Olaf

I use a freight forwarder, though they charge me GST.

Winger parts dept for instant gratification and supporting your local business. If shopping by price, consider FCP Euro - they may have OEM options such as Valeo or Bosch, in addition to Genuine BMW.

more f**king nanny state bullshit. if they were really serious about cleaning up the vehicle fleet, they would: introduce vehicle emissions testing at WoF time introduce emissions laws - no tampering with emissions systems for road-legal vehicles introduce stiff penalties for non-compliance. introduce carless days under certain conditions (eg high polution readings). It's as simple as based on the last character of your number plate. It doesn't have to be a heavy drain on workshops to buy equipment - the govt could establish drive-in testing stations, independent, job done. I've seen this in operation in one of the world's most densely-populated and poluted cities, and since it's introduction, polution has fallen significantly. Meanwhile, shuffling the deckchairs here in Godzone makes for good PR for green voters.

is it the same kind of setup as e60 M5?

can't fault your logic. in my case. the VTNZ was just down the lane from the dealer.

article's a bit too OTT serious. liked the music video very much. have to agree, the advert's lame. really lame. given they're advertising a new car and it's less than 5% of the footage, they're working hard to establish a tenuous connection to the legend of the gusheshe (cool name btw). Interesting.

I shot this south of BNE in Jan 2020.

indeed, my e46 was VTNZ Inspected on arrival, for compliance. and given a WoF. When I bought it (from an Auckland-based dealer, on an advert from TradeMe), it went for a new WoF before they handed it over... and failed on the brake hoses as the rubber was cracked. WTF?! So they got the brake hoses sorted, number plates attached, WoF re-test, and handed it over to me . Not to mention the $1000 of remedial servicing I was hit with on getting it to Wellington. wow. Lessons learned. EDIT: the brake hoses were not picked up in the PPI that I paid for!

@Eagle - good tip, I never thought of doing CPS O-rings. @adro I bought a length of high pressure FI Fuel Hose, pre-cut and fitted short connector lengths, and used new stainless jubilee clips first time I replaced my e46 fuel filter. Managed to get the inlet and return hoses mixed up, won the no-start prize. Trap for new players.

Aftermarket warranty isn't used for sorting pre-existing issues - many car dealers try this BS. They don't sort oil leaks etc, and when an importer says "fresh service" it usually means "we gave it a quick oil change, and we might even have done the oil filter too". You'd be lucky if they've done anything scheduled like air filter, cabin filter, drive belts, plugs... they're out for the bare outlay as their money is tied up in stock, they need the fastest turnover to make money on that expecsive lot space. Any expectation they're going to try and do it right, is a hope only. One of the few dealers I've seen that operates as we'd hope, is Wholesale Cars Direct in Wellington. Always very high quality stock. No brake rotor skims - new quality rotors and pads... quality new tyres rather than the hitch-potch of JDMs that usually come from Japan. Their prices are at the higher end, though it appears there's value there. I've never met anyone who's bought from WCD and regretted their purchase.

HPR5 is the right stuff for M54 IME. How's the oil filter housing gasket and valve cover gasket/seals? they're the prime culprits for oil leaks, followed by VANOS oil line, Power Steering Reservoir and hose, and sump gasket. It's a grand looking car, mate.

yep. I lived and drove in That London for 3 years. Never saw grit unless I was heading to Manchester, or Leeds, and only then in the depths of winter Dec-Feb. Used to do North London A406-A40-M40-M25-M4 to Reading every morning, back via (A404? Marlowe etc) back down M40/A40/A406... never saw grit. I reckon a Southern (softie) car would be generally okay; take each on it's merits. Of course e24 with it's super-efficient rust traps is the exception.

@Herbmiester is Draggy a phone app that gives you performance figures? Could putting this on my phone be like +10hp for my mighty M40B16?

There's a reason these cars end up at pokey little car yards. I reckon your wife will be over Audi very shortly. Words are useless; just get her a few test drives of what *she'd* like.

Simple. If the cheaper one hasn't had the work put in - ie a ton of deferred maintenance, you're easily up for $1,800 in parts. The 81,000km one will need a lot of those parts in the next 20k kms, but is lower mileage with FSH (which you've continued of course) so is easier to sell in 2 years and might be worth $500-$1000 more than the cheaper one will be in two years. If in doubt, get a quality PPI from a BMW Independent or Dealership. Not AA, not VTNZ, not Car Inspection Services.

great perseverance, it's looking good. I'm sure you're at the point where the results are overshadowing any frustrations you may have encountered!

1. Kyu, why the dread of AGM? Yes, with coding, you can run other types. But why, AGM saves weight. And those clever engineers specc'd them. 2. Why not replace the IBS? It's a common fault. There's even a recall abroad that isnt fully covered here.

As @Haggisman said: you snooze, you lose. Make it so!

Driving south from Christchurch down the coast to Dunedin wasn't particularly exciting, you can reward yourself with the Steampunk Museum in Oamaru, and Moeraki if you choose that route. I enjoyed the drive across from Dunedin to Invercargill in Spring, for the scenery. Though I should have taken the twisty coastal option. You might as well take a look at Bluff while you're down there (extraordinarily desolate), and enjoy Bill Richardson's Transport World in Invercargill... and of course a look at https://www.ehayes.co.nz @Autoglym will tell you about other attractions. The Crown Range is worth a drive. As Paul mentions, Tekapo/Lake Pukaki is superb. Can't help you out on the west coast, haven't been there yet! PS - take 14 days. it's stunning. Be warned, though... half of New Zealand will probably be down there! PPS - TAKAKA is brilliant, if you make it up there and the Golden Bay region you must enjoy a meal and the ales at The Mussell Inn.

Or: take it to Auto 38 in Newtown.

weed-whacker line. gently does it.

Welcome! Why 500hp? Is it for the bragging rights, or are you addressing a usability issue? You're currently rocking what, 315hp, and a nicely-balanced turbo six in a very elegant chassis? You may need some bigger brakes and brake cooling, possibly suspension mods to help keep it in a straight line when you acheive an additional 185hp. Have you considered an M5 or M6 instead? Even starting with a 650i Gran Coupe you're starting at 442hp, much closer to your goal of 500hp, and probably spend less than the engineering to increase your 640i's output by ~66%. You'll probably need certing for the 640i as well. Hope that helps

at a guess, check sunroof drains, tail light gaskets, boot and window seals... then test to see if its your side vents. I'd not be sealing them, they're engineered that way for a reason... could be door vapour barriers if car facing uphill in rain.... plenty of possibilities

I wouldn't say "it'll cure all your ills", but I am free of all the odd niggles that used to bug me from time to time since replacing batty. I don't use AA Battery Service anymore, waste of oxygen (AA member for decades). Mine idles smooth as butter and rock-solid at just 500rpm (at operating temp), but V8. Changing the engine and trans mounts was a very worthwhile maintenance job, made the whole experience so much smoother. My e46 and e30 have also been much better for new mounts. The e60 V8 (not sure if theyre different for 6 cyl) are large fluid-filled jobs.

I got a decent AGM High Capacity batty for around $400 (from memory?), Koba SA59520 95AH (20HR), 850A (EN), 180MIN (RC) recommended as excellent VFM. Mine's been in since Oct 2019 and only ~5000kms (because Covid), and there's be ZERO issues in that time.