Checking in from flyover country...

[ecrabb]

Hey, guys!

First post. Been lurking as a guest for awhile, and just registered last week. I've never owned a BMW, but hoping to sooner than later…

Hoping to find either a decent ZHP, or just a nice ZSP/ZPP. In lust with the idea of a ZHP, but I don't know if A) I'll be able to find one I can afford and B) if I can stand the idea of killing one slowly driving it in this armpit I call home in the winter. Having a hard time getting the wife over the idea of buying a car with 100k miles on it, too which is probably what I'll end up being able to afford unless I stumble onto a steal.

I missed a really nice coupe last week that went so cheap, I'd be physically ill about it, but it was an automatic... Still, it was so ridiculously cheap, I would have snagged it anyway if I'd seen it sooner. I hope somebody here got it. I'll post details if anybody's interested.

Cheers,
SC

PS - If anybody has insomnia bad and needs something to help go to sleep, I can also go into how I went from really not liking BMW at all (don't hate me!) to wanting one - badly - in a matter of a few short years.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

First, welcome to the site. Scour our classifieds section. Keep your eye on it daily. New listings added all the time.

Two, please tell us the story of how you went from not liking a BMW to wanting one badly. We're all ears.

[kayger12]

Welcome to the Family.

No worries about a 100k+ mile car if out was maintained properly.

My first BMW had 95k on it when I got her. Drove her for two years and she never let me down once.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[johnrando]

Welcome. All ears, let's hear it.

[danewilson77]

All ears. In for Story!

Story or ban!

Welcome to La Familia.

[static667]

Story or ban!

+1

Welcome to the Mafia! Keep searching, you will find the right car. I found my ultra-basic, no package having 325Ci with 125xxx for $7k. I love it all the same.

[zhpnsnv]

I want to hear the story!

[mimalmo]

Welcome. There's a big show in Minneapolis this Saturday that will have a number of BMW's in attendance. Make the drive if you can.

[Johnmadd]

Welcome lurker, :-).

[ecrabb]

Thanks for the warm welcome, boys!

OK, so I grew up in a pretty small midwest city, so my perception of BMW was always that it was primarily attorneys, law school students in Chicago, and kids whose parents had money that drove BMWs. I harbored much of that mindset well into my 20's.

I had a few fun GM cars over the years, then switched to SUV's while the wife and I bought a house and had kids. At 30, I found myself totally bored with almost everything the manufacturers were building. No big loss since my wife and I sold and bought another house and had a couple of kids and I just drove SUVs for most of that time… No time or money for toys, anyway.

Event 1 -
A friend gave me of a copy of The Hire on DVD. Admittedly, this is totally pathetic, but I think that was the first thing that really turned me on to BMW. As a car, music, film and home theater nut, the "Star" short with Madonna and Clive Owen kinda scratched all the itches.



Not that I could even remotely afford an M5, but that's when I learned the definition of "aspirational brand"… It's not like the marketing turned me into a drone; it just made me re-examine the product, and in doing so changed my perception. Up to that point, my impression (right or wrong) was that they were mostly underpowered compact cars. But, here we have a well-designed big sport sedan with a stick that'll roast the tires? Daddy like!!!

Event 2 -
I saw a brand new Laguna Seca Blue M3 at a dealer - probably in '02 or '03, I'm guessing… Judas Priest, what an awesome car that was. That was kind of a big deal because to be brutally honest (please don't hate me), I never really cared much for the BMW design aesthetic. It wasn't until the later E36's and especially the early E46's) that I really started liking the BMW look-and-feel. Regardless of whether it was the cars, me, or both that changed, I started liking what I saw.

Event 3 -
Not to name-drop, but last summer while working with a buddy, I got to hang with Bill Caswell of $500 Craigslist 3-series rally car fame... First, at his Mom's house, then again at SEMA… He's a ridiculously nice guy, and let's just say his passion for BMW - and especially for the 3-series - was damn infectious.

Life lesson #342: Do NOT go to SEMA if you love cars, but can't afford to buy them or have time to build/mod your own. OMG, it was INSANE!!!

Then, everybody I've ever talked to that has a BMW loves theirs. So, that's it. I'm frickin' hooked. The cars are beautiful and beautifully engineered. I love that the community typically mods so tastefully when they do mod. I've read all the articles, the reviews, seen the brand loyalty, and I'm ready to try owning one!!!

Insomnia cured, right?

SC