mrad01

All sorted! Ignition switch sourced and installed!

Tracked down the reason my e30 wouldn't start - completely buggered ignition switch. (not key or barrel, the switchy bit on the other side) DM me if you have one for sale - much appreciated!

Waiting for the new M3/M4 to decide where my next car comes from. Very skeptical about the turbo-6 route for the M3/M4 - esp after hooning around in a 1M for a bit. Nice engine, but that lag would piss me off in a daily driver. I hear they have a tri-turbo solution for this - I can't wait to try it! I had the M135i for a while the other day - such a wolf in sheeps clothing. A 80% 1M really. Nice machine.

Yeah, it was such a controversial design when released, but now it has hit it's sweet spot - a bit like the e39 did a few years back. Now the e39 just looks dated and old. (Which I guess it is) The e60 motorsport can look incredible with the right wheels and colour. Awesome design. Get that bulletproof V10 version and you are all set.

HTC One at Warehouse Stationery for $949 at the moment. So now the Galaxy S4 is more expensive AND a worse phone! Go get your One people!!!!

Hahaha! I love it. I just pick it up and check sh*t I don't need to check just to use it. Every person I show it to just goes "oh man." Madness.

Just bought an HTC One for testing etc. F**k! What a device!!!!!!! Before you slap down your hard earned cash for one of those shitty Galaxy S4 gimmick phones - go try the HTC One. Stunning, fast, best display (not oversaturated turd like the S4) and the software is actually useful. In testing the One outshines the S4 in almost every category except battery life (very close) and the S4 camera gives a slightly better shot, but for everything else, the One eats it. Don't look at spec sheets and numbly follow the Samsung TV ads which are slowly altering your brains. Go to a phone shop and ask to try the HTC One. Nothing like comparing the two side by side for yourself. If they don't have the HTC in stock - ask when and wait. Yes, it's that good.

I was very impressed - the star of the show was certainly the guitarist. Ole Tony can still bring out the munter in anyone with those massive riffs. Bloody awesome. Geezer/Drummer dude kept the backend pumping which was pretty key. Ozzy just did whatever he liked - quite well too.

Seems like the superphone trinity is almost here. The Samsung GS4, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z are about to hit town. All 1920x1080 screens, 12MP cameras (the HTC has 4MP Ultrapixel tech), 2GB RAM and fast. Most people won't care about that techo stuff, but I bought the Xperia Z last week - the 1080p screens on these nextgen phones is amazing. As for the cameras, check out a couple of concert shots I took at Black Sabbath. Keep in mind the lighting is concert lighting and we were quite far away. Click on each to see: http://500px.com/mrad01/sets/concerts I'm really impressed with the Sony. I suspect I'll end up on the HTC One because the build quality & materials looks amazing.

i went through a few run flats on my 335i over the 3 years I had it. Bridgestones sucked badly. The best allrounders turned out to be Continental RFTs. Once you get into a car without RFTs, you do notice less noise and a smoother ride - not such a wide gap with the latest gen RFTs. When it comes to the M3s, BMW supply normal tyres and a tyre re-inflation kit in the boot. I guess it's because the phenomenal Michelin Super Sports & Pilot Sport 2s don't come in RFT maybe?

That does suck - you have had more BMWs than me and I get invites all the time. I'm already being "courted" by JCBMW probably for the M3 coming later in the year. I must admit, if they didn't invite me, I'd pick up the phone and ask WTF was going on. Sometimes you feel like why should you do that - but when you are thrashing their gear around a test track from time to time - that is why. Worth putting your hand up with a dealer.

Great experience! I've been to quite a few BMW launch and track days. While the M3 is my daily driver and the car I choose to own, the 1M is a balls out mental bastard which I loved every minute of on track. Still not 100% convinced on the laggy throttle, but the midrange whack coupled with that wonderful chassis/brakes package gives a smile. Yeah, that new M5 is a monster. Still have a soft spot for the V10 version. It's good to have driven them all. If you haven't done their driver training, it is absolutely a must for any M car driver. Mike Eddy is a great teacher and I must say I was taught quite a lot - especially when I had Robbie Francevic in my passenger seat for laps telling me when to brake/apex/power on - surreal experience with such a legend. Stay on their list - the new M3 isn't far away, you never know if an invite will come your way.

:-X

If you are happy with the iPhone 5 then stay on it. They are a great device. Any Android isn't going to do much more than the iPhone 5 does - despite what some fandroids say. Anyone who starts on with hacking the shite out of Android and rootkitting the side out of its cpu membrane and updating the kernel to patch level 7 while deploying a new SSD loader is nuts - slowly back away, roll your eyes and head for safety. Fandroid alert! (Not saying iPhone fanatics are much better, but fandroids are getting madder by the day) We are headed for some very evolutionary phones over the next 2 years - nothing revolutionary like the iPhone was in 2007. Still, some good times ahead. Just know that when you buy your next phone, you can choose either Android or iPhone and be happy with either - but don't rush out immediately - it isn't worth it. Enjoy the iPhone 5!

Google Nexus 4 is the king phone at the moment. You just can't beat the quality of the build and the trump card is the pure android experience (no shitty samsung or htc skinning on it) - and Google support it directly, so when Android 5.0 comes out in May - the Nexus will get it immediately. Unbeatable. Keen to see the HTC one - looks great. Apple will continue down their boring path... love Apple, but the iPhone 5 was boringly great. If you gave me any samsung, i'd sell it immediately on trademe to some samdroid and get something else. Samsungs are plasticy, unsupported and pretty low quality gimmick machines. Sold my SGS3 after 2 weeks, Couldn't stand it. (But that's just me) The S4 looks equally full of gimmicks and made of cheap toxic plastic. No doubt they will continue their trend of loving you before you buy, then hating you when you need support. Nokia who? Windows what? Game over there...Google and Apple have this game sown up. I like Windows Phone, but it is very one dimensional and you get bored with it after a couple of weeks. GUI is wrong. For me, the Google Nexus 4 is my main phone at the moment - it is awesome. I have iPhones and other misc phones about too, but the Nexus 4 is the go to guy. Recommended. I do have an eye on the HTC One, but if it has the terrible SenseUI skin on it - no thanks. Good times if you are into mobile computing.

My M3 at 100kmh in 6th....using 29% of it's redline...

My father used to boast about this in his BA Falcon - 1900rpm at 100kmh. As I kept telling him, what is impressive is the percentage of the redline that 100kmh comes up in, not the actual rpm. We still argue about this....

There is a possibility that the mint e9x M3s will hold their value after the new M3/M4 comes out. I know a few potential buyers like myself who are going to wait and see if the turbo 6 is any good - and maybe jump on the mint V8s instead. It's a punt. JCBMW are banking on us jumping in on the first ones - but I'm hanging back because the e9x is so good. (And I want to hear proper induction and exhaust noise when I put my foot in - not a muffled turbo 6) M3s use more fuel than standard 3 series cars. There you go. How much more? It depends how you drive. If you care about that question - get a 320d or 335d. There you go, fuel discussion sorted.

I would highly recommend the M3 - I know there have been engine noises, but nobody has ever had an actually failure. The crank/bottom end shells were changed in 2008 for manufacturing to a slightly newer design. (See realoem for the new part numbers and dates) The fuel consumption thing will be in the ballpark with your e46. I have a friend who just bought a e90 M3 and he averages 14.9l/100km for all city driving. It's more than a 335 or 320d - but if you are already in that ballpark with the e46, no stress. The C63 4-door just doesn't have the directness and sharp steering of the M3. I absolutely love the M3 steering/brakes/throttle response because of the way I drive. The C63 is a monster in a straight line, but it doesn't spank the M3, it noses ahead. Call it close enough for city driving. The C63 coupe on the other hand is a much sharper steerer than the 4 door and has a very good feel to it chassis wise. It is still an auto, so the M3 DCT just feels more direct. (Mine is a manual transmission, that's how I roll, old school) All in all, the M3 won't leave you on the side of the road broken down, it's pretty damn good. If you buy it through a BMW dealer, then I'm pretty sure they can offer third party mechanical insurance for the big items like engine/gearbox etc - just for piece of mind.

Another perspective..... I've had a e92 335i and currently drive a e90 M3 MT. So I've had all the turbo/wastegate/HPFP issues of the turbo 6, and then had engine noise issues in the M3. Overall, the M3 has been a much better ownership experience than the 335 - the V8 engine is simply sublime. Yes, i'm sitting on 14.5l/100kms most of the time - but I don't care. Fuel is for burning. The sound of the S65 at 8300rpm spanks the sound of any inline 6 turbo - I love it. Performance on the top end is pretty epic too. There are issues with the M3 - it loves fuel and rear tyres - but if you are concerned about that - you should buy a 320d. It is true that some people have had issues with the gearbox and diff, but mine is a July 2007 build and I haven't had a problem at all. Depends I guess. What I have had is a new engine. Mine developed this knock at startup which I recorded and had the dealership send to Germany. Long story short, Germany sent me a new engine under warranty. Happy with that. Since the new engine went in, I haven't had a single issue with the car - it is great. I put fuel in it, drive, get it serviced when it wants it. One of the best machines I own. I've spent a whole lot of time in a 1M - and they are very impressive - but, and for me this is going to be a major issue with the new turbo M3, the turbo lag is shite. Throttle response is rubbish compared with the M3 V8 - the 1M may feel faster, but I'm pretty sure they are within a hair of each other, and it is pretty small and pokey. This turbo era is just going to piss me off unless they get rid of the lag. My 335 had lag and I liked the car less for it. Would I buy another e9x M3? Hell yes. If I don't like the new turbo 6 M3/4, I'll get into the latest model e92 M3 I can find. I want to avoid the turbo lag lifestyle these manufacturers are leading us down. Yuck. C63 AMG? Only the newer coupe for me, the 4 door looks cheesy, but the engine is pretty awesome. While the auto is surprisingly good, it is still an auto. Good luck!

approx 8%

True that. Most people are just having an interwinge about something they hardly use. Crapple stuffed up thinking they could take on the almighty google maps in the public eye. GMaps was arse when it first launched - far worse than the crapple maps. Fandroids won't comment because their junk phones weren't even out of crapple's R&D dept back then. Going on crapples track record, they'll figure it out, but in the meantime, you should all get on your interwebs and launch a major hate torrent toward crapple and how they have just taken your right arm. Or, just get on with your life and enjoy the good stuff...

Check out how that warranty actually works and I'd also figure out how much each service is going to cost you because they won't be covered. I think the warranty comes out of your pocket, and then you apply to BMW Germany for reimbursement. I may be completely wrong about that, but getting the detail on how it works is important. BMW NZ won't help you at all - I know that for sure. You are saving a heap on NZ RRP, so you should have enough buffer!

Nice, the IIC was a pretty sweet machine too...Bit harder to work on unlike the IIe though Pretty scary alright - especially when I first used an Apple II+ when I was 8 years old (yeah, makes me old. Oh well....) I'd be really keen on the Apple IIe if you have one around, that'd be awesome! Let me know.

So, do you want to sell the IIe??