Kees

I have driven my fair share of E34s of all configurations over the years and I can confirm that one drives the best by a considerable margin. The seller is a friend of mine so I am very familiar with the car. Well the word swap applies in a broad context, to my knowledge all parts used were genuine BMW and brand new when possible. This was to uphold a goal that it would all be completed as if BMW had done it themselves. As an example of this dedication, I recall that originally an aftermarket driveshaft had to be used as a new BMW part was unavailable. As soon as the genuine new part was available it was purchased and installed, even though the aftermarket part was essentially identical and still brand new. That’s the insane level of OCD dedication that went into that car. If it was me I would have just left it. I also think that he undersells the other work that has gone into it. The price is indeed premium for an E34 - there’s no denying that. But it is also the best one in the country by a considerable margin. It is mechanically and cosmetically restored (while preserving key original elements like upholstery and the exterior paintwork) and the closest to a new E34 you would ever find. Engine, gearbox, exhaust, suspension and brakes have all been re-done, replaced or upgraded. Genuine M Sport parts used where applicable. No stone left un-turned. And let’s not forget it’s also a sub 100,000km example to begin with. What kind of normal person would think to go through the modules/computers to ensure longevity of all the electronic components? That’s well beyond what most automotive restorations ever do. $30K is not a small sum of money in general, but I believe it is a small price to pay when you are getting the best of something. What other V8 manual can you get for the same money? Let alone a fully restored, as new example. In my mind it is the closest anyone will come to buying a new E34 some 30 years after production ended...

Was the Brabus Roadster green? I bought one in Wellington a couple years ago. It was a head turner (as you'd imagine) but I never really loved it. I found the wheels (which were 17" monoblocks similar to my Forfour) and the lowered Brabus suspension made the ride ridiculous for NZ roads. I sold it and got a regular Roadster and found that to be better but still not a keeper. By far the best Smart ever made is the Brabus Forfour. For a start you have a normal 5 speed getrag manual (unlike the 6 speed automated manual) found in the Roadster & ForTwo models. It also makes real power... 177hp and 230nm in a 1,090kg car is impressive - and it's reliable as its the 4G15T out of a Colt Ralliart Version R but with the boost turned up and the blow off valve deleted (so it makes great turbo flutter). Whatever Brabus did to the exhaust is also awesome because it sounds great and it's only a little 1.5L. I wish people knew about these cars as I go on like a broken record about the Brabus Forfour but it genuinely is one of the best hot hatches I've ever driven. It's such a raw driving experience because it's so light - and the power delivery is like an old school turbo car. That's to say - nothing happens until 3,000rpm and then it hits boost and pulls HARD all the way to redline. It's very addictive. If you start on boost, you'd be hard pressed to find a hot hatch from the same era that can keep up. It surprises everyone. And because it's a European brand it has all the creature comforts (heated seats, panoramic roof, half press indicators etc) while still being mechanically bullet proof and easy to find parts and service because the drivetrain is Japanese. I have two out of the four in NZ. Have been trying to sell my silver one for over a year. Not a single ounce of proper interest even though its cheaper than a Colt Ralliart, more powerful, lighter, more luxurious, blah, blah, blah. No one wants to buy it so have been using it as a fun run around and man it's so awesome - just also so redundant seeing as I have the black one in storage. But alas, the joys of having too many cars...

Doing some more thinking, and I reckon they probably removed the whole front end to get to the cats as I'm guessing it has cats integrated into the headers? What a bunch of idiots. Ruin a very expensive and desirable engine for the catalytic converters... yeah nice one guys.

Yep what a huge waste! Gutting because I'd originally gone to scope out whether the engine was saveable as it would just be a cool thing to have, whether that be in a car or in a man cave as something to look at. Definitely wasn't near the car. To get the engine and gearbox out would have been an ordeal - and then to not take it?? So strange! Judging by the photo it's in front of stock no. 950 Subaru Impreza which you can see is in a container - these line the perimeter of pickapart and have a green roof. So it seems someone removed the engine and gearbox, and then moved it away from the entry / exit and to the outskirts of the yard. Perhaps to hide it from others? Although I have a more plausible theory. The M5 is roughly here (no. 900): My theory is the staff must have removed it before the car was put on the yard. Then for whatever reason dumped it with a forklift next to that Subaru and away from the M5. If you look at the photo I took you can see the fan shroud and stuff is still there - indicating the engine must have been dropped rather than removed through the front - indicating it was done prior to the car being publically available to be "pick[ed] a-part". I just can't see that engine, gearbox, subframe and brakes (which must be in excess of 400kg) getting cleanly removed with the car half a meter off the ground, and then being moved with those crap engine crane things they have there.

A friend of mine owns this. He's a former Bimmersporter. I have driven it and can confirm it drives like new and sounds absolutely sensational. If anything he undersells it in the listing in my opinion. He's essentially done a full mechanical restoration. The car is unbelievably mint - particularly the interior which is draw droppingly perfect (and to my knowledge original - just cleaned and preserved with beyond OCD levels of precision) This is by far the nicest E34 in NZ.

At some point you will find yourself with a cracked windscreen. This is a recommendation to NEVER take your car to Smith & Smith Wairau. For the past 10 months I have experienced the most appalling workmanship and customer service that is so bad I have decided to go to the effort of writing about my experience so hopefully no one else has to go through the same thing. If anyone knows someone who works at a Smith & Smith, or their head office, please send this to them because I am fed up with trying to deal with them. A little back story… Last year I was driving my (at the time) Skoda Fabia VRS when I got a cracked windscreen. This was a car that wasn’t necessarily valuable, but I was very fond of it nevertheless as I had spent the best part of an entire year restoring it. I booked my car into my local Smith & Smith branch to have the windscreen replaced. While the windscreen was out their recommended panel beater tidied up the apertures (as recommended) and I got them to respray the bonnet, roof, rear quarter panels and boot spoiler (as I planned to have this done anyway). After about a week my car was ready and I picked it up and took it home to discover a myriad of issues. For a start the paint match and finish was, well, only acceptable from a distance… but that’s no fault of Smith & Smith technically. (Although you would expect that their recommended panel beater would have a higher level of workman ship) Issues: I first noticed my wipers weren’t on properly - obviously that’s an easy fix for me. However, I would like to note that its still unacceptable as if I was someone who wasn’t into cars and didn’t have any tools, I would have had inoperable wipers which could be dangerous in a sudden down pour etc. This serves as a mild taster for the sloppy workmanship… To fix my wipers I pop the bonnet to realise the paint shop had broken my plastic release tab and replaced it with a badly cut piece of metal with some electrical tape on the end. This was eventually resolved by them, but once again adds to the awful experience I had. With the bonnet open I first adjusted the driver’s wiper and then went to adjust the passenger one. That is when I noticed what ended up becoming a frustrating can of worms. My windscreen VIN plaque was gone! Naturally I was very annoyed. Now I had a car that looked like it had been stolen with its empty VIN plaque in the windscreen. The following day I contacted Smith & Smith with the list of issues and of course they first questioned me on whether my car even had its VIN plaque there to begin with. (Which of course it did). By a stroke of luck many months before I had taken a photo of my rego label which was the proof I needed to prove to them that my VIN plaque was there. I was expecting an apologetic business intent on putting things right and getting it sorted, but what I got was the opposite. The manager of the branch thought it was ridiculous that I would complain about them losing my VIN plaque. After all, it was “just” an old hatchback… However, that is no excuse for a blunder like that. If that was one of my Porsches, or my M Coupe, that’s an issue that would genuinely impact the value of the car. And beyond that, on any car, if you are obviously missing a VIN tag, that would raise eyebrows if you wanted to sell the car. Plus, it's just plain ugly. So with that reasoning in hand I demanded the car would get another VIN plaque at their expense. The counter offer I received was absolutely laughable. They were happy to print me a label with one of those cheap portable label makers and put that where the VIN plaque used to be. Like WTF?! Seeing that this was going nowhere I contacted Skoda NZ myself who informed me I was 367 days too late to order a reproduction plaque, as that was something that had been discontinued the prior year. Now I was stuck but still determined to resolve it. I requested I sort the plaque myself and got approval from Smith & Smith that I could invoice them once I had it sorted. So I sourced an OEM plaque cradle, and then had a sign writer make a Vinyl overlay with my VIN in the OEM font. It was a perfect replica. Smith & Smith then removed the glass to fit it, and I sent them an invoice of a whopping $240.40 to cover the costs incurred by me to source and make the VIN plaque. That invoice has been sent to them over 5 times by email, and dropped off in person. They still haven’t paid me... That REALLY annoys me. Yes, it’s a small amount of money. But regardless, it is owed to me and clearly they think they can get away with just ignoring me. So here I am, writing this, recommending that you STAY away from Smith & Smith Wairau. Personally, I will never take any of my cars to any Smith & Smith branch ever again. Some photos for context: My 2003 Skoda Fabia VRS. Originally the NZ demo car for the Fabia VRS so had an Oettinger tuned ECU from new. Incredibly rare to have the tune. In fact, I couldn't find another tuned one anywhere on the internet. Had the bulletproof 1.9TDI engine and was a torque monster. 150hp & 360Nm! 6 speed manual. Was destined for scrap until I saved it. Will write an article on it one day. Was a great little car. The paint match... 1. Wipers that weren't even on the windscreen and would have been unable to move. 2. The bonnet pull tab with some electrical tape on the end so the roughly cut metal wouldn't cut you when you opened it. 3. A great way to make your car look stolen - when there's clearly meant to be a VIN but now there isn't! My VIN tag that I had made. Was very pleased with how it came out.

A very rare outing for my 540i today - moving it from one storage location to another...

LOL the guy asking in the questions how far $50 of fuel will take him in a twin turbo V8 SUV. Not sure he'd be the right buyer for the incredibly reliable S63...

Exactly. What I also find ironic is that Pickapart will not have come close to maximising the parts value of the car. Anything rare/desirable/expensive has to be sold at a low fixed price, and people are so rough with the cars that anything left (particularly on the interior) generally gets ruined. In a weird way everyone loses... While its a shame to see a nice car getting parted out, often it provides the parts to keep 10+ more on the road - yet when a car is at Pickapart there is so much wastage and you have to live nearby to physically go get the bits you need yourself. This was absolutely mint, but I bet it won't be long until it's ruined with people leaving doors open etc.

No they were gone too.

Haha I saw that - what a crazy video. He's an exceptional driver. I've replaced the steering motor before, you don't need a hammer to get it out but it obviously adds to the content. The one he has is not a proper Brabus but rather a normal Forfour that has had the Mitsubishi Brabus engine put in. The Brabus was only available in black or silver and had a bunch of extra interior trim, an exterior body kit and sits way lower. If it was a genuine Brabus I would be a little triggered because I paid almost $2K for a replacement Brabus front lip when mine came off on the motorway...

I went today just to have a look. Engine and gearbox were already removed - and they aren't listed in the sold section. I would say Pickapart is selling those separately - or got the car in a deal whereby they got the car minus the drivetrain. Anything M5 specific is basically already gone. The air boxes are still there along with the alcantara headliner and the seats. Although someone has used the back seat cushion to lie on when removing the diff. Rear brakes were still there and rear axles. Registration was MJF262 - WOF in 2020 cited 63,942km. Sad how that car only lasted 2 years here. WOF on the windscreen was from 2021...

It has been a long time since I've written something thought out and (hopefully) well considered on Bimmersport. It just so happens that the opportunity cost of becoming a "mature adult" (although this is very debatable) is a lack of time and motivation for certain passion projects. Nevertheless, as a brief speed run; I got a university degree, a girlfriend, a real job, a resignation letter to quit said real job, I started a business but most importantly, bought many, many cars along the way. I liken myself to someone like Hoovie's Garage - just without the comforting cushion of a substantial YouTube ad revenue. That's to say a degenerate car enthusiast with a distinct lack of self control when it comes to buying old and obscure European cars. Anyway, the reason I am writing this is I am looking to launch another business (of which the details are under wraps for now...) and I have come to the conclusion that a very strong marketing channel will be digital media about cars - hopefully of the entertaining variety. That's to say YouTube videos and factual/opinion based articles. I hate unnecessary expenditure, so if I can do something myself, generally I give it a try. This situation is no different. Basically, I'd like to try hone in on my writing ability and hopefully use it to produce some interesting stuff for you all to read, with the hope that I can leverage this new found skill to grow an audience and promote my business. Obviously this may sound like a pipe dream, but I thought it's worth a go - and I've decided it all starts here, in this thread, on good old Bimmersport. Why Bimmersport? Well I was hoping you all can provide ideas, thoughts, critiques and hopefully you may also find it interesting too. Now comes the part where I ask if there is anything specific I can write about that may pique your interest? Literally any suggestion would be great. Of course I also have a list of things I personally want to write about, but only time will tell whether these were ramblings I should have kept to myself. If you're interested in a car I have owned let me know. I would post a full list of everything but that's too embarrassing to admit publicly. My current line-up consists of: BMW M Coupe, BMW E34 540i, Volkswagen Passat W8 6-Speed Manual, Porsche Boxster 987 Manual, Porsche Cayenne (957) 3.0 TDI, and 2x Brabus Forfours. I'm not sure when my first article will be posted but I will aim to have it done before the end of the week.

All my saved searches are configured for specific rare cars I'm looking for. For example, I have >3.5L, manual, Volkswagen which will tell me if either of the other 2 remaining manual Passat W8s get listed for sale. I suppose the key is trying to capture the key details of the car in the most generic way possible.

An anonymous post in the E34 NZ page was about this car the other day... "Hey guys just as a warning I would recommend staying far away from the diesel wagon currently for sale on TradeMe: https://www.trademe.co.nz/.../cars/bmw/listing/5313690264... I've seen the car in person. It is not like the seller is advertising at all. He is being very deceitful about large parts of the car. He touts it as tidy and straight while almost every single panel has either missing paint down to primer, or is completely the wrong colour. It seems like it was attacked with brake fluid or paint stripper. It would need a full respray at the minimum. Further he claims the interior is in great condition - this is also untrue. He tries to hide these things with the photos. No photos of the car dry, no photos of the car from the side, or the mismatched white rear bumper. No photos of the boot interior which is definitely not in great condition. I have attached some pictures that show the true state of the car. He is also being deceitful about the legality of the car. He claims the car will be sold with fresh wof upon sale, which might be true depending on when he sells it. But the listing claims the wof expires this month, which is untrue, it expired in August last year. Further in the comments he claims that he "spent money on [the car] and got it legal" - this is untrue as the car still currently does not have a warrant of fitness according to the NZTA. It should be noted too that the car is not certified for the manual conversion, which is required in this case, another thing not disclosed on the listing. The car is notorious for its idle issue that has persisted through its big list of owners of the past couple years. Another thing conveniently left off the listing. I cannot prove it has been fixed in this case, but it is likely that considering all the other big feats he mentions in the listing about the value of the car he would have mentioned this. I have attached a video of the idle issue posted by the seller only 10 days ago. I would seriously avoid the car at all costs. Do not even bother viewing the car in person, it is a waste of time and you will be disappointed. The car is simply too far gone and taking any effort to go see it will be wasted. In the comments someone jokingly asks the seller if he would take 5k. If this was you I would be afraid that the seller would take you up on this offer. The car in its current state is worth nowhere near 5k. I would say avoid going anywhere near this car for more than $1500. I was going to ask the seller why he was being deceitful about the listing. Unfortunately I have been blacklisted from posting more questions on the listing. I simply want people to be aware of the reality of the car."