Nov. 21, 2009 - Love this.... my next car.
So I've had my e36 M for almost three years now. And I love it. But the more I drive my wife's '07 with all the newness, well I want that. But I've been having a really hard time figuring out what I want next. So last weekend I went to the dealership and drove all kinds of things. First I drove a 335i coupe, manual, sport - but not for me. It's a wonderful car, but not punchy or twitchy enough for me. Then I drove an e46 M3 - The dealership had one with only 20K miles, competition package, I even took it home for the weekend.... wonderful car, and if they didn't want $40K for it, I would have bought it. But nah, if I'm spending real money, I want newer. So I drove a 135i, M-sport. Yeah, that's more like it. I have to say, I never loved the way it looked, but it feels like an e36M reincarnated only way faster. The power delivery is so consistent and smooth. I think for me, it's the way to go. Now, if I can find an '09 manual that someone hasn't modded out, that will be for me. Yeah, this is what I want. A 135i with CSL style wheels like the one shown. Or stock wheels might be just fine. If you have one you want to sell, please let me know. 
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Nov. 21, 2009 - The car I drove last weekend.
Richmond BMW was kind enough to give me this car (in hopes that I would buy it) last weekend. It's an '06 with only 20K miles. Comp package. If they didn't want $40K (and weren't willing to budge) I might have kept it. 
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Jul. 28, 2009 - My Wife's Car.....
I knew I'd wear her down eventually. She's in love with Bimmers now too. We picked this CPO '07 up recently and love it. What a great car. And my kids love the pano sunroof. Pretty sick. 
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Dec. 31, 2007 - Just checking in....
It amazes me that after a year, this blog of my old 5 still gets so many hits! Who is reading this thing?!?! I figured I should put something new up. Anyway, it's been about a year since I sold Sally and I have to say I do miss that special car from time to time. But I'm so glad the new owner has her. She's in great hands. As for me I am enjoying my 1997 M3 Sedan very much. Although, she blew a head gasket in the spring. That was, um.... expensive. BUT, my mechanic Grady Goodman came through - when he found the blown gasket (see the pic, right between the 4&5 cylinders) he said in his thick Southern accent, "Don't chew worry man, we gonna make sompthin good outta this...." I thought, 'this man has lost his damn mind, this SUCKS!' But, he installed the m50 intake manifold, an AFE cold air intake, machined the head .008, replaced all the O2 sensors, adding new coil wires, added a coolant expander tank, swapped-in a Graf improved impeller, and a dozen other odds and ends in the engine........(See I'm just as anal-retentive with this car)..... I have to say.... wow. I mean....I thought a stock M was fast.....phew. AND, as of today at least, I'm proud to say Grady calls my car, "the driest car I work on" which makes me very, very happy. For me, She's not nearly as pretty as Sally, but I am still in love with a BMW. Thanks for visting. - Driving and smiling, Mike 
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Jan. 17, 2007 - SOLD
The car has been sold. I will let the new owner surface if he chooses. (But it was local, can you believe it??) - Cheers, M
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Jan. 15, 2007 - PRICE DROP - $12K
Well, I'm lower the price to $12,000. I'd like to see this car go to the right person. I really want an M3 sedan.
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Jan. 10, 2007 - Car in to Grady Goodman, here's what's being fixed:
So I'm having some things taken care of on the car, basically I'm fixing every known problem I can:Repaired the seat bolsterReplaced Tie Rod assembly, driver's leftCooling hose (macaroni hose) that was old, soft and collapsingReplaced ThermostatReplaced clutch master cylinder feed hoseReplaced Rear Brake sensorReplaced Spark Plugs - Bosch WRGLSReplaced ignition wiresReplaced distributor cap and rotorsAs for the issues I've been wondering about in the drivers rear suspension, it all looks to be in place and in great shape however Grady believes it could just be some unibody sag that is attributing to the rubbing on the driver's rear wheel. Most of these cars get it, so in his opinion (and hes very very picky) this is normal for this vehicle. And like I said, it takes a lot to get it to rub. So I'm very confident to turn this car over to someone else now. She's now in tip top shape,
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Jan. 3, 2007 - The list of improvements again:
Diamond Black/Black power sport seats 151,XXX milesNew Paint complete to metal strip downALL trim rubber glass removed from car$6000 paint job - they had the car for 3 months. They removed every item off the car. This is a real factory perfect paint jobFactory new Euro bumpers with full factory spec conversion by Carl Nelson of La Jolla Independent ALL new partsEuro Headlights with wipersHartge Spoiler Euro ValanceInterior is VERY clean no tears/rips everything worksCorrect rear headrests redone in BMW black leather ALL new suspension ALL parts replaced by La Jolla IndependentNew Euro M Technic Springs - New Shocks BOGE - KONI adjustable sway barsNew Paul Gray upper /lower control arm bushingsEntire suspension replaced Style 5 wheels 17x8 just reconditioned polished lips - New tiresNew ATE Pads and RotorsNew water pumpNew radiatorNew Hood PadsNew Catalytic Converter - New O2 sensorNew tool kitDINAN chipNew custom floor matsNew brake bombNew INTERSTATE battery 60 miles on itNew Seatbelt receptaclesNew coolant reservoir - New Washer Fluid reservoirNew hood shocksNew fuse lid coverNew rear trunk partitionNew windshield washer nozzlessubframe bushingsDrive shaft / guibo done 6 years ago, but has few miles on itnew exhaustno rustall records $12,500 in all of the above work and parts NOT including the paint at $6000. = Total, about $20,000 invested. I have put an additional $2000 into the car in the last year: UUC short shift kit, all new PS hoses, new transfer pump, all tranny seals, centerlink bushing, and other smaller items for a grand total of $22,000 invested.
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Jan. 3, 2007 - Ugh, this is gonna hurt - FOR SALE
So I've thought about this a long time, and I've decided to sell my beautiful car. I've had the opportunity to live the dream and drive the most beautiful E28 I know of. I literally get compliments everywhere I go. I've had BMW enthusiasts stop me on the interstate, the guys at the detail shop fight to buff her, she's a special, special car. But for me, I really want my next dream to come true, I want an E36 M3 Sedan. My car goes into the shop to fix the bent tie-rod thingy and track down the hesitation (the common hesitation that happens around 1400rpm). Otherwise, she runs very strong and very solid. Personally, I've never seen a better E28. And Ross,the original owner will be glad to back that up - he would be buying it back if he didn't have so many other cars now. I'm asking $13,500. The odometer is now at 151K. All work I know of is documented here. Cheers, Mike
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Oct. 13, 2006 - Fuel Pump / Fuses / Oil and Tranny
It was time to get the oil changed and I took in a whole list of things for Jeff at DeltaV to go over. I was anxious to get my car back, going away on production again, so I only gave him enough time to do the oil (Mobil 1), the Redline in the tranny, all new fuses and the fuse box cleaned out and I replaced my secondary fuel pump. Well, Jeff did. And guess what? 95% of my hesitation at 1900rpms is gone. Jeff also did the main fuel relay (I think).And apparently I hit something because I have a ruined tierod assembly. They said it's pretty bad. The car runs fine, I hear a knock when I reverse, but that's it.
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Jun. 25, 2006 - Why do I like washing and waxing a car so much?
I guess because it turns out like this. Back after 2 months of being on the road. Washed and waxed her today. Love Meguiar's stuff. Sometime soon I hope to figure out the hesitation thing I'm having. It's the common lag at 1900-2200rpms. So that'll be fun to track down. First thing I'll do is pull my O2 sensor and then the distributor. Those are simple enough to check. From there, well, I'll be on the message boards. 
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May. 9, 2006 - This is not my car.
But since I'm never home these days, it's pretty much what my car looks like now. Except it's outside. And my cover is grey. And my car is older. Whatever, you get the idea. I'm away on commercial production until the end of June, but I wanted to give my friends who stop in from time to time something new to look at. Enjoy.
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Mar. 28, 2006 - So I've been driving around a few weeks.....
And I'm really listening and feeling out the car - Sally is her name by the way. Ross's kids named her years ago and I've decided she should keep the name. And my two little boys love calling her that. Although my 2-year-old calls her, "the beeb-bub-dube" which is awesome. So anyway, I've been really driving her with the purpose of collecting information and figuring out every little thing. And then deciding what I can live with and what I can't. Right now I know she has a power steering leak. I've decided not to worry about this at all since it's so small. That and the fact that I've replaced all the hoses and Ross just replaced the PS pump. The tranny is still stiff going into R and 1st. Real stiff. But I've learned to work around it. I'll flush and fill it with some good, thick Redline soon. And the short shifter takes some 'break in time' I hear, so I imaine it will improve a bit. I was wrong about the leaks, the tranny doesn't leak. Or leak much at all now after replacing the shifter and output shaft seals. There are little drips coming off it from one of the main joints, but it doesn't drip much. So not gonna think about it. In the front suspension, I get a shimmy once in a while. It's so weird. Sometimes it's there big time, feels like a wheel is out of balance. But I'll drive the same stretch of road thirty minutes later and it's gone. So weird. But not so worried about this as it is very minor. The only thing I really want to get on soon is this issue with the driver's side rear wheel. The car has new MTech springs so I can't believe it's sag, but it's definately lower on the driver's side. Ross has been very helpful with this and we can't figure it out. I do get a "clunk" back there once in a while so I'm thinking something just ain't right. I wish I knew more about this stuff to work on it myself. But I'll get her in soon. And one other thing is I want to get the fog lights and running lights working. They don't seem to be connected. But again, not real worried about it. And finally, soon it will be time to put in a stereo. I've been researching the h*ll out of this one. I want it to appear completely stock, but I want it to sound amazing. I'm thinking of an amp and sub in the truck as well. I'm also going to install Sirius Satellite Radio as they are soon going to be a client of mine. Well, that and I am now hooked on satellite radio. It's supposed to be gorgeous here Thursday. That's the day I hope to polish her up and shoot her with a good camera. We'll see if I can finally make that happen. That's it for now.
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About Me
This is where I keep track of my cars. I have a BMW problem.
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