Blackie

I've seen some of your other threads so will just say, yes you're 110% correct. 😀

Depends what their motivation is. If they just want a car to garage for 6 months and then flip I'd say they are harming the enthusiast by driving prices up. Look at the E36 M3 as a perfect example. A car yard lists one high due to investment potential (appeal to a US market prices). Slowly but surely every one that follows tracks that asking price. All are still for sale but new ones continue to pop up at inflated prices. No aparent demand, but the bar has been artificially raised and that's now "the price".

It's sad that a lot of passionate car enthusiasts have been priced out of their favorite marquees by investors. It was better when these cars were on the road not parked up appreciating.

I can't see the picture

Go to the back of the queue bucko

Still got this paperweight

Is the 'low baller' still about? Now's his chance!

It is, but it's a whole 10k cheaper than the blue one - both the same year, same kms and manual. Fight !!!

Could do I guess but suspect my springs have died so while I'm there and all that? Do they need to be a certain tolerance or just ream so the pins move freely?

Nice. I like it. It's an oddball.

Thanks, that's much better than what I was finding on ebay, etc.

I assuming that's what I need. Car is an E36 Getrag with 1st where 3rd should be. Looked online, but only found ridiculous prices. Thanks

https://www.trademe.co.nz/3350143242 This or similar would be my recommendation.

The grey one has been offered for $38k. How do people feel about that? I was bidding up till around $32k (reserve not met) which I was comfortable with, but I think if tipping towards $40k I would prefer to try and find an E36 or cheap E46 M3.

I see Doug De Miro (who's reviewed a few cars) put the E30 and E36 M3 is his list of best BMWs at the expense of the E46. Edit: he also dropped the 1M 😆

You can compare a can of beans and say the UK should put their prices up based on how NZ values beans, but it'd be just as ridiculous. When one of these cars actually sells I'll adjust my perception. Until then I think they're dreamers and/or chancers. Don't forget the car that started this trend is LHD and was priced by a greedy car yard based on 'I know what they're worth in the USA' mentality.

Say NO to drugs kids

This question gets asked a lot. Sammo is right in everything he says but for my 2c.. Putting whether it's a ZF or Getrag aside for a sec, I think the cheapest way to get a manual is to buy one that's already manual. If you're wedded to your current car, then I would suggest you buy another one that's manual to donate the parts from and sell off what you don't need afterwards to recover some money. Pick something non-motorsport, sedan, grey/silver which are less desirable and command less money. Four cylidners seem less common but generally cheaper when they do come up. I wouldn't discount the Getrag over the ZF. Both are fine for the power levels of the M52. Rightly or wrongly I have been watching some E46 diesels in manual form which have been quite cheap. One was passed in and didn't sell for 4k and had a 6 speed converstion. I would have had that if it wasn't in Invercargill. I have no idea how well these boxes work behind an M52 but for that money I would have taken the gamble. Also budget for a new clutch and flywheel ($1,200) as what comes out is bound to be wasted - look at the heat checked one currently on trademe for an example of this. Every dual mass flywheel I have measured has been out of spec for re-use and they cannot be resurfaced anyway. They're 'one use' from my experience. Then coding ($200), cert ($800?), randoms/consumables (+/-$500?), etc, etc. Good luck

Love the colour.

Can you not create an .ISO file from the USB and then burn it to a DVD? Maybe drop @promo a PM. He is an expert on these things I believe.

Powerhaus in Thorndon is where I got my coolant from, and yes you need blue (it contains lubricant). I got my thermo from Amazon (cheapest OEM I could find) and pump from V1 Vehicle parts, but they did put their prices up afterwards. Make sure your get replacement bolts with the pump too. It's a fun job! My face was blue.

I remember the 200k houses, with a 50k car on the driveway.

Looks like the blue one has sold.

One sold for $8.8k recently. Perhaps they saw that and are perceiving a market value based on it. I'm not sure.

I'm thinking about it 🤣