gjm

First car? Get an E46 with the M43 engine. Seriously. It'll handle well enough as stock, and the handling can be improved. That's a big plus. The engine, gearbox and drivetrain are reliable, and easy to work on. Parts are readily available. Parts are cheap. No - it is not the glamour that a Z3 might be, but it's a better, more practical and more suitable car for a first car.

C32 is a great car. And that there is not a CLK32 is a massive mistake on the part of MB.

Promo can do the key for my CLK, too - but does need the car because of the way things are registered. I have the 'right' laptop for the MB software and an image to upload, but haven't done it yet. And distance might be an issue.

https://www.vixenrv.com/History.php It isn't really a BMW but it does have a BMW M21 engine. And it deserved to be far more successful than it was. I'd have one.

And that is regardless of political persuasion. It really does seem there is a race to the bottom - "they did this, we can't do any worse! Oh. Look at that... Who would have thought that could happen?"

So, the new 7 series is an E-class Mercedes with a fugly front end?

We've got them in Waipawa now. Well, 'sleeping policeman'. This is the main road south - State Highway 2. Not only are the road repairs the work of poor quality patchwork quilt deployment teams coupled with seeming dozens of cone shufflers, but when there is a smooth surface it gets broken up. The sheer lack of foresight, and complete absence of quality control, on the part of NZTA is truly staggering.

Lots more dodginess on that one. 1988? Nope. According to the VIN, it's a 1990. Silver? Looks white... And was Alpin-Weiss 2 from the factory. NZ new? Nope - it's imported from the UK. Engine is variously described as '1990cc' and 4-cylinder. The M40 this came with would have been a 1796cc.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/335i/listing/4676583554

E30s. Three different ones, at different times. In the rain, all in Central Hawke's Bay !

I chuckled. "Quick sale" says the ad. Seller lists it for 2 weeks... Still, that probably is quick at present.

Looking for a new one, to replace the two decades-old, noisy ones I have here. Turn them on and there's a decently loud "MMMMMMMMM" heard. @M3AN bought a CTEK MSX5.0 nearly 4 years ago - how's that going, Dave? Any recommendations for an all-encompassing unit? One which will sort cars, motorbikes, a quad (or similar), dealing with lead-acid, Lithium, maybe LiFePO4... Or would it be more sensible to get something specifically for a specific job? Anyone with any recent experience of investing, or knowledge of good deals?

Dave - we have a group message running but I'm unable to invite you to participate: apparently "M3AN cannot receive messages." Mailbox full?

In other news - medium case 3.64 LSD: $2300.

@Jamez - If something can be sorted, would you be able to help/advise ?

I've had a couple of responses. Planning to sort a discussion after the weekend, so please get in touch if you'd like to be more involved in running the premier BMW forum in NZ.!

OK. I've had a chat with Ollie and have more info. Question - how do we proceed? @Karter16 and @innoxious have expressed some interest (no commitment made or expected!). I'm not suggesting any sort of secret society nonsense but if there is a small group of people with interest in running and managing the forum, it'd be good to explore some ideas. That can be done in open forum, or more 'quietly' via messaging.

It was Ollie that I spoke to. I'll give him a call tomorrow.

I spoke with the owners a few years ago, but no numbers were mentioned. I did get the impression that something would be required, despite a feeling that the whole 'looking after the forum' aspect was more of a chore than a labour of love. I think I was waiting for a further comms but nothing came of it. The time may now be right. A fresh injection of enthusiasm could be a wonderful thing.