treone

Try 16.4l and 26 cylinders: E60 V10 M5 - horrendousL/100km. HSV Avalanche 5.7 V8 - ridiculousL/100km. Holden Monaro CV 5.7 - verypleasantcamparedtotheother2butnowherenearyoursL/100km But the noise and power more than makes up for it What's even better fun is switching to 'range 'and watching it reduce before your eyes haha!

Sad day indeed . Looks like I'm keeping my VZ HSV Avalanche wagon and V2 Monaro (manual!) and watch'em appreciate. Anyone interested in a E60 M5?

Wellingtons new 'smart' motorway. Feel for the Hutt Valley (SH2) commuters - it doesn't seem to be that 'smart' for them

Great to hear the water ingress was identified and sorted quickly. Believe me you dodged a bullet on that one! Hopefully you can now just drive and enjoy (for a few months at least )

If it has had a comprehensive restoration meaning everything: body, interior, suspension, motor, driveline, brakes, all rubber, all nuts, all bolts, body repairs, a complete bare metal respray in original colour and using genuine BMW parts then maybe. But judging by the photo's this one is nowhere near worth what they are asking IMHO. But how awesome will it to be to own and enjoy an E34 M5!

Any water in the rear passenger rear wells? Do you have a sunroof? if so blocked drain hoses could be a culprit. They run inside the roof cavity down the c-pillar to an outlet into the rear wheel arch/bumper (which is plastic). A common and notorious problem and a very bad design IMO :-(

Driving the 'monster in stealth' after time spent driving the HSV or Monaro. Then you realise what the Germans have got sooo right for sooo long... and the 500hp V10 grow X2l!! haha

Now sold Cheers...

There's always one isn't there Back to the OP - 330i is a great choice. I hope you enjoy your BMW ownership and experience. A lot of experienced BMW owners on here who will be happy to share tips and advice. Cheers!

Good read. Any reason you didn't consider an M3 or M5? Either of these would have given you the looks, comfort and performance it seemed that you're looking for. An e46 or E60 m-series are of the same vintage and are now in the similar price bracket you were looking in. Sad to hear about your redundancy but I'm sure it will all work out.

Bumpity bump bump for the weekend - now $100 firm - plus postage if any. Cheers!

Bumpity bump - now $100 firm - plus postage if any. Cheers!

Sorry I have been away over the week end. Just sent you a PM. Cheers!

Bump...

Bump - $130ono plus courier or pick up/drop off Porirua-Wellington. Currently on sale for $249 at Repco, without ISO adapter so a bargain

Great article! and finally are 'real' car owner showcasing their own car as opposed to a random 'no-one-knows-who-I-am-brand-ambassador celebrity' with my 'sponsored' car

As per title - Sony double Din HU with Bluetooth. Never been used but packaging has been opened to view unit. Comes with all wires including the correct Sony ISO adapter. $150 ono plus courier or pick Porirua/Wellington. Link for specs: http://www.sony.co.nz/electronics/in-car-receivers-players/wx-gt90bt Cheers!

Agree that this an immaculate example. However... something like this would be nice! http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?R=SSE-AD-4104753&Cr=3

So which caryard?

Yip this was a Wellington car and was looked after by local BMW dealer. I parked my 1996 840ci next to this in their car park one time and noticed the key mechanical differences - 4.4 v 4.0, tiptronic v standard auto etc. I asked why the differences as they later model didn't seem right - the 4.4 and tiptronic came standard in mid-1996. Was told that they were produced for different markets but I didn't believe them :-). Mine was a March 1996 car and came from the UK. This one I suspect is probably has an early build date and first registered in 1997... but I can be mistaken.

Not sure but the owner bought this from Dunedin - sound familiar? And Peter - I think my neighbour owns the E55 you test drove - Euroland did great business from us three :-)

If you're looking for a car to invest in then that sadly wont be an E60 M5 But an E39 M5... the owner of this example told me what he paid for it several years ago - again I take him on face value, for what he's asking he is going to get a reasonable return. However what is unknown is the maintenance cost over the ownership period. I suspect tho that he is still coming out on top. Peter - go drive an M5 it would be interesting how it compares to the 545. But be warned, you may be tempted My neighbour has a MB E55 AMG, 5.4 supercharged. Having had a drive it is comparable to the M5 and the supercharger whine is very entertaining! For me the M5 has it over the MB both in performance and looks - IMO the MB is butt-ugggly!

Interesting question. In short - good and bad. The bad: Had rough running and warning light issues from day one. These were inter-related. Over the first 3-4 months replaced the battery, positive power cable, air intake hoses and charcoal canister. This has made all the difference and the garage who work on it say it is running smoothly. I highly recommend MPE in Paraparaumu! Next issue was water ingress to the rear footwell's (both sides) - sounds familiar :-). Culprit - blocked sunroof drain plugs from 10 years of gunk, grit and s#%^. Interior out, carpets dried, control units checked and all ok. Thanks again to MPE! The good: Performance! Power! Handling! and all in a 4-door executive car! All of this in a comfortable cabin with multi adjustable seating positions and vehicle setup. In general I find the e60 to be well rounded and comfortable with a higher than typical build quality. In M5 form it is absolutely brutal (in every sense o the word) in performance and drivability. The V10 is an absolute beast - the pull and the noise! There is nothing better to put a smile on your face! The SMGIII - the M5's biggest Achilles heel. In automatic form it is horrible, yes what you've read and heard is all true. But in 'manual mode' is where it comes alive. IMO the M5 will be the ultimate driving machine with the V10 matched to a manual box. My caveat - I'm not interested in performance enhancements nor racing. I'm not interested in taking it to the track to thrash it. I have no desire to 'drive it like I stole it' so I can prove my tail pipes (yip all 4 of them) are bigger than yours. In fact it is usually driven in a 'grand-dad' manner. But as I said to the dealer when I got it its all about the knowing'. So its a 'daily'. Sure it drinks the 98, but it is liveable as an everyday driver. But I know what I've got. it is a performance machine which requires performance like servicing. An M5 is not a Swift so don't expect Swift like servicing costs. MPE have said that to do a full inspection service will be in the region of $2k but that's the price you pay right? Get a good one and you won't regret it ! Yes mine is up for sale. Why? I have now owned an M5 so I can tick that one off. Hope that's sums up my ownership experience!

I'd seen this car earlier in the year and got to chat to the owner. Despite the kms I think this is a very good example and has been well maintained (well what the owner said anyway). They guy who owns this was a 'Holden' fan until he got an e39 540 and was impressed by it. Then he got this - and it just blew his mind and any holden/ford/pretty much anything out there! I'm surprised that he is selling this tbh. Oh - I think the 540 was given to his son so they have both! Anyone interested in an e60 M5 so I can buy this!!??

Kinda on topic... While driving home from work today on SH1 I had two Mazda 3's (and jap equivalent) on different occasions tailgate me between J'ville and Porirua. I was cruising between 100-104 km/h in the left lane and these d$%#head drivers decided to ride my a$$ for a while. Then they pulled out and flew past. I'm not stereotyping Mazda drivers, but just sayin' lol. So I can only conclude that it must be the quad exhausts... or they wanted to see the badge up close just to make sure it was one