gjm

1989 325 NZ new coupe - $10k https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/4403812754

There will be N46s with big mileages on them. Bloke I used to work with bought a E90 320i new, still has it, and aside from regular servicing, has never had an issue. That said, the N46 is certainly not one of BMWs better engines. (Understatement.) To the OP - quit with the 'fanboy' trolling. It really doesn't help. And if you want a BMW specialist in Hamilton (other than SD) try Greg Hantz. I've always found him to be very helpful and knowledgeable.

Why do such a huge proportion of cars have black interiors? Hoping to be starting a new job soon. It's going to mean a long-ish 200km round-trip commute , so something economical, comfortable, and perhaps a little interesting is being researched. (The 500SE fits 2 out of 3, but really is not suitable!) I'm balancing service costs and RUCs for diesels against likely better economy. But almost everything I have seen which looks vaguely interesting has a black, anthracite, dark grey or similar interior. I don't want white, but something a little less dark would be nice! (Disappointed that I missed a Mercedes CLK320 CDi with tan leather,,,)

Monaco, 1979. Clay Regazzoni leading Niki Lauda.

That was my experience with the one I had in the UK. Nice car, certainly, but somehow not as engaging to drive, and the expectation of useful boot space was only that - an expectation. You could get a bit more in it than the boot of a coupe or 4-door, but not as much as you'd expect. Now, if BMW had done a 2-door wagon version, like the 2002, that might have been better! (Even with no more space inside. )

I used to buy through a parts wholesaler in Germany. Because they shipped so much stuff all over the world - they'd have a BIG truck collecting at least once a day, so equivalent of a 40' container of parcels every day - they got a great rate from the couriers. Then the couriers decided they didn't need to offer the special rate and shipping more than quadrupled overnight. That was before Covid. It meant the wholesaler had to re-plan their business model, and they started focusing on 'local' (Europe) sales which worked within the EU. (So the UK got left out. Not that it was an issue for us in NZ.) Feedback is that they actually dropped that courier completely,

Whichever of them is Delphin Grau. Obviously.

Do. Not. Get. Me Started. (Sur)real Estate Agents have surpassed the [can't write the word I want to here ] that lawyers are supposedly known for. There seems to be a preponderance of ill-educated, slimy, self-entitled tossers around masquerading as people pretending to sell houses and property. PBN, POA, tender... All are pathetic excuses for not doing the job they are paid far to well for. Try offering any amount for a house and you're always told "the vendor has indicated that they'll not accept less than $ludicrous..." SO WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT THAT ON THE LISTING AND SAVE ME THE BOTHER OF HAVING TO TALK TO YOU?!?!?!?!? There are some good ones around but the days where an agen represented a vendor and worked to find a buyer, or would take a buyer's requirements and find a house, are loooong gone. It's a self-regulated industry. And when you do finally get a house that a sensible offer is accepted on, the agent wants you - the buyer - to pay a hefty sum into a 'holding account' while contracts are sorted, titles are issued - whatever. I have never seen this done anywhere else. Who gets the interest off that money? Certainly not the seller, or the buyer.

Apologies for the lack of model specificity... Does anyone know if the BMW-appropriate OBD2 to USB diagnostic lead is the same as a Lexus one?

Listed the Baur at $12k, no reserve. Not one single nibble. Lots of watching - no bids, no questions. OK - it's not a manual, and it is less usual. But it is in excellent condition, rust-free, straight six, and pretty much every option that was available. Fingers crossed I get work soon, in which case we'll keep it.

Hmm. About 150000km on a W126 S-class Mercedes. Rides like a magic carpet - smooth as silk .

That's a lot of engine. I'm a few $ short but I'd talk to Atlas. They do a kit to convert diesels to run on 90% hydrogen.

Pulled the cluster out of the E30, removed the odo head, removed one gear, removed two gears in tiny little bits, remove d what was left of the drive gear. This leaves a knurled bush on the driveshaft which has to be removed. It should slide off. If not, squeeze it with a pair of needle nose pliers, rotate 90 degrees, repeat, and it should slide off. Not if some F&^%^* %&^*&* has superglued the bl**dy thing to the shaft, it won't...

Salzburgring, ETCC, 1977.

ETCC, Zolder, 1978.

Wow.

WoF'd the E30.

Only issue might be finding an iS in decent condition, in NZ ?

I prefer it on the Style 5s, which the seller advises it will come on.

OK - more E30. We'd 'received' a stone through the driver side (off side) main beam glass. Couldn't find one anywhere so fitted a near side lens rotated through 90 degrees. Pattern is wrong (but actually worked really well on the road!) and actually passed several WoFs. For this WoF - changed the light unit. (Having finally found one that suits. Only 300 different fittings, wirings, etc to work through. (Very slight exaggeration ). The nearside headlight unit then threw an issue that needed to be sorted. The vacuum adjuster had finally decided to call it a day (not at all uncommon, and not rebuildable). Sorted that. Then the offside headlight unit (never, ever touched this!) showed a beam pattern rotated through about 10 degrees, and there's not enough adjustment to correct it. So let's pull that apart and sort it, too. Three front light units. All showing issues, but only one which I'd actually ever touched! In three days!

Tried - tried - to replace the odo gears in the Baur. Checked, double-checked, checked again. yes - it's a VDO unit. KM/H. Which is great until you get everything apart and find someone has Frankenstein'd it and fitted a Motometer head to a VDO board, in a VDO cluster. I've got 3 sets of VDO gears, MPH and KM/H. And no Motometer gears. Fortunately a Very Nice Man is going to send me both sets - A & B - for the Motometer and I'll return the ones I don't need. Moving on... Let's sort the driver side door lock. Got a new kit from Schmiedmann (fast delivery). I've done these before - it's a fiddle and needs care, but take your time, and it's fine. However... the kit doesn't include the one particular part that it turns out we need - there's a broken bit. So the door is in pieces and I don't have the part I need to put it back together properly. E30 life. LOL.