New member, and the hunt is on

[blalor]

Hey, gang. Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Brian and I live just outside Boston, MA. I'm currently negotiating with a seller on an '04 330Ci ZHP down in Manchester, TN. Like @altoid I also had an SV650. :-) I currently have an '06 R53 (MINI Cooper S). I've previously had a '91 318is (E30) and then a BRZ. I'm something of a track junkie, but I don't get to do that as much as I'd like. I'm also on a 24 Hours of LeMons team that races an '87 325is, which is actually what got me into RWD BMWs in the first place. The 318is was fun but a basket case and not worth the money I was pouring into it to keep it running (but I learned a lot from it, like how to replace an engine in the first month of ownership…). The BRZ was also fun but needed some suspension work before it would be able to make me happy on the track, and I didn't want to do that to such a new vehicle. It sure was pretty, tho. I've always liked the E46 and a few months ago when I decided to get rid of the BRZ I figured I'd try to find an M3, but then I started hearing about bearing failures in the S54 and decided I couldn't stomach that. For about half the price the ZHP seems like the sweet spot. Hopefully this purchase comes together, but if it doesn't, I'll probably be reaching out to you fine folks for some help!

[kayger12]

Welcome to the family. Good luck with your search.

Plenty of help to be found here.

[3ZHP]

Welcome Brian, FYI; I live in Manchester, TN if you need someone to check this car out pm me.

[BCS_ZHP]

Welcome, best of luck in your search, & enjoy driving it home.

[blalor]

@3ZHPGUY What are the odds! I'm having a PPI done at Bell Buckle Motor Works. The car generally looks pretty good. We're kind of held up right now because the owner of the shop came down with the plague. Hopefully he's back in action tomorrow. If we can get a couple of kinks worked out, I'll be flying down to Nashville on Friday to pick it up. If you work at the Air Force base, you might have run into the seller; he's a test engineer there.

[fredo]

Welcome, sir ! I recommend you take advantage of 3ZHPGUY's offer. He's right there. It won't hurt to have another set of eyes looking at this car. GL !

[3ZHP]

@3ZHPGUY What are the odds! I'm having a PPI done at Bell Buckle Motor Works. The car generally looks pretty good. We're kind of held up right now because the owner of the shop came down with the plague. Hopefully he's back in action tomorrow. If we can get a couple of kinks worked out, I'll be flying down to Nashville on Friday to pick it up. If you work at the Air Force base, you might have run into the seller; he's a test engineer there.

Actually work at Landing Gear at the other end of the base and I did a GoPro run through Bell Buckle yesterday morning. I can tell you he probably doesn't drive it much because I haven't seen many ZHPs in the area since I've been here.

[johnrando]

Welcome. GL w/your search.

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[Avetiso]

Welcome.

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[ELCID86]

Welcome. Hope the purchase works out.


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[Oli77]

Hello and welcome to the site. Good luck with search.

[imola red zhp]

Welcome and good luck with search.....patience. ..

sent by new technology DA

[danewilson77]

Welcome

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[ChrisCSL#25]

blalor, welcome. You've come to the right place for ZHP info. I just joined a couple of weeks ago. Good luck with your search!

[Au1994]

Welcome! Good luck with the search and purchase. If you are willing to shop virtually the whole lower 48 and take your time, its out there!

[oldzilla]

Welcome, and have fun with the search, take your time the right one for you us out there.

[blalor]

Pretty sure I found a good one. Just bought a ticket to Nashville for Friday. I never was very good at the patience thing… :-)


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[3ZHP]

Pretty sure I found a good one. Just bought a ticket to Nashville for Friday. I never was very good at the patience thing… :-)


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I'll be around, if your interested in meeting up with another ZHP fanatic. Good luck and my contact info is in the members contact information thread if you need any assistance when your in town.

[JupiterBMW]

Good luck with the flight and the purchase! If you have the time, meet up with Guy. I met him at last year's reunion and can vouch, a great guy! Good luck with the new car and enjoy the drive home! Some great scenery and roads in the Central East Coast area... Welcome to the family!

[blalor]

I'd love to meet some other ZHP members, but I'm afraid my time's going to be pretty pinched; I may be getting tires put on in Murfreesboro before leaving town (if I can't get that done in advance tomorrow) and I really want to try to get home by Saturday afternoon.

[ELCID86]

I'd love to meet some other ZHP members, but I'm afraid my time's going to be pretty pinched; I may be getting tires put on in Murfreesboro before leaving town (if I can't get that done in advance tomorrow) and I really want to try to get home by Saturday afternoon.

If you have time, Tire rack (affiliate here) can ship tires (very quickly) to the shop of your choice (or the PO if he's willing).

[blalor]

I'm a big Tire Rack fan. I did shop them quite a bit when trying to figure out what I wanted to do, even considered buying a set of snow tires and wheels, but the folks at DT have been very accommodating. There's no cost benefit to buying from Tire Rack, in this case, at least. Everyone I've dealt with has been stellar, especially Kieran at BBMW.

[3ZHP]

I'd love to meet some other ZHP members, but I'm afraid my time's going to be pretty pinched; I may be getting tires put on in Murfreesboro before leaving town (if I can't get that done in advance tomorrow) and I really want to try to get home by Saturday afternoon.

I'm just throwing this out there. I have a set of (4) Bridgstone Blizzak WS70 (Studless Ice & Snow) on wheels that were used on my ZHP when in Ohio. They have two short seasons of driving on them and all have a minimum of a 1/4 inch of tread left and are currently sitting in my garage in Manchester, TN. If your interested, lets talk.

closest size tire rack is currently showing available.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Blizzak+WS70&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=25TR7WS70&tab=Sizes

What the wheels look like

http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss351/3zhpguy/Winter%202011/10_2011Elyria.jpg (http://s591.photobucket.com/user/3zhpguy/media/Winter%202011/10_2011Elyria.jpg.html)

[blalor]

Man, I wish I'd thought to ask here! That's a seriously tempting offer. I purchased a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE760s from Discount Tire today and am having them mounted Friday morning. I have a set of 16" WS70s in my basement left over from my BRZ that I'm hoping to find wheels for, or I'll just sell them and start over. As much as I'd love the peace of mind of driving home on real snows, I'm already carrying another set of wheels (no tires) in the cabin, so I don't think I can buy yours and cram another set in the car. Unless I ship a set home, but I'm already shelling out a lot of money before even leaving the state…

[3ZHP]

No problem, just threw it our there as an option. My ZHP was taken out of DD status last summer so, I didn't bother to change them out this year. My wife does have an E46 Vert so, if she needs to head north in the winter I'll throw them on hers.

Have a safe ride back.

[MiniD]

Congrats on the car! I was the local guy who offered his full asking price, but you already had it on lock with the deposit!

[blalor]

That was you! *fist shake* :) You almost had it. Monday night he told me he was going to refund my deposit and inspection costs, then about an hour later decided to honor our deal. It ain't over 'til I'm behind the wheel, but I'm optimistic the deal's solid, now.

[johnrando]

Wow. I had a somewhat similar occurrence with my car, as I virtually bought it from under someone's nose (not knowingly). The other person, a lady, drove "mine" and one other, was still deciding, wanted to get her husband there to talk, and negotiate the trade-in. She was leaning toward mine though. I walked in, saw the car, and immediately said I wanted to buy it (having no idea someone else was looking). The sales manager had to think on it for awhile and agreed that I committed to the car first, so it was mine. Had I arrived 30 minutes later the car of my dreams would have likely been sitting on a lot with me unable to buy it. Phew!

GL with finalizing things.

[3ZHP]

I’m thinking you’re going to stop at the Tennessee BMV in Manchester to get pates before you leave and may like this alternate rout of back country roads to enjoy your new ZHP.

With that being said, take a left out of the Manchester BMV parking lot instead of a right. RT55 will turn in to a median highway just after the high school. When it does take the second right on Belmont, with the arrow to Normandy Dam. That is just over 2-1/2 miles from the BMV. Follow Belmont, that will turn into MT View Rd, then MG England Rd for six or eight miles of great twisty turns and hills. At the 3rd stop sign “Wards Chapel Rd” you have 3+ more miles of enjoyment. When you get to the “T” at Blanton Chapel make a right. Follow Blanton Chapel to the next “T” at Murfreesboro HWY RT 41 and make a left. The RT 24 interstate is about 4 miles down the road but, I always pas it by and stay on RT41 all the way to Murfreesboro. Only takes less than 10 minutes more and it’s a beautiful piece of road.

I Can also direct you to roads along Lake Normandy and George Dickel distillery in Normandy, if you’re interested.

Take a look at it on a map and let me know if you have any questions.

[blalor]

That's awesome, Guy. Thanks! I'm bringing MA plates with me from my BRZ. I wasn't sure what the process was with TN temp plates; might look into that as there's a slight *ahem* grey area with the MA plates. (Technically totally legal to transfer plates and register the new car when I get home, except that it's supposed to be at most 7 days between selling and buying and I'm over that.)

That route looks fantastic and has me thinking of the Cherohala Skyway near the Dragon. I love dams, too. :-) From Manchester I'm actually heading to Murfreesboro for tires and then back to Bell Buckle to say hi to Kieran at BBMW. He has gone so far above and beyond (because I'm a BMWCCA member) that I really owe him something in excess of what he was paid. Haven't figured out what, yet, but I at least want to meet him.

I can't possibly recommend him highly enough. He discounted the inspection fee from $150 to $120. He was extremely thorough and communicative, despite being down for the count with a serious case of the flu. He even offered to have his receptionist take the car to Direct Tire and wait to have the tires mounted at no additional charge, just because I'm a BMWCCA member and he wants to give back. His dad -- who passed away in October -- was a 45-year member (#172).

[cakM3]

Welcome and congrats on your new car :thumbsup Enjoy the drive back to New England :)

[3ZHP]

If you want to catch Bell Buckle on you way to Murfreesboro, I can direct you down another great set of driving roads. Just give me a good starting point. These roads are mostly 55 mph and I seldom see the law I bothering anyone on the road down here. And yes the home town people around here are the best and go far out of their way to help you.


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[blalor]

That'd be great! I think I'm actually doing Manchester → Murfreesboro → Bell Buckle; the timing's going to be tightest in Murfreesboro and I want to have time to kill in Bell Buckle.

[blalor]

I think this is roughly going to be my route tomorrow: http://goo.gl/maps/5hkTG Looks like heading Northeast from Bell Buckle toward McMinnville to get on I-40 toward Knoxville will be the best bet. Depending on time and weather on my route, I might detour to Raleigh…

[3ZHP]

Looks like a great ride. Some alternatives and a must stop: when you’re heading to location B in Manchester you can jump off the highway at Beach Grove make a left and then right on 41. This is a great section of highway that you should be able to run at 60+ and will only take you a few extra minutes to your destination B. Have to mention that at this point you’re less than a mile away from the grounds of the http://www.bonnaroo.com/ music and arts festival grounds. Heading to destination D I24 is probably your best bet as 41 drifts off to the east. If it’s getting near lunch time, the big shopping centers and restaurants are on RT 96 2 exits north of RT 10 “your D destination”. As for your next stop, the video below that I took last weekend is the exact rout in the opposite direction. The next leg of your journey is some of the best Tennessee roads, just be sure you have a good GPS. For the last picture stop before you hit the highway, check out the map from the link below and a few picks I took from this location last year on the way back from the ZHP family reunion.

Enjoy and safe travels.

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&authuser=0&q=35.928528,-85.382395&aq=&vps=1&sll=38.272689,-95.712891&sspn=65.321782,135.263672&vpsrc=1&t=h&ie=UTF8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CftvY7l7ohk


http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss351/3zhpguy/ZHP/ZHPMafia%20Reunion%202013/20130519_ZHPMafia-Family-Reunion-2013_0013-Edit.gif (http://s591.photobucket.com/user/3zhpguy/media/ZHP/ZHPMafia%20Reunion%202013/20130519_ZHPMafia-Family-Reunion-2013_0013-Edit.gif.html)

http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss351/3zhpguy/ZHP/ZHPMafia%20Reunion%202013/20130519_ZHPMafia-Family-Reunion-2013_0012-Edit.gif (http://s591.photobucket.com/user/3zhpguy/media/ZHP/ZHPMafia%20Reunion%202013/20130519_ZHPMafia-Family-Reunion-2013_0012-Edit.gif.html)

http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss351/3zhpguy/ZHP/ZHPMafia%20Reunion%202013/20130519_ZHPMafia-Family-Reunion-2013_0026-Edit.gif (http://s591.photobucket.com/user/3zhpguy/media/ZHP/ZHPMafia%20Reunion%202013/20130519_ZHPMafia-Family-Reunion-2013_0026-Edit.gif.html)

[blalor]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2892/12433952893_fd7283572e.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWKg1a)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7351/12433947773_164488fd5e_c.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWKetT)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/12434280594_fa2b8d1dc6_c.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWLWqb)

[gmurphy]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2892/12433952893_fd7283572e.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWKg1a)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7351/12433947773_164488fd5e_c.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWKetT)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/12434280594_fa2b8d1dc6_c.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWLWqb)

Very nice!


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[3ZHP]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2892/12433952893_fd7283572e.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWKg1a)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7351/12433947773_164488fd5e_c.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWKetT)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/12434280594_fa2b8d1dc6_c.jpg (http://flic.kr/p/jWLWqb)

Glad everything worked out and the car looks great.

[blalor]

Thanks for the route suggestions, Guy. Long couple of days of travel, but the car's solid and I'm really happy to add it to the stable.

The amber corner lights are really bugging me, now that I've noticed them. :-)

[ELCID86]

Thanks for the route suggestions, Guy. Long couple of days of travel, but the car's solid and I'm really happy to add it to the stable.

The amber corner lights are really bugging me, now that I've noticed them. :-)
Oh yeah, the ones on the bumper. Those HAVE to go! :-]