Matth5

I've read good things about Leatherique products. They see re-dye kits.

Look it up on carjam, plate BPW174 Someone updated the photo on there, hilarious.

Towing companies seem to be scumbags. Towed one of my previous flatmates cars and damaged the underside somehow, something hit the underside and damaged the sump. Also car was an FWD auto, shouldn't they be making sure it's the front that is raised? They had it 'repaired' but on the way back home it broke down again with engine and trans warning lights flashing, and towing company just refused to take any responsibility. Clamping and towing just seems too frequent and open to abuse. Private companies shouldn't have this kind of power IMO.

Nah not my taste. Now I'm thinking maybe the M Sport tax is too high. Think I'll go for a nice sport package (not M Sport) E92 and then get some body kit bits later like a splitter and side skirts. Only the rear M Sport bumper hasn't got a cheap decent looking alternative Some good non M Sport ones priced between 20k-25k. As for leather colour, guess I can use dye like leatherique if I get the motivation or swap interiors with someone if I'm lucky. Got some good ones on my Trademe watch list. most will probably be gone by the time I can afford this but hey, at least I can take my time instead of settling.

Here's an alternative: http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

Ah Trademe has something for you! http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/skoda/auction-715522731.htm

Ah, nice one!

Tim, can't see that link. Just leads to their homepage. Ok from some more research I have found * E92 coupes come standard with sports suspension although this may vary depending on the year. * Sports package is not the same as M Sport package, at least for E92s. They can have sports seats and steering wheel without the M Sport aerodynamics (body) kit. * Spoiler is a separate addon. The Lip in the ones I've linked above, might just be aftermarket thing? If I get a good deal on a coupe with sports kit but no bodykit, how much to get one and have it fitted? Even if it's not genuine, as long as it's good. So I think this is my ideal car: E92 coupe 335i (or 330) Black (or grey) Red leather M Sport including bodykit This one I linked earlier seems to be ideal: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=801701399 Would change the wheels and I think it's overpriced though. A lot of 335i coupes are much cheaper but just don't have the right colours... My 'ideal car' might change as time passes. Could still be swayed for a sedan but the looks of the coupe are more attractive to me at then moment. Just love those curves. Anyway I better not get carried away, can't buy one just yet and I still have my old 328i

This BS is the same reason when you search for eg, a 330i, you keep getting loads 320 and 323s in the search results. So annoying.

Stopped by at Team McMillan but there were only a handful of people there. Got to see this one in person: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=760801353 The sales guy told me about a black MSport one that they're negotiating to get, showed me pics, looked pretty good. Sounds like they only do a 1 or two year warranty on their used cars though, can't remember what they said exactly but I'm not too confident buying a 30k car without a decently long warranty. Felt like the manager just wanted to brush me off though, I dunno, just didn't feel too welcome three. Guess a 30k sale isn't worth much to them. Took down my number and said they'd contact me if they got anything. Think I'll look elsewhere, some other dealers seem to do longer warranties but I'm not sure about the quality of service I'd get. You know, "Wastegate rattle? Nah sounds fine to me" kind of service. Also manager said they don't do them in manual, the only manuals are imports. That's kinda lame.

335s are pushing the budget unless I go for one near the 100 000km mark. Feel like those are the ones being flogged off before all the expensive maintenance and repairs are needed, if I get a car that needs a lot of work I need to have room in the budget. Yea when I was having a ride in the 325i he was thrashing it and it felt like it had the same performance as my old 328i. Which isn't bad at all, but seeing as a 330i isn't really an more expensive I may as well go for that at the very least. Choice of M Sport 330i on Trademe is very limited atm. Some good 335 and 325s on there. My two favourites at the moment are this 335i coupe: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=801701399 Too expensive for the mileage though in my opinion. Then this 335i sedan: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=801701399 Which actually, seems pretty sweet. Wonder about warranty though. Sadly it will be sold by the time I can buy it but that represents what I want pretty much perfectly. Baffles me as to why there are heaps of non-M Sport 335i's out there though. Why buy such a car when you don't want a sports car...

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-837882383.htm 2006 M6 for under $30k, that's one cheap V10. Over 250 000km, the potential issues are frightening. Wonder what sort of condition she's in underneath... Just quite shocking to see one I could almost buy, but then I'd have one hell of a hard time keeping it running I'm sure.

Haha I still have some love for the E46. But it's going to be more expensive than my current car to maintain because they're old, and it's still a high end sports car with pricey parts. I also love the E90 interior now, it's so much more comfy in the seats and the overall quality is better. I want something newer that I can get with a warranty, so when something breaks like the waterpump or starter motor I don't have to pay for it all. My co worker has an E90 330i he bought 5 years ago at 60 000km and it's now at 120 000km. Nothing has broken. He's just done oil changes, brakes and tyres. Meanwhile my E46 328i has a spreadsheet to track what I've done in 18 months and 12 000km to bring it back up to good condition and fix the random issues that have come up. I love my car and all but I want a real upgrade when I spend $20-30k, not just a faster version of the same thing.

For a while I've been trying to decide between an E90/92 or going for an E46 M3. After being in some friend's E90s the technology and comfort has won me over. The seats with the adjustable side bolsters are amazing! E46 seats can't hold me in place, I'm not fat enough for them. Depending on cost/mileage/warranty, I'll get a 325i, 330i or 335i. Leaning towards 330i the most at the moment because 325i isn't really a performance improvement and the turbos on the 335i scare me a little (reliability/cost wise). My questions. * I don't know if I want auto or manual this time. My E46 is a manual. I need to know - is the E90 manual shifter a significant improvement over the E46? The stock E46 shifter doesn't really let you shift quickly due to long throw and the feel it gives). How responsive and reliable is the E90 auto? * Warranty. Do you need to buy from a BMW dealer to get a decent warranty? How do you reduce risk if buying privately or a non-BMW dealer? This time I want a warranty because unexpected expenses are just not cool! Also how comprehensive are the warranties? * If I buy a standard one. About how much does the following cost: - Fitting M Sport bodykit - Converting to M Sport Suspension Looking roughly in the 20k-30k range at the moment, final budget is undecided. Not after any specific deals yet, will be buying later this year i think. Not ready just yet, got some other aspects of my life to sort first. General experience/comments welcome

Look on Trademe for the Redline stuff, couple of sellers. Seems to have the best reputation. Used it in my own car.

Yea, just disappointed because I was hoping it was just a belt tensioner or something cheap. Car has been good for a while so can't cry about it I guess When I took my car to the workshop the owner excitedly showed me his very tidy E36 328i that he converted to manual so that gave me confidence in his BMW knowledge, even has the same style wheels as mine. Handy that this workshop is so close to my place as well. Makes pick-up and drop-off convenient.

Issue turned out to be a faulty starter motor. Scraping against the flywheel. Bill will be about $900 all up to replace the starter motor. Forgot to ask if that includes GST (I know mechanics like to make customers work out GST...). Oh man, this is why I dread taking my car in

Maybe I'll ask the workshop when I call them, they'd have a local contact for that I imagine.

Yea it does sound worse in the video because somehow the engine sound gets filtered out. Still makes me cringe though. Mechanic I'm thinking of is only 1.6km down the road, doesn't need to go on the motorway. So minimal risk considering its already traveled a bit on the motorway with that noise. Would have preferred BMWorkshop since they're a BMW specialist but not worth the risk driving that far. Newdane Motors is the place I'll try, they seem to have good reviews.

Can't easily get it fixed if I don't drive it. Maybe I'll try one of the places nearby in Ellerslie because then it's a very short trip. I just don't know if they're any good and might take longer if they don't stock BMW parts.

Lacking the tools to get the mechanical fan out of the way and not terribly confident with this. I do oil changes and I've done some simpler fixes.

Thanks Brent. Think I'll take it to a mechanic rather than DIY it. Looks like it's 99% likely a pulley so no big panic. Do these things tend to fail suddenly and throw the belt off or am I safe driving it to a workshop? BM Workshop Grey Lynn looks like the most convenient one since moving to my new place, can take the train to work after dropping my car off.

AC was off in the video so don't think its that? The fact that it started off sounding like a squeaky belt and changed to that made me hope it was just a belt pulley. Exhaust leak crossed my mind too, would have to be coming from right by the engine.

Car Folie posted it to their Facebook page, your car is getting famous. Not a huge fan of the blacked out style but do envy your car (I like just a tiny bit of chrome). Really wish I had the savings to buy the manual one HellBM is selling. How do you find the different in service costs compared to the standard E46's? And how is SMG compared to a normal auto? When I can get the savings together I want one, in black too - just love that colour on BMWs.

My car starting to making what seemed like squeely belt noises lately when cold. Belts are less than a year old and still look good (Contitech brand). Noise would change when revving. This morning when I drove it for work it sounded perfectly fine. But when I started it up to head home it's been making this crackling/sizzling noise that doesn't seem to change with revs. Suspect it's a pulley failing? Or exhaust leak? Sound seems to be located about where the drive belt is but its hard to tell for sure. Made a video Note the phone video recorder actually filters out the sound of the engine running for some reason. But it's useful as you hear the bad sound clearly. Maybe it's because the crackling is loud and the phone reduces overall volume. In reality you can hear the engine running. Drives fine, you don't notice anything if you drive it with the windows closed. Now I've just moved to Ellerslie, and I work in the city, which is a convenient (and good) place to book it in at?