Olaf

Been using them for 4 or 5 years now ?

Did you build the system?

Last week's maintenance update: 2002 E46 325i Touring. 192080kms. New front tyres. Same as last time, Bridgestone Potenza RE003 in 225/45R17. On special this month, buy a pair, 25% off. Under $400, result. Headlight lens treatment, @Autoglym does the business. Last time I did this I used one of those kits, masking, wet sanding with progressive grades of grit, then polishing with a drill, and some UV sealant afterwards. If you've got crusty old faded lenses, get Barry to sort them out for you quickly and efficiently. New WoF. Yes, f#%k VTNZ, no more money for them. As promised, after my last VTNZ experience, three of my vehicles have already gone to an independent. A Barry's Garage wash and vac, and under bonnet detail. Sparkly sparkle! Bloody luxury for me, I can tell you ?. e46 Touring LCI headlight detail (photo credit @Autoglym) e46 Touring LCI headlight detail (photo credit @Autoglym) e46 Touring LCI - sparkly M54B25 (photo credit @Autoglym) e46 Touring LCI with added shine. Yes, she's carrying some battle scars. 7.5 years of tree sap, stone chips from touring, supermarket carparks, freindly neighbours, and family wagon duties will do that. We've had this car 7.5 years now, and still enjoying it. Yes we've spent plenty on it, though money we spend each year keeps it in good reliable and safe operation, and we avoid a $20k-plus spend on a replacement X3 or similar. This year it's had the VANOS done along with oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket and seals, and the handbrake replaced. It's the second time for the valve cover seals and oil filter housing gasket, they were last done 7 years ago. The VANOS seals (Beisan Systems) has improved drivability and smoothness, lower-RPM responsiveness/willingness is restored. Today the e46 will be pulling duty as workhorse, lugging end of life IT kit (printer, iMac, 3 laptops) to the recycling centre, and part of our kitchen to the tip. Yesterday's fun was demoing a couple of cupboards to make room for a new fridge and freezer. It's fun to drive, and still utilitarian being a wagon; versatile transport. I've ordered a pair of wiper blades (around 12 months per set, I find) and a couple of new grilles, as the current ones have been hanging in there by the skin of their teeth for some time. I still really dig this car. e46 lyf. wagon lyf. Two for the price of one!

it's not working as you expect, Dave.

Online credit score provider, and all of my card providers are providing monthly updates. Nothing has gone wrong.

it certainly hasn't impacted mine.

that's not tax, you can buy new parts for less. That's someone chancing it.

and a couple more 'glamour shots' At The Sound Shell, Napier. BMWCCNZ Show & Shine

Ci Automatic Lux. Alternately: the vehicle of a Secret Agent Man!

On the Gentle Annie, last weekend. Style 124 wheels mounted.

Active Steering: check tyre pressures. reset steering and TP monitor. If it's okay, monitor... probably your rack. Big $$$ replacement. for more info on general costs: more info on my thread here

Interesting idea, Dave. I’m split about that one. On the one hand, my free market commercial freedoms stance that the buyer must be aware of what they’re buying, and they must understand the risks before using a modified un-certed vehicle. I view additional government intervention as unnecessary, as the rules and law are well-established, and it’s simply a fail to drive the uncerted vehicle on public roads. On the other hand, having a law that demands a modified car registered for use on public roads must be certed before sale would be a great thing, because SAFETY. And we don’t take chances with safety. We want a safer vehicle fleet, increasing survival chances for road users by improving vehicle safety. Now, considering the above (having developed my thoughts as I wrote them), I need to go with the first option. Not because “more nanny state=bad”, but because the second option is doomed to failure. Here’s why: it does not protect people from themselves, and there remains a high likelihood that people will choose to modify their cars, not certify them, and drive them on public roads. The law proposed makes it more difficult to sell a modified vehicle, but does not increase safety. “Because Darwinism!” The rules and laws governing modification exist and are working. Accordingly, my answer is “higher standards of driver training, and a more rigorous licensing system including logbook and hours on country, urban, and highway road types”. ?

It's like you say, certainly worth a crack!

Welcome, Neil. Other club? You mean the Opel Club? ? Plenty of meets in Auckland, do head over to the Auckland room and subscribe, then you'll get notified of what's on.

Welcome, Hugo! we all dig an e24. Pics or it didn't happen!

Well spotted Dave. That's got more silver than my hair. And that's no mean feat! @EUROLESS it's gotta be worth a crack, eh. Hmmm. There will be a Wurth product you can trust. There'll be differing opinions, and many of these products will be snake oil.

Man wants bargain unicorn.

So here's an update to the list (re-ordered), now I'm making progress. SO: before e30 Mega Meet (in likely order): 1. Cooling System - replace all hoses and clips, new coolant (again). Thermostat housing. Have all the hoses, clips, and coolant are waiting and ready to go. 2. Rocker Cover Gasket 3. Clutch Slave Cylinder 4. Wheels. New hubcap badges have arrived, Paint is ready to go. Just need time. 5. Wind roar driver’s door 5a. Re-attach gutter trim, treat rust staining (Clips needed) 6. Fuel Filler Pipes (perishing old rubber) - 14/10/19 Have filler flap trim, filler neck, and gas cap seal. 7. Clutch Master Cylinder (Jon's recommendation) - 14/10/19 Have master cylinder and clutch line - ready to go. 8. Cam Box Breather Hose (Jon's recommendation) - Hmmmm! 8a. Intake Boot (precautionary) - 2/11/19 Have part (Ebay) 9. Underhood insulation- 9/10/19 Have parts 10. Align wiper arms. 11. Horns (have parts, need to wire in). 11a) rear brake refresh - 9/10/19 Have some parts, more on order, trailing arms to come. 12. Stereo - head, sub, and power, repaint parcel shelf and fit the premium speakers. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ 13. Fog lights (need lights and switch) - 9/10/19 Have parts and new lenses. 14. Cluster (refresh and tacho), analogue clock for Centre. - 9/10/19 have cluster, need analogue clock. 15. Dashboard? Repair? Mat? 16. Front iS lip. Paint bumpers and mirrors body colour. 17. xxxxxx now 11a) - brought up the order! 18. Upholstery refresh (I've given up on finding e30 sport seats in need of refurb). 19. Strut Brace, lower X-brace 20. Small case 4.10 LSD - have 4.10 small case, now I need the LSD centre. 21. 15" basketweaves with 205's. 22. Body and Paint

The wisdom in UK was all TVRs should be registered on 'Q' plates, as each is in fact a pre-production prototype. What was that sh*t movie with John Travolta (yes I know, there are many to choose from amidst the Pulp Fiction!), where he drives one of these? Oh, damn it was a Tuscan speed six. You know, it's a wonder they sold so many large american SUVs if that chase is anything to go by... they all explode on impact! Thankfully Mr Hugh Jackman's range has improved since this series of grimaces at the wheel. In closing... $165k? Tell him he's dreaming. Not their finest hour: TVR Sagaris. Celebrating the greatest cock-ups in automotive history. Today we look at TVR Sagaris

Date: 26 Sept 2019 Distance: 260348kms Time for some more remedial maintenance. Just over 60 days to e30 Mega Meet. 1. Cooling System Refresh Replaced thermostat housing, bolts, and bleed screw. Drained cooling system, replaced all hoses & clips (except the top and bottom main hoses. Flushed, filled with two bottles of fresh BMW Coolant & De-ionised water. All clips genuine, almost all hoses genuine BMW, with the exception of 2 or 3 by Vaico. I figured it was worthwhile to just go through and eliminate all of the 30-year old cooling hoses; why gamble my engine on a hose that could leave me stranded? For those of you wondering, the M40 has a shitload of hoses. And now all of mine - every single hose, clip, and O-ring - has been replaced, along with the thermostat and rad. Only the heater matrix remains. Fingers x'd. What a hoser. Yesterday. 2. Rocker Cover Gasket Replaced rocker cover gasket (Topran), including helicoil of one bolt hole in the head. Jon had found this stripped a year ago, marked it, and we added to the 'list of things to do'. New gasket will keep the engine cleaner. 3. Clutch Slave Cylinder Replaced clutch slave cylinder (Febi). Seemed like a good idea, I figured it was probably an original. Flushed and cleaned, refilled and bled. Jon said it was full of black sludge, needed plenty of flushing. Clutch action is now much smoother and lighter. Result! 4. Throttle Body While he had that out (access to cooling system), Jon cleaned throttle body, drilled a drain hole in throttle position sensor, reassembled. It was very gunky. Smoother idle. Can't wait for a trip in it! My thanks again to Jon & Keren at Auto38! M40 Cooling hoses, yesterday image borrowed from RealOEM

I tried Pelican, found that saving a few bucks on a few parts wasn't worth the hassle. Overall FCP work out cheaper/better, particularly when you factor in how much time you spend clearing packages from other providers. Hint 2: Use nzcustoms website 'what's my duty' tab.

They do it all before your package has left the US, proactively contact you, email you the details, and advise that if you pay before x date, there will be no delay at the border. Service, really. They make it work. Hooray for service, and processes that work. FWIW I've never had any questionable charges on FedEx, as they source it all from the shipping information. FCP always get this right. MyUS always get this right. Garbage in, Garbage out. Hint: FCP Euro use FedEx as a shipping option, and it's usually the cheapest option. HTH

Oh yes of course, I was forgetting DHL! And - they hand off to PO Boxes, which is awesome. Props to DHL.

I’m looking end-to-end. Outcomes. UPS are okay - a little haphazard - until you get to their customs/brokerage. As you say, USPS hand off to NZ Post. I think the new changes - eliminating IETF in favour of GST - will improve some aspects of the process. I’ll continue to reward FedEx for their service excellence for Joe Punter.

I think I’ve recommended this before. Use FedEx. And if your supplier in the US doesn’t, sign up with MyUS.com, so you can control how and when. And you can choose FedEx. NZPost, UPS, USPS, all largely dysfunctional as soon as customs charges are concerned.