gjm

We had four until some scummy lowlife stole two of them in Hamilton. Ours didn't need painting.

Nothing like as disappointing as the sound of the timing chain letting go.

Would have had a MSport steering wheel from new, but I think the Mtech2 kit is a later addition.

There's a 325 manual coupe on Facebook. Looks nice in black, has had a Mtech2 kit fitted. $55k asking.

A lot of vehicle for the money.

We did consider a Terrano and looked at a few. All in our <$10k price range were pre-2000 (not a deciding factor) and all (that we saw) either had big mileages, or something fairly significant wrong. Or a manual gearbox - Mrs M needs an auto because of a back injury. An older Pathfinder would be the same age as our RX350 but costs nearly 50% more.

With the planned sale of the Baur, Mrs M was in need of a new set of wheels. Sh'ed kind-of enjoyed having a Mazda Tribute 10 or so years ago; I was less enthusiastic. Doing some hunting we did decide that a medium/large SUV might be the answer. One of the issues we've been having is that on those rare occasions we want to tow something, we encounter a problem. Borrowing a ute isn't an issue but I don't like asking for the same thing over and over again. So, the hunt begins. X5? Too big. (Or so I'm told.) The 3.0 diesels have held their value well and until recently, were more than we planned to spend. (Been offered a couple at under $3.5k in the last week!) Explored numerous Mercedes MLs. Older W163 270CDi is solid-as, reliable, economical, and easy to work on. The W164 320CDi is another good'un, very economical and huge scope for tuning (although that was a very minor consideration). Doing the sums though, a W164 ML500 (lovely car) works out very little more expensive to run over 12 months than a diesel... Regardless, prices for all of the above have gone up considerably in the last 12 months. Land Rover Discovery? Range Rover? Too expensive (for what they are) and while easy enough to fix, do seem to turn up a large number of issues. They also tend to be treated like sh!t. Land Rover Freelander? Maybe... But insufficient towing capacity. (Not a bad vehicle though, despite online reports.) Big Nissans and Toyotas are just silly money. Smaller Toyotas and Nissans lack the towing capacity, or just don't seem available (for sale) in a spec to suit us. (Did seriously consider an XTrail diesel.) So... We bought a Lexus RX350. NZ new, 2 owners, full service history, 12 months WoF, 6 months rego, 3 months unconditional warranty. Cheaper than an older LR Disco TDi or TD5, or (at the time) any similar spec BMW X5, and barely more in price than a 5-year-older and much higher mileage Merc ML. It's really quite nice. Takes some getting used to but that's to be expected. Rides well, handles well, very comfortable. I suggested to a fellow forum member (who knows about these things) that if we look after it, it should be good for at least 400000km. I was advised that if we only wanted 400000km from it, we needn't bother looking after it.

Saw a 2021 420i coupe this morning. I'll not pretend to be a fan of the front end treatment to begin with, but plonking a rego plate across the middle of the grille just finishes it off completely. 🤮 Not so much a concern for those inside. I'm sure it's a lovely thing to drive.

Very good condition, well-optioned, E30 coupe 325 automatic with extensive (and in parts, expensive) history offered at $15k no reserve. Well presented, detailed listing. Received no bids and no questions. I suspect this is more indicative of the true E30 market at present than the four cylinder cars, and 320i 4-doors being offered at $20k+.

She'll be smoke-stopped, cleaned up, and advertised at a 'bargain $10k'.

A nice-looking 1987 318i manual coupe with cloth seats - $27500 A1986 de-reg (details in the system) rolling shell - $5k (was $7k - seller has reduced price). I've relisted our Baur at $15k, no reserve.

Same.

BMW has begun production of hydrogen fuel cell systems for the hydrogen-powered iX5, moving them ahead in a strategy many rivals have ignored in favor of battery electrics. Hydrogen fuel cell systems are becoming increasingly popular among large vehicle (truck) makers, particularly for heavy-duty and long-haul vehicles. Hydrogen cars have not been as popular among car manufacturers, most of which – aside from Toyota and Hyundai – have chosen to focus on rechargeable battery electric vehicles instead. “Hydrogen will become more relevant in individual mobility due to its advantages,” said Oliver Zipse, CEO at BMW when speaking at the Munich production site’s opening event. “Hydrogen-powered cars are the ideal technology for us to complement pure battery-electric vehicles.” BMW is the last mass-producer of luxury cars in Germany to pursue hydrogen fuel cell systems. Mercedes investigated hydrogen for the GLC SUV, but chose to focus on battery electric cars instead. Audi did the same. Zipse said hydrogen cars offer a climate-friendly option. He estimated that between 20 and 30 percent of buyers won’t be adequately served by the electric recharging infrastructure for a fully battery electric vehicle. He pointed specifically to drivers that are required to travel on longer trips and traverse rural regions. Zipse said that hydrogen fuel cell systems would help to reduce the overall dependency on certain raw materials such as cobalt and lithium. Components for hydrogen solutions are based mainly on aluminum, steel and platinum, which are all materials that area notably easier to recycle. Hydrogen solutions typically still use a backup battery but it is only about one tenth the size of the units used in battery electric vehicles with comparable range.

Coupe, 320i automatic, imported, WoF & rego, has some minor issues. $21k. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/3760668136

Grey M140i. Ok, so less exciting than some cars out there but I felt it looked really neat.

BMW Group has announced commencement of an in-house, small-scale production of fuel cells for its iX5 in Munich, Germany. The hydrogen cars will enter service in the next four months for test and demonstration purposes, targeting the premium segment. The fuel cells generate a continuous output of 125 kW/170 hp, paired with an electric motor featuring fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology, and a battery that enables the powertrain to deliver 275 kW/374 hp. BMW has collaborated with Toyota Motor on fuel cells since 2013.