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View Full Version : well... i guess it couldn't be helped... put a deposit down on a ZHP sedan yesterday. LONG... grab a coffee (i did).



slater
03-22-2014, 05:47 AM
prior to february, i had one car in the stable - my Audi A4 Avant.

well, after driving and subsequently buying a ZHP coupe - which i bought to fix, enjoy for a bit and then sell (it was a good deal), i realized........ HEY, i reeeeally like this car. could i make a ZHP sedan work for me as the lone household vehicle?

fast forward to yesterday, when i put a deposit down on an imolarot/black leather 2004 330i ZHP 6-speed. 1-of-21-for-canada. :thumbup

i feel like a got a great deal on the car. it has 108K miles, suspension is fairly tight (dampers are good, might need some bushing refresh, but the tires were terrible and i think that contributed to some vagueness i was feeling).

it had seen some winters early on but the last several it was garaged for the winter. it has it's share of rock chip rash ('all highway miles,' dane... LOL!) and there are 3 very tiny rust bubbles that will get fixed as well, and the headlights need a serious sand + polish, but overall i am quite pleased. everything works, no lights, no noises.

it does not have OEM wheels, so i am either going to source some, or maybe go for some 18x8.5 apex ARC-8's? ;)

i paid $7000 CAD (for those of you who follow the exchange rates, that's like $2 USD right now ;) ).

i pick up the car in 7-10 days. this one is going to be the keeper!

so. some of you may ask, why one car only?

well, my fellow ZHP brethren - i like simplicity and purpose in my life. love God, love and care for your family and your neighbors, be true and honest and attempt do the best you can do at everything - and drive one car that feels like it was made for you.

and in some sort of irrational way, bumping up my stable to 3 cars (and 2 canadian ZHPs at that - sorry, am i rubbing this in? that production data that came to light recently has really affected me, LOL) in order to get to 1 car - well, sometimes you need to climb a mountain to achieve your goal of living on the prairie. :)

really? one car?

well, i work from home and we homeschool our kids, so one car does the job. one car means less insurance, less to maintain - which means more time with my family. and the second car would just sit 99% of the time - that seems like a waste. someone else should enjoy and drive that car.

what about AWD? don't they get like 23474 feet of snow per year in canada?

i am happy to say goodbye to the audi, and audi's in general, after many years of driving them - their superior winter off-the-line traction will be missed, but i think that is all. the ZHP surpasses it in every other aspect (especially the sensory ones).

what about storage space?

fortunately my new sedan doesn't have the giant CD changer prep box thingamajig in the trunk (on the left when you open the trunk), so there is more volume. and thanks to user 'pip' here on the forum, i have a roof rack for it, and i just scored a brand new thule roof carrier for $50 locally, second-hand - if you can call it that, it's never been out of the packaging. overall i will have as much, if not more storage capacity than our Avant, plus i will be able to see out the back window!

SO...when do we get to see this car? TPIWWP you know...

the plan going forward....once the new car arrives, it will need to get safetied and e-tested and then likely off to my friend's body shop for paintwork/rust removal. i will try to photo document stuff, and will start a project thread.

whew.

if you made it this far - thanks for reading, especially my psychotic self-Q + A session. coffee/beers on me if we ever meet! (depends on the time of day ;) )

peter

Smolck
03-22-2014, 06:49 AM
Congrats! Great vehicle. One thing you said I will disagree with though. At 108k miles, the dampers are toast. You need to replace them. You will be rewarded with amazing feel once again.

mbeckel
03-22-2014, 06:58 AM
Excellent color combo! Congrats on your purchase

Sent from in the bushes

brettbimmer
03-22-2014, 07:00 AM
Welcome to the Imola family! Enjoy the new sedan. In for pics of the roof rack & cargo box once installed. I am curious to see how the box looks on our cars!

ELCID86
03-22-2014, 07:05 AM
Great write-up. And I can't believe you got THAT car for $2US! ;-)

BTW, we homeschooled our boys through 8th grade and my daughter through 6th (when my wife declared "enough"!). Hard road sometimes, but well worth it in the end.

Congrats and I'm glad you love it.


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

ranger
03-22-2014, 07:36 AM
Enjoy the ZHP. I have a 2003 Audi Avant 3.0 that my wife and I use for running errands - we really love the Avant for everyday errands to Home Depot, grocery store, etc. Comes in handy during the annual Atlanta snowapocalypse too!

slater
03-23-2014, 10:52 AM
Welcome to the Imola family! Enjoy the new sedan. In for pics of the roof rack & cargo box once installed. I am curious to see how the box looks on our cars!

me too! and yeah, i will post pics. it will likely be 6-8 weeks before than happens (paintwork, etc).



Great write-up. And I can't believe you got THAT car for $2US! ;-)

BTW, we homeschooled our boys through 8th grade and my daughter through 6th (when my wife declared "enough"!). Hard road sometimes, but well worth it in the end.

Congrats and I'm glad you love it.

thanks shawn! yeah, $2USD, can you believe it? :)

in all seriousness, $7000CAD right now is $6242USD - that's a huge difference, huh? (eh? ;) )



Congrats! Great vehicle. One thing you said I will disagree with though. At 108k miles, the dampers are toast. You need to replace them. You will be rewarded with amazing feel once again.

you know, conventional damper-life-wisdom would have me say the same thing. but i went over some speedbumps with the car, and i was floored at how good the dampers still felt. STILL... rest assured the suspension will not be ignored on this car. :)

peter