mpoweredguru 20 Report post Posted March 23, 2022 I'm another new member, finally. I found this place while trawling the 'net during lockdown. Current garage: G21 M340D Touring Porsche Macan Turbo with Performance Package. Yes, that is the official model name - why they didn't call it a Turbo S, only Porsche knows. F31 330D Touring The 330D was a bit of DIY 335D, since they weren't available here, with a remap to ~240kW and 660Nm. It's The Macan was an impulse buy, as it was the last of the true Porsche engines, being the the 3.6, rather than the VAG 2.9V6 group engine. Compared to the diesels, it's a bit more noticeable, so the children nick-named it 'Mr Shouty-Pants'. The 340D I had to have. It's as brilliant as everything I'd read, purchased from Sytner in the U.K., as BMW stopped doing out of region special orders just before the first lockdown. The in-gear acceleration is sublime, and the steering and handling are a big step above the F30/F31s. It was a squeeze to get it before Xmas; it missed the ship from Southhampton it was booked on, the next ship missed its slot through the Panama Canal, so sat there for 3 days, then it had to drop 1 vehicle to Papeete, so instead of cruising down at 17 knots, idled at 7 to push the 3 day journey out to 7 days to meet COVID restrictions for crew. One of the benefits of a small country (and having clients in all the right places) is when it got here I got it off the wharf same day, and to AA Compliance, who received it the 23rd and had it done by the next morning. The next hurdle was that there was no fuel compliance certificate for M340Ds, as they're not sold here, and one of the persons responsible for them at LTNZ had left several months earlier, and not been replaced, and the remaining person left with 1 day's notice to go back to Japan for family reasons, so no one was doing them. Another call to the right person, and we had that by 11am so AA could then complete an MR2A for it and actually get it registered. Next on the list is to purchase a new Alpina D3S Touring, as this to me, is the ultimate sleeper. Alpina are waiting on build slots from BMW at present, which isn't surprising given U.K. orders for M340Ds - and 3 Series in general - are slipping back from 3-4 months to 8-10 months (worst case I've seen reported). The recent news around Alpina's sale to BMW is also a hurry up, as is iDrive 8 on the LCI models (I like buttons to press!). The M340D's breadth of ability is amazing; there's not many cars that'll scoot to 100kph in 4.5 seconds, and still do 5.1 litres per 100km on a trip (55MPG for the older folk). 13 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qube 3570 Report post Posted March 23, 2022 That is quite the fleet! Love the look of the G21, I know the M340i’s are amazing, can only imagine what the Diesel variant would be like with all that torque. ”Mr Shouty-Pants” 🤣 love it haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GorGasm 563 Report post Posted March 23, 2022 Not usually a fan of the full blacked out look but in this case I think it works. Possibly because everything is new and matches, where most other blacked out cars are mish mash or tones and tacked on bits. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mpoweredguru 20 Report post Posted March 23, 2022 33 minutes ago, qube said: That is quite the fleet! Love the look of the G21, I know the M340i’s are amazing, can only imagine what the Diesel variant would be like with all that torque. ”Mr Shouty-Pants” 🤣 love it haha Thanks 🙂 The M340D is the replacement for the 330D, but I haven't exactly raced to put the 330D up on TradeMe. I'll likely do it in the next week or so. It's just had paint restoration (Rupes DA-Course + blue wool pad, Rupes DA-Fine with yellow wool, then two coats of Uno Pure and 2 coats of Chemical Guys Blacklight), and full groom, so now's the time to do it. I've been in to a couple of dealers with the M340D, and they've gone for a blast, and loved it. It's deceptive in how fast it puts on speed - it feels like it's loping along, when in reality it's flying. 9 minutes ago, GorGasm said: Not usually a fan of the full blacked out look but in this case I think it works. Possibly because everything is new and matches, where most other blacked out cars are mish mash or tones and tacked on bits. I was not a fan of the blacked out look - and especially wheels - at all either, and had even arranged with Coombes to swap the 791s for 792s (Cerium Gray) they had on a demonstrator, but once I saw the wheels on the car, and 'Chelle made the comment 'it looks menacing', I decided to keep them. BMW Car Key is also really useful; great when going to the gym, sailing, or mountain biking/motor biking etc, and can use an iPhone - or my Apple Watch - to lock/unlock the car, and run. The Macan was supposed to be being traded on a demo GTS in Miami Blue this month, but it looks like the dealer's replacement demo was on the carrier that sunk. It'll likely go anyway, as looking after 4 cars is time consuming. There will likely be an M3 Touring in the future as well. Just need to do something about that face. If I can't, it may be a B3 instead! 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Braydon 40 Report post Posted March 23, 2022 Ooh I like that! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
balancerider 778 Report post Posted March 24, 2022 11 hours ago, mpoweredguru said: The M340D is the replacement for the 330D, but I haven't exactly raced to put the 330D up on TradeMe. I've been in to a couple of dealers with the M340D, and they've gone for a blast, and loved it. It's deceptive in how fast it puts on speed - it feels like it's loping along, when in reality it's flying. There will likely be an M3 Touring in the future as well. Just need to do something about that face. If I can't, it may be a B3 instead! Apart from the Macan it sounds like our taste in cars is very similar. The current gen D3 is very appealing, there's a low miles green one on UK Autotrader for low 60's GBP. I'd also wondered whether Alpina Australia would let you order a B3 there and then import to NZ (may be some compliance issues I guess) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mpoweredguru 20 Report post Posted March 24, 2022 10 hours ago, balancerider said: Apart from the Macan it sounds like our taste in cars is very similar. The current gen D3 is very appealing, there's a low miles green one on UK Autotrader for low 60's GBP. I'd also wondered whether Alpina Australia would let you order a B3 there and then import to NZ (may be some compliance issues I guess) That particular car has been for sale for a while now. I missed out on the ex-demo Sytner had by hours. It dropped from £67,500 to £62,500 and so I went to buy, and someone else had just signed the paperwork. It was also Alpina Green, and also had the traditional Alpina wheels, and ivory interior. I'm not sure if the one currently for sale is VATQ. I should probably find out. I've been in touch with Alpina in Germany, and they put me on to Australia, who can do a B3 for me, but aren't interested in bringing in a D3 (although I know of someone they did it for with an F31). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
isis 16 Report post Posted March 24, 2022 How easy was it to organise the purchase from Synther and getting it shipped out here? Seemed pretty quick and seamless! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mpoweredguru 20 Report post Posted March 25, 2022 9 hours ago, isis said: How easy was it to organise the purchase from Synther and getting it shipped out here? Seemed pretty quick and seamless! Sally and Lincoln from European Car Imports took care of everything. I could have done it myself, but they've brought in 100s of cars, and are handy to have if there are hiccups along the way. It was 8 weeks from order to sitting in my driveway. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
