E30 325i Rag-Top

Quite right, but so many 'facts' that are posted on this thread are incorrect that I need to put them straight. All this car dealers are robbing bastards and BMW are rolling in cash gets my back up.Just spent about an hour on a post and the my laptop lost the session, time for a lie down in a dark room...

I take it what you are saying is it's all one and the same? As it's all part of the same company? Unfortunately it's not that simple with large corporate organisations that have shareholders to keep happy. The whole is split into divisions so it is clearer as to what areas are performing well and which aren't, the 'who cares where the money is made it's all the same' approach doesn't come into it. Each section has to stand on it's own two feet and perform in it's own right and fight for it's own share of the ever-decreasing pie. GM was very nearly pulled under 10 years ago by the performance and legacies of a couple of it's tier one and tier two manufacturing divisions, in the end it had to spin 90% of its manufacturing off into a new company to simply survive at the loss of 1000s of jobs and billions of dollars. And even then it still wasn't in a healthy position as shown by the issues just a couple of years back. Not suggesting that BMW NZ could cripple the whole empire, but it is monitored just as closely as the rest of the company against the same targets. And sorry Clinton, but you are a long way off with that figure, but you are right about the fact the margin has to go towards the overheads of running the business, and as such cannot be considered as 'profit'.

Quite right, we are a wholesales & marketing organisation, as is Ford Of Europe (or whatever they call it these days) which will be where most of the cuts will be as they will be from salary staff, not the direct labour in the factories (which I believe are still in a seperate division).Wherever you sit in the automotive supply chain you get squeezed from every direction, by all sorts of issues, there is no respite and it's not a new phenomenon. As a business proposition, very few car companies stack up, especially when you look at the ROI and cost of capital employed!

Nice find! Steve Soper = living legend!

Why'd that? Too low? Possibly, depends on the exchange rate to a certain extent I would love to put up the exact numbers of what we have brought in so far, and what we have committed to over the next couple of years, but as I've just completed the Confidentiality training i'd better not ! Very good Westy, see what you did there! I love this perpetual belief that car companies are rolling in money, even after 20+ years in the business it still surprises me. I see from the UK news this morning that Ford are laying off 100s of employees in Europe due to a predicted $1bn loss this year..

On all models? Before or after over allowance on the trade in? or any discount of RRP?

Well, where to start? Biggest factor first - exchange rates, prices are locked in at the start of a model life-cycle, these cannot be adjusted every time there is a shift in the NZ v Euro exchange rate. Remember when everything came from Japan due to the Yen, now it's the UK due to the pound being in the poo.Yes, BMW USA (or whatever they are called) can get a better price from the factory due to their buying 10,000 M5s against BMW NZ buying 100, not a huge factor though. Specification is another factor, we add a number of high-end options onto the models as standard for NZ over and above most other markets, better to try and sell a high spec vehicle for slightly more than a "poverty pack" of the same car. Interesting point, how is this being done? BMW NZ is in the business of selling cars, treating people as muppets won't achieve that aim. Difference in cost of shipping for the volumes of cars BMW move wouldn't be anywhere near your figure, but as above that is not a main factor in the difference. If you're buying a car ex-UK then you will be limited to the colour / combo / specs that the dealers haven't been able to shift, it won't be the desirable cars that are being sold off. Used demos / approved cars would be limited in number. Buying new in NZ you have access to the full options list and can order the car in exactly the colour, interior and options you want and can choose, not have to take what is available. Personally I prefer to buy exactly what I want rather than buy somthing "close" as it's available slightly cheaper.As for NZ New cars having lower specifications, you should do a full comparison on some of these cars sometime and see the real story.

How do you tell the difference? I have at least one off a 325i?

Oh, so that's the reason that there are sales people in dealerships then. Silly me, I thought it was to work with customers to help them get the right vehicle for their needs and explain the pros and cons of each model and option. Not to mention explain the technolgy involved and what it does in real life. Thankfully cars are not simple consumer commodities. If you seriously think that all the options, combinations and rules for ordering a new BMW could be handled by a simple web-portal then you are a mile off. I would estimate at least 95% of people would not end up getting what they wanted when it was delivered, and that would be down to ordering it incorrectly. So who would they then turn to to put it right??

Of course you are saving on NZ RRP, because you're not buying the same thing. This is a couple of year old used import, not a 2012 new car!On that note it may be worth comparing the spec on this used car against an NZ new, some big ticket items come standard on the NZ new that are not on all imports. Not sure from the photo, but this does look to have the lower-spec leather (and in a horrible colour to boot). You won't be able to get a dealer to match the price of this car, but with a generous trade on your 535d and some discount you should get close enough. Failing that - the ex-demo NZ new vehicles are a very good bet.

it's more down to the silly shape of the spaces, as the car park is round, the parks are not straight but wedge shaped. Been parking there for months and still cant get it right first time.And that's not how the Bosses park !

Yup, I have one, well two in fact, one at each end of the car ! Was a limited edition that the team organised a couple of years back, now sold out I believe. You might get lucky and find someone on here that want to sell theirs, or have a spare set.

I think BMW have enough sub-brands already, MINI, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, M GmbH, M Performance, i, don't think any more are required. I guess it's called progress.. if you want lowest emissions and best fuel consumption then you need the lowest mechanical resistance from the drivetrain which = front wheel drive unfortuantely. Definately does not mean the end of RWD driver's cars, just FWD on this Hybrid version is all.

I have a 325i Auto radiator from a Pre-Facelift, I'm in Cockle Bay, Pm if interested.

Loving your idea of a "100% Stock" Facelift convertible!Nice car though, if it has been done well. Would have to remove the M3 badge from the boot - worst imaginable crime.

Probably built for a customer order, they wanted to spend the money on the colour rather than the toys. Some people have strange priorities in cars...

Are the oil gauges electrical or mechanical? All fittings included? Discount for cuddles??

Very, very capable off-road vehicles, even the old eighties versions. You nailed most of the downsides, but realistically I think you will only find 3.5ltr V8s in that vintage, and that was an engine that could suck the gas on a roller skate, let alone in a big 4x4. A friend owned one when we were at uni and moaned about the cost of fuel for it even then, when it was just over a pound a GALLON! Yes there were diesel versions around back then, but only sold in low numbers (mainly to farmers who could run them on DERV - tax free diesel) and the 2.25 ltr lump was a bit of a dog to put it mildly. If you are serious about towing with it, then diesel really should be the way to go, I believe there are quite a few common re-powers with later model diesel engines (as the original engines do tend to overheat and warp heads I think) which might be the go. 80s Rangie looks, good off road, and reasonable towing economy.

Fixed

Yup, the joys of the new car game, each new model has to be faster, lighter, cleaner, safer, more economical, more features and yet go on sale at the same, or a lower price than the out-going version!! How long do you think that can continue??Oh yeah, and the new model has to come out quicker than before, and have an LCI, and twice yearly model updates, and more colours, and more options....

Don't forget that due to inflation the relative value of money is dropping, what you need $10 to buy today was probably only $5 ten years ago (roughly, not an exact figure, but you get my drift). So in effect your $10 is worth half of what it was.

Cracks me up - barn find, yeah right!

No there isn't an M125i! However there is the M135i and yes it does have the three litre twin turbo engine (N55B30TO) in it and it may or may not be on our shores in the near future . The "M" in this instance shows that it is an "M Peformance" model, as opposed to an M-Sport version (which is what the 125i comes as in NZ). The whole model badging system is all over the place now, and there is a rhyme and reason to it, if you can work through it all. As a rule of thumb the last two numbers (which used to be the actual engine displacement in the good old days) is a guide to the power of the engine being EQUIVALENT to that engine size. So in the case of the 125i here it is a two litre engine producing power EQUIVALENT to a 2.5litre from its higher (or Ober in German which gives the "O" at the end of the engine number if you're a real statto) state of tune. Confused?? Wait until all the new series, models, engines, body shapes, electric, hybrid, etc. arrive...

Not quite Clinton, the 125i is the 2.0 ltr N20 motor with a higher level of tune, the 135i is the six pot 3.0 ltr N55 with twin turbo. But still, yes petrels have narrowed the gap thanks to the addition of the twin scroll turbos.

Have you still got the CIN card from Turners? If it states on there "M3" you might want to go and have a little chat with them about mis-representing the car.Pretty sure they still have to know their onions even when selling at auction. On the upside, this still has the potential to be a very good, fun car so don't be too down about it.