Thanks Tim, I will do that and post the codes...
Thought I had better clear up the how it was that I "Accidentally bought a BMW" and started cheating on my S40, I truly didn't mean to, but I couldn't help myself, I love cars, anyways, I was at United Auto Auctions in Newcastle visiting my "old mate" who works there and when I got there, the Auction was still in full swing so I sat down to enjoy the show and then, as if in a dream, suddenly, there she was ....gleaming in the spot light .... time slowed down .... and then stood still .....
And then I heard the loudspeaker saying 14 HUNDRED going once..... WTF 14 hundred instead of 14 THOUSAND screamed my testicles to my brain and my hand was in the air before my brain could check my bank balance and/or my future plans or the practicality of buying a sports coupe when you live at the end of a gravel road and high in the hills above Nimbin.
One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars. Going once...... Going twice.........
The Auctioneer looked at me...
and said are you sure? You gotta take delivery with a tow truck - its got expired QLD rego- the drivers door handle is broken, the air don't work, the air bag light is on and the ashtrays are full.
My brain ignored the internal accountants warning light because it was too late for maths and practicality, it was love at first sight.
My hand stayed in the air as the hammer fell for the third and final time.
Then I did what I had to do to get it on the road....... and now, 5 months and another $1500 l later ?
I sometime ask people in the service stations when I see them looking at "Big Red" How much do you think it is worth...? 15 or 20 grand or more they say, I don't really know what sports cars are worth, they say, tho I do know that I would never drive a car that color with those rims.
Then I might say, this car is actually worth a considerable amount.... if you consider that they don't make them new anymore - you can't simply order one of these from the factory no more and this one is a 1999 build and thus it was made in the 1900's, the century that cars were invented. It cannot be valued compared to the things they make this century, the things that look like a cross between a running shoe and a disposable camera, consider that it has the same transmission that they put into Rolls Royces in 1999 and into the Big Banger Audis, consider that instead of all that Rolls Royce V8 torque and/or the high revving Audi turbo extravagance, you have what has been considered one of the, if not the, most technically excellent inline six cylinder engines made in the 1900's, an engine you can find in boats, aeroplanes and in submarines (if u know where to look) smoothly feeding a sublime balance of torque and horsepower, consider that the fully independent suspension ensure its unsprung weight ratio and its front and rear weight bias are all in balance with each other and know that when it all comes together in a symphony of motion, it can devour the corners and eat up the straights with smooth bites and majestic swallows and consider finally, that each of the all electric leather seats is worth more than the average 1999 four door sedan is today, and finally I say (if I have any breath left,) that when one is on cruise control, steering it safely down the road at 98 kph, a speed at which it returns astoundingly good economy, the smell of aging leather is so much classier than that of moulding plastic and/or gold coins in the bank. I say driving a classic sports coupe is not about the money you might be able to make out of it, its about the smiles per gallon.
*If the conversation is only a short one about the rims, I tell them they are called Gangsters...
I say, I dunno their proper name because I didn't buy them, I stole them off a commodore. ;O)--~