First Bmw Experience

[M3D]

I first laid eyes on a BMW 328i, in 1992 when I was 16. I knew I had to have the car with the sexy glassed in headlights. My mom was looking for a car, and although she passed this one up, it did not deter me from "test driving" them many times while valet parking for the next two years. Finally in spring of 1998, after college, and a year of working I saved up some $. Hooked up with a client who was a car wholesaler, and he got me a 1995 Avus Blue M3, Ice interior for $22,500. It had 45,000 miles on it. It even came hooked up with 97' rims a RD chip, Hks intake, Eibach Stress Bar, and a still unidentified muffler, which you can look right through when you take it off. It's loud and Fast.

The rest is history. I love my car so much, I don't think I would even trade it for an E46 M3. It is just the best car I have ever driven. I do all the maintenance on the car myself, unless there is no way around it.

Share with me your experiences!!

Dave

[CMT]

It all started when my mother moved to Hilton Head Island in 1992 with her new husband, and bought a 91 318IC. I knew about BMWs, but was so far entrenched into my Japanese turbos (i had a 91 Surpa Turbo at the time, with the targa roof, I loved it, and remember that car fondly) that I really didn't pay them any mind, until I started driving the convertible around the island. The first thing I noticed was the slick, exact shifter, the cool buzzing and whirring of the 4-banger which did nothing to propel the car but made some cool noises, and the seamless way the top folded down into the trunk and was covered by the boot. It was readily apparent with the way the women responded to the car that it was something special.

Jump ahead to the intro of the E36 M3, by this time I had my VR-4, and was used to destroying about any BMW owned by my fellow college students in upstate NY, but I was getting addicted to the way BMWs looked and drove, and again the overall preciseness of any BMW in general. Then one of the guys gets a 95 M3, we line up at a stoplight, and he instantly jumps two carlengths ahead of me as I flub the launch. We line up at the next light, and I take him easily, but never again do I underestimate the car. Then we went into the mountain backroads, and again I was blown away by the M3's prowess, no matter how I could pull ahead in the straights, he always made it back in the turns, and the VR-4, once one knew how to manage its heft, was a serious backroad monster!

One drive in his car made me a believer. So precise, so beautiful, light, efficient - everything my 3000GT was not. That was when I ultimately knew my Jap turbo days were coming to an end, and my next performance car would be an M3. Unfortuantely, I graduated from college (and here I had prolonged it an extra 2 years!) and found myself off the parental dole, so I leased a 98 Honda accord and waited until I could find that M3 that was meant for me. I was originally on the wait list at my local dealership for the E46 M3 but when they told me it would be a 2 year wait, and showed me (pic included) what would be my Estoril 97:
<BR><IMG SRC="http://www.ziplink.net/~ctroiane/stock.jpg"><BR> <BR>My wait ended. It took me five years, but I finally got it, and words cannot describe the satisfaction of driving my new (to me) E36 M3 off the lot to my house, where I just sat and stared at it for an hour, and then put 10,000 miles on it in 5 months

[FatBoyM]

I posted on the "old" board a while back my first experience with a BMW -
A few of my mom's siblings are all BMW fans.
My uncle took me out in his limited edition B6 2.8 Alpina convertible in 1987. My first experience with someone who knew how to drive in a car that could be driven.
Between 87-1998, I didn't think much of BMW's.
For years, i wanted an NSX, and I started looking at used ones in 98. However everyone told me "M3", "M3", but I didn't like the image associated with BMW's.
Then I went on BMW's ultimate driving experience with the new 3 series in 98. I was very impressed.
A few weeks later, went to a dealership and tested an M3. I was grinning the whole way. Bye-bye NSX.
Bought my M3/4 in 99.

[mpbmw318is]

well here i sit- 17, and working to pay off my car. and its worth every minute of hell that is my job. i know its only a 318- but damnit its a coupe and its more fun to drive than anything else i've ever driven (which includes all rice). Im in love with the bimmer- any kind. All i have to say is BWM has a customer for life, and even if i become massively weathly and buy a ferrari- guess what my daily car will be- yeah thats right a BMW. Its funny, sometimes ill go into my garage and just look at it and be happy knowing that i freakin own one of the best machines the world of automoblies has to offer.

[C.Yang]

I still remember the initial thrill I had the first few months I got my 99 m3. Everyday at school, I would daydream about driving home (in my 92 plymouth grand voyager *didn't want to drive the M to school) and just sitting in my car. I used to wash it about 2x a week, and clean the wheels every day. I just loved that car. On vacations, I would have dreams about driving my car, and wake up to the nightmare of not being able t cruise around in it. When I got home from trips, the first thing I did was drop the bags in the house, and grab the keys. I didn't push the car for the first few months out of respect for the car. I wanted to baby this thing til I died. But then one day, a car full of latinos pulled beside me in a Mustang 5.0. They were all looking at me, so I had to show them what my rear end looked like. So I whooped em, and I can still remember that rush I got. It was like jumping out of an airplane, but horizontally. I had a shat-faced grin on my face for the next few hours. I remember that first rush I got with the car, which I feel were the most exciting. A year later, I still try and take care of her as much as I can, but its getting tougher and tougher as more responsibilites are placed on me. But the M will always be the first true *car* that I owned. When I say car, I mean the epitome of a perfect car.