RobD

I doubt anyone considering a 14 year old car is concerned with depreciation

It is quite rare in that sense. It was also purchased from the creative director of Top Gear, which definitely adds 50% to the value

This is true. I do still have the 193s and good rubber.

Hi all, I'm just looking for collective thoughts on what my car might be worth in today's rather flooded 335i market as I am considering a trade up to an E90 M3: Personally imported from London in 2013. Black Sapphire Metallic 2007 model with 168,000km (Imported at 128,000 km and essentially 2/3 of the mileage since has been on road trips and motorway) Lemon Dakota interior with brushed aluminium trim M Sport with exterior shadow line trim Anthracite headlining Replica dark lines (originals available) Gloss black front grill (originals available) Six speed manual Bilstein B12 kit and associated bushes and mounts installed 5,000km ago TRW M3 front control arms installed 5,000km ago OE tie rods replaced (preventative measure) 3,000km ago Engine mounts replaced (preventative measure) 3,000km ago Ignition coils and spark plugs replaced 3,000 km ago Compression tested (all around 175-180psi), smoke tested, boost solenoids and wastegates tested (out of curiosity) and all in order Walnut blasted 10,000km ago MHD Stage 1 93 tune Turbos replaced at 100,000km Water pump and ABS pump replaced at 130,000km Four of six Injectors replaced (bank of three replaced in London at 100,000km and a single injector replaced here in Auckland at 130,000km) Near new APEX ARC-8 19x8.5" and 19x9.5" with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S in 235/35R19 and 265/30R19 (less than 3,000km on these) Serviced every 5-8,000km at Bellars and Burgers Usual extras - Bluetooth, pro nav, heated seats, cruise, xenons etc. Some stone chips and road rash around front bumper and bonnet but otherwise good condition I'd be interested to hear thoughts - fully aware there are a lot of 335s around now! Cheers, Rob

The M3 arms give it a bit more of a dynamic feel I guess - I can't really think how to describe it properly sorry. Possibly more feel through the steering, little 'tighter' in general, and maybe a bit quicker to change direction due to solid bushes, but a lot of that could be due to the old arms / bushes having some miles on them too. Not a night and day difference as is often suggested in the US forums, but for the money not a bad upgrade! For me it was about wanting to make incremental improvements here and there - hence the arms, B12 kit and engine mounts. Next on the list, aside from the intercooler, is to replace the tie rods to cancel out any slop, M3 front and rear sway bars which I can source second hand, but admittedly it's a bit harder to justify the expense as the car ages and house improvements loom!!!

Been a while since I posted, but thought I'd do a little update on the E90. In the last 12 months I've had a Bilstein B12 kit fitted, TRW M3 front arms installed, uprated engine mounts, new AG M359 wheels (having sold an old set I had), and new Michelin Pilot Sport 4S in 265/30R19 and 235/35R19, as well as loaded the MHD Stage 1 93 tune. I'll be looking at a VRSF 7" intercooler shortly, and will move to Stage 1+, and will cross my fingers that the clutch holds out! Yet to break the tyres in, but so far so good.

Price drop - $1,200. Have weighed these with the tyres fitted - fronts are 21.1 kg and rears are 22.8kg. This compares pretty favourably with the stock 18" M193 wheels which, with tyres are 21.4kg for the front and 22kg for the rears. If anyone is interested and wants to come and check them out, text me on 0221767762. Cheers.

There is no name stamp on the inside unfortunately, other than 'HS253' and the usual industry safety compliance markings. As mentioned, they are replicas - practically all of which are made in Asia.

Hi all, I recently purchased a set of used M359 replicas, but have decided to just stick with my M193s and focus on new suspension instead. I'm putting this out as a feeler. The details of the wheels are as follows: Front Wheels: 19 x 9" - ET35 - 5x120 Rear Wheels: 19 x 10" - ET 38 - 5x120 One wheel has two spots of minor curbing - around 2cm each section. The other wheels need very minor touching up in a couple of places with a hyper silver paint pen around the very outer lip of the rim only - there is no curbing. There are no chips, cracks or bends on any of the wheels. All wheels come with BMW centre caps. Before I purchased these, the previous owner had a tyre shop put them on a balancing machine to make sure they were all A-OK. I still have the receipt for this. I am unsure as to what brand of replica they are, but they very closely resemble the Avant Garde M359 style for those interested. Fronts come with 225/40R19 Michelin Pilot Supersport - will need to be replaced soon as tread is down to around 3mm. The rears come with new 255/35R19 Winrun R330 ditchfinders. Would recommend either using only on dry surfaces or replacing if safety is an important factor in your life! These look outstanding on my car, but I am going to revert back to full sleeper mode for now. Not in any hurry to sell and am looking for $1,400.

PM'd in respect of the Cobb.

Read back through your posts. You post as though you've fitted just about every tyre ever conceived to your car and have decades of technical experience. Opinions are fine, but there's nothing worse than someone who makes out that they have legitimate technical experience, when in actual fact they don't. No one likes a charlatan. Take that how you will, but my bet is that it's the reality. My constructive advice to the OP is to talk to a qualified professional.

Honestly, what qualifies you to make these statements?

What is your experience in tyres?

I had a few varied quotes, but they were all around the $500 mark. It is both necessary and a bit of a money grabbing exercise. The compliance centre issued the car with its first WOF, yet, when I came to renew it, it failed because the centre rear seatbelt receiver was buried under the seat squab. No one had ever sat in the back seat since the car was complied. So how could they issue a WOF? A bit silly really.

If you're on the North Shore, Burger's Motor Works is a great option. Certainly not a glitzy workshop but when you see the number of European awards the owner has won you will rest easy. I think he charges $90 per hour which is a reasonable amount less than JC BMW or Team Mac. There are others you can try but I only have experience with Burgers so can't comment on them.

I love my 335i and honestly can't think of what I'd replace it with. Personally I think it's pretty economical and the engine is just a peach. In stock form it's plenty powerful enough. Quoted power is 225kW but most agree it's a little more. But it's the torque that I love. 300lb/ft available from 1,500 rpm and all the way to almost 6,000 rpm in one big flat plateau. It's just a fantastic engine. It's smooth and refined and most importantly has so much tuning potential. Quite easy to get 400 bhp from a reflash alone, and more again with downpipes and a larger intercooler.

In terms of major repairs you do have a few things to be very conscious of. As yours is an N54 engine, be aware that the wastegates on the turbos are prone to rattling on deceleration, usually from 3,000 rpm downwards. BMW has acknowledged the problem but their fix is software based and in some cases results in a feeling of loss of low end torque. Replacing the turbos is a major job and I believe in this case an engine out affair. Secondly, the N54 uses high pressure piezoelectric injectors that are prone to failure. Easy repair job but several hundred dollars per injector. Coils are also prone to failure. Only about $60 each but again there are six of them and labour costs to factor in. Further, the high pressure fuel pump is a known fault but more common in the USA because the composition of their fuel is different and eats away at the pump seals which can in turn accelerate the injector problems. Electric water pumps are almost a guaranteed failure item. Mine was $1,250 including labour. Lastly (at least that I can think of) is the DSC hydro pump. They are around $500 to have rebuilt. Quite a common problem and results in a series of malfunctions with the stability control, ABS and traction control. Idrive will tell all! Still excited? Don't let that list put you off. Most cars have known faults. Some cheap, some not so cheap. It is a complex engine and when it's on song you will love it. I've had mine a year and have had to do one injector, the DSC hydro pump and the electric water pump. Total cost including two services has been about $3K. Thankfully both turbos and three other injectors were replaced under warranty so that's peace of mind for me!

I imported my 2007 335i after I moved back here from an 8 year stint in London. I paid to have it in its own container as opposed to being parked on a ro-ro. The container was around £1,300 plus around £300 for insurance. GST is payable on converted vehicle cost, shipping and insurance costs. Compliance cost varies but mine was $500 at Coventry Motors in Glenfield. Be prepared for them to nitpick though as they are giving the car its very first WOF. Nine had just had a clean MOT in London a few weeks before it shipped and I still needed to have all new rotors and pads fitted. In terms of running costs, I drive mine (manual) pretty gently 95% of the time and with a mixture of motorway and city driving my combined average is 9.8 litres/100km. I only ever run it on 98, and so should you if you buy it. A regular oil and oil filter change at Burgers Motor Works is usually around $220+ GST. For parts, your best bet is to buy online from places like ECS Tuning and import them back here.

Have you tried listing it on the BMW owners' club for sale section? Sadly a small target market for what is a lovely purists car.

Definitely the Auckland to Kaiaua route. Another Auckland one is Kahikatea Flat Road from Dairy Flat, all the way to the Kaipara Coast Highway. North along there to Wellsford and then south via SH1. It's about 2 hours and a good mix of roads

I'm thinking more local, even though I have to agree the PCH is pretty epic! How about your more typical Sunday morning 2 hour round trip type of drive?

Following on from the excellent Pistonheads idea of a Dream Drives route and description, post yours here. City, start point, end point, approximate distance and road quality.

Do the job properly. Plastidip is cheap for a reason.

Madness.