Hey guys -
I've been lurking a bit for a few months, and finally pulled the trigger on a 2004 330i in Imola Red/ Alcantara 6MT w/ 129k miles. I picked it up yesterday, and honestly have only had time to out about 15 miles on it (basically a test drive), as I have a 5 day old daughter.
This is my first BMW, but I'm not new to fun or performance oriented cars, or cars with a great community behind them.
My first impression is that it feels a bit more unrefined than I had expected (could be the UUC lightweight flywheel/ clutch kit and loose shifting - gotta get that sorted). More refined than my buddy's E36 M3, but not as refined as my business partner's lightly modified 135i M Sport.
I'm not sure if I'm going to use the ZHP for daily duty yet, but that was the original plan when I started my search, because my current DD gets about 12mpg and costs $65 or so per tank. This is my first 6 cylinder vehicle, and with the exception of my wife's cars the first of my last 4 that isn't a V8.
At this time, my plan is to basically maintain and refresh, with some light modifications if they improve OEM parts. First things on the list are
refreshing the shifter or replacing it, replacing the oil filter housing gasket, getting the front seats refinished and performing some mild paint correction. When the weather clears up, I'll get some pictures up!
-Nadeem