutch pedal and the engine cutting out just feels all wrong, the embarrassment of stalling a car. Yeah, not sure of the life expectancy on the starter motor, but they have put them in a place that is easy to swap out a dodgy one if that helps? Might get a bit interesting when the car gets a bit tired and takes a while to start rather than firing first pop. As Josh says, by the time you've got your foot over to the accelerator the engine is back into life, so no delays or risks there.

^^ Close, but no cigar

Driving a 4 Series coupe at the moment, with a manual box, and the thing that's hardest to get used to is the engine Stop / Start. Feels so weird that it cuts out when you lift the clutch pedal in neutral, I keep thinking I've stalled it, and I have no issue with the stop/start in the autos i've been driving. Given enough time it would start to fell Ok though I guess.

Tribunal will look at it with respect to the Consumer Guarantees Act, and the concept of saleable quality or whatever it's called. keep records (or find them) of all your communications with the dealer, if you can show you have been reasonable in your approach and given dealer opportunity to put it right it all counts in your favour. try MTA first and hopefully won't need the tribunal.

It's not that I don't like the daily drive, it's more that the experience is not enhanced by pushing a clutch pedal in and out. I work where I want to work, and I live where I want to live and the chances of getting the company to move offices because of where I live is pretty much non-existant. Plus, with all the convenience of modern connectivity I can have conference calls and send / receive e-mail and messages while I'm in the car. Probably wouldn't be able to do that whilst changing gear. The cupholders comment reminds me of another great point with autos, you can drive, be on the phone, drink your coffe / speights / eat your burger all at the same time without having to take both hands off the wheel or throw the food and drink all over the passenger seat. This is absolute gold on long, late night drives. As hybrid says above, the answer is simple, get a modern auto for the daily and an E30 manual for the week-ends. Not sure any of this really adds to the original topic though, but any-who...

Old auto transmissions were rubbish, 3 speeds, changed up and down at random, sucked loads of power from the engine and gas from your tank. Manuals were cheaper to buy and simpler to maintain, so manuals were preferred. Modern Euro autos now have 7, 8, 9, speeds and with all the electrics change soo much better, and due to the extra gears are more economical. The new car market, for premium Euros anyways, is 99% auto, with only the die-hard enthusiast in a sports model looking for a manual over the DCT. In terms of the change over point for market preferrence, hard to put a date on it. Also new v used would make a difference. E30 / E36 / E46 the market preference would have to be for the auto, due to the not so good autos in those cars, and the more enthusiast market. For an E90 I would say it would be about as long as it is broad, the same number of buyers would want a manual as an auto. For an F3x 3 Series, definately a strong auto bias, this may change as the cars get older and cheaper and appeal to different buyer.

Not far from me then, I'll pm you my number and we can sort out a price and a time and a place.

Andy, do you still have the wheels from the blue coupe in the first photo? If so, what size are they, and how much? Cheers...

Hi Vinu, I have a couple of these kicking around in the garage, whereabouts in Auckland are you based?

If you are quick, you can snap up this beaty on TradeMe right now.. Not many like this around, thank the Lord!!

Fluffed around in the garage for a bit, mostly moving stuff about!! painted and re-assembled a brake caliper, then epoxied some mounts onto the new front bumper. Really need to get a into g and do some useful sh*t...