treone

Not Wellington but Mike Page European in Paraparaumu. I've had great experience in dealing with both Mike and Jeff and found that they really do know their stuff. They have the knowledge and comparable/up-to-date diagnostic equipment to service most European makes. And them having BMW DNA is a bonus too lol. As you know they also have a bit of history also with your M5. I was pretty impressed on how and what they did to diagnose and sort it's issues. They also have a good relationship with Autosure/Vero - in fact when I made an enquiry with Autosure and told them that Mike Page service the M5 they said there wouldn't be a problem if there were any claims to be made. And besides, think of fun drive you will have there and back . My experience with servicing the M5 was finding a garage that knows their stuff, know BMW quirks and know the requirements of looking after 'M' cars and you can't go wrong. Otherwise all other local suggestions seem fine...

Ahhh cool - this is good to know and explains why the Calais Sportwagon I recently test drove changed gear with clunks, but not quite like my '05 VZ

I suppose the VE (and on-wards) Commodore is helped by the fact that they used the E39 as the bench mark. They even got the ZF tiptronic boxes in them from the SV6 upwards anlong with the fords... if I'm correct...

You wont be disappointed stepping into a V8 believe me. In fact it will be hard to go back . Oh and don't get too obsessed with 'fuel gauge' watching, as I often say "its not how much it costs to fill a tank that matters. it's how fast you empty it . In all seriousness enjoy your BMW SS Commodore and I'm sure it'll tick all your boxes!

This M5 just sounds stunning! 1990 and owner says just covered 65k kms and is a weekend drive. That colour and interior combo sounds cool but those Throwing Stars are frigging awesome! Any one know this car? http://www.driven.co.nz/news/lifestyle/me-my-car-the-art-of-understatement/

Awesome score Olaf! Proves that dominoes do fall in all the right places

I tend to agree this blue colour is stunning, but not a fan of the white interior nor aluminium trim. Which lets this one down IMO. Would be an epic drive though. Wonder what it sounds like?

Welcome! Was tempted with this one myself so its great to hear its gone to a good home. I had my first E39 M5 drive recently - what a fantastic machine! I'm sure the 'wow factor' will never fade every time you drive it!

Olaf - what you're really saying is E61 with S85 option - next!

Welcome as well!

Not that long ago I went to test drive some small cars with a family member who was in the market for a New car. We took a Holden Spark for a test drive - you know the current COTY. As soon as we got out onto a 'busy' road with traffic all round I said to myself Hell No! The vulnerability I felt in this sheet of metal was enough to give me the s^&*s! Then we got out onto the motorway and I can tell you that being side by side with a semi-truck and trailer at 100km/ hr in a car like that is not a very nice feeling! Being sandwiched between two is even worse! Unfortunately that was case for the Jazz, Swift and Echo that we took out. For me, the choice between a 90's Euro or latest Jap/Korean/Chinese (or what ever) is a no brainer! I remember being told once - 3mm of sheet metal is often the difference between life and death. Give me the 'thud' or 'clunk' of a quality made car any day.

Looks to have taken quite a hit, especially if its bent. I reckon that's not bad for an early 90's but 80's designed and developed vehicle. Could the same be said about the equivalent local/Japanese models?

I'm interested as well - mine seems to be stuck on 17.5l/100km regardless of urban/motorway . that's what the car tells me so I'm sticking with it haha

Nice M5! Agree with you abut the SMG it does take some getting use to! Interesting comments about your experiences with the E55 and M5. My neighbour owns an E55 and having had a drive of it I agree with your comparison. The supercharged V8 is something else but personally I prefer the M5 - to me it is more refined, has a better all round quality feel, ride and handling is out of this world for a family saloon. And it just looks soooo much damn better than the merc! Looking forward to see how you progress with your upgrades. Cheers!

Cheers for the replies and insights so far. Will see how things develop...

Sure - here you go... Vehicle information VIN long WBSNB92040BE18837 Type code NB92 Type M5 (EUR) Dev. series E60 (M5) Line 5 Body type LIM Steering RL Door count 4 Engine S85 Cubical capacity 5.00 Power 373 Transmission HECK Gearbox MECH Colour SILVERSTONE II METALLIC (A29) Upholstery LEDER MERINO/SCHWARZ (LKSW) Prod. date 2005-07-25 Order options No. Description 1CA SELECTION COP RELEVANT VEHICLES 261 SIDE AIRBAG FOR REAR PASSENGERS 356 CLIMATE COMFORT LAMINATED GLASS 403 GLAS ROOF, ELECTRIC 415 SUNBLIND FOR REAR WINDOW 428 WARNING TRIANGLE 430 INT/EXT RR VW MIRROR W AUT ANTI-DAZZLE 431 INTERIOR RR VW MIRROR W AUT ANTI-D 441 SMOKERS PACKAGE 488 LUMBAR SUPPORT DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER 496 SEAT HEATING FOR REAR SEATS 5AB BRAKE FORCE DISPLAY, DELETION 502 HEADLIGHT WASHER SYSTEM 508 PARK DISTANCE CONTROL (PDC) 524 ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS 548 SPEEDOMETER WITH KILOMETER READING 601 TV FUNCTION 609 NAVIGATION SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL 610 HEAD UP DISPLAY 620 VOICE INPUT SYSTEM 646 CAR TELEPHONE PREPARATION JAPAN 672 CD CHANGER BMW FOR 6 CDS 677 HIFI SYSTEM PROFESSIONAL 698 AREA-CODE 2 737 INTERIOR TRIM ALU SHADOW, BRUSHED 754 M REAR SPOILER 776 INDIV. ROOF-LINING ALCANTARA ANTHRACITE 8SP COP CONTROL 807 JAPAN VERSION 818 MAIN BATTERY SWITCH 845 ACOUSTIC BELT WARNING 852 LANGUAGE VERSION JAPANESE 876 RADIO FREQUENCY 315 MHZ 9AA EXTERNAL SKIN PROTECTION 925 SHIPPING PROTECTION PACKAGE 992 NUMBER PLATE ATTACHEMENT MANAGEMENT Series options No. Description 216 SERVOTRONIC 302 ALARM SYSTEM 423 FLOOR MATS, VELOUR 442 CUPHOLDER 459 SEAT ADJUSTM., ELECTR. W. MEMORY 473 ARMREST, FRONT 494 SEAT HEATING F DRIVER/FRONT PASSENGER 522 XENON LIGHT 534 AUTOMATIC AIR CONDITIONING 540 CRUISE CONTROL 563 LIGHTS PACKAGE 785 WHITE DIRECTION INDICATOR LIGHTS

Thanks Olaf your insights are helpful as always.

Not necessarily a conscience move to a diesel but have received an offer that may include one. As I know zilch about diesels I thought asking the question of those in the know was a good place to start. But I'm pretty sure that the offer may not go anywhere. What I've learnt so far is that a 530D should not be dismissed as an alternative. Ohhhh to have a car that could do @ 1000km to a tank . The Prof HiFi is a pretty kick butt sound system even when you are forced to listen to the Hits haha!

I have experience of a petrol E60. Didn't like the shape when it came out new. Didn't like it when I bought one. But it has now grown on me, both exterior and interior. IMO the E60 is a well set up and balanced car to drive. I have no experience with diesels at all but... what are things to be aware of? I'm not looking for an opinion on the 'looks' of the E60 just what does/would owning a 10+ year old BMW/E60 diesel entail? Or more specifically - a 2007 NZ 530D MSport LCI one :-) Looking forward to your thoughts and insights!

Shameless promotion again. Now relisted at a very low $23,500 no reserve. This is my absolute bottom line. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1267209697&ed=true This is one hell of a car for a very low reserve - which I'm sure some members can attest to . Cheers!

Thanks Cory appreciated it.

I didn't think of this (thanks eliongater!) but how hard can it be? and how deep do the pockets have to be! I know it has been done before. Hmmmmmmmmm lol Will be relisted tonight at the lowest $$ I'm willing to go :-( And it now has a proper owners manual (not a printed A4 version of the US spec'd one!) so that alone must be worth a $5k premium haha.

Unfortunately the day I leave my phone at home (so no photo)... spotted a white i8 travelling south on SH1, heading into the Terrace tunnel. Friggin heck! what a beautiful machine!

Thanks TermiPeteNZ. It will be missed for sure. When it does go it will at least help me focus on an 8 series once again. Or an E39 M5. Or both! These are a bit longer term though - there are other pressing priorities at the moment...

You obviously did which is why you don't own it... just like the person who offered $17k doesn't own it either . It is for sale but I won't be giving it away. Now if you came up with what I countered with then you could turn it into anything you want haha (I am being somewhat sarcastic here). Took it for a 300km round trip 'Sunday drive' to the Shannon/Palmy North - someone please remind me why I'm selling this again .