Hello mafia,
I have been searching a few weeks now for a daily driver to supplement my 2004 Ford F150. The 100 mile round trip commute I make from Jacksonville to Kings Bay, GA each day is killing me on gas. It finally hit me that the money I would save on gas with a more fuel efficient car would net me a large chunk of a car payment. I finally settled on a 2005 BMW 330i ZHP.
The first car I ever bought was purchased in Michigan near my hometown. I grew up in a family that nearly exclusively drove SAABs. So it was only natural that I ended up with a 2002 SAAB Viggen. From 1999 to 2002 SAAB built about 4600 Viggens and mine was one of 71 coupes imported to the US in 2002. I bought the car used in 2006 with nearly 15000 miles at less than half the original MSRP. A steal! I loved the car. SAAB only made them with manual transmissions and it was designed to be an enthusiast car. It was with me until 2008 when we had an unfortunate run in with a Chrysler 300M that left the car unrecoverable.
I made the switch to an F150 since I was moving to a different state every year. I recently bought a wakeboarding boat and now I can't sacrifice the trucks towing capability. But I can't deny the extremely poor gas mileage. When I was working in Virginia I was introduced to the ZHP by a fella I worked with who is pretty active on this site. It always struck me as an interesting car due to its enthusiast roots. I settled on the ZHP for 3 reasons:
- Rarity/enthusiast appeal
- Gas mileage
- Availability as a sedan
I think me and the ZHP are a perfect match. Ill find out soon since I will be spending the rest of the weekend with a new to me ZHP from Pittsburgh. I fly out tomorrow morning and spend the weekend driving back to FL with a brief stop in Norfolk to see my girlfriend. Im excited to say the least. I love working on my cars and do nearly all maintenance myself. I have found this forum to be an invaluable resource for learning about the ZHP and hope I can someday contribute as well. I feel fortunate to be a new member of this community!
Ill post some pics tomorrow when I pick up the car and start the journey south!
Josh
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