So, after Habib test drove the car, I went home, knowing in about twelve hours my baby would be mine again.

It was like the night before Christmas, I tossed and turned in bed, anxious for morning to come so I could play with my new toys.

Finally, it's time. I throw some clothes on, skip my usual shower and shave, brush my fangs and practically teleport over to Mastercare.

Arrrgh! The car is just going up on the alignment rack, and the clips haven't come in yet. A couple more hours of waiting, but not too unpleasant since the guys at the garage are good company, and I could walk over to the tire shop to peek at the car from time to time.

A couple days earlier, while going through the transmission install, an old 525e was brought in for electrical trouble, the owner reported smelling burnt plastic and was having intermittent failures of electrical components.

Habib wanted to do a complete exam of the car's wiring, but with my car and several others ahead of the 525e, he told the owner he would have to wait until Thursday or Friday (This was Tuesday) before he could get to it and do the job right. The owner left it there, and it was put in one of the rear shop bays and not touched.

Now, while I'm there waiting on the alignment to be finished and the clips to arrive on Thursday, the owner calls and says he is on his way to pick it up, he can't wait and he needs the car. Habib patiently explained the dangers of this to the owner, but the guy wasn't buying it.

He arrives shortly after that, Habib once again tells him what a bad idea this is, but the owner insists, so they roll the car out of the garage.

The guy gets in, starts it up, saying he'll be back sometime next week to get the job done. He pulls out to the street, waiting for traffic to clear before driving off. While he is sitting there, whatever short the car had decided that would be the perfect time to act up again.

Within seconds, white smoke was pouring out of the 525, and the owner had jumped out and ran back to the shop, yelling "Fire! Fire!".

Luckily, the guys are fast on their feet, running to the car to see what they can do. One of the techs jumps in and turns the engine off, slightly burning his hands in the process, as there are actually flames shooting out of the dash area at this point. A co2 fire extinguisher comes right after, and the fire is quickly put out, but not before the dash of the car looks like a bad Dali painting.

The owner looks pretty abashed, saying over and over again how he wished he'd listened to Habib, while Habib tries his best to make the guy feel better. During all of this, not once was there an "I told you so" tone or look from him. Class act, Habib is.

During all this excitement, I almost forget why I'm there, but just as the 525 owner is getting picked up, my car is coming off the rack, and at almost the same time, the parts truck is pulling in.

"Soon, my precious, soon", I telepathically project to my car.

As it comes off the rack, I notice that it's been washed, the grunge from the rain the week before I took the shop in is gone, as is all evidence that it's been worked on. Nice touch, them doing that for me.

We get the car back in Mastercare, and quickly discover that the wrong part has been sent, the clip is of the smaller size that comes on the automatic, no use at all for the manual. I think you could HEAR my face falling at that point.

Habib and Hamed to the rescue. They get on the phone and ETK, and get the correct part ordered, but it'll be the next day before it arrives, its coming out of Los Angeles. No worries, they rig up an E clip as a temporary solution, confident that it'll hold up for a day or so. They KNOW I want the car badly at this point, and they could certainly stand to clear up some shop and parking space.

So, they hand me the keys and tell me to come back about the same time tomorrow, when they'll install the clip.

I'm so excited I don't know whether to shit or go blind. I settle for closing one eye and farting, climb in the car.

Adjust my Vader and mirrors, fasten my seatbelt, and insert the key. The car starts right up, sounding very mellow, less noise than my former 2.5. Keep in mind I'm running the stock M3 exhaust.

I put it in reverse, noting that the Rogue SSK is indeed short throw, but VERY high effort, or rather, very notchy, and getting to R is a bit of a struggle. Try it a couple times, just to make sure it's not just me. Nope, it's notchy.

Clutch has a nice feel to it, with the release point right where I like it, about three quarters to the floor. Back up, crank the wheel, back some more, put it in first, and eaaaaaaaase it out to the street.

Just like the guy in the 525e, I have to wait for traffic to clear before I can get on the road. Light changes at the corner, traffic clears up, and I pull out onto the road for the first time, gently easing it into 2nd as I get onto the street.

-to be continued