Nope, I'm definitely still here. Work has been hectic and draining, so I haven't had a chance to get on the forums. Thanks for the awesome welcome and maintenance info. Oh I totally know that I'm no longer in Honda land. I am so excited about this new venture in my life. People have told me about how important maintenance is, so I've got two shops somewhat in my area that I'm looking into. EdgeMotorWorks is one. But I'd like to learn and do as much as I can on my own. So far the oil change seems quite easy. I definitely don't mind getting my hands dirty. A my friend introduced me to Zaino, so I've been using those products on my car. Keeping it clean is my new hobby, especially since I park it outside. And I commute on a windy road which goes around a mountain, so my car does collect a lot of dust and dirt. Do you guys still give it a quick wash when it's raining?
How do I get the avatar? I did join and paid my $40. But I'm still new to all of this, so maybe I need to edit something in my Profile. I have driven both autos and sticks. I do enjoy sticks more tho, especially on my windy road commute. I found my car at an Acura dealership. I noticed they had bimmers as I drove by. I wanted a car with low miles. My '06 only had 21k on it. I got it for $24,880. Even after purchasing it, I looked around and couldn't find a better deal. I was so happy to finally get a bimmer that (at the time) either a stick or auto would do. I do miss driving a stick. I even test drove an '06 3301 6spd a week or so ago (in the rain). It was a good price - $21,900 with 70k on it. But there was no way they'd make an even swap with me, so I obviously didn't buy it. I do like the look of the e30's and e46's. I really enjoy my car, but should I go with an older car with higher mileage if I really want a stick?
I feel like such a loser . Sorry new member . Its just that we just had an epic thread where a 18 yr old wanted to know what was the best BMW for him for college. After a reply or two, he vanished. You see, myself and alot of other members have no life and come up on here at least 10 times a day
I don't when its raining, but I do clean my rims like twice a day . You can get an avatar by going to the User Profile link on the upper left hand corner and upload a picture from your computer. Your car is a great car, even if its a steptronic. If you really want a stick (like really really really bad) then you have two options: 1) Try to trade in your car (Don't know why the other dealer didn't want to swap cars with you) for a manual trans one. Or- 2) Keep your 06 and buy a used BMW, like a E30 or E36 to have fun with the 5-speed.
Well - I know there's a way to tie your club membership to your forum registration, but I can't tell you what to click where as I've totally forgotten whatever I had to do 9 months ago when they rolled out these new forums. You will want to do it though, as members are able to have more access to some parts of the site than non-members. If nobody else responds with what to do, call the national office, they'll be able to explain it. Check the registration email you received when you joined the forums, there may be a link in it for linking membership & forum registration. As Chris mentions, you can also have a custom avatar pic to show up w/ your posts as well, but you have to have your forum registration and membership linked for the 'CCA logo pic to show. Oh! & Welcome to the club and congrats on your car! As for opting for a stick - you'll have to decide how much you miss it to weigh whether it's worth opting for a different car. If you like E46's particularly - lower mileage examples will only get harder to find as time goes by, so that might be one reason. But, there should still be plenty around, so I wouldn't think there would be any reason to panic and rush off to get another car, for the time being. Just adding a 2nd vehicle to the stable might be an option, but that's extra maintenance & insurance expense, plus just driving both vehicles enough to keep them in running order. The newer E90 3-series cars don't have dipsticks, which is a maintenance issue for some - stuff like that may or may not be important to you for longer-term considerations about what you prefer for your car and possible maintenance. Automatic transmissions seem to (very generally speaking) have a life span of 150k miles (or so) - if you're thinking of driving and maintaining your bimmer for as long as possible (although it sounds like you typically haven't done that with your other cars), you might find a manual transmission preferable for longevity. Flip-side though, if you do lots of stop-n-go traffic or traffic jams, you might find the manual tiresome over time. With electronic monitoring systems being federally mandated for all vehicles in 2013, and stuff like no dipsticks and no spare tires - the more inclined I get towards wanting to drive cars that have the stuff that's been common to vehicles for the last hundred years! Never mind having electro-gizmo nanny's tracking every move. Change is only better sometimes! uh, but... I digress Enjoy your bimmer, whatever ya do!
I'm logged in at work! But can't be as attentive since it's the last day of work before Christmas! But I understand about people hopping in and out of forums. I'm going to try and be active on here.
Yes, if I had the money I'd like an old e30. It has charm. But currently have no space to park it and don't have the money at the moment. Still keeping it in mind though.
Oh I had no idea about the 2013 rule. The fancy gagdets are nice for some, but it's not for everyone. Hmmm....well I've decided to keep my car. I mean it has low miles, and this way I'll know its history since I'm the one putting all the miles on it. I've gone through many cars and trucks mainly because I didn't buy an e46 7 years ago when I wanted it. There are many e30's around, so maybe in a year or two I can save up some money and get a fun stick to drive around.
Ah, an E30 lover. I like you already. Marshall - are you serious about that federally mandated BS about electronic monitoring this and that? Why??? What is so wrong with a dipstick and a spare tire? Do you have proof that this will be required?
Well when I was younger, my dad and his wife had identical ones. Both puter in color. Now my sister's boyfriend has a white convertible. They just have this nice look to them. And I'm a sucker for the simplicity of the older cars.
Lucky you. I have to show up tomorrow AND Friday for work. If you get a chance, post pics of your bimmer.
Joe Chamberlain mentions it in his December Roundel column - I'm sure you could google up some details on it, although I haven't gone that far yet. So, unfortunately, yes, it sounds serious to me!
I do have to come back on Friday as well. Maybe I'll have time this weekend to post pics of my car. Everything is still stock.
Ah, that's why I haven't heard of this. I haven't gotten a chance to read December yet. It's the look that grows on you. I never liked the E30 design at first, but when I first bought mine (out of reluctance - it was the only BMW I could afford, for $400!), I learned to love the looks, the placement of controls, and the overall simplicity. Don't get me wrong, it was a really advanced car for its time, but my golly is it one of the most simple yet fun cars to drive today.
Yeah, almost sounds too good to be true. Awesome deal though. I hear that there are some bimmer owners that are super old school and don't like the new body style or what it has to offer.
