Sammo

Pricey, but beautiful car. Estoril blue E36 M3 is one of my favourite BMWs.

For exterior trim, solution Finish is fantastic, if a little expensive. I prep with diluted IPA, apply the product, wipe off after a while and it has my trim looking great for months...

Wasn't an LCI but was a guy looking to sell a manual E91 330i on Facebook this week - very rare car.

Ha, I was very happy with my pics from last night until I looked at this one again ?

@qube Me vs the guy she told me not to worry about ?

Yup, I got Car Pro ECH2O and used multiple micorfibre towels - went well but I did give it a quick blast at wash world first because it had loads of road grime and in the wheels. Went well, think it will be fine for a maintenence wash (i.e so long as the car isn't genuinely dirty). BTW that was just the light on but ignition off setting, usually when car is on the xenons (bluish) are the normal lights but though this looked better with the gold interior ?

Weird man - my E46 also had duct tape on the base of a bulb holder? Must be some kind of known half arse 'fix' for something?

So... today the 330ci got some overdue love and attention. I've been getting gloss withdrawals due to the Auckland water shortage but decided to buy some rinse-less wash and give it all ago. So gave the car a wash, dry, light hand polish, IPA wipe down, trim restorer then a fresh coat of sealant. Went to town on the interior glass too and got rid of the last hardest to reach glue remains from tint I removed as well. Had to take a few snaps of course to justify the effort

DSG farts FTW

Loved my MK6 but more due to the dual nature of it. Great, practical commuter with the DSG and then capable of moving quickly in the real world when needed with the box and accessible torque. Fantastic seats and steering wheel and love the DSG blips. I ended up in a manual E46 but the golf has a universal appeal IMO. Jack of all trades I guess.

I had a MK6 GTI which isn't much more than facelift MK5 with nicer interior and loved it, most likely going to buy one again for the wife now I have my E46. I cross shopped it with an E87 130i and it won out *ducks for cover* Great seats, sharp handling, love the DSG and grunty little engines with full torque from almost idle. My MK6 was perfect in the 2 years I had it, although was a 40,000km car. A little info on any foibles in this thread:

E90 330i are cheap as these days. Fuel consumption may be pushing it though. MK5 GTI could be had for that money and will be fun, economical and pretty reliable if the DSG has had its oil changes. Yeah, I'd be looking at a MK5 GTI or an E91 6cyl.

Looks like a really well specced example and very unique these days a rear wheel drive, manual NA 6cyl hatch. Plenty of 130i pros in here as well for if (when?) the modification bug gets you...

Very brave! You going to respray same colour? Its a pretty cool green I think

18s - went from slightly too small to slightly too big. Correct is 225 40 18 but I wanted to fill the wheel arches a little more and go for a square setup hence the 235s.

My E46 came on Bridgestone RFTs (had style 261s on it). When I got rid of them the new tyres were far more comfortable although sidewalls were less stiff (Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 2). I did go from 215/40 in the front to 235/40 which would have helped as well.

This is shaping up to be a lovely car!

You can get M stitching etc as well but if you go black you can get the stitching a bit off and no-one would notice. Gear knob would be cheap enough to just replace outright?

You want one of these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Leather-Steering-Wheel-Cover-for-BMW-E36-E36-5-E46-5-5-Series-E39-M3-M5/122341194184?epid=28029194137&hash=item1c7c1a79c8:g:iLQAAOSwNcZcqrrK Amazingly good fit - I've done two now. Pop the wheel off and take your time stitching and it takes about 2 hours. They come in leather / synthetic leather / alcantara / custom stripes / perforated / smooth etc. My wheel looks and feels amazing with the new airbag and this...

I had the Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 on my GTI and rated them for the $$. I have Hankook V12 Evo 2 on my 330ci now and they are great for under a grand a set (235/40/18 square) - loads of dry grip, quiet and decent in wet. Hyper seem to have had 40% off tyres since Covid hit - can get a set of 18" PS4 for $1150 which is pretty good!

Absolutely stunning E30 - dream car for me and perfect spec

My lost AP suspension shocks and springs cost $800 via Demon Tweeks landed (well, lost!) whereas Speedfactor was $880. Pretty sharp pricing as a lot of importers here like to mark up 100%.

Damn that WOF sheet! Makes me feel good about only being pinged on indicator condensation at VTNZ this week ?

These stock in M Sport E46? I have one in mine and feels great, especially with the poly steering coupler

It was still really nice when I checked it out last year - fitment is a bit aggressive (18x8.5 ET13) and coilovers won't be to everyone's taste but it rode pretty well and had a great stance. Few stone chip touch ups, minor paintless dent removal and it would look amazing. Felt a fair bit more sluggish than mine but 2.93 vs 3.38 diff will do that.