Kees

The few people I have spoken to all seem to think an E34 540i exhaust is a bit more challenging to perfect than an E39. I think its largely because of the weird shape the E34 exhaust takes, particularly the rear muffler - it's quite tall and thin. I'm an exhaust noob so I have attached some photos of my original factory system next to my cut up factory system which is missing the rear muffler. Have put a WD40 can next to the rear muffler to put into perspective just how big and tall the rear muffler is - weighs a tonne too! I believe the setup on an E34 is first a set of resonators (these are cats on non NZ New cars), then there is a flange to the rest of the exhaust (the big system pictured). It then has some form of mid muffler (I think there might be resonators in there) and then the big rear muffler. I drove @Simca 's E39 540i when he was in Auckland, that car sounded superb with its ACS rear muffler. I just think the ACS muffler won't fit in the limited space width wise the E34 has which is pretty annoying. Attached is also a YouTube video of my car with no muffler. Rasp on decel sounds terrible, and its significantly lacking classy refinement.

So last week I was lucky enough to come across an E34 540i that had JUST gone into the pick-a-part yard so I pillaged a bunch of parts off of it (including a factory 2.93 LSD which I'm stoked about). Anyway, amongst the pile of bits I got was a full exhaust from behind the resonators (mid muffler and rear muffler). I am mildly OCD so had made a pledge with myself that the only time I would do the exhaust on my 540i is when I have another stock system that I can hack up and muck around with, whilst maintaining my original system un cut in the garage (just in case I want to back to stock). So anyway, with the new exhaust I now need exhaust suggestions! I don't want to do the obligatory "muffler delete" as I find the M60 can make some unpleasant noises this way, and I am also not much of a fan of rasp. Am looking for a more refined noise, similar to an Eisenmann muffler (but without spending $3K+ on a muffler HAHA) that can capture the M60 howl. Here are some examples: This is my favourite one I have basically never done anything exhaust in my life so need some suggestions on what you guys think would be best. X Pipe to replace the mid muffler and then smaller stainless rear muffler? P.S: if any of you have a stainless rear muffler that would fit the E34 let me know!

Oh cool, good memory you have! Honestly I am pretty tempted by it, may or may not find myself looking at it later this week...

Guessing it must be the same one judging by the sticker on the rear window. Anyone know when it was last for sale?

I’m surprised no one has nabbed this: https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/bmw/auction-3835547289.htm Sure its not particularly powerful for a V8, but it’s still a V8 MANUAL for $5.5K. Doesn’t get much cheaper than that! Aside from the hideous wheels and the lowered suspension it looks fairly tidy and I think it would tidy up well with some M Sport salt sprinkled on it. Plus I’m guessing it would be quite easy to swap a bigger M62 in such as out of a 540i to give it some decent power. Surely the manual conversion alone would be worth more than half the asking price? If I didn’t already have way too many cars I would probably buy this.

I would definitely advocate for learning in a manual. I got my learners in 2018 and learnt in a manual. While it is harder, I think the additional skills learnt are very valuable. Not only is it a useful skill that comes in handy occasionally; (its shocking how many people cannot drive manual) whether its moving a work car, or sober driving a mate's car, I think learning in a manual gives you a better understanding of driving dynamics such as; braking and shifting before a corner, anticipating whats ahead of you etc. My experience with insurance is that for "regular" cars AMI Young Drivers' Insurance is generally the cheapest. I somehow managed to get my 540i insured by them back in 2020 for a reasonable amount (although I think they have changed their insurance matrix since then as they would not cover my W8s, Boxster, Legacy, S8, S6 etc). I also had a cheap Mazda 6 and Mercedes A170 which they insured for a minimal amount. Otherwise, AA insurance usually ensure the more powerful/niche cars but that does come at a bit of a premium.

This one originally sold for $4.4K dollar reserve. Was immediately re-listed but has been for sale for ages. Does look like a nice car though. I feel a key issue for E34 540s is most of them have done “high ks” (250,000+) which turn away majority of people who are unaware how reliable the M60 B40 generally is.

Had that one on my watchlist too for ages. Was wondering why it took so long to sell as it didn't even seem that badly priced, especially as it was NZ New, manual, under 100,000km and an interesting blue over tan colour combination. Was wondering if it potentially had some issues as I had watched the Boxster market all year and many other examples came and went except for that one. However, I believe it has finally sold in the last week or so. Not having much of the service history really annoys me as the car drives great so I'm guessing its probably had a refresh of bushings and what not in the past. Suspension is tight, no weird noises, no shimmers or vibrations. I have a feeling the shocks may have been replaced as there is a sticker in the door jam from a shock specialist, but without the paper trail I can't really confirm. It's a little frustrating as the previous owner clearly spent money on the car, he just didn't keep the receipts. He was meant to have a look for some so I may chase him up about it tomorrow actually. Guess we will see how it goes!

Ok so I have decided I really would like the Cayman S I have been offered. Will most likely list the Boxster on Trademe tomorrow or on the weekend. Thinking of listing for $22,995, does this sound reasonable? Cheapest manual Boxster at the moment is a 986.2 for $24,995, and the current cheapest manual 987 is $35,000 ONO for a standard 2.7 Boxster like mine (aside from a questionable example at Turners Otahuhu for $31.5K estimated auction price). Mine has roughly 228,000km, a few cosmetic issues (primarily some paint damage on the rear bumper, small dent on driver's door & bonnet, paint damage on wheels and general stone chips) and has a minimal paper trail of receipts due to the previous owner's apparent nonchalant attitude to keeping things with the car, hence I was thinking $22,995 would be a somewhat reasonable place to start price wise. My car also has: - New Porsche Soft Top (Done by previous owner, cost around $8K apparently) - New Bridgestone Potenza RE003 Tyres (Cost me 1.3K) - DBA Performance Slotted Front Disks - Paddon Sport Front Pads Car stops like nothing I have ever driven, fairly sure it would out-brake majority of cars (short of the serious stuff with carbon ceramics). I also set about cosmetically tidying the car up so I did: - Light polish + basic ceramic coating - Replaced the Fan Speed and Temperature switches on the interior as they had gone yuck. - Sourced "Boxster" badge from Porsche (rip off at $286) Being a 2.7L Flat 6 with 240hp, mid-engined and 5-Speed Manual it is a very fun car to drive and feels quick. Makes the distinctive Porsche Flat 6 howl so sounds really nice. Let me know your thoughts, here are a couple photos of the car my mate did with his flash camera recently.

Have just seen this go up on Trademe, a bit of a bargain IMO. Definitely not the prettiest example BUT its got new tyres, new spark plugs, been freshly serviced (including transmission) and has had a bunch of other work already done, I think it would be a great car with some cosmetic tidy ups. Doesn't get much cheaper than $2K!! According to the VIN it even has an LSD. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/535i/listing/3872265542

I agree. Even if it wasn't LHD there's still a decent basket of other cool cars for around 20K. Although the market has definitely changed, it wasn't that long ago that a "proper" M Roadster was sub 20K.... - 17.5K in 2018 - 25K in 2019 (pretty sure it went for around 20K in the end)

Yes it is a 987.1 S so bore scoring is definitely a concern of mine. Will definitely look out for it - I saw a 987.1 Cayman S 2 weeks ago up for sale with bore scoring, and there's currently a 997.1 911 with bore scoring for sale at a dealer in Wellington - seems to be more of an issue than the famed IMS? 987.2 would be great. Quite a rare beast along with the 997.2s thanks to the old GFC. Cheeky pic of my Boxster next to my Mum's 997.2 which makes my 987 look rather mediocre 😂 P.S: Ignore the horrid yellow'd headlights on my 987 - that photo was taken the day I got the car.

I've seen that car cruising around Albany a few times - looks great!

Thought I would write a little piece about my latest toy. I've been wanting a Porsche for many, many years. However, even before I got my learner license back in the day I would watch the prices of basically anything Porsche climb. First it was older 911s, then nice 928 S4s and 944 S2s and then it was just everything else. Currently there is a 20K 924.... umm wtf. Anyway, over the last year I came to the realisation that the best way for me to get a decent first taste of the Porsche life was going to be through a manual Boxster. I narrowly missed a bargain (for the time) 987 Manual at the start of the year when the market was still quite hot, but since then prices have come back a little bit. Although that said, I am rather grateful I sold my D3 Audi S8 when I did, as I saw a really tidy looking NZ New example similar to mine go for 9.7K recently... I got double that for mine in March this year. Anyway I digress. I was torn between 986 and 987 Boxster. 986 has the bonus of the detachable hardtop, but the regular 2.5s are apparently a bit gutless, and the S variants or 986.2 2.7s are hard to find at a half sensible price in manual. Plus, the interior is a bit uninspiring and while I actually don't mind the fried egg headlights on a 996, I'm not completely sold on them on a Boxster, especially pre-facelift. Then a month of two ago a high ks 987 rolled across my screen. I'm sure a few of you will recognise it. Seller had it listed as an auction, and had some excellent photos of it in the rain with the interior absolutely filthy. Furthermore, it had faded headlights, stickers on the doors and plasti-dipped wheels which generally just made it look a bit tired, BUT had a NEW Soft Top (which cost $8K apparently). Unsurprisingly no one bid on it, and I was the highest bidder some $8K below what he wanted for the car. Car was re-listed two more times and while the final bid increased from the first auction, it was not hitting reserve. As I was the highest bidder every time I eventually negotiated with the seller to a price I thought was fair. I then made the trip to pick it up. Of course I generally do not have normal car buying experiences. Whether its my Subaru Legacy E-Tune blowing up on the way home, the clutch packing up in my Manual W8 on the test drive, or getting a flat tyre in my newly acquired Boxster at 10pm on a Sunday night in rural Hamilton, there's generally something. So yes, flat tyre.... 10pm at night.... rural Hamilton. Obviously the car does not have a spare and is missing its stud key, excellent! The letter box at the driveway I pulled into was 1126 from memory - just to put into perspective how I had absolutely no idea where I was. Only reason I was on that road in the first place was because the motorway had been closed 😕 Went to two nearby houses to ask if they had an air compressor I could borrow (as the car's one is rubbish and slow) just to try get the car somewhere safer such as a petrol station, but of course: young, Aucklander, driving a Porsche - Do you think I got any help? First house I went to I was ridiculed for not buying a ute, and then ridiculed for buying a girl's car. Second house I went to I was asked if I go to spastics school for being younger with a Porsche. Anyway, luckily the lady at the AA centre had done a good job upselling me to be a premium member with extended towing allowance so I waited with the car for a couple hours and got the tow truck to flat bed the car to a tyre shop on the North Shore in Auckland. Great 19 hour day that was. The next day I set about sorting the tyre. Of course the Pirelli DragonSport it had on it was apparently out of stock nationwide, so naturally I put on a new set of Bridgestone RE003s for $1.3K. Would have preferred Michelin PS4s but the RE003s were ready to go at the shop it was at so its whatever. So finally I got the car home and set about its deep clean. I don't think the interior had been cleaned since the previous owner bought it. It was super dusty and full of rubbish and food crums. Luckily not the hardest to clean, just a little time consuming. Then I set about removing the hideous aftermarket "Porsche" script from the bootlid (to be replaced by a Boxster badge when I find one), and also stripped off the stickers and the plastidip on the wheels. Headlights had a tidy up at Renew Car and already the car looks alot tidier. So anyway, how does it drive? The previous owner upgraded the rotors and put performance pads on it so when you get on the brakes hard it stops like nothing I have ever driven - its SUPER impressive. I think it may have a different intake on it - sounds incredible, like a baby GT3. Has that intoxicating Porsche flat 6 howl when you rev it out. Gearbox is lovely, clutch weighting is nice, steering is awesome - probably the best car I've driven. (I actually think it sounds better than my Mum's 997.2 C2S) The previous owner asked me when I was paying for it - "Is this your first Porsche?", "Yes" I replied. "Well you're screwed then, all you will want to drive from now on will be these". And so far he's been right. I've driven it everyday. Drove my W8 on the weekend and hated how light the clutch was and how high up the car felt. But of course, after excitedly telling everyone I got my first Porsche, someone from my extended family has offered me their manual 987 Cayman S for essentially trade in value so this 987 will probably go up for sale within the month (as passing that deal up is insanity) because there isn't much point having two and under 25 insurance is already an unpleasant experience with the 540i, Manual W8 and the Boxster. P.S: The car has a silly Hikeit throttle controller in it which I hate - a Boxster is obviously not a diesel Mitsubishi Triton, and surprisingly Porsche know a thing or two about making a nice, reactive throttle. Who would have guessed? Anyway, if anyone wants the Hikeit, if you know what you are doing and can remove it from the car you can just have it. Anyway, here's a couple photos of how it's looking now.

HAHA I wish! Just a manual 987 Boxster for now, insurance is already painful enough as I'm a bit under 25 🤣

Spotted this tasty M3 in New Market the other night when I was out for a drive in my most newly acquired toy.

Here’s something you certainly don’t see everyday, especially on a grey Thursday morning! First Lagonda I’ve ever seen in person.

Gave my 540i a much needed wash for the first time in a few months. Have barely used it since it debited my wallet $2.4K in early September. Will write about that incident at some point haha Threw on a coat of Turtle Wax Black Ceramic Wax for some extra gloss. The paint correction I did 18 months ago still looks pretty good, might give the bonnet a light buff at some point if I get bored during summer.

Have been meaning to do an update on my 540i and my W8 for a while now so thought I would start with Franklin. Finally got round to ordering Europlates - ended up being a bit of a hassle when the courier signed for me while I was out and then put the plates in a roof cavity near our front door, so I thought some parcel pirate had nabbed them and only found them yesterday. Anyway, put them on today, happy with how they look. Went for the classic Navy euro plate as I feel its almost an un-official rule that a pre 05' VW has the Navy euro plate. Other than that, car has clicked over to 248,000km (bought it with 242,9XX from memory) so have actually done a fair bit of driving in it considering it gets driven about twice a month. So far this W8 is one of my favourite cars to drive, the way the power is delivered is so unique. Gave the interior a proper detail last weekend too, conditioned all the leather etc. Have also managed to VIN decode the spec. Some interesting items: - Reflex Silver - Sports Package - Nappa Leather Recaro Sports Seats - Winter Package Otherwise its all just regular Passat options I believe. Also apparently 792 W8 Manuals were built total with majority LHD. Other than that, still trying to find out more specific information. SIDE NOTE: Small appreciation post for Bimmersport - the VASK NZ forum is simply ancient in comparison, can't even post photos! Passat's winter package ski bag coming in handy for some bits I bought for my 540i... any guesses what it is?

Interesting he's dropped the price. Was up for 12.8K originally. I asked the guy to view twice (when it was up for 12.8K) and I just get left on seen so clearly he's not particularly interested in selling.

E46 M3 Vert and 992 squaring off at the lights today

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/m3/listing/3774378882 Here it is again with a 55K ONO price....

Just spotted this rather nice looking machine

2.0L Passat TDI Wagon or Audi A4/A6 AVANT 3.0 TDI? Don't think they have a ton of issues. My friend's father has a diesel Passat with 200,000+km, it's had no issues and he loves the fuel economy. I wonder if the savings of a super economical diesel euro will offset the more expensive maintenance of a Euro compared to a petrol Japanese equivalent. Examples: NZ New 2015 Passat TDI Wagon (80,000km) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/volkswagen/passat/listing/3765391258 NZ New 2012 Audi A6 Avant TDI (120,000km) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/audi/a6/listing/3768398160 --EDIT-- Another one I've just thought of, and I think they look rather swanky is a newer Mazda 6 diesel wagon. Example: NZ New 2018 Mazda 6 Wagon Diesel (60,000km) https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/mazda/6/listing/3729051182 I think they look really smart. Haven't looked into long term reliability, from memory older CX5s suffered from turbo issues, not sure if that was in diesel or petrol engines though but would be worth looking into.

I'd be interested in taking my 207 GTI there before it closes for good.