Phil-540i

With this, & a AU as well, ya gotta be fairly rapt you've that Suzuki..............

I reckon ya end up with 'best all round solution' though once the hearse goes - Mini to tinker with / restore over time, & hey, I'm always a 540 fan............. Yea, TM are just getting harder & harder to get along with, & getting expensive compared to 'back in the day' - least they refunded ya though, so that's all good....... I've sold lots of kool / rare stuff in the past, to usually regret it afterwards, & generally 1 thing I've learnt, is once its gone, its gone............. Personally, I'm not a huge Mini fan, but I can certainly appreciate that the 1 you've got is really koooool & has lots of potential either as a resto, or Cooper replica or whatever - everytime I see one that's been 'done up / loved' it makes me smile.............

He 'seen the light'...........

They're a pain (visually) in how they sit ae, in terms of ride height vs guard clearance in the front. Funny thing is even though it looks a bit weird, sills run parallel to the ground, which means at some level its 'right'....... Yea, I could be into that, so PM me before ya order - I seem to have Vogtland springs in mind for some reason...........dunno. Edit. 20/01/14. I've only just 'clicked' tonight as to what I really like about this car, in a nutshell it's 'quality'. It got washed today, & then hit with some canuba?? liquid polish that's been in the shed for probably at least 10 years - its called 'Flash' I think, from USA.......probably originally brought for a Ducati. Whilst the 540 has marks / stone-chips / the odd 'supermarket' dent around it from before I got it, the paint has just come up like glass - for the age of the vehicle its just amazing. There's zero wear on its leather upholstery. All the bright stuff, in terms of chrome etc is still mint. It handles / drives well. Everything that opens & closes still has a new feel to it. And everything electrical 'still actually works'......... That to me says it was a quality product when new, as its stood the harshest test of it, the test of time. Whilst BMW's are expensive new, maybe the true reason for that only becomes apparent as they gather some age........ Maybe the above is part of the reasons theres so many mint looking E30's still getting around too........

Yea I dunno - Merc's don't spin my wheels much for some reason..............some of the late model stuff looks ok though, but I don't see myself ever owning one......

Took some new pics the other day after windows were tinted........................ That's probably bout it at the mo. Theres a few things undecided ahead of me at the mo, so if some-one came along & wanted to buy it, I'd probably let it go to a new home. Hmm, dunno.

Hmm, Id had a couple by time I came back in from the shed last night..........my typing speed improves though, haha. I know this feeling. Picture some-one who is 'self-taught' on a computer, & sometimes gets a bit frustrated...........as realistically, I'm not that techy savvy........ Years ago, was shifting house, office being 'last room' to be done on shifting day itself, & just had 1 job to complete on computer / printer before it all got packed up. Computer wouldn't 'set' at the sizes it was being given to do the job. Multiple attempts, whilst under a bit of pressure. Partner at the time, wouldn't help.......got to mutter mutter curse stage of things, till I'd had enough........ Ripped all its cords out - took it outside, chucked it on a ute deck, & then smacked it with a sledgehammer - this demonically processed electrical piece of $hit wasn't gonna cause me any more brain-damage.............was quite therapudic!! Been here, done this too, in a Telecom past life. With cellphone coverage while living in the country. With landline that kept dying. And with a Telecom T-stick that had such useless coverage, it wouldn't work unless it could actually 'see' a Telecon store........it was great, bout as handy as a milk bucket under a bull. And yes, I love, (NOT!!!) getting put through to India unhelp desk!! I'm a New Zealander. In New Zealand. Buying a service off a New Zealand company. That company, somewhere, has then chosen to lay off it's call centre staff in the country it operates in, in order to 'save money, increase profit' or whatever their excuse on the day is or was. In my opinion, its wrong. If you have 'enough problems' with supply, as Graham says you can actually eventually end up talking with a kiwi, here somewhere, which I've had too - first thing I did was grab a DDI number, as it made fixing faults / problems sooooo much easier & less painfull while living at that location.......he was in Hamilton, & a total proper gooood ba$tard to deal with..... Bonus today, is it seems proper speed is back - YAY!!!!!!!!!! Edit!!!!!!!! Nope - wrong, took ages to load this......grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

So anyway, in a fit of boredom somewhere somehow, it appears we (aka as probably I) has commited the cardinal anti-Christ sin of sins of, gasp, shock, horror, exceeded the 30GB limit that our TELECOM provider has graciously being allowing us access to - FIRST time, EVER. Like, ever. Never happened before. Hmm, there might be a problem - like, we get a few internet access problems at the best of times anyway, but gee, Hi Einstein, umm, when pics don't load, & getting access to new pages, or a site loading is the equal of watching grass grow from a seed in a drought, then hey, no $hit, we're starting to look like things 'aren't normal', even by our standards of pi$$ poor supply..... So, hmm, lets sign up to 'our #$%$#ing Telecom', & see where we are limit wise on our 30gb. Oppps, you bad, have crossed the magic line where they'll now bend you over & have a great time while you dig more $$$$ outa your pocket to pay for the priviledge of exceeding their limit. Opps. Oh ok, tsk tsk, naughty me, once I'd dragged my sorry a$$ outa the 'naughty corner' - signed up for a plan change, which, oh f$cking yay, will take up to 48hrs to implement according to the site. Mutter mutter curse, etc. 48hrs, comes, goes, still waiting for grass to grow, planets to align, all that $hit. Hmm, ok - I know, I'll ring them. Mutter mutter curse, stew, mutter past their BRILLIANT ultra pleb customer antiservice animated & seriously retarded thing that EVENTUALLY, gets you through to a real live human, in the end. In f$cking India. Go through all the process of getting plan change confirmed, & 'Yes, it'll be all good again for you in 4hours max'. Waste f#ck knows how much of my life going through THIS process from start to finish........... Mutter mutter, curse, go outside, kick dog etc - fill in 4 bloody hrs with checking internet speed, having dog avoid me, & start pulling $hit to bits out in shed in fits of muttering............ 4hrs, comes, goes. Internet still has speed of a carrier pigeon going from Bluff to Picton. Into a head wind. Picture pigeon carrying heavy load, being semi-retired, & stopping for oxygen regularly. like, its fairly slow internet.............ba$tards!!! Showing I have primo patience skills, I wait till 4hrs 3 minutes are up, until, sigh, having taken the appropriate amount of pain-killars, I decide to suck it up & ring, as in ring India again.............more anti-joy & few curses gets us past that anti-human thingy again, until, yip, talking to a real human again. Yippy-yi-yay!!!! Go through all the process of once again providing correct ID etc, as my calling from the number theres a problem at is just toooo f#cking simple....................their system doesn't understand simple. To be told "I was given the wrong info by the last customer anti-service rep I talked to - it'll be up to another 48hrs away................" Oh, ok, sez I, how bout the original internet upgrade I did then, when can I expect THAT to be implemented.........??? I really REALLY had to go, where after being on hold again while that was looked for, I was then told there was no record of THAT coming through..............she could 'see' the other stuff I'd done when in there, but 'not that bit'........... Just rolled my eyes.............got profuse apologies from her end, but yea, theres a work order somewhere to lift the cap, that's still waiting to be actioned............ Forever been a Telecom customer, on everything. From day dot. Even when my sister was working for a opposition company & wanted me to shift, nah, its ok, I'll stay where I am............. To say I'm ever so very slightly pi$$ed at the mo, would be the understatement of the year............brilliant bit being I'm hooked into their Yahoo mail as well. Brilliant, just f#cking brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's funny.............seriously tho, for 2k for the Minji, its only small change really in the scheme of things...........

Lols - I'm cracking up - been out in the shed doing $%$%#$@#% Cruiser wheel brgs AGAIN while MTing some Woody bottles, & come in to this - you've pulled it - goooood $hit!!! You're a legend!! Gooood on ya dude - you buy that yellow paint, & I'll even help ya apply it - buy your own googles / nose thing for the square run in it tho ae.... Koooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!!!

I'd much prefer to just avoid crashes, full stop personally...........

I'm just 'being queer', but damn - sell this, where ya gonna get another one ae........?? You'll sell it, end up bored, then on Friday nights you'll be out on a Broadway street corner, batting your eyes & selling your a$$ in order to get it back again........... Much less drama to just keep it...........

Hmmm, why don't ya concentrate on ditching your hearse & just keep this poor thing dude - paint it yellow, get on the pi$$, do Pork Pie re-enactments round the square........

I'd hate to see him in 'unfriendly' mode then....................

I'd debate that bit - or is the 'have to' new.............

^^^^^ Classic!!!

James Patterson, Harlen Coben, Lee Child, David Baldacci, C.J. Box, Martina Cole, Nora Roberts are main ones in the 'communal' part of our bookcase, Chris Ryan, Andy McNab, Barry Crump, Tom Cotter, Jeremy Clarkson, Lisa Tamati, Vince Flynn & a few others in 'my' bit of shelves......... Linwood Barclay, Faye Kellerman, Tess Geritsen, Mary Higgins Clark, Sandra Brown & Kathy Reichs seem to be main authors on 'her' side.......

Hmm - might have a look for that then - I've read a Cannonball book last year, that I'd rate as, average read I suppose. 'The Driver' was also a movie, remembered in my head for having good chase scenes, a bonkable looking chick (at the time), & a 454 powered Chev C-10 ute.......

Yea, hindsight is a great thing sometimes ae. I dunno - if you've got a good track record etc like ya say, might pay to talk to the free lawyer & have a go at defending it........... as on a careless use charge you might find 'the walk' could be longer than a month if convicted...........

'Careless use of a motor vehicle' - where the standard of driving is below what could be reasonably expected of a prudent motorist in the same circumstances.........??? High odds your tyre deflated during the 180 pirouette / impact into ditch............??? Edit. You've called up, & especially dragged a police officer out to a 'non-event' as such, away from whatever he was doing at the time. He's 'attended', which means hes now got paperwork / reports to do. Its raining, so he's especially thrilled to bits.............I can understand the 'why' on him writing the ticket he did.........

^^^Non-injury accident - didn't need reported............... I agree with whats been written here Graham / Matt........I'll come back properly once my internet speed improves.........!!!! Its at smoke-signals' speed lately....... Edit. From my perspective, some of the best driver's I see driving in NZ, have motorcycle riding experience. The reason they then end up as above 'average' car / truck drivers is because they are so aware of whats happening around them, whats happening under them, & they have good knowledge of what the conditions are............. I'm a big fan of drivers making consistently good decisions & good choices, regardless of anything else really. For myself as a driver, I drive assertively, I drive defensively, I drive to the conditions, & I drive to survive, so that I get to 'go home'. I drive within my skill limits, & within the vehicle's capabilities. And if I want to avoid tickets & demerit points, I drive within NZ traffic laws. Not all people with agree with my mentality on how I see things - I'm ok with that. 'Illegal' & 'unsafe' are too totally different categories really - I've been on a road in the central south island, at 10.30 at night in a 4WD vehicle, 4WD engaged, where safest speed to go was around 35kph. Same road, in different circumstances & different time of the year, is probably a perfectly safe hypothetical 140kph cruise...........

Yea, I don't watch much TV either.......... I'm reading 'American Icon' @ the mo, by Bryce Hoffman. Its the story on what Ford did to save itself in the last global crisis when the Detroit 'Big 3' had major problems. Ford's saving grace, was they hired a guy from Boeing called Alan Mulally..............its a neat read so far. I'm 28% through it, & I think ultimately it'll turn into something positively motivational on leadership & team-work........... Read a book last year called 'Undercover Angel : From Beauty Queen to S.W.A.T. Team' by Lisa Lockwood, as a true story. I'd happily recommend that too........ Even my partner really enjoyed it..........

Funny, cos I'm a bit like that too - (I'm simple enough that I still have a 'unsmart' inormal phone, instead of some unreliable ipiece of i$hit that might tell me the current temperature / humidity in Ethiopia, but won't actually ring or txt when I want it to).........so my partner was a bit concerned on how I'd take to the first Kindle she got me.......strangely enough I reckon its just awesome!! Funny thing is, I read fast, & always have done since I was a kid. One thing I've noticed with the Kindle is a book gets read even quicker for some reason......

Theres some people out there like me, that don't have Twatter or Facebook accounts - you know the type, they even probably still pick up a phone @ times & talk with 'real people', etc etc........ One of my 'things' I do, when not working or doodling out in the cave or in here, is I read........quite a bit......... and all sorts of stuff, by all types of different authors. To the extent that I'm on my 2nd Kindle in less than 18 months, as the new improved one is out.......so I'm quite in ebooks, as well as us still buying hard copies of our favourite stuff..... Last year I brought Bob Lutz, 'car guys vs bean counters' - really interesting book I thought, by certainly a quite interesting guy....... Just downloaded his 'Icons & Idiots' book - haven't finished it yet, but its interesting hearing about the time he spent at BMW, how he was involved in how the numerical model numbering / identities occurred etc........ If you're a 'reader', its well worth looking for IMO.........its not 'cheap', but yea, a good read............ Tom Cotter may also interest some of ya............and theres a BMW 5/6 Series book by Andrew Everett that's good, that can also be downloaded via Amazon I'll probably add some titles here too - feel free to chuck yours in.......

Kool process on your fault-finding - well done.............