Jazzbass

IMO your first mod should be wheels. They make a huge difference in impact.

I'd be in, but it seems to be missing two of the big holes???

Bah! Who cares - I'll be dead long before it affex - uh efst - I mean fxs - uh before it does anything bad to me!

How about slotting a V8 from a 540 in there?? That's be more of a challenge

Really!!! Bloody hell, I thought it was just me. I got thoroughly sick and tired of that crap, so I get my wofs at Jeff Gray now. I get bitter & twisted when I see old crap cras with obvious wof-related faults, but still hooning round town get away with it all, when the WOF station would make me replace the air in my tyres just to piss me off.

As I understand it, the visible smoke test comes into effect anytime now for a wof? I think that's about time. As said above, the large number of JIs which belch vast quantities of smoke is appalling. It happened to me, too - my first JI was a Mitsi Eterna. Within a few months of ownership it was smoking heavily. I couldn't stand it, so got the motor done. A year later it was as bad again. The motor was just worn out. The speedo reading when I bought it was 85k. I suspect it was actually 285k. Due to my bad experience, I now notice smoky cars more and I see that a high proportion seem to be Mistis. OTOH, my son drives a '92 Primera which we bought from a friend who maintained it fastidiously. It 298k and doesn't smoke or smell. A good maintenance programme seems to me to make a huge difference. As far as petrol consumption goes, to me it really is a bit of a red herring. As inferred above, if I had to choose between paying $10-$20 more per month to drive what I love, or that much less to drive a POC - I'd pay the extra. Its only money and if I can afford it, its my schoice where I choose to spend it. I don't smoke or drink and my main vice is buying musical instruments. A few extra bucks on petrol is insignificant to me. All that said, I've noticed bugger all difference in fuel consumption between my 3 BMWs: 318, 325, 528. I've found I had to push the 318 foot to the floor all the time to get any sort of action from it, so the economy was negated.

Both of my E36s had the factory VIN just under the windshield on the drivers side. Not actually on the firewall, more on the frame. IIRC.

Sounds about right, Andrew. I've owned two E36s, there won't be another for me.

It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, happens should the Govt succeed in this import restriction on cars older than 6 years. Is this likely to put BMWs out of the reach of Joe Average, since '99+ BMWs are significantly more expensive than the E36s etc that currently flood the market under $15k. Also, dealers will have more direct competition at the Japanese auctions (apparently there are about 100 countries which import these cars) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cf...jectid=10406086 What do you think - will it raise the market value of your car, since every 3rd car on the road will be Japanese rather than BMW? Also, will it reduce the import of the 'motoring cancer' (SUVs) to any significance, since they state a goal of the changes would also be to ensure that imports met fuel consumption figures? Published figures suggest that SUVs (I know - generalisations) have a fuel economy which is only considered economical by those who blindly drive one. Everyone else thinks they are about as thirsty as as All Black front row when there's free beer flowing.

I'd certainly agree with that. I know someone who had been trying to sell his '96 328 Coupe for over a year. He was trying to get back more towards what he paid for it ($26k) - yeah, I know, but he's a tightwad. In the end, he sold it privately for $10k and thought he was lucky to get that. Dealers offered him $5-$7k.

Its supposed to be a good programme, but I just can't get into it. I guess you have to have been there are epi #1 to like it.

I wish ALL bloody trucks would turn off after two minutes at idle. They piss me off so much with their smegging idling for 6 hours at a time when they're parked..

I'm 58 - Shortland St has zero appeal to me, like all soaps. Mind you, I do get hooked on 24, DrWho etc

Interesting comment about no A/C. In my last 8-9 cars, I've used the A/C once each - just to see if it works. Other than that, never used. For me personally, I find A/C pointless in NZ.

Most interesting I've personal knowledge of was on the seat of a Triumph Bonneville on its centre stand. Part of my mind was always on the very real possibility of falling off... Fiat 850 or 124 Coupes were generally tight work.. Most comfortable - my Commer Van.

You answered "yes" to 36 of 97 questions, making you 62.9% BMW pure (37.1% BMW corrupt). According to the scoring guide, your bmw experience level is: You need to spend much more time with your BMW.

Its really hard to like that CLSII due to the ghastly colour. Surely that's not a factory paint? I used to think the grey BMW was the worst colour - that bugger just went to top of the list!

Well done Damien!! Willo - yes it is likely.

.. or you could just choose to neither drink nor eat in your car...

Say it ain't so!! Whatcha getting now?

Thanks everyone....

Depends on driving style. Over 3 years I averaged 10.5 l/100km with an E36 325. Almost identical to my E36 318 I had for 3 years before that. My E39 528i retuns about the same as my 325 did, and slightly better most of the time. (I keep log books)

None of us here have identical tastes and I guess all of us who drive cars have different preferences. No right or wrong answers, just personal preferences and individual insights. All of the BMWs I've driven have had a certain 'BMW-ness" about them, giving a sort of familar feel, but there have been some which to me have not felt as good as others. E46 328i Coupe: Took it home for a couple of days of test-driving (thanks Jeff Gray) and I really loved the look of it, beautful colour and I desperately wanted to like it, but - it just didn't drive nicely enough for me. After talking it through with the salesman, we decided it was the 18" wheels and sports suspension which ruined the ride for my taste. Sad - I was ready to buy it before I drove it. E36 M3: Took it out for 2 hours and loved the power, hated the black leather and loathed the harsh ride. The wholly black interior was just too stifling for me and although I owned an E36 325 at the time, the M3 just felt too cramped. No idea why that should be. I also found the car just too 'jerky' for my taste - quite common with higher power cars, in my experience. E46 318i: It was a great price and a lovely car, but stepping down to the 4 from my 6 just felt awful to me. That 316 lack of acceleration from the stop was something I'd forgotten about and wasn't prepared to put up again. E30 318i convertible: I had the cash in my pocket ready to buy it, but the test drive made me keep my money in my wallet. I guess since I was coming from driving the Radisich Telstar Motorsport I had at the time, the BMW was simply too small and too gutless. Recently I drove another E36 328 Coupe (belonging to a mate), but it was so small inside compared to my E39 that I couldn't enjoy the ride. Which BMWs have disappointed you on a test drive and why?

So what's replaced Pinky?

- its just you, mate. It makes sense to me. Damien's got a perverted sense of humour though.. LOL