elmarco

No not legal. As above, just find a wrecked one and get what you need from it - you'll need the ballasts as well, and ideally the level sensors (not just the manual adjustment). Yes, you may need to play with the LCM.

My former boss has one. Goes like a cut cat, but they are pretty thirsty to run (he was pretty happy to see 10l/100km on an Auckland - Taupo run). The service bills can be eye watering as well.

I was actually surprised to find the BMW one was only $187 incl GST from Team McMillan so just went with that.

The E90 doesn't have a spare, tools, or space saver - so I need an emergency compressor/goo kit... BMW OEM or Continental conticomfortkit preferred but will also consider Slime or something else.

330ci absolutely no question. In fact, you should buy mine.... Biggest thing to look out for is a full service history & a well looked after car. Personally, I'd hold out for an NZ new one, with leather, sport seats & the multifunction steering wheel. There wasn't much of a problem with rear subframe problems in NZ - from memory it mainly affected the earlier ones (like the 328) and is more of a problem on lowered/modified cars. Tom (M3_Power) might have more info on this. A full inspection by a BMW expert is well worth the $$ when you are close to buying one. Edit: The steptronic auto is very good as far as auto's go - they have been known to go pop if abused, but are generally reliable and are a pretty good drive. Manuals are a bit rare but they are out there - personally Ive never driven one and have only ever seen a couple on Trademe. If you got an auto and the worst did happen, there are plenty of donor cars around now for replacement, and manual conversions are possible (HellBM can do them)... Just depends on your preference and what cars are available etc. I'm guessing a manual will command a premium price due to their rarity if you find one. The cooling systems are a weak spot on these - so service history & inspection is important to avoid surprises.

OK cheers. Looks like I'll sell it in the car...

Why not just buy a pressie card at Westfield using the vouchers?

Does anyone know if the Silverline DICE units for an E46 will work in an E90?

Try General Cable. They actually make the stuff that gets used for automotive harnesses and might have a distributor.

Best advice on buying an E46? Buy my one and take a road trip...

One I have looked at had the run flats replaced with std tyres, but no spare. Any suugestions on how to get around this? Can a spare be retrofitted in the boot, or would I need to stick with the can of goo & a compressor?

Now we're talking...

So what are the common faults? The question isn't about does the diesel drive better, or can I find one for my price etc, etc, etc... It's more about when looking at them is there anything specific to look for (apart from the obvious stuff that all new BMW's suffer from like cooling system components, electrics functioning & service history). I do know that some of the E46 diesels had problems with the swirl flap - does this problem affect the E90 as well? Any other problems with the petrol versions? I have driven both petrol and diesel versions and don't have a strong preference either way.

You forgot to add: - Hats blown off spectators 20m back - Transmission life measured in seconds (or metres) - 100% badassness

I'm in the market for 2x more doors as the coupe is a little impractical for the kiddie seat. I was thinking a 4 door/touring E46 but finding what I want is difficult (NZ new, lowish km's, facelift, 2.5 or 3.0l, service history, leather, sport seats etc, etc etc). However, I have seen for $5k more I can get into an E90. Is there anything specific to look out for? I'm thinking a diesel but it largely depends on whats available in my price range.

I thought this too - but when mine failed at 10 years old to the month it did indeed say Pb on the side when I checked it.

Remove the chicken from the boot?

Sorted? Not likely... Steve Jobs had a passionate hatred (apparently) of Flash and wouldn't allow it to be used on any of the iOS devices (must have had his reasons). From what I have read his push was for HTML5 and I believe even Adobe have given up on Flash now. Frustrating? Yep - I want to watch TV on demand on my Apple TV but can't do that either. Haven't had any problems with Youtube though.

That's what you get when you have too much money, too much time on your hands and legal cannabis...

Thats about right - remember your Jap import is using km/l as the unit of measure. The standard for NZ is l/100km.

I got mine from Paul at Milland (vonripsnorter on here). Good price and they were ATE brand from memory (the brakes division of Continental).

An entire car yard of near new cars (est around 50) got nailed when I was living in France. Lots of other damage in the area as well - and my crapped out Mk2 Golf had not a scratch on it afterwards. Made from real steel I guess...

That's quite the internet pornography addiction you have there.

Wow - it's like a 63 Impala that's been reincarnated as an E30... Needs more chain steering wheel.

Don't you mean "there's no replacement for displacement"?