Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: FINALLY got my first car!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Fort Rucker, AL
    Posts
    3,092

    FINALLY got my first car!!

    Dear UCP,

    I've been with you for years now, (very rarely the last few years; it's all the military's fault) but I figured I would cancel out all the useless threads I made when I was in high school talking about how I wanted my first car to be a Ferrari, or a BMW, or a Toyota MR2......and show you the BMW that I wound up getting! It's 100% my dream first car, a 2003 BMW 330Ci and had just over 81km on the clock when the title transfer happened. I managed to discipline my spending and worked my a$$ off pushing carts at Costco for years (driving mom's Volvo of course) in order to put together just under $25k for a new car.

    Thankfully, I hit a deer at 86 mph a few months ago (ha!), and very much totaled the old '96 Volvo 850 GLT. See attached pic for the awesome amount of damage Bambi inflicted. She left hair on my left front fender when I smashed her skull in. At the time, I was putting together the specifics for a brand new 2012 Volvo C30 R-Design, and had enough cash to get what I wanted (with my military discount). When the accident happened, however, I was left car-less and needed to figure things out quickly. I did more car-searching homework than college-homework, and found that I had the funds to get my dream first BMW, if I was ready to dedicate myself to performing maintenance on my own, the right way. After making up my mind, I searched autotrader.com, cars.com, and the classifieds. I test drove four e46 BMWs, and eventually struck gold. The Carmax in Richmond posted a car that had just come in with white paint, 5-spd manual, non-smoker, and sport package (literally everything I was looking for). I did the test drive, and I loved it so much that I had it named before I even shut the engine down. Needless to say, "Brutus" is my new most prized possession, and I've washed him regularly, waxed him every 3 weeks, and even clay barred him! He's getting babied for as long as I don't have a girlfriend!

    Now here's my favorite part: because I saved ~$25k for a car and came to my senses to the point that I didn't waste all my money on a NEW car, I only spent ~$17k and wound up with my dream first car and ~8k to dump into my savings! Never, ever going to consider buying a new car again. It's a total waste of money, which is unfortunate for the world's economy.

    From what I've read on e46fanatics.com (Sorry, it replaced UCP as my primary forum), BMWs have a reputation for being expensive to maintain because the stealership charges extreme amounts for labor. For example: Brutus needs a new oil level sensor ($100 part), but Richmond BMW wants to charge over $300 total.....needless to say, I'm doing it myself and congratulating myself with $200 worth of liquor!

    In closing: I'm sorry for flooding UCP with awful threads way back when about the dream car that I wanted, but had no means of paying for. I don't care if anyone flames me now, I'm just happy to have been able to pay for my first car with my own moneys without parental supervision. Yes, my first car is a BMW, but I'm not rich. I'm an O-1 in the US Army; my monthly salary is online for the world to see, and needless to say I'm not swimming in cash.

    Hopefully tropical storm Irene doesn't destroy my boy Brutus......

    (I don't care if you know my license plates, I'm getting vanity ones very soon)

    EDIT: Before anyone asks: the dash's radio spot is empty because the stock navigation unit was on the fritz when Carmax got it. It's since been replaced.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Sweeney921; 08-26-2011 at 06:20 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Fort Rucker, AL
    Posts
    3,092
    Sorry about the messed up picture orientations, I'm fixing them now and I'll have them posted soon. Apparently Steve Jobs' iPod Touch sucks.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Fort Rucker, AL
    Posts
    3,092
    ......turns out I can't fix them. Sorry, y'all are just gonna have to deal with turning your head for a better look. I think it's worth the effort.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    5,456
    Nice car....I wish I have a car that can drive on the roof....
    University of Toronto Formula SAE Alumni 2003-2007
    Formula Student Championship 2003, 2005, 2006
    www.fsae.utoronto.ca

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    10,227
    I don't think our periods here on UCP overlapped much sweeny, but I have seen your posts around in some older threads.

    Congratulations on the buy! Late E46s are quite decent lookers and you got one with decent power. Definitely the E46 I would most likely see myself owning.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Barcelona
    Posts
    33,489
    Congratulations on you purchase. The spec is excellent, everything I would have chosen minus the sport pack.

    And I also suffered the interesting labour prices they charge you in the dealership...

    Enjoy it!
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    England, somerset
    Posts
    915
    Very nice, enjoy it.
    Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary, that's what gets you."
    — Jeremy Clarkson

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Auckland, NZ
    Posts
    1,189
    Ahh, my friends have been craving for these. Congrats mate :-)
    www.flickr.com/photos/maestro_ng

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Fort Rucker, AL
    Posts
    3,092
    Thanks guys! It's gonna be tough to avoid speeding tickets....

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    430
    On the deer note, my dads friend is a big deer hunter, but drove a BMW 2002 as a daily driver. He was coming home one night, saw a deer, didn't have his rifle, so mashed the throttle and bagged the deer. Totaled the 2002.

    And that is one nice car.
    "Don't think your time on bad things
    Just float your little mind around"
    Jimi Hendrix

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Southeast US
    Posts
    5,582
    Nice get!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Deerfield Beach, Florida
    Posts
    5,802
    Nice ride, those 330 have some very decent power, looks great man congrats!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    East Coast of the United States
    Posts
    11,994
    Nice first car!

    I still have no idea why my parents are vacillating on my first car.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Posts
    1
    Congrats on the ride!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Gran Turismo 5
    By Sauc3 in forum Gaming
    Replies: 1020
    Last Post: 05-19-2014, 03:16 PM
  2. Early details for new 911 (991)
    By pimento in forum General Automotive
    Replies: 56
    Last Post: 08-07-2011, 10:23 PM
  3. GT4 whole car list!!!!
    By Mustang in forum Gaming
    Replies: 247
    Last Post: 07-07-2010, 08:06 AM
  4. She drives like a Chick
    By Niko_Fx in forum Multimedia
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 07-20-2005, 06:22 PM
  5. Manual Transmission
    By Orefus in forum Technical forums
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 07-16-2005, 10:36 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •