Olaf

I'm sure the fleas of a thousand camels will take up permanent residence around the sellers scrotum, given time. What was that line in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Vogon Captain Jeltz on consigning Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect to the airlock, to die in the vacuum of space: "somehow, death's too good for them"

+1, yes it's the odd exception where I've not munged out the rego. I also like the posting of trip photos in the trip room, at least only logged-in members get access. Thankfully there are some checks and balances, 10 points for NZTA having some business rules/processes in place, and for NZP following up. Seems odd that one can actually change ownership without notifications from both parties (the notification of purchase, and the notification of disposal).

I ordered a new set of coils, preventative maintenance and all. and a couple of other little bits. Perhaps I'll get these in before 27 May.

Is that a little south of National Park on the way to Raetihi, Lee? Car's looking good. I see you've cultivated a styling tache and taken to wearing exotic hats. ?

eventually they get to where they entertain each other, or argue about who has the chore of passing Dad spanners/rags/oil filters and learning about torque wrenches (whether they like it or not). Good luck for the birth!

health and safety costs all bundled in, one would guess.

I can't un-see that. Good on him for a novel approach to sales.

Yes!

10 >rant on: 20 this savage southerly sh*tstorm slamming wellington this evening can F*#k right off! 30 repeat 20; 40 /rant 50 end

you can get boot struts re-gassed here in niu zild. it'll all get better mate. as you fit those new bits, lavish it with some lurrrrv.

keen pricing, and wow a quick sale. nice work!

Good point. I *think* mine's okay - page euro checked it out at my request recently and said they're okay - I'd love someone who's driven both to try mine.

I think we'll agree to disagree there. E46: "Auto sedan, well looked after. I've had it for over 2 years, and replaced: -Radiator, -Thermostat -New shocks all round -Front lower control arms -Oil filter housing gasket -AC leak fixed and regassed -Transmission fluid and filter replaced. Basically everything that needs replacing in a 200,000km+ E46" Summary: has had plenty of reasonable maintenance, by account. e30: "The guy selling it seems genuine, however he has mentioned there is a whine coming from the gearbox at 80km and above. The driveshaft has been re-balanced. Possible diff whine?? "My first and definitely not last bmw that i will own, i love this car but i need to redirect my money and efforts into building a house right now...! Brand neew battery, new oil and filter, new gearbox oil, Rebuilt and rebalanced driveshaft cost $500, new odometer gears, fresh WOF and 6months rego, New fog lights and bulbs. Open to offers...im not out to rip anyonw off, i just dont want to loose to much on the sale." Summary: likely drivetrain thrashage, evidenced by a rebuilt driveshaft (?!!) and the diff's whining... it's had an oil change, a battery, and bulbs to get a WoF. Is any car likely to be a money pit? Yes - other than a toyota corolla. Is this e46 likely to be more of a money pit than this e30? No, clearly not. What it's going to be used for? Forgive me, I assumed reliable transport was the first order of the day!

on paper? no mate, it's had more than a decade's subsequent development experience from BMW engineers - and their partners - rolled into it. Everything they'd learned from the e21, e30, e36 is in there! They didn't make a worse car. They made one with more grip. More comfort. Better brakes. Better steering. It's heavier, not because they couldn't be arsed making it lighter, but because they needed to make it stronger - and at the price-point couldn't afford to put in more alloy than they already had. They gave it more horsepower, and 24 valves, and more torque, and all the advancements of fuel injection and emmissions and transmission and traction control. Most significantly: although you can't throw the e46 around like an old crisp packet, you arrive in Turangi feeling better for crossing the desert road in an e46 because it's more precise, and because you're worrying less about the previous owner's bodges, and are further away from exceeding the performance envelope of the vehicle. You know that if that eejit coming the other way gets it wrong and you have a 'coming together' you'll be better off in the e46 when the laws of physics have argued it out, than in the e30. The e46 fails on the basics of the Lotus approach (add lightness), and some of the "fun" of the e30 has been engineered out in favour of betterment. There are still some very good examples out there, but their price is climbing well into vaunted classic territory. By all means, buy an e30 emotionally; but accept that the scene tax has inflated their value and appeal somewhat beyond their current capability.

oh, I get it. I've owned an e30, I've driven many. I understand them and get what they are. However in terms of making a rational purchase of a sub-$3k car where the downside is potentially double the purchase price, we're not talking about someone with a $10k project budget where the start is $2500 and there's plenty for whatever shows up. I get the sense that $2500 is where it's at... so buy the best car you can. A 6 cyl e46 is a much better car than a 4cyl e30 with both cars at $3k. By all means, take the hair-shirt approach, if fashion's more important.

it'll be great to see progress resume in the ute, Francois.

nice work Jim. It was a great idea ridding the world of lead. Unfortunately the legacy of dry joints from these lead-free wave soldering manufacturing techniques leaves us with a lot of kit going on the e-waste heap, or worse. We'd never have gotten away with joints like those on distribution frames, eh?

there ya go. with the blessing of Don Kulgan, it all came together! Looking forward to reading up on your new project.

I forgot to mention - a $3k 6 cylinder 325/328/330 (that seller must be insane™*** ) e46 is massively better value than any e30 at the same price or less. *** @Young Thrash Driver will get the reference

For a shade under $3k you can buy that e46 328i that's on sale in this parish, avoid e30 scene tax and get a better, safer car. No, it's not an e30. But it is better braked, better handling, torsionally more rigid, quieter. And there's a whole lot less risk. than buying a 30 year old car of unknown provenance. just a thought. PS - it's not missing two cylinders, is more powerful, more efficient, and has lower emissions.

Welcome, Graham. Looks like fun! Indeed, your colour is STAHLGRAU METALLIC (400) Plenty of e46 experience around these parts, do sing out if you're wondering or need help. If you want your option details, take the last seven digits of your VIN and go to bmwvin.com cheers

so it's missing a couple of cylinders, then...

hmmm. on... CONCRETE piles? or.... TANALISED piles? or.... original TOTARA piles? more seriously though, you're right not to let that picture overly influence your decision. You can find those palms for a few hundred at any competent nursery. Looks like a great garage. You should buy it, land looks flat enough to park a caravan or couple of shipping containers adjacent.

Looking cool. Issues with paint adhering to the Sikaflex?

throwing stars - hell yeah! Hmmmm, as luck would have it, there's a staggered set for sale in the for sale room! Booyah!