Kees

@Sammo WOW! Looks absolutely sensational. Love the wheels.

Since I got my Manual W8 Passat, the rooted wheels have really annoyed me. Went to wheel-fix it to see how much it would be to give them a refurb. The polished lips were oxidised and decently curbed, and the painted centres were bubbling. To have the wheels properly sorted they would need to be chemically stripped and painted which would cost around $3K.... Plus I was still on the hunt for new tyres. Came across an NZ New, Auto W8 Passat, with much tidier wheels, wrapped in RE003s, and in the same colour as the manual! So I made the unique decision to buy it just for the wheels. Is actually quite a well kept car with a service book which is completely full. Was dealer serviced until around 2015 and judging by the RE003s (which are now on the manual one), it had been pampered more than most W8s. Got quite a few looks on the drive home. Not sure how many times in human history, two silver W8s have been cruising together! Driving the pair back to back is very interesting. The auto is nice enough on the motorway but feels pretty sluggish around town. Manual transmission really transforms the car in my opinion. Also, driving them both home from Hamilton, the 6-speed manual got 9.1L/100km whereas the 5-speed Auto said it got 10.4L/100km. But anyway, having owned it approximately 24 hours and having swapped the wheels, the auto is up for sale! Would make a great tow car, long distance cruiser or winter beater. Has the rare leather and alcantara Recaro bucket seats which are electric and heated. Also has a factory VW tow bar and probably is one of the tidiest W8s left. Have no use for the car so its now on trademe if anyone wants it. Can do a decent deal for Bimmersporters, although I doubt anyone would want it 🤣 Depending on how long it takes to sell I will probably get bored and start taking more bits off it to swap with the manual one. https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/volkswagen/listing/3556110221?bof=6Myl2HdR

I think I’m going to get a couple air tags for my cars since they are fairly inexpensive. Look like they work decently well and it would be nice to have the system integrate seamlessly with my phone and computer. However, have heard they can notify unfamiliar Apple devices that they are being tracked. My mate left his airtag he has with his keys in a mate’s car and his mate got a notification saying a foreign airtag unfamiliar to his phone could be tracking him. Could be problematic if the thieves have an Apple product (which lets be honest is quite likely seeing how popular iPhones are) as after a while they will know they are being tracked.

Anyone want to come view the car 🤣 I feel like we need a Bimmersport in-person investigation...

Is a bit strange its been to 5 dealers, but I guess spread over 3 private owners its not too bad. Could have gone for example: BMW dealer, first owner, dealer who does a dealer trade with another dealer, second owner, dealer, third owner. May also be a carjam error. From memory I think that one was sold from Tradein Post in Greenlane at some point. Was a thread on this car in the past too: (wonder if it was with its original owner until 2016 as the car looks to be in a fairly prestigious driveway indicative of someone who bought it new) Photos showing car was from Tradein Post:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/325i/listing/3538275807?bof=lkYJ4f9I Not sure if this one has been posted here yet, wonder what it will go for. Bidding currently at 2.5K. Lots and lots of rust and suspect blown head-gasket, so quite a large project.

@Sammo Was nice meeting you today, your e30 looks awesome!

Honestly I think he will get 50K+ for it. Higher ks than the first two blue ones which were snapped up for presumably $40K and $50-55K respectively, however it looks to be in better cosmetic condition and is an arguably more desirable spec. I guess the only issue is how many people are realistically looking for an E39 M5, considering there have been 4 total for sale in just over a month? If someone really wanted one they probably snapped up either of the first two. That said, if I could afford it, I would buy it. Love the spec, and it has original plates!!! In my personal opinion, this may be controversial but I think E39 M5s will be 100K+ in the next 5 years. Rare in NZ, NA V8, 400hp, RWD, with a manual. Can't beat it!

Was for sale in 2019. Such an incredible spec. The colour is an Individual Colour of BMW Laguna Seca Blue, meaning the colour was a special order and not a standard M6 colour. Is really highly spec'd. Best M6 on the market in my opinion. Here are the details from that listing:

Bargain! Body is all aluminium so the scrap value is close to 2K just for the body. Air suspension components also worth a decent penny if in good condition. Whoever got it can enjoy a luxury limo and then make more than they paid for it if something goes wrong.

Just checked my screen recording, is the same Trademe account, so must be the same owner. Bet the seller is glad they didn't sell it for sub 40K!

Amazing spec! Was for sale in September 2020. Sat on the market for a while too. How times have changed...

Completely agree! Don't understand why a whole new plate has to be issued for the same car. Only way to get around it in NZ is to make the original combination a euro plate prior to putting the Personalised Plate on as then you own the rights to the original combination, but obviously no one ever does this.

Saw that on the carjam and that really pissed me off. I'm quite OCD with original plate combos on NZ New cars since its something you cannot get back once you put a dumb personalised plate on it. Makes me even more mad when the plate has been on there for years like with that M5. Keeping the original combination really completes the car in my opinion. My W8, e34 540i and 207 GTI all are on there original plates. I'm so OCD I actively look for cars with original plates and would pay a premium for it too.

Just noticed no shadow trim either. Normal chrome part of the "comfort" spec like with the seats? Looks a bit weird having the chrome and then black wheels imo.

The others were bargains for their apparent condition, this one definitely looks to be a little rougher around the edges than the others. Also has the highest ks out of the 3. Also has the startup rattle that was noted by the second one for sale. However, I reckon the seller will probably get more than the second one which was listed for 55K, simply because he can adjust his price if required. Someone will definitely want it. Still a tidy car overall. Also, have the front seats been swapped for standard e39 seats? I thought all M5s had sports seats. Have never seen one with standard seats. Standard seats an option?: Under-tray seen better days No floor mats N

I think you just won Bingo! 3 NZ New Le Mans Blue E39 M5s for sale within a month and 5 days! What are the chances!!

Might also be worth blasting some water behind the plate with the hose to loosen the adhesive as much as you can without having to pull on the plate. Have had the issue in the past and just used water to get it off. Fishing line is a good idea though.

I tried to write a polite response which I emailed to him. It consisted of two sections as I'm hoping it can act as a way to conclude contact. I first gave some advice on what I would do in regards to diagnosing the severity of the leak. I made sure to explicitly state it was my personal opinion and I am not a mechanic, and to seek proper advice and opinion from Audi. I then reminded him of the service and inspection done the day before the deal was finalised. I stated I had no knowledge of the leak which is a fact he knows, I pointed to the fact Audi had inspected the car with no such leak noted, and concluded I do not accept responsibility for fixing the leak. I tried to phrase things as professionally as possible. I'm currently a third year law student so I tried to be as careful as possible in how I explained everything. Hoping the email I sent him can conclude contact, or at least allow for me to conclude it myself. I provided advice as to what he could hypothetically do in terms of sorting the car to a standard he is happy with, and confirmed where I feel my position stands on the matter. Have not had a reply yet.

Nope, I don't think I would ever personally guarantee a vehicle I'm selling. Have written him an email explaining I claim no responsibility for repairing the oil leak, if he comes back aggressively, I might send him the relevant provisions of the CGA.

Good point, might as well try rip the band aid off as he's not going to be happy sugar coated or not so would be best to be straight to the point and very clear. Really appreciate the advice!!

Yup, that was over $930 alone! Yeah very true, I guess there's always risk when buying a used car, especially an older high spec European one, so the buyer has to mitigate their own risk how they see fit. Any ideas on how I handle things when I speak to him next? Do I just explain it doesn't really seem fair for me considering I did everything he asked, and was transparent about the car so I shouldn't be held responsible for how the car is now.

Good point! Not really fair and does seem off to ring me demanding money for something I had no knowledge of existing. I'll try get him to understand my perspective: I had no knowledge of the leak. The car was serviced and inspected the day before sale and collection. The service information is in the 30 pages of info in the clear file. I told you about what was noted on Audi's inspection report. I got the car a WOF and a year rego as you requested prior to sale and it was inspected by Audi. I did everything you asked and was transparent through the whole process.

Yeah I think you summarised it perfectly. I genuinely feel I was very transparent with the car. The clear file I gave him was over 30 pages of information, receipts, etc on the car, including the receipt and report from Audi themselves, it was literally everything related to that car. And the thing is he knows I was very transparent with the car, because on the phone he was getting quite frustrated with me but when I reminded him that the car was inspected by Audi in the service the day before we did the deal he seemed to calm down. He also mentioned the first place he took the car (I'm guessing yesterday) diagnosed the leak as somewhere else so in itself its not confidence inspiring that Audi have now diagnosed the crankshaft seals and probably given him a sizeable quote to rectify it. How do you think I should progress, as he wants to hear back from me soon? I was thinking I should suggest to him getting the under-tray back on the car nice and clean, and then monitoring how much oil leaks onto it to gauge the severity of the leak. I'm hoping the leak is not very severe (which I'm guessing it isn't as you would smell burnt oil if its constantly dripping on the exhaust manifold), so that it shows him its not worth dropping the engine and gearbox for an oil leak like that. It may just be that the under-tray had 20,000+ km of oil leaking on it. Like I feel bad he is unhappy but I was not hiding the oil leak from him as I didn't even know about it! And as you said, it's not my car anymore so it's not really fair I contribute to fix something like that.

So I just got the call I didn't want. About a month ago I sold my NZ New 2006 Audi S8 with 119,000km. I think I was as transparent as possible with the car. It came with a clear file filled with all the work that was done to the car and why the work was done. The day before money was transferred and the buyer took the car, I had the car serviced at Continental Audi so that it would be fresh and ready to go for the new owner. Continental Audi also did their typical dealer inspection. They noted: - Split CV boot - Minor oil leak near alternator - Abnormal sound when opening the sunroof (just needed some lubrication) - Some damage to the engine under-tray cover (as expected with a car of this age) I was actually pretty impressed with the car as I thought that if the dealer was OCD enough to note the sunroof squeak, surely the car must be in decent order. The buyer agreed and bought the car. I felt good about the deal because I genuinely thought the car was a great car (which I still think), and I had been extremely transparent with the whole thing. Fast forward about a month and a half to today, the buyer rings me saying over the weekend he was driving the car and the under-tray blew out on the motorway. He pulled over to put it in the boot and found it had oil on it. He took the car to Hamilton Audi who have diagnosed the rear crank seals are leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold and eventually down to the under-tray. This is an engine and gearbox out to fix. Apparently there's a decent amount of dried oil on the under-tray and it drips onto the exhaust manifold. However, this was never picked up on when it was serviced, it obviously never dropped a drip of oil when I owned the car, but most importantly; the car never smelt of burnt oil after driving it (which it would if its dripping heaps of oil on the exhaust manifold). If it is leaking badly onto the exhaust manifold he would have smelt it on the test drive, let alone the 1.5 months he's had the car. My guess is its actually not too bad and theres just some built up grudge on the engine cover. So what do you guys think I should do? I know that as a private seller I have no obligation to do anything but I do feel bad he is not happy with the car. But on the same vein, I literally had the car serviced and inspected the day before collection, and it came with a clear file of literally every single thing I had done to the car and the reason for it. The car was also NZ New with a full Audi service history, with the lowest ks of any PFL D3 S8 on the market at the time, and I sold it for under $20K which I think was pretty fair. It also had near new dealer fitted Pirelli Pzeros, the front pads and rotors were like 2000km old, like everything was done. Like at the end of the day its a 16 year old ultra-high spec European Limousine, I don't think its unreasonable it might have an oil leak. I'm sure most of us wouldn't be too unhappy that an old European car has an oil leak so long as its not pissing out oil, but the guy was really pissed off. And for under $20K, I think its unreasonable to be furious at a 16 year old car leaking some oil. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.