Kees

There is an old forum post from 2017 for a factory manual E39 540 for sale for $8K (what a bargain). Other than that I don't recall seeing any others even though I spend many, many hours on trademe.

They are definitely worth a pretty penny. I recall there may have been a really tidy factory manual car in black for sale a few months ago and it was listed for $30K. No idea if it sold but it isn't for sale anymore. There is a manual converted one available for around $16K at the moment though.

Yeah there are probably bugger all factory manual E39 540s in NZ, the few that I have seen have seen for sale have been converted to manual or were unfortunately being parted out due to the value of the 420g. I think there are roughly 40-something E39 M5s in NZ so a manual E39 540 is definitely a lot rarer.

Yeah I would say for a couple reasons a manual e39 540 would be rarer than a manual e34 540 in New Zealand. First would be as a result of changes in consumer preferences as a result of automatics becoming far more popular to have in a big car. Second, would be the existence of the E39 M5, as most people who could afford a manual e39 540 back in the day could probably afford an E39 M5 too. Why spec a manual if you want driving fun in a 540 when BMW offers a superior version of it with sportier suspension, bigger and more powerful engine etc. This differs to an E34 as if you wanted a manual V8 you could only get a 540. That low km white E34 540 that is for sale is owned by a member of the E34 Enthusiasts Facebook page. He is only selling as he managed to score an iS, otherwise he would be keeping that one due to its low mileage and overall good condition.

Haha nice, your car looks incredible bro!

Spotted this E46 M3 today at the lights at Northcross on the North Shore. Pretty sure it belongs to a forum member (I think his name is Jed), had distinctive vents on the bonnet, a CSL front bumper, and CSL wheels from memory.

Well this was mildly predictable...

Its a very clever plate!

Yeah you can generally tell a lot from the replies (if you get them) judging by the way an individual crafts their responses and how quickly they reply back to you as well as from having a quick look at their Facebook profile. The main issue with MarketPlace is you have to be really quick to get a good deal before the person realises what they are selling is worth a lot more than they think.

Especially when its: a $5K M Package E34 540i/6, $9K E31 850i, or $600 staggered set of genuine M Pars with good tyres. Those are just some of the wonderful deals I never got a reply from even when I would message within in an hour of them being posted. My one market place win were my set of throwing stars for my E34, although I did pay what I think is a very fair price it was more of a rarity thing on actually finding a set for sale within a 20 minute drive from my house.

Yeah lol as part of my search for W8 Passats I always do a cheeky "Passat V8" search because there is always at least 1 idiot advertising their one as a V8, thats how I found this one. And yeah would be a headache to own especially since the engine design and platform is limited to that car. Probably not worth all the fuss for only 270hp unless you are fanatical about one especially since the R36 exists.

That is the most accurate statement I have read all day. Pure gold 😂

Completely agree! If I bought that car the first thing I would do about 30 seconds after taking possession is jack it up and put some factory wheels back on! The stock W8 wheels are a really good looking wheel imo.

Just spotted this on Facebook Market Place. $8.8K for an E31 850i. Seems like a pretty good deal if there isn't too much wrong with it. Cosmetically it looks pretty good at least! According to the description it needs some fuel pump related work to run and a leaky valley cover gasket needs to be replaced. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/153592866976059

No Volkswagens have ever really caught my eye except for a select few such as the W8 Passat. While its not a BMW I thought this deserved a special mention due to its rarity and cool factor in the non-BMW section of Bimmersport. Anyway, I came across this MANUAL W8 Passat on Facebook MarketPlace. I've kept an eye on W8 Passats for sale for a number of years and I have never seen a manual one come to market in New Zealand. To make this one even more special, its NZ NEW! Whoever ordered it from new must have been quite the baller by going against the grain and ticking the box for a manual. Honestly it would not surprise me if there are less than 5 manual ones in the country. The W8 engine is certainly a special one with an extremely unique sound thanks to two VR4 engines mounted at an angle of 74 degrees from each other on a common crankshaft. (shoutout to Wikipedia for the info) The W8 Passat is also the only production car to date to have a W8 engine, although other production cars with the W configuration include the Veyron and Chiron with their 8.0 Quad Turbo W16 and a variant of the Continental GT with its 6.0 Bi-Turbo W12. Not sure how fun it would be to drive considering its probably quite a heavy engine and it doesn't make much power even though its 4.0L in displacement (only 274hp). Also has 4 motion which would further limit fun. But as a technical marvel, its certainly very interesting. Not sure it's worth 15K considering you can get an auto one for like 5K, plus the wheels are absolutely hideous, but I guess seeing as a Veyron is probably $1.5 million, half a Veyron engine and minus a few turbos with a manual gearbox, doesn't sound too bad... 😂 https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/190639909850553 (Photos taken from the marketplace ad)

The NZ New one must have been one of the lower km NZ New M6s left before it was crashed, plus it was a tasty spec. What a shame.

153K is honestly ridiculous. You could get a 3 year old low km C63 Estate for 80-90K, and then have 60-70K left to get something for the weekends.

They remind me of base spec F20 wheels you would find on something like a 116i, although they do appear slightly different, but it might just be the angle of the photo. I reckon style 378?

Yeah makes sense, thats why he probably didn't care about the sale result and honoured the sale

I reckon it will be on the market for ages considering there was an Estoril Blue RHD e36 M3 for 50K that was on the market for quite a while and only recently must have sold. Would rather buy HellBM's S54 M Coupe that has a buy now of 50K if I was out to spend that kind of money. On the topic of Z3s, I suspect that LHD M3 will be stuck on the market with the LHD M Roadster that is currently for sale. This M Roadster is a US Import so has the crappy US Spec engine and rear bumper yet they are asking 36K! M Roadsters are definitely very cool but a US spec one that is LHD is not even 20K cool imo. It does look to be in very nice cosmetic condition at least, and more tidy than the LHD M3. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/z3/listing/3238065780?bof=EIFu2IUr

Was it his M6 prior to the crash? Or was it purchased from a salvage yard?

Well the winner of the auction got the bargain of the century...

Yup thats not on the list, great spot! Will add it now.

Maybe he bid against himself and it could get relisted? Seems like a wise thing to do when your car is about to sell for half or even a third of what it's potentially worth.

Yeah it was honestly so cheap that it seemed way to good to be true. It's strange the seller "couldn't recall" starting it. Surely starting a V10 in a wrecked M6 would be a little memorable. If he proved it could start the bidding would have been ballistic I suspect. I was thinking about getting it myself but I'm stuck in Auckland so it would have been too challenging to try and organise getting it up here because it would require some decent man power to get it out of the storage facility and then I'm not even sure if the transporter would be allowed into Auckland. Covid restrictions for Aucklanders would have definitely been another factor contributing to the cheap sale.