Olaf

mine's 36kms each way. takes about 40-45 mins. Although I'm "going against the traffic", SH2 is pretty congested with plonkers sitting on 90 or 95 in the outside lane. Often congested around petone (north or southbound), and Ngauranga off-ramp (southbound). A good day would be 35 mins, though these are few and far between, and is both traffic volume and traffic-light phasing dependent. I much preffered last year, where I walked to work in 36-39 mins, and walked home (higher pace) with a variety of routes. Or caught the bus. Same home, different workplace** I'm finding the fuel bill surprising, I'm not driving on "economy run" settings, nor am I fanging it... stil go through $80 in what seems like "no time". A diesel or V8 beckons. A number of my friends are saying combine the two and get a diesel V8 landcruiser. ** reminds me of a song by Was not Was... "I was transferred to the moon. Worse pay, better hours. I was transferred to the moon. Worse pay, better fellow workers..."

The Japanese Market BMWs are not made in Japan, as is a common misconception down here. They're made for the Japanese market, in the other manufacturing plants such as Munich, Regensburg, Dingolfing, etc. depending on model. As an example, my '02 e46 Touring is Japanese market, and was made in Regensburg. It's as much an issue with deferred maintenance (or in the case of e36's - the GM transmission rather than the ZF of other markets) that earns the used Japanese market imports a bad rep... and after 15 years here, they're either neglected (continuing the Kiwi tradition of deferred neglect/no maintenance) or resolved (through remedial maintenance) by careful owners. /rant

$310 (at the mo) and look alright... http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/wheels-tyres/alloy-wheels/auction-1245282246.htm

Bernal Dads Racing at Buttonwillow by Todd Lappin, on Flickr Photo Credit to Todd Lappin, 'Telstar Logistics' on Flickr - creative commons license.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-1245811896.htm listed at $15,850. seems almost affordable. Hmmmm.... Award for crap photo, though.

not convinced by the rear deck spoiler, though I think the colour is great and it's a bit different eh!

and now waxed, and tyres blaaaaaaaaaaacked. "ready for my close-up now, Mr DeMille"

wheels done (LOVING that Autoglym wheel brush!), washed... chamoised.

hey come on Mac, we've been waiting for an update about the 750D on your other thread...

nah, he's posting on another thread about having the head off his 730...

I thought Japan had the high sulphur content, not us?

tee hee, fail! yep, rule number one of car advertising: if your grammar module is defective, get someone to proof read it for you. Well spotted, Pete. Or should I say, "Well spottered..."

Neal, sensayuma failure? I think Kyu's taking the piss out of the advert's un-ironic selling of the e36 as a superior platform, which we all know to be false. #8 )

you win - top trump there, Kyu!

well, take a well-maintained good running e36, add about $3k scene tax, some mods that you may or may not like, and you're in the ballpark for an e30! Seriously Adam, you'll help us help you by considering what you want, and explaining it to us. If you're in a rush to find an e30, there's plenty out there. On the other hand, determining your needs/wants and your criteria, will make recommending a car to you - that should suit your needs - so much easier. HTH

welcome, Adam. The place to start would normally be in the "new members intro" thread (or whatever it's called). So, to your query. The 325i you've linked to looks pretty spartan, no carpets, race seat... the seller states he's selling to build an e36 that is more road than race... inferring his e30 is more race than road. And it's listed in the Competition Cars section. WoF is long expired - and one wonders if the brakes have been certed. Looks like a cool car, not so sure it meets your idea of "fun and zippy" and "not too much track stuff". It's probably very zippy, and a bunch of fun. It is on Koni adjustables and Toyo R888s, so it should go round corners well (ref also Hampton Downs times). We need to get an idea of what fun means to you. One man's fun is another man's agony! Perhaps you could give us an idea of how much motorsport you're thinking of participating in? cheers

sound plan, Dan!

so it's just going to sit there, cocooned, until your Cortina is completed?

scrubbed the windscreen with rain-x extreme cleaner, and then rain-x'ed the screen. in preparation for the over-hyped weather bomb the media is talking (nay, screaming) up... it's just wind, we get it all the time in Wellington! and filled it up with 98.

wow, somewhat 'coals to newcastle' with an e30 going from Niu Zild to Scotland! I remember the plate too, and used to knock around in Karori. BarryN may know a bit more...

the value thing is relative. the taxi can be fixed by pretty much any garage for pocket change; the BMW can't. Perhaps that contributes to the relatively low depreciation. The canny taxi buyer recognises the two year older 5er will empty his wallet faster than a lap dancer on acid. still, you wished for a Euro; and you have one!

yeah come on Mac, what's the story?? How far did you get with this?

wow just saw this sounds kinda cool. make an outstanding wellington meet up, eh? you got any images of how this amazing rig looks, Mike?

^^ do you mean S1E10 of The Grand Tour??

^^ Top Trumps advertising!