Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #1

    New Member from San Diego

    Hello I just signed up from San Diego. I have been reading it for years but couldn't register. I didn't realize if you donated, you could join. I just thought it was closed permanently. I have Mystic Blue 2003 6MT Sedan with Alcantara that I bought in Rhode Island 2013 unseen and was rougher than promised. I still bought it and drove it from RI to San Diego. I was with my 10 year old son. The first night I realized the headlights were worthless. I drove 3500 miles with fog lamps, the air bag light came on in the middle of the night also. The passenger side roof moulding came off the next morning. That 2nd night the car started to surge up and down in traffic at middle of night. I found a dealership and drove it in at 3AM. Motel across the street was booked except for their suite which they charged my 230 for about 3 hours. Since I was with my boy, I paid it. Next morning, Friday of memorial weekend, the dealership tells me they can't look at my car until the following tuesday. So frustrated now, tired and my son going to miss his soccer tournament, I threw my hands up and told the service advisor that I was just leaving the car in Indiana and flying home. I walked out and told one of the service guys that if what happened and if they want to buy it cheap, I was just going to leave it and fly home. I went back to the hotel to get my bags and the advisor called me back and said she didn't realize that I was driving cross country and stuck their. One of the mechanics told the shop foreman about my offer to sell cheap. He called me and said he would personally look at it. Later they called me and said it was a broken DISA valve and it would set me back $750. I was so happy, the fixed it and I was on my way Friday night, though slowly as I couldn't see much with the terrible headlights. I made it to Nebraska where I had family and spent a day there finally able to rest with a migraine from all the excitement. We were now delayed and and my son's team needed him so I decided to leave Nebraska and drive straight to Denver and put him on a flight to San Diego so at least salvage some of the trip. As we are getting closer to the Colorado border we start to see the most amazing lightning show I have ever seen. The rain keeps getting stronger and then we are driving 30 mph to keep from hydroplaning. The lightning is striking 360 around us. Being from San Diego I had never seen anything like that. Then the radio interrupts and says tornado warning and golf ball size hail for marker X on the highway X. but I don't know which one I'm on. The people on the radio start saying names of towns that are getting hit by hail and tornado watch but we don't know any of these towns. I ask my son to check my iphone, there is no service. Now all the cars around me are gone and there is nowhere to get off for miles. I drive in this storm for about 5 miles when I see gas station with covered pumps. I pull my ZHP under the roof and went inside. I explained to the guy that golf ball hail thing and he said sure I can keep it under there since there was no one on the road. Then an alarm goes off inside the gas station and it's a tornado alert on their weather radios. The guy comes out and say the storm is coming towards us. He pulls out his phone and says look the storm is moving west to east with slight north. That cover is not going to save your car. I asked him since he's local what I should do. He says if it was me, I would jump in the car and keep heading west, you can beat the storm. So I jump back in the crazy storm and drive west for about 20 minutes then like movie scene it clears up and the moon is visible again. It's now 3 AM again and I there are no rooms except for one motel with broken AC. It's hot and muggy but I need a rest. We go into the room at 3:30 AM and it has two beds, it's hot and muggy. I put my son in one bed and me in another. He then asks if he can come over to my bed instead. I say sure. Then he says, Dad were you scared. I said yes. He says good, I didn't want to say anything but I was scared too. The next morning a couple of hours later, we get up and head to denver to catch a flight. My head hurts and we made it to Denver airport. I run up the gate with 30 minutes left and drop him off. I had made a reservation a day before but the agent yells at me for showing up 30 minutes before the flight with an unacommpanied minor. I almost snapped, but just wanted my son on the flight. He got on and I kept drivng to San Diego alone. Nothing went wrong after that and finally made it home. I then proceeded over the years to restore my ZHP. everything from suspension, headlights, steering wheel, sensors, alcantara repairs, wheels no expense spared. The car looked great and 5 years later and $15K in maintenance and repairs later, I get rear ended on the way to work. Insurance totaled my car and kept telling me it was only worth $5K. It would be worth more to them if I had an automatic and leather. I told them they didn't offer 2003 ZHP in automatic and Alcantara was the more desireable interior on ZHP. But they didn't know anything. We argued and finally I asked my insurance to get an independent appraiser. They did, he came looked at the car, then I called my insrance and asked about it. They said the appraiser was wrong and they would go back to the $5K figure. I asked them to tell me what it was. They wouldn't. So I called the appraiser and he told me he can't tell me. So I asked him again, look should I continue the fight. Unofficially what did you appraise my car at in your opinion. He said $9500 but insurance said that was wrong. So finally after lodging complaint with insurance commission I was paid a reasonable amount and allowed to keep the car for a fee. So it is salvage now with some moderate trunk and bumper damage. I love this car. It is the perfect car for family man that loves cars. My son is an adult now and he tells me that he loves that car and wants to buy it from me now. Despite us almost dying in it in Nebraska.

    So that is my ZHP story

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Greensboro, NC
    Posts
    3,650
    Wow. Hell of a story.

    That’s really all I can think to say, other than welcome to the forum.
    Emma - 2005 BMW 330ci ZHP 6MT Estorilblau Individual

    Sportline 8s 18x8.5F - 18x9.5R | APEX ARC-8 18x8.5 Square | aFe Intake | 135i Brembo F/R Calipers | 26mm Front/20mm Rear Sway Bars | Z4 Mirror
    M3 Dead Pedal | Lexus ES300 Yellow Fog Light Retrofit | Koni Yellows/H&R Springs | Llumar CTX 40% | Coby Tri-Stitch Wheel & Boots

    Awaiting Install: M3 Wing Mirrors

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    OC, CA
    Posts
    322
    Woah...


    2004 BMW 330CI ZHP, Silver Grey Metallic, Dinan: Stage 2 Software, High Flow Intake,
    Free Flow Exhaust, Front Strut Bar, Stage 2 Suspension System, Staggered Hartge Replica Wheels,
    M3 Mirrors (Side and Interior), M3 Seats

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Austin TX
    Posts
    7,606
    Welcome, sir. Good story here.
    2005 IR / black / 6MT
    157,000 miles

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    18,064
    Hadn't read you whole intro yet but welcome!

    Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk
    Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
    "ZHP or not, I still like you"


    ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
    ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
    Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
    Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
    BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
    Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Socal
    Posts
    1,739
    lol welcome, and nice story. I understand that hail in CO all too well lol

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by sillieidiot View Post
    lol welcome, and nice story. I understand that hail in CO all too well lol
    That was May 2013 and those couple of weeks were some crazy tornado outbreaks all over the midwest. Thank you everyone. As I mentioned my got rear ended and totalled so while I still have the salvage one I'm looking for another one. Just love this car. I have had some great cars in my life but the 330i ZHP Sedan Manual with Alcantara is in my opinion the perfect sports sedan more a car lover with a family.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Irvine, CA
    Posts
    818
    Welcome. That's a helluva story! Good luck with your search

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