gjm

Had one... Full BBR engine, brake and suspension kit, Abarth panels... 😊

I love 037s. ❤️

Nice car.

Replaced the rear tyres on Miss M's 116i, rotating so the new tyres are on the front. Maintained the set of Bridgestone ER300 runflats. Learned how to reset the TPMS, an essential step following tyre replacement. One of those easy-when-you-know-how things, but nigh-on impossible if you've not done it before and don't know where to look!

That's the one I was comparing! It's predecessor, the R107, started in 1971. The R129 is a half-step later, available from 1989 thru 2001. So... Which is the better buy? An E30 316i for $6k, or a R129 500SL?

Interesting thing happened today. A half-decent E30, today, will sell for $4k upwards. Depending on spec (ignoring M3s and MTechs) it could be 15k, possibly more. Interesting side note: classic review sites suggest a Nissan Pulsar, Ford Laser, or Honda Civic as an alternative! New in 1990, a 325i SE retailed in the UK at £20000-21000 (the 4-door was more expensive). At (then) NZD 2.80 = GBP 1.00, that's $56000-59000. I don't know if this is truly representative of prices in NZ, but you can where I did the math. A 1990 Mercedes R129 500SL would have been $257000 in Australia. (I'm being lazy with sourcing info. ) GBP 1.00 = AUD 2.15 at the time, making that 500SL something like $335000 in New Zealand. Potentially five times the price. Guess which is cheaper, now? 😮

No worries!

The Merc I bought rego for had been out of rego for 4 months, and not had a WoF since September 2019. I'd forgotten to renew the 'on hold', which means back-rego has to be paid, and simply selected 12 months when renewing online. Rego slip arrived in the post 4 days later.

Yup.

You can put a rego on hold whenever you like, but I'm not aware of any way to reclaim 'lost' rego through lack of use, or even a vehicle being written off. On hold has a minimum period of 3 months too - put the car back on the road before the 3 months is up, and rego is backdated to the last time it was live, or the start of the on hold period. I confess I took advantage of he system and renewed the rego on a Mercedes here - it has no WoF, and I'd forgotten to put the rego on hold which means I'd have been paying 4 or 5 months back rego anyway So I bought 12 months.

I was thinking in terms of replacing the rims with a different, non-runflat design. Are there then issues if a runflat sensor isn't available to provide the system with that information? It's a moot point now as at $275 each (fitted) we've decided that sticking with what she's got is the best policy.

Apologies for regurgitating a topic which I'm sure has been covered before. Miss M's 116i has runflat tyres. Need two tyres replacing... Do we need to buy runflats again? If we changed the rims to something else, is that going to raise problems?

There's a 1992 320i coupe local to me for sale. Really doesn't look like much. Rego cancelled, no WoF. Hideous clear rear light lenses, paint peel. But it is a manual, and apparently it drives nicely. But... $3500 ???

M325i, stroked to 2.7, offered on Facebook. $45k. Two(?) years ago that would have bought a M3.

These are an awesome car. It is sad that the resale of these hit even harder than it does with a 7-series BMW, or an S-class Mercedes. Or even and Audi A8 (S8). Good to drive, even better to ride in. Notwithstanding my penchant for Mercedes, I would be very, very happy driving (or riding in) this.

Sold...

Trying to deal with a solicitors in the UK about a Trust for my brother. The original practice that set this up was great, but two principals died and the work was passed on, nd passed on... And we weren't told. The latest firm have racked up a £1000 bill which they have sent us, accrued through their efforts 'to contact you [me]' so I can give them instructions. F%^&*g thieving b@st@rds.

BMW content at: 1:48 2:59 4:54 5:10 and (oops!) 6:18. But what about those lorries!?!? 😮🤣

Decided we'll sell the Baur. 😭 Practicality is making this decision. Prices have risen dramatically, and we're trying to do a couple of expensive things, one of which is build a roof to live under. Sad times.