Possible New Bamamobile

Kinja'd!!! "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/29/2019 at 20:50 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 11

My mother goes by “Bama” to my kids, and she’s been driving a literal brown wagon for years now, a 2006 Volvo to be specific. It met an untimely demise at the hands, er, branches, of a big ol’ maple tree the other day. Six months ago, they’d be looking at a whole summer of having my father’s old truck to drive, and they’d have the Jetta too, if that hadn’t been crushed by the same vengeful tree. So they need a car, like, now.

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(n ot the actual car)

A local independent shop has a 2006 “E61" BMW 530xi wagon for sale, at a reasonable price. They also said if this is a temporary car, they’ll buy it back from them in a few months assuming they don’t ruin it. It spent most of its life in Arizona, so it’s not riddled with rust, and looks really clean overall with just about 88,000 miles on it. It’s an automatic, but again, it’s likely temporary. 

I know these cars pretty well from having an X3 with a lot of the same mechanicals, and from browsing BMW forums pretty regularly during our last 11 years of BMW ownership. I don’t recommend that they keep this car into the high mileage range as we did, but they should get a good winter out of it at least. We’ll see. Ironically, I just sold my manual BMW wagon 4 months ago. But you can’t keep ‘em all. 

Replacements for the Jetta and the Volvo are probably a Honda Clarity and a Golf Sportwagen - a manual! - respectively. But neither of those are cars you can just walk into a nearby dealer and buy off the showroom floor, apparently. Hence the need for a car, like, now. They could do worse. 


DISCUSSION (11)


Kinja'd!!! Jordan > functionoverfashion
10/29/2019 at 21:48

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Its a shame the RWD E61's aren’t available in the US.


Kinja'd!!! MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > functionoverfashion
10/29/2019 at 21:55

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This looks like an A1 bama-mobile. Backwards facing seats for the chidrens?


Kinja'd!!! Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > functionoverfashion
10/29/2019 at 22:35

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It’s a good looking car.

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Kinja'd!!! itranthelasttimeiparkedit > Jordan
10/29/2019 at 22:49

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just disconnect your front half shafts....(i think it will throw errors but still drive)

I have a 535xi, love it. Its getting up there in age (180k miles), debating if i pour some money into it or replace at this point. I go back and forth every day depending on how many warning lights are on


Kinja'd!!! facw > functionoverfashion
10/30/2019 at 07:26

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So the Volvo was totaled? Seemed the most likely outcome, but it didn’t seem impossible that it could be salvageable.


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
10/30/2019 at 10:21

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Nah, they’re 5 and 7 and basically in booster seats or similar now.

I suspect my parents will strongly dislike the i-drive interface...


Kinja'd!!! MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > functionoverfashion
10/30/2019 at 10:26

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Just tell them it’s like Kitt except he doesn’t have a mic to hear you with?


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > facw
10/30/2019 at 10:28

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It was, although the buyback is something like $300. Tempting, but then, the damage would be really hard to fix myself, and it needs a hood, headlight, windshield, possibly a rear tailgate... nah. 


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > itranthelasttimeiparkedit
10/30/2019 at 10:29

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Not sure if that would work, although I suppose it could be different from my E46. I tried it once when I was repairing a driveshaft and needed a part. I put it back together with one disconnected and it wouldn’t move under its own power. Anyway.... I doubt my parents will keep it long-term. 


Kinja'd!!! functionoverfashion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/30/2019 at 10:30

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My dad wanted a Yugo Sport, so, basically yeah. 


Kinja'd!!! facw > functionoverfashion
10/30/2019 at 12:34

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XC70 plow truck?