Oh my God, I've found one!

"norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback" (norskracer98)
07/28/2014 at 00:14 • Filed to: None

I've found one of my ultimate dream cars for only $6k. If you can't tell by my name I was born in 98, and I've just found a 98 M3!

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Too bad I A) don't know how to stick and B) don't have $6k to spend on a car.

DISCUSSION (17)

Manuél Ferrari > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 00:24

A) is not a problem. The E36 M3 seriously has the easiest stick to learn on ever. It's not any harder than the base E36 cars. It's an absolute peach of a transmission. You could seriously learn in an afternoon. Now an '82 911 SC would be a totally different story...

B) bummer :(

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Manuél Ferrari
07/28/2014 at 00:30

I second 144 - there is no way to learn like buying a car and figuring it out on the road. Just pick a deserted road where you won't be murdered by commuters for stalling a few times. True story: I once had to pull a guy's car out of a very busy intersection that he repeatedly stalled in (through 3 cycles of the red light while trying to make a left). He was not everyone's favorite person.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Manuél Ferrari
07/28/2014 at 00:31

Yeah, B really is. I only have a little over $2,600. I really love the E36 and being able to find a M3 the same year I was born is really exciting for me. Well once school starts again I'm going to get a job so I have money for a car and can start some more savings for college. Also my house is on a pretty steep hill but once I got the handle of it it wouldn't be a problem. And quick question, if you don't brake when you're slowing down with a stick how exactly do you stop? Is it mainly from engine braking resulting in the slowing the car?

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
07/28/2014 at 00:40

Yeah, we've got a couple some what abandoned roads. As well as a couple parking lots that are typically pretty empty. Money is the main issue right now.

'Wägen, EPA LOL > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 00:52

It's a combination. If you pay attention and plan your downshift early you can be really late on the brakes. One thing to consider is that the wear always goes somewhere: engine, transmission, brake pads. Cheapest thing to replace is brake pads. Engine braking works through a combination of keeping your car in a higher rev range and letting it idle down while also upping your vacuum system and other pulley driven assists (because the engine is spinning faster). Just a point to remind yourself on - no need to shift in such a way that you are edging redline just to engine brake...

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
07/28/2014 at 00:58

Alright thanks. Never knew how people slowed down with out braking. When I drive if there's no one near the stop sign or light I usually coast a while before braking to a stop.

Manuél Ferrari > 'Wägen, EPA LOL
07/28/2014 at 01:54

That is awesome of you to help a guy out like that! Good work.

Your procedure is perfect. Find a road where you won't be stressed and you will learn fast.

Anytime someone says they are worried about learning stick I remind them about something - in the old days there was ONLY stick. And people learned how to drive because they had to if they wanted to be able to drive their own car.

When I was 16 my family only had one automatic car, and it was my Mom's. My Dad had a weekend car that was stick and his DD, also stick. He didn't have enough money at that time to buy me a car or buy himself a comfy DD so he handed me down his DD and drove his weekend car (an 82 911 SC). I learned how to drive stick real quick because I wanted to drive so badly. I got my license within 2 days of turning 16 and was so excited to get a car. It was an E30 318i. Very easy stick to learn on.

Manuél Ferrari > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 02:00

My advice is to not stress yourself out financially at such a young age. Even if you had the $6K the M3 is more expensive to keep running than a regular E36. Also I know this sounds boring but be careful with having too much power. Even though an E36 M3 isn't considered fast by today's standards it's still too fast for a 16 year old IMO. My car had a hair over 100 HP and I was lucky that it did. If I had over 200 HP I'd be dead, literally. It's so hard to have self control when you're 16. Something like a 325i would be better at that age. That would still be way more power than I had so you'd still have to be careful not to mash the throttle at every green light like I did.

When I'm slowing down I just use my right foot to brake and use my left foot to either press the clutch enough to keep the car from stalling or I'll put the car in neutral. It depends on the situation. You'll get a feel for it once you practice on a desolate street or empty parking lot. It just becomes second nature. I will engine brake sometimes but not all the time. I wouldn't worry about engine braking yet. Leave that for once you're a a pro with the clutch. All you should focus on at first is getting comfortable with working the clutch pedal to avoid stalls.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Manuél Ferrari
07/28/2014 at 02:06

Yeah, I want an E36 but I know I wouldn't start with an M3 anyway. I would rather start with a "slower" 3-series of the same era. Also learning in my moms Impreza it's still tough to get the throttle pressure correct where I'm not flooring it but I'm also not crawling away. I have gotten more used to it now though.

Manuél Ferrari > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 02:33

My 325is was plenty fast for me when I was 20. I got into plenty of trouble with that much HP, lol

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Manuél Ferrari
07/28/2014 at 02:39

I usually only do city driving and I usually keep within 10% of the speed limit because as a new driver I'm still pretty nervous driving in the city because of the closeness of everything. I always keep to the 30 or 35 but don't go much more than 2 or 3 over. Only starting from a light or stop sign is the thing I have to get used to.

Manuél Ferrari > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 02:42

You are a good man

I was an animal at 16

I was in the problem driver program within 2 months, haha

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Manuél Ferrari
07/28/2014 at 02:55

Yeah, I've got drivers ed coming up in the fall. Also I probably wouldn't get a car until the spring so I'd have money but I wouldn't spend all of it on a car because of all the expenses that go with it. My budget would probably max at 5k like it pretty much is already. I know I've got to save up for college too.

Manuél Ferrari > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 02:57

Oh crap college is so expensive these days. Ugh... The car expenses is the easy thing :/

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Manuél Ferrari
07/28/2014 at 03:04

Well fuel, oil, and any maintenance is WAY cheaper than college. I plan on starting in CC just so I can save about $50K+. Also it's a cheaper way to get those kind of useless classes out of the way for cheaper. I also plan on pursuing a mechanical engineering degree, I also plan on applying for almost EVERY scholarship I can to try and get money for school. Well I think I'm going to head to bed, so maybe talk tomorrow.

Manuél Ferrari > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 03:06

That's a pretty solid plan. I think any sort of real science is good. All engineering degrees are good right now. Just avoid the social sciences..

Sounds good, talk to you later

treesmakewater > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
07/28/2014 at 15:15

dont slack in math during highschool! I'm currently going for computer science, but I might switch to mechanical engineering (I still have a semester before I would lose credits Nmychanging majors). Both if these programs have a lot of similar math classes, one of my friends just switched to informational systems to avoid the math because he did not pay attention in highschool.