gjm

Up for auction - tomorrow morning, 1st September, is a 1995 Alpina B12 5.7 with manual gearbox, one of only 25 manuals ever built. The spiel: " Extremely Rare one of 25 manual 5.7 Litre Alpina B12 5.7. 1995 reg with just 48k kms. 57 made in total ,32 shifttronic autos and 25 manualsThe B12 5.7 Coupe enhanced the 380PS (375hp) 5.6-liter V12 850CSi with a slightly larger displacement 5.7-liter V12 featuring a number of upgrades such as the reprogrammed ECUs and modified intakes to develop 416PS (410hp) and 570Nm for a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint in 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 300km/h (186mph). Not to be confused with the earlier B12 which was based on the 850 ci auto. this B12 5.7 was based on the 5.6 liter 850 CSi which is already a rare car as it is so finding an Alpina is even harder so expect this to reach a hefty price at auction on Thurday Morning the 1st of September." I'd buy it, but it's left hand drive.

Bear in mind a flush pushes fluid through the system. I'm not sure if this is performed with the filter in place or not, but if not it could cause problems. Have the fluid drained, the sump removed and cleaned and the filter replaced. Ensure good fluid is used - a lot of 'trans flush' places use something cheaper than might be desirable. If you're mechanically minded, it's a faff but not a difficult job to do yourself.

100k is a reasonable figure to change fluid at. The 'filled for life' rubbish spouted by manufacturers should be ignored, but so can the 'every 25k' suggestion some people in the trade seem to think reasonable. You're unlikely to have any problems by extending change interval to up to 200k if the car is mainly used on the highway (rather than 'round town).

OK, so there's no (official) rumours that BMW will produce this, but Autobild have released details of an Audi RS6 Allroad due in 2017. For those whose German isn't quite up to par, the gist is that it is being produced in response to demand from China. 560PS, 700Nm from the 4.0 litre V8, with a top speed of 305km/h.

It's unusual... It's nappa - maybe that's what happens when it fades in sunlight and has some wear?

No idea. It's a little unprecedented - a road legal McLaren of this era just doesn't come up for sale. Good lottery money, regardless.

Shocks appear to be in good condition. They're Monroes - probably from Repco or similar - but more than good enough for normal everyday driving so I'd like to keep them. I'll see if I can line access to a compressor and airgun for when I get to that point.

Andy...?

Is anyone making this trip at any time in the near(ish) future? actletpone has a front valance that I'd like, but shipping makes it uneconomical. If you may be able to help, please let me know.

I was going to do this a while ago, but life got in the way. Replacing front springs. No worries getting the assembly off the car. However, everythng I've seen says to use an windy gun to get the nut off the top (once the springs are compressed!) Is this really necessary?

Ah. We have mostly Mobil or Gull.

This may sound silly, but where do you find 95? All I've seen recently is 91 or 97/8.

True. The powers that be are more likely to pass a container from a known agent through without inspection than they are to not inspect something from a random individual. And that inspection (if undertaken) will cost the importer, too.

I don't think there's any reason why you can't manage this yourself. However, as the shipment is over NZ$1,000 he'll need a client code. You get this by completing the NZCS 224 form on the Customs website. There will probably be inspections and so on needed, and (of course) duties, taxes and fees.

OK. Not a BMW. Not a TradeMe listing. But it is a McLaren, and that has to count for something in NZ! I want. I want so very much. http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mclaren/unspecified/1865527.html

This is nuts! I'm not sure when the dealers spoke to their 'customers'... It used to be a significant differentiator between Mercedes and BMW that BMW were more sporty (in general). No manul box, and no sport suspension just means the cars are that much more alike. This sounds so good!

I was going to suggest the Kiwi buyers drop out because they know what they can sell a car for here, and they deem the price being required to be paid at auction as not leaving them enough profit for their new version of whatever they drive along with their extended spring/summer/autumn/winter beach holiday break. However... If the cars just aren't for sale in Japan either, then it's a different matter. The issue is more to do with the dumbing down that has gone on for decades. Us rebels who want to do things our way are a diminishing minority, and simply not (economically) worth catering for. Unless we go back to the situation Ron describes where you go to a dealer, front up a lot of cash to buy a specific model in a specific specification and insist on having that one, then wait months for it to arrive. It can be done - I have a friend with a factory original Land Rover Defender, diesel engine, and factory-fit automatic gearbox. He is handicapped, cannot use a clutch, but still runs a small farm. Apparently that particular order was turned around in under 3 months. Anyway, if you want a late-model car with a manual, you'd best either be ready for a long wait, buy it new as a special order, or arrange to import it from Europe.

Latest reports are 'Joey' will return, on a salary for the 2nd series somewhere between his speculated £500k for the first series, and the (again, speculated) £1m that could have been paid to shouty man. Matt LeBlanc doesn't need the money. He was making US$1m per episode for 'Friends'. Where do I sign up for a job like that?

The heater matrix is the first component used in the build of an E46. This is place in on the floor, and incidental things like the chassis, suspension, interior and so on are then bolted to it. This means replacement is a major job. OK - it's not quite that bad, but to replace the heater matrix in an E46 requires removing the front seats and the entire front dash with all controls and so on. Basically, strip the interior from the front end of the car.

Tell someone with an E30 M3, 190E-2.5 or similar that their car is lesser than something with a bigger engine! However, I do understand the sentiment. A 518i is hardly representative of what BMW were trying to achieve. Of course, manufacturers now muddy the waters by using the exact same engine in a variety of model levels, tweaking the ECU to produce more performance.

Nice idea! I do want to unroll/unstretch the rear arches, but I suspect that'll be a cut them out and attach new ones job. Economy. 1155.6km on less than 75 litres of fuel. That's less than 6.5 litres per 100km, making it cheaper to run than the 320d (once RUCs, extra rego and suchlike are taken into account). Doesn't have the same performance, power or torque, of course. All the same, seriously tempted to find an E46 1.8/1.9 (M43) Touring.

I think clicking on the star or spot next to the post detail in the unread list takes you to the first unread post.

The W124 is a nice car. It's actually a pity it has electric seats and a sunroof - at this level they're more desirable with less spec. Less to go wrong or leak. Looks like a nice car... Just ignore the description! The W126 could be nice but yup - appearances ruined by bling. Dunno if it still up on TM but there was a rusty 500SEC "AMG". The seller said you could tell it was an AMG because the VIN ended in a zero... How I laughed. And laughed... It did have a set of Pentas on it but the car itself would have needed serious work. And it wasn't an AMG.

Had someone run into the back of us today. Picked Miss M up from school, was waiting at a junction for a gap in the traffic when there's a bang and the car lurches forward a bit. The other driver admitted responsibility, and even described how she'd been trying to see around another SUV to see what traffic was approaching. I did politely suggest that watching the car in front was a better idea... I know it's not the best-presented car around, bu there's really no need for that sort of thing. The good news - the bumper impact absorber appears to have done its job, compressing and extending, saving the bumper from serious damage. Not sure if the bumper supports on the leading edge, near the wheel arch, have survived or not. The bad news? The other driver was in a SUV so while she hit the rear bumper, she also rode above it and dented the compound curved piece of metal work under the tail light, in two places. This damage extends to the side where the paint has split, so some remediation is required regardless of whether or not we want to make an insurance claim.