I Bought a Thing

"Dru" (therealkennyd) 01/30/2018 at 08:42 • Filed to: ZHP

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After about a year and a half I found the one. A 2005 BMW 330i with performance package (ZHP).

It’s a two owner car with 58,000 miles at the time of purchase. It does have an accident in its history, but also a stack of receipts wherein said accident was remedied by a BMW dealer. Plus the title is clean.

I opted for a car with the fabric seats instead of leather, as the climate in South Carolina lends itself to very hot and humid summers. The seats are billed as alcantara, but are really just a nice fabric. They’re also heated, which I didn’t realize until a couple hours after purchase.

I flew into Newark on a one way ticket and got a lift from an excellent Opponaut with an R129 Mercedes. The whole experience leading up to purchase was great, save for New Jersey drivers. In case you forgot, Oppo is full of awesome folks.

After dinner at a New Jersey diner, I headed south to Delaware, where I would stop for the night on my way back to the coast of SC. The story from there is uneventful. The car performed flawlessly over 700 miles.

The car will need some cosmetic touch ups, the wheels need refurbished, the paint needs some love, and the headliner is in the early stages of giving up. Fortunately I’m surrounded by some good Mom n pop shops to handle all of that.

Rather unfortunately, this means my beloved Grand Cherokee, which I’ve had for nearly 7 years, will be going up for sale.

I absolutely love this car.

CB > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:03

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Congrats on the new ride!

AkursedX > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:06

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Nice buy! I have been unsuccessful so far on buying one. I had one slip away from just a few days ago.... (Not this car, the one I was looking at was silver).

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:06

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looks to be a great buy. and the correct amount of doors!

functionoverfashion > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:07

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Congrats! That’s a great car. I’ve had an E46 since 2009 (two different ones) but not a ZHP. I’ve heard over and over that it’s one of those cars that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Good work finding a nice, unmolested one. Enjoy!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:12

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Nice! Congrats.

itranthelasttimeiparkedit > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:14

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that is sharp color plus love the interior. my wife always laughs that I love cloth seats, the cloth sport seats in my e30 were the best ever

Dru > AkursedX 01/30/2018 at 09:16

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It’s definitley difficulty to find them. I had one slip out from under me last summer. They’re for sure selling, values driven largely by mileage.

Dru > functionoverfashion 01/30/2018 at 09:18

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Thanks! It’s truly a joy to drive. Handles like it’s on rails, and plenty fast enough to have fun but not fast enough to get you put in jail.

Dru > itranthelasttimeiparkedit 01/30/2018 at 09:19

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Thanks. My wife requested that my next vehicle have cloth, so I obliged. They’re really great seats too.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:21

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Keep the Jeep. As long as there’s a place to park it, you’ll probably pay less for auto insurance than you would with one vehicle (assuming you have comp/collision on the Bimmer and not the Jeep.)

*edit* Alcantara is the expensive Italian version of Ultrasuede. It’s a microfiber fabric that kind of sucks at wicking away moisture but it keeps you planted in your seat as long as you’re wearing clothes.

functionoverfashion > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:22

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Exactly! I’ll even call my 325xi “fast enough” even though it’s quite a bit slower - not just because of the xi bits, but it’s also the smaller engine and a wagon on top of that. Still, it’s a great daily driver and for me, it’s a great winter car, too.

I used to be pretty active on bimmerfest, and there’s a TON of great information there. Lately I just don’t have time, but I’m sure you’ve been poking around places like that, based on your choice of vehicle.

If not, there’s a pretty comprehensive E46 wiki over there.

Spanfeller is a twat > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:37

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Good god, this is amazing.

E90M3 > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:39

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If you don’t mind me asking, where in SC are you located? I’m in Savannah now and am probably moving to Greenville soon.

Also, that looks amazing. I’ve always wanted an E46.

Dru > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 01/30/2018 at 09:39

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I may keep it. If I can’t get a selling price to justify off loading it. Currently have full coverage on all three of our cars. Plus classic insurance on my old 4Runner. Oh god I have 4 cars now.

ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:39

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Sweet! and its red!

I got the bmw vanos tool, when you need it.

Also James is a patron saint, even looks the part.

Nibby > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:39

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enjoy it, E46s are fun!

Dru > functionoverfashion 01/30/2018 at 09:41

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Thanks for the tip. The community surrounding e46 in general seems pretty great.

Dru > E90M3 01/30/2018 at 09:42

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I’m near Myrtle Beach. About 4ish hours drive from Savannah. Maybe the same distance from Greenville.

Dru > ESSSIX GmbH - Accountant/Wagon Thumper 01/30/2018 at 09:42

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Noticed you said when not if. Haha.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:43

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Congrats! So is this going to be a AutoX/Track car or a DD?

Dru > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 01/30/2018 at 09:44

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Definitely a DD. I might give autoX a shot since there’s sometimes one done about a mile from my house.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E90M3 01/30/2018 at 09:46

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You’ll be closer now! I actually go to Greenville pretty often. If you don’t know, C&C is the 4th Saturday of the month, and is likely one of the bigger ones in the Southeast.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:46

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I believe the one at Freestyle is either this month or next.

Dru > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/30/2018 at 09:48

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Have you ever attended that one?

E90M3 > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:48

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Ah, I was hoping you were going to say Hilton Head.

Dru > E90M3 01/30/2018 at 09:49

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I think I’m too poor to enter Hilton Head. But I have intentions of attending Cars on Kiawah this year if I can.

E90M3 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/30/2018 at 09:49

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Oh that’s sweet, was not aware. Guess I’ll have to attend if I am to move up there.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E90M3 01/30/2018 at 09:55

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It’s at the Michelin Headquarters and there are police monitoring, so it’s a good event.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Dru 01/30/2018 at 09:56

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I have not, but Daender on here will be there. I am undecided, if I go, I’ll likely be in someone else’s car. It’s apparently a fun one.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > E90M3 01/30/2018 at 10:02

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It’s Cars and Coffee of the Upstate on Facebook

E90M3 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/30/2018 at 10:15

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Appreciate it. Looks like something I should attend.

SmugAardvark > Dru 01/30/2018 at 10:27

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Very nice, congrats on the purchase!

functionoverfashion > Dru 01/30/2018 at 12:58

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Absolutely. If you can think of it, it’s been done, documented, and probably put on youtube too. And they’re not bad to work on, generally.

dannyzabolotny > Dru 01/30/2018 at 15:45

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Good score! Those are excellent cars— well built, peppy engine, manual transmission, comfortable seats, and can do 150mph sustained for way longer than any car should be able to. The E39/E46 generation are the last truly solid, mostly-analog BMW’s, and it’s a real treat to drive them (I’ve been dailying a 2000 540it for almost 2 years now).

ihm96 > Dru 02/02/2018 at 16:38

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If you drive your car hard make sure to take care of the subframe reinforcement. I got burned by it and I’ve seen others. Even though it doesn’t have a crazy amount of miles the age is still getting up there and it’s a good thought to have in your head.

Dru > ihm96 02/06/2018 at 13:45

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I need to look into that. It’s a later car so I’m hoping the issue wouldn’t be as prevalent as in a 2003 car.