RvT

Can I suggest trying a coffee at Artisan by Rangiora Bakery instead .... shameless plug for my own business ... lol We won 2012 Cafe of the Year for Sth Is so the coffee and food is a step up from the rest

Cheers Paul but will rain check the offer. To update, the car was booked in for a BMW PPI but Jerry C refused to do it as the kms were too high - go figure !!! Mate organised someone else and paid the $ just to find the car was sold to someone else on Saturday so he was a bit pissed as you can imagine. We were last seen looking at buying one at a Japanese USS auction as they are $10k over there for a 545 with about 100km on the clock. Price excludes shipping. Watch this space ...

Thanks everyone for your feedback, both positive and informative except for the few e60 haters ... Seller is flakey on info except to say he has buyers lined up and PPI is waste of money as it is practically sold. Now it seems the car is destined for a dealership in Glenfield but the yard there is unaware of it coming .... Mate has decided that he needs a PPI for piece of mind as he can't trust the current seller's yard so if it ends up in Glenfield, he will organise a PPI thru Jerry C. LOL about Chc roads. Out here in Rangiora, we have lovely roads with no cars on them ... best place to live in NZ We use our Hummers to go into Chc

A work mate is seriously keen on this car ... http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=681042239 Yes it has high mileage but is NZ new and has a Schnitzer kit. He has asked if he can organise / pay for a PPI from dealer but seller says that he has a few interested parties and being 1 1/2 hours from Akl, reluctant to the hassle of getting it to Akl. As he is Chc based, we would likely be buying sight unseen. Anyone here know anything about it ? Cheers Ron

Thanks for the informative comments and I agree with your logic !!! How many kms are you getting out of a tank in spirirted driving vs sedate family driving ? I was nervous about buying the first production models as they are usually problematic. Has the F10 developed many recalls / issues of grave significance like the e60 ?

Having had one for a few years, when you drive moderately, I would get 280 to 320km out of a tank. Very spirited driving (like a track day) would reduce it to 150km. I think the car is one of the best handling cars out there regardless of weight on road or on a track. The biggest issue with the car is the gearbox failure through the SMG pump fault. If you end up with a Red Cog (of death) on the dash, you can kiss goodbye to your gearbox and be forced to shell out $20k. second issue is that most clutches are only getting 100k before they have to be replaced which is another $5k cost. Replacing Rotors and discs is a $3k excerise. Make sure you have deep pockets if you are thinking about buying a beast. The purchase price is just the beginning ....

I beg to differ ... Have a listen to this ...

Thanks all for feedback !!! Carpro Iron x was an interesting suggestion but just read it can dull my painted calipers so will give it a wide berth. Might try the Mothers or the Maguires. With 305s on the rear, my poor dish brush has issues reaching the back of the rims hence the need for chemical assistance !!! Yes I could avoid using the brakes but I didn't buy this car to cruz sedately around the countryside ...

I bought some Wheel Cleaner and dust protector (Repco brand) and it is difficult to tell if it is just a placebo cleaner that I hope will save me time but I think it is just coloured water in a $20 - 30 plastic bottle. Any recommendations for a product that actually removes the dust with minimal scrubbing? In a 2006 post, some talked about Mequires product while an other member recommended 'Desolvit'. Cheers

It seems very simple ... you have accepted money for the tires. You admit there is an issue with the tires and no delivery has taken place. You should refund the buyer as it is not your money to hold onto. End of story ...

Under the license plate is fine. Never had a ticket and gave me heaps of warning every time in the 3 years I had it installed. Here is my install ... http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60-m5-e6...0ci-images.html

I installed a Passport 9500ci which came with jammers and was stealth. Positives ... GPS positioning so it blocks false signals after the 3rd time. Installs in the front grill. Performance was 10/10. Difficult to steal as it was buried into the car. Negatives ... too hard to remove so sold it with the car. Can't see what direction the cop is coming from Sold the car so went back to the V1 Positives ... it is the best in the market for windscreen mounted ones. Cost is only $399 in the US and I see you can now bluetooth connect it to your android or iPhone ... Negative ... easily stolen

If the car comes form Japan, then NZTA will not require it as they align themselves with the Japanese system for checking on emmission standards. Any car coming from Europe needs to proove that the individual car complies with the latest emmision standard and the only way you can do that is by having the Cert of Compliance as it states on the cert what emmision rating the car has ie Euro 4 or 5 etc. The approval plate doesn't state the emmision standard on it.

I suppose I should chime in Process is simple and feel free to PM if need anything else. I will post here to help others that may be viewing too. Once you have the car sorted, you will need a shipping company and McCullough http://www.mmnz.biz/ have done my work for me & others and they are good value. You will need a document to proove ownership - normally an invoice with letterhead covers you as you need to proove ownership and the fact it hasn't been stolen etc. McCullough will assist with this. From memory you will also need the UK registration papers commonly known as V5 document but again, McCullough will hold your hand there. That is it from the UK side. For my piece of mind, I paid the seller an additional 50 pounds and asked them to post in the mail to me anything loose in the car like service manual and all spare keys as they are expensive to replace if they turn up plus it gives you something to hold onto in bed till your baby arrives OK, when it gets into NZ, you will need one document that is not required when you import from Japan. It is the 'Certificate of Compliance' which you will only get from Audi NZ. My Porsche cost $700 so expect that sort of cost. You need to provide them the VIN number and it takes about 3 weeks to get from Audi Germany so do it when the car is on the water or you will be waiting to register the car. At VTNZ, they will need the V5 document, the invoice and the 'Certificate of Compliance' to register the car onto the road. Hope this helps and nice choice of car ... RS4 !!! Ron

Hi I was selling user manuals on CD for most BMW models back in 2008/9 on Trademe until they shut me down for copyright issues ... lol At the time I did it as a service rather than to make money. I have a copy of the e87 1 series that covers i116, i118, i120, 118d, 120d. It was a manually scanned copy which you can tell from the quality of the inside of the pages (touch blury but readable). It is in LHD but still applicable here. Also has the radio manual too/ Price would be $15 incl courier. PM me if of interest Cheers Ron

Hi The black one will be landed / complied and on the road at $NZ 55,500 and the white one is $NZ 64,300 If the dealer will do the VAT part, then the purchase price is lower. I based my numbers on the full price. I bring my own cars in myself but a friend is using this company and for $1200 they do everything incl the VAT issue. From what he has shown me, they are very thorough and would be a good start for a newbie ... carshopper.co.nz Hope this helps Ron

I use Kiwishipping at least once a month and there web site has a calculator for working out freight cost. You log in everything into their web site from multiple vendors then they advise you with photos when it arrives. You can set it to all despatch on the same container. Had some tires priced in NZ and Bridgestone wanted $750 each so bought same ones on Tiretrack at $US 240 each and are on their way to me as I type. If you are buying Amps & subs, make sure they can be used with NZ power of 230 Volt as they are 110 Volts in the USA

I have seen numerous e90s selling in Japan auctions for around $12 to $14k landed here and on the road. Why don't you import your own and get more 'bang for your buck' ...

Hi All A very good friend on mine has just imported an M10 to replace e39 so it is now for sale. John is in his late 50s and the car has had a easy life and very well maintained / serviced. He is passionate about BMWs and looks after his cars very well. This is his advert on Trademe ... http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/cars/bmw/a...n-539874141.htm He would like the car to go to a BMW enthusiast so I offered to post the car here. Cheers Ron

Thanks for the info. I was lead to believe that VAT was only able to be retrieved off demo or car less than one year old. When I imported a 07 car last year, VAT recovery was not possible ....

Hi Richard and welcome to the forum !!! What was the year and model of car you imported and what were the fees for shipping etc (excluding the GST you had to pay on the car) ? Did they source the car for you or could you pick of ebay / motorhead ? Cheers

Hi All Someone at work showed me an e36 325 coupe he had just bought for his daughter. Nice ride and well priced but to open the door up, he has to push it in slightly for the door handle to allow it to pull open. It happened on both the doors which is strange as I would have assumed it would be driver door only due to higher use. The first thought is the striker plate needs adjusting but thought I would post here in case it is something else others have experienced. Thanks Ron

Interesting article Glenn. Thanks for sharing !!!

Depends on what car brand you are buying and if when they changed to Euro 4 emissions. It seems to be about 2005 / 2006 is the minimum age. It may pay to check the NZ Transport web page as they usually increase the standard around 1 January every year and it may be be Euro 5 if you comply the car after 1 Jan.Best company to bring the car over ??? McCullough Shipping has my vote after a flawless transaction earlier in the year.

I had a look at this site recently and BEWARE !!!! If the goods need to be cleared through Customs, they will do it for you at a cost of $150 per parcel plus the cost of GST and the fees !!!! http://csc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/569/kw/customs I then looked at Prezoom instead ....