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OK - The dealer emailed me at 1am this morning to say that the blue car sold a long time ago, and he has subsequentley sold 2 more. He wants me to go in and discuss ordering one through him. I have politely declined... It is hard to trust a dealer that says one thing one day, then back tracks the next. Back to the drawing board and maybe importing one myself.

I've always had a bit of luck at Beaurepaires next to Taupo Nui A Tea on Spa Rd.

Hi all. Thanks for all the replies. That dealer does look interesting! I think you are right that the car has been for sale for most of 2012 as well. I did call about the black one at Jeff Gray's in Wellington but the DP said it sold 2 weeks ago. They said the only option was a brand new one and they wanted a big changeover (in my opinion). I've looked at bringing one in myself and you can get a brand new demo landed for about 130 if VAT qualifying. http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...g?logcode=ucnnp A non VAT one will be the same money but a 2011 with about 10Km on the clock. The blue car does have an interesting spec, with different seats but if its cheap enough it could be fun for 12 months. The engine issue on the 2012 build cars sounds interesting! I know BMW NZ just had a black one land that JG Wgtn tried to sell me so I guess that is getting work done on it. Will report back after seeing the blue one this week. Cheers,

As its been for sale for a very long time I was going to make a cheeky low offer. The seller has trouble with the written English language from his emails. I'm aware of the warranty issues, but I'll only keep it for 12-18 months so not that worried. The plan is to trade my 2011 NZ New 535D Motorsport. The benefit for the dealer is he should find that easier to sell. I was thinking the M5 in that colour combo is worth about 140-150 in real money.

Hi all, I'm looking to maybe get into the F10 M5 and have been less than impressed with the discounts from the local dealer, so am going to look at an import. This one has been on TM for ages and I was wondering if anyone had any info about the car or seller? http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/...n-514623782.htm I'm planning to look at it Tuesday next week. Thanks,

A Mark 5 VW Golf GTI would be a good option and also in manual. The Golf is a great car on the open road and around town. When we had our first child the wife had a new GTI and it was great. However we found that when number 2 arrived the boot was a little small so she went to a X5. Congrats on the pending arrival.....

I've used Avis many times. If you book through their UK website you can access Porsches and other new high performance cars. Well worth it. Using the NZ site limits the car choices.

I've brought 3 cars in from the UK in the past 18 month. 2 were with Cars Europe (www.carseurope.net). Cars were fantastic! All they do is high end vehicles, they know their stuff and are experts. I would strongly recommend them - check out their website.

No doubt some people will have seen a couple of F10 M5's for sale on TM that are UK imports. I've always been a fan of the M5 and had a 2009 E60 until just before xmas (now have a F10 535D M/Sport). After test driving the new car at Hampton Downs I've been quietly looking at what can be had in NZ. I've stumbled across this one; http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...age/1?logcode=p It's a Demo done 1,100 miles and is VAT qualifying. Therefore according to my sums it can be landed for; GBP66,666 - VAT = GBP55,555 = NZD$110,800 + $4,000 (Shipping etc) + GST $17,220 + Compliance $1,000 = $133,020. I'm quite lucky as I have a relationship with a dealership I've used in the past in the UK that will sort the VAT issue out for me. This is a full 100K less than the NZ RRP. I know that there is no service package included and the warranty will be a pain in the backside as BMW NZ will make life hard, but for 100K saving it seems worthwhile! What are other people's thoughts on this?? Cheers

I saw that car in the weekend. It looks good and I understand the old owner traded up to a nice M5!!

Nice - i think I might need one!

You mean this one! http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/adv...age/1?logcode=p

What about a Porsche 997 GT3, preferably with the Clubsport option!

Hi, what would you suggest for an E60 M5 in 19's that will take the standard tyres? Cheers

Message sent

I've had the F10 M5 HEA pricing through from BMW and they are saying 225K for the new M5 with a January delivery. The spec sheet is very good with everything you could want in my opinion. I have a 2009 E60 M5 that I will take a bath on to get into the new M5, but hey - you only live once. If anyone is keen on a 09 M5 done about 15Km then let me know.

Hi, I am looking to sell our X5 in the next month or so. It's a NZ New 2007 and done about 41Km in black. It has the 7 seat option and tan leather. Any ideas on value for a quick/private sale. Many thanks Matt

Am driving this particular demo vehicle (I beleive) to Wellington and back tomorrow so will see how it goes on a good run. First impressions are that it is very good and the HUGE differance between the original E70 and the E70 LCI (facelift) is the new steering. It is like driving a micro car with the new "electric" steering compared to the old E70 models steering. The 8 speed transmission is also very good. It truly is a totally different car to the original E70. I think the wife will really like the steering which may end up being bad for my bank account....... The driveway looks good tonight with an E70 4.8i and an E70 40D LCI parked side by side. Of course the new X5M has now hit our shores and that will be a weapon if my previous experience on the track with the X6M is anything to go by!!!!

Hi, I purchased an ex demo 4.8 E70 in Jan 2008. Since then we have done about 25-30Km in it. The wife took the car over in November last year when I pourchased a new M5. The X5 is great... I have had it on the track in Taupo and certainly passed a few other BMW's including a forum member in his E30. I'm sure the sight of an E70 bearing down on an E30 would have been interesting... The performance from the 4.8 is excellent with a quoted 0-100 in 6.5 seconds. The torque is also more than enough!! When I tow our boat from Napier to Taupo the trip is usually only 5 minutes longer pulling 2.5 ton of boat. The extra fuel is about a 1/4 of a tank though. On the open road we get about 11.5-12.5 litres per 100Km, which is OK I think for a big suv with 7 seats and more than enough power to eliminate most cars on the road. Go for the E70, and go for the 4.8 as it has so many more features as standard!! Also black is the best colour (ours is!!) and also get the windows tinted if they aren't already. Cheers

That could be the case, however I see the last service stamp for the CSL was Jan 2009 in the UK and looking at the photos, the brick buildings in the background certainly looks like "Typical England" with the signage etc. I may well be wrong though....

Both the CSL and E90 M3 are UK imports. You can see the tax disc on the E90 and the CSL has service stamps from a BMW place in Essex. Maybe the importing of these cars from Singapore has got too hard and the GBP/NZD exchange rate is pretty good....

Does anyone know what sort of pricing the X5M will be when released and when it"s due for NZ launch? Cheers

Hi, This car is being sold be me on behalf of my Father (he's no good on a PC). The reason for sale is that he had a Merc CL500 that he was trying to sell and swapped for the BMW. He has never driven this as he has a Bentley Contoi GT as his daily car and would never work out i-drive. I have requested a possible trade as I would be interested in a E30 M3 to sit in my garage to join a collection of other cars I have. Any deal would be looked at as this 7 Series is sitting around doing nothing at the moment. Alternatively I am keen on an Audi for the wife or anything else old and special to park in the garage. On a side note it is a great car for chewing up big miles - probably the most comfortable I have driven, excluding the Bentley!

I got a $200 fine in Napier late last year with NZ replica plates on my wife's 2006 VW Golf GTI. Cops obviously have a lot of spare time to concentrate on this and ignore the "real" crime out there!

Sorry - I stand corrected. Now I need to work out how to afford one .......