Jazzbass

I know its all totally subjective, but my opinion (not that my opinion means a damn to anyone except me) is that non-factory tints have a place on ricers - end of story. On real cars - nah! ymmv

My sister has one and loves it. She says it cruises well and is economical. I've not driven it so can't comment. The 4 cyl looks rather puny under the bonnet though. Her husband had a relly going to England about 10 years ago and gave him some money to send a BMW back. The 518 wasn't even on the list, but that's what arrived. I think he wanted a 540, although he's tighter than a fish's a**hole, so wouldn't have driven it round for long with that fuel consumption.

Don't forget the pink racing stripes

Roffles ! Best comeback line this year!! Its true though - just ask top gear!!

LOL - I know what you mean - I had an E36 318 too.

Welcome along, mate. Your apprenticeship is a great start for your working life. Well done. Of course, you will be beseiged with 'mates rates' requests for ever...

Glad its working out for you Em. Don't be too hard on your folks, they're just being normal, protective parents. As parents, all we want for our kids is the best. Daughters are even more precious cargo for Dads. However, we each have to make our own paths in life and live with our decisions, good or bad. Hopefully, your parents are going to let you do just that, but remember, they'll love you forever and once you prove you can do it properly, they'll be backing you up every step of the way, I'm sure. Consider this: If you didn't know what you do about the car, would you really consider an old European car at all? I know I wouldn't. Every mag you (and your parents, probably) ever read says - Avoid Like The Plague - bankruptcy looming etc. They all say - buy a Toyota. They may well be right - a Toyota is normally a reliable car, but OMG, like most Asian cars, they are so unutterably boring!! Your E30 is, as stated above, now an enthusiast's car and is therefore a different kettle of fish to any old Japanese car. I'm glad you stuck to your guns, I respect that. From everything you've said, your new car should be a reliable, mint condition car, which I'm sure you'll treat well. NEVER allow a boyfriend to drive it. Young males and cars are the worst possible combination imaginable. They all 'know' they're great drivers (still laughing) and they all 'know' that the only way to drive a BMW is foot flat to the floor at all time. After all, if they wreck it, its not their problem - its yours. If you insure it so only you (and your parents) are the listed drivers, you'll have a perfect excuse to keep testosterone and your car parted. Have a great new year and welcome to the slippery slope of car ownership! Rog

Allan, re the radio: on this board is an expert in BMW radios and nav system etc. That's Jochen. I'm in Palmy and bought mine from Jeff Gray. IMO they are an excellent dealership. I chose NZ-new with a full BMW service history and accordingly I paid more for the privilege. If cost is an issue, I'd suggest not going through a BMW dealer. This is likely to mean it will be Jap import, but most of these are still fine cars (I've had two). General advice on this board seems to be to avoid Singaporean imports, as the ambient conditions there are nasty on rubber and electroncs componentry. Advantages of a dealership buy is that they do stand by their sales. I had a couple of problems within the first three months and they took care of them all free of charge, including a callout to a dead E39 which needed a new battery (free). With a normal dealer I've had instances where that has certainly not been the case.

I have an e39 528 and I find it perfect for my lifestyle and driving. That doesn't mean it will suit you, of course. I've driven the 520 and found it too underpowered. I've driven the 540 and its a rocket, but feeding it isn't what I want to do, plus as already mentioned, the recirculating ball steerting is not as nice. I've just had a bit of a trip and returned 8.9l/100km in holiday traffic. I usually get 11.5 ~ 12l/100km around town. FWIW, of my BMWs, I found the 318 to be the least economical, largely because I had to push a small engine to get the performance I wanted. I've found the 528 returns about the same as my 325. The 523/5 develops the same HP as the 528, I think, but the 528 has more torque. If you enjoy getting off the mark slightly quicker, torque is where its at. Towing a trailer makes no real difference to the car. IMO, the 528 is the medium model, engine-wise and is the best compromise between power and economy in the range. Yes, the 530 and the 540 are more powerful and I guess it all depends on what you want to do and how you drive. A test drive around town will not tell you much, 'cos all BMWs feel pretty much the same - its driving round corners and up hills which will tell you which model suits you best. I've found the 5 series to be a much nicer cruising/all round car then the 3 series I've had. Good luck in your search.

LOL! Well done that man!!

.. now if only she had a flat head..

LOL - I can't stand American V8s, or American cars, for that matter, so I'd be a poor contender for that position. Then again, there is Daisy Duke to think of...

Sorry to be uninformed, hence this question: Do most people just buy 4 wheels for their cars? I ask, because on the occasions when I've bought a new set of mags, I've always bought 5.

LOL - hell no, that's full of smegging wankers in suvs/fwd tanks trying to park in ordinary parking spaces and finding out that big crappy jeeps don't manoeuvre well in town. So they hold up the whole main street for a couple of hours while they try to cram it in there. Then at the supermarket they leave their trolleys in the middle of any available space so no-one else can get past, whcile they chatter incessantly and loudly with someone they know about wimmens' things... Town is to be avoided - gimme the open road any day!

I was driving home through Levin this pm, when I saw a very, very sad sight. It was a black E30, very lowered, very tinted windows and bloody horrid big chromies stuck onto it - I mean bloody vomit-inducing chromies, nothing subtle about it. My heart went out to the poor old beast, my car could hear it crying in shame as we got close to it... Even my wife, who isn't that much into cars, noticed it and made comment about how awful it looked. I just wanted to take out the 12 gauge and put the poor old thing out of its misery.... It was almost as bad as the poor old Merc I saw on Tuesday, also lowered & tinted but with chrome spinners. Some people should stick with Toyotas... Us old farts can get quite grumpy!! LOL

I wouldn't buy any car with more than 100k on the clock. That one is bankruptcy on a stick, just waiting for a sucker.

Em - ur right - Educational Technology > Whereas; no car has any value to me Way to upset ppl on a car forum....

Isn't there a requirement for the VIN to be on the wof? That might be checked at some time?

As I understand it - the rationale is to act as a deterrent. They claim they don't want be giving tickets or scraping the remains of people from their cars all the time and they hope that people will slow down everytime they see a set of headlights. Eventually, they hope that with people slowing down more often, they'll get into the habit of driving more sensibly. Its a nice idea, but reading every day about idiots who consider themselves to be great drivers and above the laws of this country, I'm guessing its destined to change nothing for the a certain group of drivers. Of course, it'll also change nothing for the law-abiding drivers, as they won't need to slow down. However, the idiot drivers keep wrapping themselves around fixed objects on the side of the road, so natural attrition could help...

www.nzguitars.com A bunch of musos old and young with all being NZ for a change.

LOL- I think I'll drive around with mine on too, just so wankers don't pull out to pass traffic with no room (I've had to swerve a couple of times lately).

Nice gear, mate. I used to have a 147. Leslies are a bitch to cart around... Are you a member of nzguitars?

LOL - now, don't go picking on the poor old JAFAs, mate!! It takes me 7-8 minutes to work and one set of lights.

http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html I have a US Strat with Bill Lawrence pups, but I only use it for blues slide these days. My main axe is an LP. 2x12 rocks!