New member.... better late than never

[LaBimmer 20]

Hello fellow BMW lovers!

Yes... that's right, better late than never...

I'm from South Africa and have been in New Zealand for roughly 9 and a half years... now a full Kiwi.

I've been crazy about cars all my life (since a little boy) and now at the age of 22 that passion still runs deep inside of me. After I finished uni two years ago I found myself working at a company with a name well known across NZ in the motor industry...  Armstrong Prestige. I've been a full time Sales Groomer there for two years now and my roll is to get everything (from new stock to sold cars) in mint (showroom) condition, as well as the odd delivery up North every once in a while. I absolutely love working there and have driven some pretty spectacular cars in that two year period... from the little Audi A1 right through to the latest full blown Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Cayman GT4, Audi R8, RS7, RS6, RS3, McLaren 570s, Ferrari 458 Italia, F430, RR Ghost, RR Phantom, Bentley's, Merc SLS AMG, C63s AMG, E90 E92 M3, F80 M3, F10 M5..... just to name a few (the list could go on forever, but I'll stop there for now). I've built some good relationships with a lot of our top customers. What's my goal... to move up into Sales and sell some damn cars.

My 1st car was a 95' E36 328i (a Christmas gift from my parents). Bought the car stock standard, the mods started when I started working. The engine remained stock standard (apart from the K&N Air Filter). As for the body, I turned it into a full on M-Sport replica... bumpers, side skirts, E46 M3 18" wheels, angle eyes, clear indicators all round, as well as a full leather interior swap from a E36 318i M-Sport that was traded at my work, but before they could wholesale it away my boss gave it to me for $500... the whole car, low km's in decent condition... so a steal of a buy really. I owned the E36 328i for roughly just more than two years... until I started itching for something newer... and along came my 2nd car, an 06' BMW 130i E87 M-Sport (which I bought for myself). The 328i is now my dad's again.

I've been in the 130i for almost a year and damn it is a fun car to drive. With a 3.0L Straight 6 under the hood what is there not to like about it. I've done a few small mods here and there to it but over all loving it just as it is... actually I'll continue to do things here and there to it. Details for those who want to know about the car listed bellow.

• 2006 BMW 130i
• Le Mans Blue Metallic
• 1st gen idrive
• Heated seats
• 18" 135i M-Sport wheels (17" M-Sport previously)
• Black line tail lights
• BMW Aerodynamics package boot spoiler
• BMW black grills
• BMW Performance alcantara gear knob boot & hand break boot
• 1M bi-xenon headlight upgrade (only E87 in NZ with 1M headlights as far as I know, I might be wrong)
• LUX H8 V5 LED Angle Eyes
• Genuine black ///M rear emblem (bought on EBAY from a German based BMW dealership for $70... $150+ if bought from Jeff Grey BMW (now Winger BMW)
• Tinted windows
• K&N Air Filter

That's the list for now... and sorry for the massive new member intro. Enjoy some photos bellow  

[Olaf 3317]

welcome, Bryan!

[brockie123 31]

welcome! lovely car! i have a black msport 130i 

love the roof spoiler. did you add that or did it come with that? 

[Lucan 196]

Welcome, tasteful mods there

[TermiPeteNZ 1318]

14 minutes ago, Lucan said:

Welcome, tasteful mods there

+1 this the 130i is all class  Great to meet you yesterday Bryan.

You're lucky to have driven such an amazing range of vehicles - just awesome.

Most comprehensive set of new member pics I've seen too!

[viskop 99]

So just that everyone knows...I am Bryan's dad. (He's still sleeping and will most likely reply to everyone's comments later today.)

[SmithyInWelly 212]

Welcome both of you - that 130i looks fantastic. Well done!

And all the best with the selling ambitions, it was something I loved doing many years ago... it's not always an easy job but someone has to do it. A bit of enthusiasm (as you have) and commitment can take you a long way 

Edited January 23, 2017 by SmithyInWelly

[LaBimmer 20]

7 hours ago, brockie123 said:

welcome! lovely car! i have a black msport 130i 

love the roof spoiler. did you add that or did it come with that? 

Thanks! I added the roof spoiler. It definitely finishes off the back end just nicely ? 

Edited January 23, 2017 by LaBimmer

[LaBimmer 20]

4 hours ago, TermiPeteNZ said:

+1 this the 130i is all class  Great to meet you yesterday Bryan.

You're lucky to have driven such an amazing range of vehicles - just awesome.

Most comprehensive set of new member pics I've seen too!

Thanks Pete! 

It was awesome meeting everyone on Saturday, great bunch of people to hang out with and looking forward to future meetings ?

[Mr Hyde 44]

Welcome Bryan. Was nice to meet you and the 130 on Sat. I'm sure we'll see you again soon.

[treone 648]

Welcome. I really like what you've done to the 130i. And that colour is awesome!

[LaBimmer 20]

3 minutes ago, treone said:

Welcome. I really like what you've done to the 130i. And that colour is awesome!

Thanks mate! might only be small mods here and there but they are mods that make me smile when I see the car. Le Mans Blue Metallic is probably one of the best colours for these IMO