Boston-based, new to BMW, excited to find my first ZHP

[hickatew]

Hey all, I've been lurking here on the forums for almost a month. Love the content, I've been reading a ton. I'm still looking for a ZHP to buy but am in no rush, especially with the snow on the ground here in Boston. Only issue is that my dad's Prius is slowly sucking my soul dry hahah.

My last car was a '99 Volkswagen GTI VR6 (http://www.motortrend.com/news/volkswagen-gti-2/) in Guatemala City (imported from USA by previous owner). It was black with a black leather interior, absolutely beauuutiful. It's the first car I've had that really made me drive. I sped through traffic, gunning it from 1st to 3rd and taking corners in 3rd like a champ. Honestly, I loved every minute driving around in that car. I would even do the 5 hours to El Salvador before I fixed the A/C without too much frustration (but with a lot of sweat).

It also made me become best friends with my mechanic down there, being a car from '99 - by the time I was through with it I had renewed the front suspension / replaced the shocks, replaced the brakes, the driver side window regulator, the coolant system, and a bunch of little aesthetic things (e.g. door lock sticks, original shift knob). I didn't even end up selling it, I just left it with my mechanic for safe keeping. Great people.

5 months ago I moved back to the North Shore to take care of my ma / family stuff and had to stop living the entrepreneur / freelance lifestyle. I got myself a job like a normal person haha. Get this, though, I work for a company in Kendall that gives car loans and so am looking at car stuff all day long !

Well, a few months ago I start noticing all the BMWs around town and wondered what the model numbers meant (i.e 328i, 535i, etc.). I do my research and find out the last two digits are the size of the engine and am just like...



My VR6 had a 2.8L engine and I felt like that packed a hefty punch, how would one of these feel?!

I did a bunch of reading and the more I read about BMW cars the more I was all about it. Love the DIY community, love the attention to detail. Ended up settling on either a ZHP or an E36 M3 ... and here I am .

I'm really into learning all the DIY mechanic stuff but likely not on my ZHP, it would be the first car I try to tinker with and would rather not mess it up. The small stuff yes but the big stuff no. I want to get a cheap project car in the next few months and build it up with my dad to learn all the big stuff (any recommendations here also welcome).

Given that, I'm looking for a pretty well maintained one, ideal: cold weather package, manual, 2 owners max, under 150k miles, under $10k if on the east coast. Preference to those with meticulous maintenance records that are a little beatup (i.e. need some stuff replaced) over those that look great but have sparse maintenance records. Preference to those that have already had the clutch replaced if above 75k and to those that have had their coolant system replaced (water pump, etc.). IR / alcantara or black on black / leather interior (that's ideal, open to others). As we get closer to summer my budget will prob increase.

Unrelated notes: I love to travel - I've lived in NYC, Guatemala, and Boston, spent a lot of time in El Salvador, Mexico City, San Francisco. Started a Craigslist type company out of LatAm in 2013. Am a classically trained engineer (biomedical + software) and love building stuff.

aaaand I think that's it

/lifestory

[fredo]

Welcome, man. I see a good ZHP in your future. GL !

[BMWCurves]

Welcome! You've lived in some cool places! I've been to Guatemala twice as a medical volunteer and absolutely loved it. First time was in a small town of Nuevo Progresso and the second time in a town who's name escapes me, but it was near Antigua and took two busses and a ride in the back of a pick up each way to get to the clinic each day. Very cool country. I also "learned" to surf in El Salvador several years ago.

As for the car stuff, I have to say that the E46 is one of the best platforms if you're looking to learn to do DIY stuff. There is pretty much a DIY for every single repair you can think of, and then some. DIYing will also save you a ton of money on labor and you'll also learn a great skill in the process. I had never really done any mechanical repairs on a car before beyond changing tires, air filters, and spark plugs until I got my ZHP. Since then I've replaced several suspension parts, the cooling system, and various other items on my own without any huge issues. If I can do it, the average person can do it. I encourage you to consider DIYing if you have the tools, time, and space. Then again, I go to the mechanic for some stuff as well, so there's no shame in it.

I would also point out that these cars are 10+ years old at this point. That means even if the car has low miles, the plastics and rubber pieces of the car can be brittle or drying out. When I picked up my car almost two years ago with 49k miles, I ended up doing a lot of repairs that I would have done on a car with double the mileage, purely because of age i.e. I paid a premium for the low mileage, but ended up spending the same amount on maintenance that I would have on a cheaper ZHP. Just something to consider

Given your criteria for your car, I would emphasize patience. I think ZHP prices have been falling, but the well maintained, lower mileage ones are still hard to find. If you find a car that checks all your boxes, be prepared to move on it, and quickly. I spent 6+ months looking for mine before I got lucky and spotted mine locally on Craigslist. I called only 4 hours after it was posted and I was third in line to see it the next day.

Some things I would also point about your criteria:

• I wouldn't be too worried about the number of previous owners as long as the number isn't oddly high (8+ owners). My father bought his ZHP from Canada with 29k miles last in October of 2015 and it had five previous owners which seemed odd. Despite that, the car has had zero problems since he's had it. I think you'll be pretty limited looking for a ZHP that's under 150k miles and has a max of two owners.
• Given the above, I would focus on proper maintenance (as you said).
• I wouldn't worry about the clutch too much. Some of our members have ZHPs with 200k+ miles on their cars and still have the original clutch going strong. They're not a significant failure point in the E46.
• Having the coolant system replaced is nice, but it's only about $500 in parts if you DIY yourself.

Otherwise, welcome, and good luck in your search!

[danewilson77]

Welcome. Great intro.

[Oli77]

Best of luck. The wait and the search is a fun time and then. . . You win!

[holyc0w]

Greetings

I'm really into learning all the DIY mechanic stuff but likely not on my ZHP, it would be the first car I try to tinker with and would rather not mess it up. The small stuff yes but the big stuff no. I want to get a cheap project car in the next few months and build it up with my dad to learn all the big stuff (any recommendations here also welcome).

I think that could be done with the ZHP. What kind of cheap are you looking for? Would a Miata fit the criteria?

[hickatew]

Thanks for the advice BMWCurves, all super useful. Hm, maybe I'll go for some of the repairs myself then, we'll see when I get it. Good to know about the clutch, my ex-gf's went (also VW and it was super expensive). And coolant system, when it went on my VW it was such a pain to replace. One piece went (a hose), would drive it for a bit then another (water pump), then another (thermostat). Wouldn't have minded doing that all at once myself if the parts are only $500.

I'm cool with 10+ years on it, hopefully the plastic isn't in too bad shape. I still have to setup all my searches / alerts like the sticky thread on the For Sale suggested, so far I just gave alerts on Cargurus and check ZHPMafia religiously.

[hickatew]

Greetings



I think that could be done with the ZHP. What kind of cheap are you looking for? Would a Miata fit the criteria?

Cheap like $2500 - $5000. Miata's are on Autotrader / Cargurus for like $4k - $9k so maybe one rung down from that; style-wise I prefer something like the Mazda 3 or 6, a Mitsubishi Lancer, a Civic hatch, a first generation Jeep Cherokee XJ (4-door, my dads old car). You don't know what you don't know, though, so maybe I'll end up with something else!

[johnrando]

Welcome!

[Stigissimo]

Welcome! Shot you a text a little while ago; we can definitely meet up in the near future so you can check the car out.

You can definitely tinker with the ZHP and not really worry too much about messing it up. I bought my first ZHP at 19 and had essentially no mechanical experience - only an appreciation for the way things work (especially car-related) and desire to remain within a college budget lol. You learn super quickly with these cars and while mistakes are made, it's usually just mistakes in efficiency rather than being harmful to your car.

For under $10k, you can very easily find a car that meets your criteria.

Cheers!