coop

I think he has dropped his priced from $1800 when first listed the other day, to $1400 now. Must be desperate.

He also won the $1 reserve auction the other night of the light blue E34 540i on the HBC, which went for around 2.5k.

Funny that he was the one who was having a go at dishonest Kiwis in his mentally unstable blog. Maybe he's been given a hiding one too many times by the Maoris up there. Either way, instead of buying cheap flogged out shitters, he should put that money towards an airfare and f**k off back to where he came from.

Well, that is the rarity. A NZ new/delivered manual 540i. And that will be the main reason why it may get 10 grand while the auto equivalent will sit on trademe at 5 grand for 6 months,

I would say driftit has put a realistic figure on it.

End of the day it is an E39 (pre FL to boot). Like the E34, they are pretty much worth nothing, bar the M5 and maybe E34 540is. Low km facelifted 540i Msports seem to command decent money for E39s ($10-12k), but that's about it.

You say it is a rare car. I also see that 540i Touring one owner NZ new w/ 170k on the clock on TM just as rare, but old mate has dropped his price from about $15k back in March to $10900 and it will probably sit there for the rest of the year, as no one is queing up to buy them. Especially when you can walk in a tick up a low km E60 550i for an extra 10 grand.

If I were to sell it I'd put 12 grand on it with room to negotiate.

If you think it is more because of reasons you mentioned above then put your money where your mouth is and $1 reserve it

An LSD... drive it before making judgment... an auto 525i will be lucky to get one wheel going in the ice.

If its NZ new it probably has an LSD anyway. Happy to be corrected.

Good innings.

What work has the engine done, head/gasket. Timing chain etc?

Gearbox original?

I've fitted the EGR delete to mine. No noticeable difference in power or economy like the pommy forums suggest. I've only done one open road run Wgtn-Akl via Napier and recorded my worst result open road of 6.2 l/100km. Not impressed. Although Napier - Taupo isn't economy friendly. Since fitting the EGR delete there is no smoke at all under full acceleration al the way to just under 200k. Who would think a dirty diesel would get to that.

Also removed my temporary swirl flap delete of self tapping screws & silicon/silastic, and fitted the proper blanking plates. In doing so dug out literally tablespoons of carbon/oily build up in the manifold.... Might have to look into an oil catch can.

Yes, and a rather gutless 2.3 4 cylinder one that is 25 years old are asking around $30k!

However as someone who likes (old) Mercedes I'd look at,

560SEC 88-91

W116 450SEL 6.9

W109 300SEL 6.3

W111 coupe

W108 V8 & twin cam 2.8 6

W115 coupe 2.5 & 2.8

All the above are rare (in NZ) desirable models that command more $$$ here than the UK, from what I've seen online and in MB enthusiast magazines.

I've toyed with the idea of bringing in an E39 M5, seems mint low mileage ones can be had for no more than 10k gbp. Average one with 100-120k miles 5k gbp.

That engine is offered in the current Hilux in the Oz market is it not. Was for sale here in the previous shape Hilux early 2000s (where the engine should have been retired as a boat anchor). Just another inefficient fuel guzzling overpriced Toyota that the sheep line up to buy at twice the price of the equalivent Nissan etc.

there's a slight problem with that with been the barriers to entry being so goddamn high, in the beginning.

I could see no such problem when houses were affordable five years ago.

First home buyers wanted the new VW Golf, Hyundai shitbox SUV, latest iPhone/pad/mac with their first home in Parnell Ponsonby, Howick, Takapuna, Devonport etc. They wanted what they moved out of (their parents home) as a result of 30 years of working, saving and climbing up the property ladder. So of course their ideal first house, and everything that comes with it, was out of reach. Prioritising, a foreign concept.

Most average suburbs were attainable a few years ago to the normal Kiwi or first home buyer. I suppose an average house in a not so desirable area (most of West, Glenfield, Pakuranga etc (imo)) is still possible on two average incomes but most of that joint income will be servicing the mortgage, that is if they can save enough for the deposit in the first place.

I am over reading and hearing about this housing/pricing crisis in Auckland, and how hard it is to 'live' in NZ, most rabid hysterical leftists having a stab at the govt. or anyone with wealth/assets behind them at any opportunity they get. Pack ya sh*t and f. off to another country and see how green the grass is.

FFS if ya can't afford a $600k dump on a small section in Auckland look elsewhere. BOP, Waikato, Malborough Canterbury etc.

Hamilton and Tauranga, and close surrounds, will benefit greatly from this drama going on in Auckland over the next 5 or so years. A lot of Aucklanders priced out of the market, or cashing in, are already moving south. I suppose when the rest of them see what a higher quality of life, and better value for money is on offer then the domino effect will really start.

+ 1. I bought 1 acre of flat land just outside of Cambridge with 150m2 shed. After building a 300m2 house w/4 car garage it will be cheaper than the average 3-4bd North Shore home on a 300m2 section... and quicker to commute to my old job in Manukau now the Waikato expressway is well under way.

Apex, that isn't specific to only Euro stuff.

Check out some of the oz 4wd/touring forums of fuel contamination and the 10s of thousands $$$ worth of damage on anything common rail. The old man used to work at Holden/Hyundai dealer in wgtn and they sponsored the netball team several years ago with a Santa Fe, water in fuel, bill close to 20 grand, common rail pump injectors high pressure lines labour etc.

Polley...

Well they need something decent in there. Modern diesels aren't the Japs strong point.

We have Hilux/Prado at work and how these D4D can be sold for over 60 grand these days is a bloody joke. Thirsty gutless things that should have been retired 10 years ago when they debuted.

Mate you don't need to spell to pass NCEA.

I thought the poms were in the process of banning cars over a certain age and engine capacity from inner cities?

Go on about cycle ways and public transport all you want, if you choose to take that instead of a 200km/week commute in your 10l/100km car, the reduced carbon foot print is laughable. I understand some people get the warm and fuzzies over thoughts like that though.

Either way diesel passenger cars are a fad that is soon to die out, hopefully along with the OTT resale prices.

As for carbon footprint, I'm in a workshop with 50 of these. I went driving last month as we were short of drivers and we'd caught up on maintenance. 620hp and 170 tonne. Full noise up hill she sucks one litre every 200m. Or 500l/100km. More fun than public transport.

Parked at U sell... is this the place where anyone can walk in off the road and take em for a test drive? That would put me off all together.

Im in the market for a lams bike so found this very interesting. Too bad those old jap bikes are so flogged in other areas (forks, bearings, electrics etc). Seems like the engines can take it at least.

Try and find a good example, or, a cheap one and spend some money on it. Learn to ride it fast and you wont regret. I think I could do the coro loop or rimutakas quicker on my old CBR250 than a thou. Awesome bikes those. Dont f**k around with those modern sh*t sounding 250 twins Hyofag/Ninja etc.

Are the 400s lams approved... CBR/RVF/VFR?

Dn540, yeah the Falcon ones affected the 2002-2005 models and I think most were done under warranty. From memory the tensioners were plastic and warped, allowing oil to leak out. Revised ones are steel, I think most on the road would have been done by now. The parts can be had cheap from OZ or USA.

How could I forget, my old Mercedes needed the chain and tensioners done too. sohc V8, M116/117 from the 70s/80s. Only good for 160,000km according to forums, not a lot of change out of $1500.

Take it to someone who know Mercedes, and Mercedes autos, to service the gearbox. These things need the bands adjusted other wise they'll start flaring and if its bad enough you'll loose drive altogether (usually the band for 1st, 2nd and 3rd). Probably not a major at 60,000km, but something to keep in mind. I also prefer the factory amber lights over the clears

I have a soft spot for large Mercedes. The 140 S Class was one of my dream cars as a kid, unfortunately cheap imports and pond scum butchering them on 20" rims during the 2000s killed any desire to own one (I have actually owned an S320, but it wasn't for long).

However I've had a 560SEC, a 126 280SE, and a couple of 116 280se. Great engines those injected 2.8 dohc, and great cars the 116 and 126 S Classes, without doubt one of the best series/model/chassis of car ever built. If I see a decent 560sec on the market I will buy one.

If it works perfectly for 10+ years and 100xxx km, and then requires some maintainance, is it really a flawed design? How long was the warranty on a brand new e39? BMW is a business and has to make money like any other business, at least they still support their older models unlike most japanese and some other euro brands.

Yes, end of the day, nothing mechanical is service free (think ZF 'sealed for life' - a crock). But it seems some motors aren't as strong in the valvetrain as others - Falcon sohc and dohc 4.0 straight sixs will do over 1 million km without been opened up on original chain tensioner guides. I've also seen Commodore 3.8 V6 and 5.7 V8 pushrod over 500,000k unopened too.

Then you get the early 2000s dohc Falcon V8s that had weak tensioners and would eventually wear out the guides causing chain rattle, within 100,000km.

Personally I'd go for timing gears, the old Honda CBR250s will do over 100,000km no worries, while the ZXR/FZR timing chains will start to rattle around 30,000km.

At work we can get 2 or 3 rebuilds to a 15 litre Cummins engine block, rebuild every 800,000km , and never had to replace a timing gear - 1.6m-2.4m km on original set of gears try doing that with a chain!

As for the M62 issue, I've seen a few listed on TM saying the chain/tensioners/guides have been done, but didn't realise it was a common issue, a good excuse to go an E34 I reckon.

yes v8's sound pretty nice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Y3PWvDtWX2g#t=10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8HBvtWXPkiU#t=212

anyone wanna buy a wagon only driven on sundays

Hi Brent, how much are you after? Cheers.

To be fair $1 will be the easiest and most stress free way you'll get rid of it. Two out comes can come from $1 reserve, in that the final price can suprise and reach or exceed what you were expecting, or the car will sell for its true worth below what you would have asked on a listing - but you won't have to deal with dreamers, the car sitting around for months, insurance, reg, wof costs while its in your possession with a price tag on it that no one will pay. I've $1 reserved several cars all under 10 grand and its the way to go imo.

Thread mine.

does anyone know this car, condition etc? Owner seems fussy - not a bad thing.

Been on the market for a while, price has nearly halved in that time. Still probably over priced, considering aging E34/E32/E38/E39 need to be nearly given awayupon sale.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-842151387.htm

Maybe its more frustration factor and also our cars like to go faster. But I fully agree with you

Yeah I can relate. But I'd say if they did up the limit then there would be little to no tolerance, maybe 4kmh at the most.

I could see frustration increase to be honest. 110k limit = higher average speed = catching up to slower traffic more often... in particular those who haven't heard of cruise control... slowing for most corners and narrowing sections of road, flutuating their speed all over the place, frustration thru the roof.

I'm for it. Anyone that's driven from Dunedin to Christchurch of some of the central South Island roads would have to agree.

.

Why? How much ground/time will you gain?!

It will all be lost when you get a red light in Oamaru, Timaru and Ashburton (I'm ex linehaul truckie, and I used to get red lights down there ALL the time).

If not then you'll get a Fonterra tanker pulling out on you somewhere along the way who are limited to 90k

The best way to get around all that is to leave half hr early!

But really, what is the point in increasing the limit a measely 10kmh for a distance of less than 100km. Apart from causing confusion with varying limits within one stretch of road (maybe the govt coffers haven't thought of this...), it's not going to achieve anything apart from burning more fuel and giving a few city slickers who venture on the open road twice a year a good feeling for driving 'fast'. Heavy vehicles and towing vehicles still limited to 90kmh. Retarded drivers will still hog the right hand lane traveling the same speed as the car next to them. Retarded drivers will still merge onto the motorway/expressway at 60-80kmh. Retarded drivers in the lane being merged will switch lanes to their right and fail to increase speed, so now all lanes are down to whatever speed the muppet has merged at. So there goes any argument for it improving traffic flow.

Of course it may be a different story off peak/at night, but maybe the revenue raisers could use some discretion, or maybe tackle real criminals.

When you have 1000-1500km to travel in one day like people in Aus face then fair enough. In NZ, you're going to get held up by SH1 town crossings/traffic lights, tourists doing 80kmh, road works. It may just be easier to travel at night or leave one hour earlier.

Failing that, just jump on two wheels.

What a waste of money... there were no speed limits on open roads in the NT until 2007 - then they introduced 110 and 130 km/h limits and now they're saying they've successfully trialed what was ubiquitous from 1967 to 2007...

Only an Australian could do that...

State Govt. at the time set the limit to 130kmh... Citing fatal accident stats... Which little to none were speed related. Think drunk abos driving over loaded cars that will never pass a RWC.

I work in Western Australia as diesel mechanic and drive up to 900km in one day all rural for breakdowns. Our speed limits are 110kmh and aren't enforced. If driving a light vehicle you don't want to be on the road between sun set- sun light due to cows, roos and the odd horse and dingo. So yes for Australia vast rural highways the open limit where the drivier is entrusted and responsible for driving to the conditions is a great idea. We have 70 series Land Cruisers and these thngs are in no way ideal to drive at 130kmh. Even 110kmh is pushing it, exposing the flaw in the enforced 130kmh NT limit. A Commodore will be safer at 160kmh than one of those Cruisers at 130!

The Hume highway could handle 130kmh limits. I can't really see an increase in NZ limit being beneficial. The only suitable road I can think of would be the Waikato expressway to Puhoi, but the amount of retarded drivers in NZ will show what a waste of time it is. I rate the driving standard as far as etiquitte and common sense goes higher in Oz than NZ.

Akl - Ngaruwahia - Te Awamutu (via SH37) - Mangakino - Whakamaru - Turangi (via Western side of lake SH32) then cruise to Taupo up SH1. Or back up to Alk thru Taumaranui - Te Kuiti.

Good piece of road, done it many a time on the motorbikes quickest is just under 1hr 20min Z Te Awamutu - Z Turangi with fuel stop in Whakamaru. Just watch out for Fonterra tankers and the odd stock truck pulling outa/into driveways. .

Coro loop is good but forget about it if its a long weekend, or even any weekend with decent weather as the roads are packed.

Rotorua - Whakatane - Gisborne return is also good have an over nighter in Gisborne.