Attended my third monthly local Z club meet last Tuesday, and I was struck by how many of the guys either own or admire BMWs. I myself DD a '95 525i 5-speed and previously owned an '86 635CSi 5-speed:

Just curious as to how many of us are BMW fans as well. What do you have / admire?

I drive an E46 330 ci daily. Hate it. I will NEVER buy another BMW. POS - poorly built (of plastic), fake leather, under powered, over priced.

Ouch...

I'll take an old 2002 any day, or maybe a Z8. Other than that I'd much rather buy my old Z31 back.

  26th-Z said:

I drive an E46 330 ci daily. Hate it. I will NEVER buy another BMW. POS - poorly built (of plastic), fake leather, under powered, over priced.

Why not sell it?

Most folks who drive E46 330s rave about them.

Although the interior quality and especially cooling system quality do leave a lot to be desired. The earlier E36 is even worse in the interior quality department, if you can believe it.

  AndysPlit said:

I'll take an old 2002 any day, or maybe a Z8. Other than that I'd much rather buy my old Z31 back.

In my experience, a lot of Z drivers seem to admire the old 2002 in particular. Maybe a kind of grudging respect for a capable contemporary?

My wife drives a 2006 Z4 that I bought her. She says people honk at her all the time and the only thing she doesn't like is that people want to race her all the time.

I owned an E36 328i for 8 years, had no real problems, it was a fine car. Sold it to a neighbor a couple of years ago, still a great car. Had an E21 323i (euro-model) prior to that, it was a kick in the pants. (For those of you in the USA not familiar with the first gen 323i, imagine a 320i with small chrome bumpers and a 2.3 liter inline six.)

Also have a '92 K75-RT I've owned since new.

Edited April 19, 201212 yr by Arne

Arne: Do you like the Porsche more? I have to ask

Love my 2006 330xi. 6 speed, with a straight six, and Winter package. It has been an excellent car for the past 20k miles that I have owned it. Very fun to drive but could use another 100 or so horsepower on top of it's 255. It's a HEAVY car, but thats what makes it so solid and quiet. The sport seats are perfect, and it has all the cool bells and whistles. I bought it after I went shopping for a new Subaru to replace my dead WRX. This CPO was much cheaper than a new WRX, and it only had 42k miles on it in 2010 when I bought it. The build quality is sooo much better than the Subie. My only dislike is that some people automatically consider me a "snob" because of it. I could care less about the badge, it's a WELL built car and is really fun to drive...and it has a straight six! I also think Chris Bangle hit the mark on this design. It's gorgeous, IMHO.

Edited April 19, 201212 yr by cygnusx1

  AndysPlit said:

Arne: Do you like the Porsche more? I have to ask

More? Than the 240Z? That's hard to quantify. While there there are basic similarities of purpose, they are still very different cars in execution. The pluses for the Porsche include the satisfaction of a 40 year longing (sure, I was just a little kid, but I've wanted a 911 from the early days, even before the 240Z was introduced), plus the fact that the later 911's are more common than a nice 240Z, and so I don't have to be paranoid about something catastrophic happening to it when I drive it around town. I was always afraid someone would rear-end the Z and it'd be gone.

In retrospect, I may have made a mistake in buying the red 240Z - it was too nice to pass up, but it was also too nice for my purposes. As I noted above, I always worried when I drove it, worried about the miles I was putting on it, yet I'm not the type of person to own a garage queen. I'm going to drive my cars, frequently, and when I want. So I might have been better off had I passed up the red car and finished the yellow one as a mild resto-mod. I wouldn't have been as concerned about driving that one.

But no regrets. I had 5 years with a rather special 240Z, and I know that in Norway it will be living the life (as a pampered weekend car) that I wouldn't give it. And back here in the states, I still have a car that is a kick to drive, and that I have lusted after for decades. No one loses.

  cygnusx1 said:

Love my 2006 330xi.....I also think Chris Bangle hit the mark on this design. It's gorgeous, IMHO.

Glad you like it. I personally don't care for Bangle's work at all. Too gimmick-laden for my taste. BMW's reached their modern-era peak with the E36 and pre-headlight-halo E39, all downhill since then.

  Arne said:

More? Than the 240Z? That's hard to quantify. While there there are basic similarities of purpose, they are still very different cars in execution. The pluses for the Porsche include the satisfaction of a 40 year longing (sure, I was just a little kid, but I've wanted a 911 from the early days, even before the 240Z was introduced), plus the fact that the later 911's are more common than a nice 240Z, and so I don't have to be paranoid about something catastrophic happening to it when I drive it around town. I was always afraid someone would rear-end the Z and it'd be gone.

In retrospect, I may have made a mistake in buying the red 240Z - it was too nice to pass up, but it was also too nice for my purposes. As I noted above, I always worried when I drove it, worried about the miles I was putting on it, yet I'm not the type of person to own a garage queen. I'm going to drive my cars, frequently, and when I want. So I might have been better off had I passed up the red car and finished the yellow one as a mild resto-mod. I wouldn't have been as concerned about driving that one.

But no regrets. I had 5 years with a rather special 240Z, and I know that in Norway it will be living the life (as a pampered weekend car) that I wouldn't give it. And back here in the states, I still have a car that is a kick to drive, and that I have lusted after for decades. No one loses.

I'm glad your new sports car is working out. I never thought about the stress of driving an old Z around. I just figured the parts are out there and more plentiful than a Delorean or something like that. But, I read some of your blog and really admired the 240. I'm glad she has a new home. I gotta wonder how much the guy paid for . After all, bringing a car overseas is no small nor cheap feat.

Glad to still see you around here even after Z life