Olaf

yes indeedy, totally cool.

I shop carefully. I don't beleive in 'lucking out' on customs, my packages are costed to come in under the limits.

www.whatsmyduty.org.nz is my bible.

I think the notion of 'sheer volume' is incorrect, most of the shippers are now ensuring the Schedule B classifcation codes for each item shipped, description, and cost, are on the waybill. this info is provided electronically to NZ customs while the shipment is in transit. if one is over the limits, one is charged.

Hope that helps.

Cool, how long did deliveries usually take with MyUS?

DHL and FedEx Priority: if I hit 'send' on my Inbox first thing Saturday morning NZ Time, FedEx will usualy reach my address Monday morning. It's a four day service - that's just how it works with the international datelines and flight schedules. DHL can be a mixed bag as they hand off to Courier Post.

FedEx Economy: usually same dispatch arrives by Friday, as a 7-10 day service. The $$ saving is usually insignificant.

Four brake rotors run around $160-$180 USD depending on size, with 'premium' discount (20%). Try googling "myus.com visa promotion" to get no setup fee, two years free premium membership (20% freight discount + 30 days free parcel storage), 25% off in your first month.

HTH

phew, for a mo there I thought it might have been an ambulance!

I've used MyUS for things like brake rotors, suspension parts; not panel parts.

I think the side skirts work well, but can totally leave that rear spoiler. totally contra to the balance of the design.

Still, overall he's mastered it. "Less is more".

no, though Ive used www.myus.com for more than a year - I rate them.

Oh yeah, "Durex Fiesta Green".

Loving it - "Hard to get one like this" - meaning nobody wanted an LHD 850 in the first place, so you'll not find many on offer in godzone.

"investment". hmmm, more accurately it's "expenditure"! Hasn't made it to 'Sales 201' in the Dealer's correspondence course yet.

yeah it was interesting in that it was all ad-speak, and completely devoid of any info on the state of the vehicle! nice copy though, sell hard.

at least this ad will give you a laff: http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/toyota/auction-784189558.htm

and its 4x4 with lpg!

I merely googled "bilstein Z056A00" and found: https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=bilstein+Z056A00&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb&gfe_rd=cr&ei=kksyVLOwBOjC8geonYHwAg

seems to indicate it's a pro-kit(?) for 6 cyl e36.

HTH

Guys, Plast-x is a polish/compund, not a coating. You're going to have to get some elbow-grease going to get some fine finishing going on.

I used my Mothers Headlight Kit on Saturday, found the same thick coating which I disturbed in some places.

Overall I found that despite the polishing (on the end of my dewalt batty drill) and subsequent wet sanding and final (heavy) polishing, my lenses appear to be wearing 12 years of use with the factory xenons on the inside as well. That is, there is very fine cracking in the acrylic due to heat cycling etc. It's not going to come out from any sanding! I got a slightly better finish (more even) than I started out with, after sealing. Water beads off the lens more easily, no noticable vision difference at night. I guess they weren't so bad to start with. YMMV.

Photos later.

In essence, it seems that most headlight restorer kits use foam-backed wet-and-dry paper or varying grades (used with water to lube), and a plastic polish. Some include a UV sealer.

I bought a kit a while ago - Mothers powerball - based on a bargain price (I normally go with Meguiars product). I've also bought a UV sealer.

About to give this a go soon, will post pics.

EDIT: FYI the restore kit recommends using the polish/powerball first. then if pitting remains evident, use the wet-and-dry. 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 grits respectively. I guess those of you already in possession of some plastic polish and wet and dry in the above grades, could just get on with it. Oh, that's me - I already had plast-x in the basement!

well, it looks as though it went smoothly! well done.

if it's horses, get thee a truck license and buy a four wheel horse float Mind you, if they're living at your lifestyle block you can borrow a trailer when you need to.

tough choice between the commode wagon and the e39 Touring.... 528 or 530.... I guess the diesels are rare as rockinghorse sh*t here, shame.

Nice quandry to be in, though!

Whoever suggested a mercedes ML, I missed the requirement "must be (exceptionally )troublesome and representative of the manufacturer's lesser-regarded output" I'll get me coat!

If you're just driving on unsealed roads (rather than off-road) and your towing needs don't include muddy paddocks, the commodore wagon is all you need and will return surprisingly good fuel economy on trips. It handles better on-road and on unsealed roads than most of the SUVs/4WDs, is cheaper and simpler to service (made by Australians for Australians), and engineered for harsh conditions like thousands of kilometers of unsealed roads without speedlimits, or even taxi use in Sydney/police duty in Auckland or Brisbane..

If you must have 4x4 get a proper one, life starts at Suzuki for lightweight (Vitara or Jimmy), the Toyota (Surf/HiLux/Prado/Cruiser), or Nissan (Navara/Terrano/Pathfinder/Patrol), Mitsubishi (Pajero/Challenger). 'Good' is of course a relative thing, Land Rover product devalues quickly because they break and are heinously expensive to fix.

You can add LPG to the commodore if you really want, though with round-town at 10 or 11l/100kms, and trips returning 8l/100km, do you really need to be figuring out conversion payback figures? None of the soft-roaders are engineered to be truly durable (eg 350,000kms plus service life) like your e46 diesel, so anything less than a commodore or 'proper' 4x4 is likely to dissappoint.

What are you likely to be towing, BTW?

cheers

nice score. love those wheels on e34 tourings. hang on to this one #8 )

There is definitely a cool factor about discreet fast wagons.

preaching to the choir on this thread, mate. still, as funny (eg attracting derision) as Volvo's may seem, I still rate the 850-T5 as one of the ultimate sleepers in terms of discreet fast wagons. Yes I'm biased, I own one.

this M3 touring and subject of this thread is of course on a whole 'nother level

petrol with an LPG conversion - which is still petrol - and in most cases still runs on petrol as well, should run same taxation.

Land Cruiser or Prado and be done with it. Petrol versions cheaper, ripe for LPG conversion. Get a Rockgas card, discounted LPG. Bone up on where LPG is sold in your area, though.

Perhaps a Commodore Wagon? You probably don't a four wheel drive, just something that manages country roads and can tow.

That looks right at home. I took an e46 325i wagon for a testdrive the other day and i felt i was all over the show in the normal seats. This is so necessary!!

just put on some weight. more girth and mass will hold you in the standard seats. works for me!

I recently picked up a couple of Jonnesway 3/8" ratchets from BNT recently, a stubby (moulded grip), and a polished standard 72 tooth. I'm very impressed, nice feel, little enough play so that I don't feel I've bought cheap shite when using them.

I fixed that up for ya

Im not here to fuss on issues as i already have enough on my plate to deal with. All i simply asked for was if anyone had spare wheels and tail lights to encourage me to continue in my efforts to ignore public safety and flout the law while looking cool in shop windows. Never mind tho, I appreciate you guys trying to talk sense to me. Thanks for all the help, I should've gone JDM.

I'm guessing those BMW suspension engineers in Munich are kicking themselves for not having gotten 'stretched Falkens' TUV approved.

I've enjoyed reading my way through your thread. good to see one of these getting some thorough remedial maintenence work done to get it back to near new.

my $0.02 for free:

- the CSi front

- the black looks great, stay with it

- if you can't stay with the rims you already have, these Alpinas (IMHO) are the only other wheels that look any good on these cars, though the ACS are acceptable

But any lowering springs isn't the low im looking for I'm after 100mm

you can get that with any japanese car with an angle grinder. it's still stoopid. no need to compromise the safety ride and handling of your BMW (or any car for that matter), get some springs made for your application.

cutting springs is one way to enter the darwin awards; sadly you might take non-entrants with you. best avoided.

my mate and fellow spanner weilder has plenty of Bahco, I think the sockets, extensions, and ratchets are very good. the matte-finish is nicely non-slip and easy to handle, and they're handling a bit of rattle-gun and air-ratchet abuse as well. spanners a bit bendy compared with my Aigos, but effective nonetheless.