Cheyne

Thanks. It is booked in to the bodyshop on Monday so will hopefully be good as new pretty quickly. I am getting them to fix up a few other bits and pieces that have been bugging me while they are at it. I thought of getting a kit for it, but the only one I have seen that I like is the Alpina B12 front lip:

Luckily there is no damage to any of the metalwork, except for a small dent in the front of the bonnet, just below the left kidney. I think that it will require a new bumper as it is pretty torn up. It'll also need a new undertray, four parking sensors number plate holder. I'm pretty sure that the rubstrips, chrome and lower grill can be repaired. Thank goodness for the lifetime no-claims bonus My only guess is that they punched their towbar or something through bumper just to the right of the number plate and it just tore the whole lot off as they drove forward.

I went to my car on Friday night to go home and found that someone had reversed into it and ripped the front bumper off and driven off without even leaving a "sorry" note! I mean come on, it's not like you wouldn't notice ripping the front bumper off of someone's car, surely? Bumper ripped clean off. Parking sensors all broken and hanging useless. Lower grill and rubstrips and chrome trim all busted up On the plus side the radiator, fan etc is all undamaged. Everything looks ok under the bonnet too

The Japanese cars tend to have the smaller numberplate recess in the back whereas the Singapore cars will have the fullsize european recess. Not a big deal I guess, but if you like your Euro-plate look Japanese cars just won't cut it. But yeah, they do tend to suffer from more heat/humidity degradation like the taillights yellowing and cracking, and rubbers wearing out.

The science behind the "Mosquito" sound has actually been proven. The human ear's ability hear high pitch sounds diminishes with age. Here is a BBC feature on it which includes .WAV file if you want to test it out. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/art...e_feature.shtml

I just noticed the text in the ad: Grey?!?! Is that wishful thinking or is the dealer colour blind?

Yes there is, but I wouldn't suggest filling up there unless you want to pay even more for your gas

Sounds like you got water in your ABS sensor. The same thing happened with my 7 Series. It shuts of your speedo to encourage you to take it to service. If you can spare the car for a week, let it sit in a warm(ish) garage for a week to dry out and it should be fine. The only problem with driving around without the speedo is that your odo will be out and you will probably get a tamper dot showing.

I own two and both are of my initials. I bought the first one in 1995 for $295 directly from Personalised Plates and the second one in 1997 for $398 also directly from PP. There is no way that I could justify paying the stupid price that PP are asking now, let alone some of the prices that people are expecting their plates to sell for.

It sounds like they were both in the wrong. Her for going through an amber (unless she can prove that it was unsafe to stop) and 535er for turning into the path of an oncoming vehicle. In this case the cops could/should ticket both as they both infringed on traffic laws. Which was the greater cause of the accident is pretty much up to the insurance company to decide, unless they choose to proceed to court.

It is called the "Intersection Blocking Rule" "You must not go into or attempt to cross the intersection, railway level crossing, pedestrian crossing or an area controlled by pedestrian traffic signals, unless there is space for your vehicle on the other side of the intersection or crossing." To 535er, to me it sounds like you were turning across oncoming traffic. If that is the case, then the accident was your fault as you made the maneuver without ascertaining that it was safe to proceed. Her attempting to "beat" the yellow was a contributory factor, but you still crossed into the path of oncoming traffic.

Well, the BMW and I made it home safely. Despite all the weather did to stop us. We had to come home via New Plymouth as the other roads were closed. It is Alpineweiss II Before leaving Auckland I had new brake rotors, pads and sensors fitted. I was shocked by the size of the rotors, those things are huge!! Some photos: Steve and I leaving Auckland (I'm in the white shirt). Sunrise in New Plymouth Halfway and still smiling. A 7 series must be the ultimate mile-muncher. Refueling in Waverly. I purchased an Abarth Uno Turbo in Hawera on the way home (I think I might have a problem). $60 in fuel for the Fiat and $160 for the 7. Ouch. Fiat and BMW safely home. I've also fitted the German personalised plates. They look miles better than the small New Zealand ones. I've also picked up a set of 18" Style 32 alloys: Which will be fitted next week. I think that they'll be a big improvement over the original 16" wheels. Next on the to do list is fit the replacement fog-lights and replace the rear taillights with a set with clear indicators.

Pick-A-Part in Lower Hutt has two E30 BMW's up there at the moment. One's a 1988 and the other is a 1991. They may have some bits that could be of use to you.

Four trades since 2005, they are hardly a power seller. Does seem a bit fishy though.

My vote is for money grabbing. If they were wanting a more transparent bidding process they would just give you the option of showing the reserve.

I pity your rear seat passengers! Looking good though. It'll look terrific once it's all painted up.

I don't think that I could live with either the BMW or the Porsche. There is a peppermint green Boxster in Wellington with the same green interior as that 911. I hope they got it for a good price. I do like this 740i Individual in Blue: This Yellow on Yellow Ferrari 599 on the other hand, not so much.

I had a meeting with the marketing manager from Trademe for work the other day. According to him, the most successful auctions use the following techniques: 1) Close between 8-9pm on a Wednesday or Friday 2) Start with a low start price (set the reserve higher if you are nervous about $1 res) as a low start price gets more views. Once people get it in their heads that they are getting a bargain, they tend to get excited and often over bid if they are competing against someone else. 3) Put up well framed, clear photos. Otherwise just basic stuff like: make sure your car is clean etc.

Ok you caught me. My dream has always been to own an overpriced Toyota Camry

I know what you mean! When I was looking for my 740i I kept getting things like this coming up: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-161121225.htm Yeah, because a Toyota Windom is the same as a BMW 740i?!??

Thanks A V8 BMW and 650kms sounds like a recipe for fun to me

Thanks. I have no idea. I'm picking the car up from my friend, who is babysitting it for me in Auckland, next week. I'll check then. I am really looking forward to the roadtrip back!!

At least they didn't stick an M5 badge on it. Nope, that's the only good thing I can say. What is that front bumper? Falcon XR6?!?

The E38 has been my favourite shape BMW for a long time now, well except for the E30 M3. I have just ordered a set of German number plates for it, which should look a bit better than the New Zealand style plates it has on it now.

Wow thanks for the welcome guys!! The alloys are the standard ones on it. They are 16" I think. You are right about the code being E38, don't know where I got E85 from