Olaf

it's Wellington, brother! Just quietly, the understated centre of the universe; on occasion she quietly parts the curtains to reveal stunning beauty amidst that rugged stormy windblown exterior. Like that bogan lady you've known for years who's actually a debutante, slumming it. ?

e60: collected car from panel shop. repair completed. it's a wet day; the colour match is very good, paint finish looks great - as far as I can see through the raindrops. Flat battery on collection. Got a jump start from the panel shop. Found I had no cluster. No gauges, no tell-tales, no intermittent auto-wipe. The wipers and indicators still worked - just no click or lights. Took it for a drive to charge the battery, returned to the panel shop. We were taken to Page European; 15 min power-off reset. All is good now. It's good to have it back. Looking forward to seeing it on a dry day in the light.

I'm picking that one of you is spending a goodly amount of time in that car with your feet on the ceiling? ? More power to ya.

Come on mate, this is a common malady that doesn't discriminate! BMW engine = oil leaks.

Welcome, Tony! You should find this place pretty helpful. There are frequent meets in Auckland, take a look at the Auckland room.

A friend is selling his Mercedes A-Class: This car is one of the safest you can buy, because it'll be sitting at the roadside or in the workshop being repaired, so you'll never get it up to a fast enough speed to have a crash. Forget Mercedes marketing puffery about their amazing build quality - make no mistake about it, this car is rubbish. It has gearbox faults beyond your wildest nightmares, with a clutch system made of pastrami. Even making it out of Lego would have been more robust. This engine is not "bullet-proof" (actually, for the right buyer I'd even consider throwing in a free pack of bullets just so you can test this for yourself). This particular car crapped its K2 clutch plate at barely 100,000km of driving. It;s been "fixed" but still goes into a FAULT mode occasionally, meaning you have to pull over, turn the engine off and back on again and away you go. It's drivable (or, at least, it was the last time we drove it) once the battery is recharged. All that said, the body appears to be in pretty good nick and the interior is good. Great fuel economy - one tank of petrol can last 5 years. There's probably more value in its component bits - tyres, wheels, battery, spare tyre etc. We couldn't decide between torching it or driving it somewhere and hoping it would be stolen, so this car has sat unused for the past 5 years. But we've finally made a decision and the time has come for someone else to hate it. There is nothing reluctant about this sale. No tears will flow. Our neighbours will probably throw a party to celebrate its removal.

e60: Yesterday saw a report from panel shop : more damage found in rear bumper, previous repair poorly executed (plastic welded but filler cracking, poorly adhered and heavy). "Yep, please do it right" (which is additional scope and comes out of my pocket, not insurance). So I dropped by for a squizz. Seems the bumper was originally black, had a few layers of paint on it. It's well on it's way to looking great. They've worked their magic on the dent in the guard where it meets the bumper, metal-finished back, appears no filler required. "The dark arts".

sell the mini and keep the CS, money in the bank! ?

e60: Yesterday morning I visited Bridgestone Torrens Terrace, where Kelvin changed over my cracked rim for a 'whole' one, and rebalanced. just two 10g weights (one inner, one outer); those RE003's balance easily. I then delivered the car to the panel beaters, for the bumper "kiss" some sheisskopf left me a couple of months back (without leaving a note) to be repaired and repainted. Onwards and upwards!

Indeed, your Dad was scoping mine on Friday, asking about clearance/rubbing... ? I'm biased of couse! I think they're a great match on the e46; aesthetically they look good, and technically there's no rubbing/clearance issues, 20mm wider track across the rear axle (over style 68 staggered), and half inch wider rim on the front. Of course, lows may be a different game!

Found what I needed, thanks.

Yesterday I collected my new-to-me Style 123 rims (thanks @Family Wagon), and drove back down the island. I'm certain my M54 needs VANOS seals. It's running much better for a good run, though is lacking torque. Today I spent a couple of hours cleaning the Style 123's for the e60. Several repeat-and-rinse jobs (on the inside) to remove built-up brake dust. I pryed off old balancing weights, and used a scraper to remove old adhesive remnants.

Welcome, Gordon. "the New Zealand of the Northern Hemisphere" - I like it! The Japanese imports have low mileage, though you may find they show greater wear due to longer hours of operation (cooked hoses etc). Mind how you go. That looks like a beauty.

very well reasoned, Paul!

period correct? what about the Ken Done M3 livery?!

I don't mind executing panning shots of your car while you drive up and down the road; we just need to sort out a mutually convenient time, and preferably a cloudy day

to be fair, Glenn asked pointed, clear questions (I understand private, as well as public), of the Owners and Mods for quite some time before removing his sponsorship support of the site. We've seen other potential sponsors ask these questions. EDIT: we should be careful not to confuse ownership and direction questions, with forum software upgrade questions!

@adro Just putting together details for trip to Auckland this Weekend. Contact me if you want an exhaust carried. Preferably clean/wrapped.

I'm thinking VANOS seals are on the near horizon for my e46/M54. One of these days I'll have someone who's done the change, drive mine. It's not throwing codes, though my impressions are that it's lower on torque than it used to be... Do you ever attend the Wellington BMW Car Club/Bimmersport events?

Penrite HPR5 (5W40) meets LL01, and is effectively heavier than standard 5W30, if that's any help. Runs great in my M54. Have you changed out oil pressure sensor?

today (Tuesday 2 May, 2018): e46 at 184035kms. (6 years ownership, 72,000kms). - oil change (Penrite HPR5), oil filter (MAN-HU9254), Air Filter (MAN-C251141) - replaced steering coupler (BMW 32-30-6-761-571). E10 E-torx and wobble joint and extensions, 16mm socket, long pry-bar, red threadlocker. A ramp helps. Need to figure out how to straighten the steering wheel - oops. - also changed out Air Box mounting grommets (BMW 13711702508). There's a squeal that can occur when they wear out, at around 3000rpm. Many thanks to @Barryn for assistance! Next steps: Windscreen replacement, lock barrel replacement, new key, headlight lens remediation (again). And then in the next few months, the list of remedial maintenance; replace valve cover gasket (again), oil filter housing gasket (again), new spark plugs (again), auto trans filter and fluid (again), and probably VANOS seals.

It's nicely optioned up, too. I pulled the vin details:

you buy it, I'll (carefully) bring it to Auckland for you.