gjm

Disappointing to hear about the Eonon. Forgot to update! Got it all out, moved one connector from what looked like the correct position to what is the correct position, and all works well. Instructions are no help with that - it does look self-explanatory but as is so often the way, there were two ways to do one connection and I got the wrong one. Only issue we've noticed is that the mic gain on the handsfree is a bit low. Not sure if relocating the mic will help with that but we'll give that a go. Other than that, works as it should. Playing music from phone and a call comes in? Music playback either mutes or pauses and the call can be connected. There's a remote control which is about as pointless as a spare fuel tank in a canoe which could be used but is unlikely to ever get out of the glovebox. Miss M is happy.

People who claim to have 'good' cars but who evidently cannot be bothered to do the most basic of research, like actually looking at the advert. Guy selling Style 23s. One of the pics shows '7 1/2J x 17' stamped on the rim - first question asked is "Size and width?" I stopped reading (I don't want a set of 23s) but I suspect the next question would have been "Offset?" assuming the time-wasting question-setter actually knows about things like that. Of course, the answer is et41. All genuine Style 23s are et41... As the simplest bit of investigation would reveal. Selling stuff these days is more like a war of attrition than a chance to recoup some funds.

I saw a pair of door cards for a coupe being advertised for $250. Just the cards - no trims or similar.

Some readers will know I have a closer relationship with E30 sales and prices than most people do. And no - I'm not a dealer/flipper/valuer! E30s are tricky to price. There are many variables to consider. Many people look at 4 vs 6 cylinders, coupe vs 4-door, cloth vs leather interior, manual vs automatic (and whether it is a factory manual) and use that to come up with their personal) valuation. The truth is that little of that is especially relevant in the current market - condition is ***everything***. The best-specced late-model 325 manual is virtually worthless if it's running in a rusty shell. 4 cylinder cars are often overlooked in favour of 6-pots, when the reality is that they are typically better balanced and nicer to drive. Less power (in most cases) but also far easier to work on because of more space in the engine bay. That makes them, imo, a good buy in the current market. There are a few E30s worth more than $6k. And a few worth more than $10k. But it is a few. Most - the majority - simply are not. Most have significant shortcomings in one area or another which will require love, attention, and significant time and $$$ to correct or even just bring up to scratch. There is a world of difference between a 'good' WoF'd and rego'd E30, and an excellent one. (I'm leaving dead rego cars out of it for now.) Bear in mind also that what a car - any car - is actually worth, and what it sells for, can be very different things.

That's a bitter little pill!

Hopefully it's not like doing the sump gasket on an E30 M20 - that's an hours long job. Can certainly be done at home, but an extra pair of hands might be useful at times. http://welshman187.blogspot.com/2013/07/e46-n42-sump-gasket-replacement-diy.html

Experience: a comb life gives you just after you lose your hair.

Get a 2000/2001 E46 318i (M43 engine). There are some very good, low mileage ones around that have been used, just not too extensively. Economical, simple, reliable (get someone to check/sort the cooling system pipes and thermostat) - look after it and it's good for 300k++. In bold - sad but true. Most people see a new-ish, low mileage car as a good buy. That's the only reason there are s many Tiidas and similar on the roads - and there's a reason they're shipping out of Japan by the ship load at just 12 months old. They're not serviced, they're not looked after. This is (imho) excellent advice. At the very least, look into it, consider it. Try one. Leafs aren't the only option, of course. And yes- there are battery replacement costs to consider, but (and Andrew can do the math) it doesn't work out to be expensive over the use and time period that'll be needed, especially when taking servicing and running costs of an ICE car into account. I'll have a 20-30km each way trip for work soon, and this really starts to make a lot of sense in that scenario.

Oh, my. I start a new job (at last!) in a couple of weeks. A couple of months too late for this, perhaps.

Grrr. Spent what seemed like forever swearing about random bits of unnecessary plastic filling the back of an E46 dash. Finally gave in and removed the HVAC unit (anyone who has done this knows it means working up from the gearstick) in order to move some plastic housing to make room for the combined blocky connector and wiring. Hands scraped, cut and gouged, but we got there. And... It doesn't work. There's the usual big blocky connector, and a smaller 10-pin one. The 10 pin one (on the new kit) has just 4 wires to it - we may have this the wrong way around. Just to make life more interesting, a previous owner (not the wonderful chap we bought it from!) has butchered, bu88erefd, fT^&Eed, mangled, trashed and generally ruined the wiring behind the head unit. FFS! Why spend so much time and effort ruining something when it'd be easier to do the job properly? It'll come apart again tomorrow. I might have broken something this evening.

Had no idea where to post this. Here will do.

It's an exercise in nostalgia, and provided there is a differentiation between the new parent and the old name, that's fine (with me). You could argue that BMW should have scrapped Bentley and re-badged the cars, but that would probably be a mistake - buyers want a Bentley, not a BMW, regardless of what is under the skin. There have been many attempts over the recent years to revive old names. Bristol, Jensen, (Riley), Austin Healey... Even MG has been resurrected. It's nice, but ooften is just a badge exercise with an XYZ car underneath. Pischetsrieder planned something a little different. BMW running gear, but a definite diversion from typical BMW styling and market focus. Of course, he left BMW 2 years later and went to VW.

Back in 1998, Bernd Pischetsrieder announced to the Association of Riley Clubs that the Riley marque was to return. As head of BMW (at the time) he instructed Nick Stephenson, Director of Rover Engineering, to start work on the new car. Pischetsrieder is a big fan of Riley and 1998 marked the centenary of the Riley name. He was at the ARC centenary dinner and spent time with Victor Riley, the grandson of founder Percy Riley, and drove the 'White Riley' and a 1934 Brooklands Nine. Sadly, that appears to have been where the revival stopped, as even Rover Group's press team were unaware of the plans. BMW own the rights to a number of historically famous and important marques, including Austin Healey. The BMW Z8, formerly known as the Z07 concept, had been mooted as being released as an Austin Healey, which (as we now know) didn't happen.

One of these is on it's way. https://www.crazysystems.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=184 (They're cheaper on TradeMe, from the same supplier.) Apparently they are pretty much plug'n'play... Which just leaves the small matter of getting to the back of the existing kit to sort!

That's fighting talk! Having driven both, there is a solidity to the 190E that the E30 lacks, but the E30 can feel more agile. (I'm talking 2.3/2.5-16v vs 'ordinary' M3. The Evo, Evo2, Cecotto, etc versions of each vehicle were refined and more focused versions.)

Listing prices are very high - these are likely to hang around for a while. The 2.5 is a truly superb car.

You're very welcome. Great to meet you - hope to see you again later in the year.

Apparently that wasn't an option! <Mutter mutter mutter mutter...>