WTB: BMW 330 ZHP Performance Package 6MT

[webster]

hi all, I'm new to this board, but thought I'd chime in. I'm currently searching for a ZHP. looking for a 6mt coupe, no real preference for color, but has to have <75k miles as this will be my daily driver. price range is fairly narrow, looking to keep the bottom line under $20k.

i was initially looking for an E46 M3, but after a lot of researching found the ZHP to be a more pure experience. a lot less pricey too, especially maintenance. also, I'm not interested in SMG at all and finding a low mileage 6mt M3 is pretty damn hard around here, at least for ~$20k

i test drove an imola/black 04 ZHP coupe last week that was listed at a local bmw dealership. it had just arrived, only been in their inventory for 1 day. 70k miles listed for $16k. drove great, loved it, was ready to sign off, but it failed the PPI. miserably. dealership actually pulled it from their listings altogether and told me they were not going to sell it. i was kind of taken aback buy the whole thing honestly, i was expecting a clean inspection and to be in the car today. will never NOT get a ppi again though after this experience. saved my ass.

everyone I've told this to has said to be patient, i know i know. but I'm not a patient person by nature so this is going to be tough. especially after being so close.

i am looking to trade so it's not easy to just fly out, buy and drive home for me. i pulled a nationwide search on autotrader, found a few beauties on opposite sides of the country...grrr.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Webster I moved your post and created a new thread for you. I didn't want your other post to get buried in that other thread.

We see plenty of ZHPs available in Texas, so hang in there. You'll find one.

[webster]

thanks! i was thinking about cross posting to a new thread but didn't want to over-pollute the board lol

[Marcus-SanDiego]

No worries. I keep the forum pretty clean. I probably would have deleted the cross listing and just put one here in the classifieds section.

Good luck finding the right ZHP.

[aurelius]

You'll have a whole lot more flexibility, not to mention money, if you sell your current car and are not at the mercy of dealers for trade-in. By limiting to a trade-in deal, you're also eliminating yourself from private party sellers.

Do you have a 2nd car you could use in the meantime I you were to sell your car now? Motorcycle? Friend or relative have a spare car?

[webster]

You'll have a whole lot more flexibility, not to mention money, if you sell your current car and are not at the mercy of dealers for trade-in. By limiting to a trade-in deal, you're also eliminating yourself from private party sellers.

Do you have a 2nd car you could use in the meantime I you were to sell your car now? Motorcycle? Friend or relative have a spare car?

yeah, i realize the position that i'm putting myself in by wanting to do a trade in, unfortunately i have no option of selling my current car first. no friends/family with a spare ride for a few weeks/months. i have no problem with buying the ZHP first and selling my car later, but the problem there is that i don't have the cash on hand for a straight purchase in full, so i need financing, and i don't want to finance more than ~$15k or so. so basically i need the money from my current car before financing the new one.

i guess one option is to just wait 6 months and save save save until i can just buy the car outright, but with rates so low right now i'd prefer to just pull the trigger. also, these cars aren't getting any younger...

[Marcus-SanDiego]

If you're worried about rates shooting up, don't. Unless something changes in your own credit rating, rates shouldn't move too much. The economy is in a malaise right now. The Fed isn't going to raise rates any time soon, which means your used car rates won't be rising much either.

[webster]

that's very true, and in all honesty i would love to just finance the whole damn thing and keep my current car. but then i'd be performing maintenance on two aging imports, one of which i have a car payment for, and the other i don't really have any enthusiasm for driving (02 acura TL, ~114k, needs valve cover gaskets and power steering pump replaced).

[aurelius]

You might put your Acura up on craigslist today for a price that would make selling it now worthwhile to you. You may be surprised by how strong the market is right now, especially for cars with 4-bangers that have presentable cosmetics. I sold a friend's 2003 Honda Accord EX (V6) in late May for $9k. 95k miles. That was $2k over what Carmax had offered her.

With $2k, you could rent a car thru a non-airport Enterprise location for quite a while. And of course, do all your messy errands while you have the rental.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

I like Mark's idea.

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[webster]

hmmm. thinking outside the box, thanks! definitely some food for thought.

the bmw dealership offered me 3k for the acura the other day without even popping the hood. that seemed pretty lowball, i know it's not in the best shape but even at rough trade value NADA has it at $3900 for that mileage, with average condition worth ~$5k.

if i could get anything close to $5k then your idea is easily feasible. hmmm...

the only thing that scares me about that plan is the possibility of not finding the car i want within a reasonable timeframe. i can't justify renting a car for 2 months (nor do i want to be in a crappy rental that long!)

[danewilson77]

hmmm. thinking outside the box, thanks! definitely some food for thought.

the bmw dealership offered me 3k for the acura the other day without even popping the hood. that seemed pretty lowball, i know it's not in the best shape but even at rough trade value NADA has it at $3900 for that mileage, with average condition worth ~$5k.

if i could get anything close to $5k then your idea is easily feasible.

Yeah...they were trying to front side you.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Webster, be sure to read the story that's in this thread here: http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?3976-Car-Dealerships

[aurelius]

A relative found herself carless back in December. I found her a surprisingly great deal from enterprise. She ended up in a Prius for a month.

That was then and this is now but you might have a look at rental pricing. Not much biz travel this time of year, you may be surprised.

[ecrabb]

+1 to selling and renting while you look. Spiffing up the the daily driver and selling should get you more money for the car (than if you traded), and renting a daily driver gives you a good no-pressure position from which to find, negotiate, and purchase a replacement.

Definitely check the rental deals. My family runs a car rental franchise, and I can tell you some of the pricing that the industry offers on car rental is pure insanity (and it frustrates the hell out of us)... Some companies (like Enterprise) often rent the cars for less than what the depreciation and financing costs are on the car just for the sales volume and cash flow. Take advantage of that!

SC

[webster]

thanks for the input guys. the more and more i think about it the more i like the sell-first idea. getting the TL cleaned up and detailed tomorrow, will have it listed for sale shortly.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Great. I think that will work out well for you.

[webster]

quick update:

after a couple times of being close to a deal and having it fall through for one reason or another (failed PPI, financing restrictions, etc), i finally found a ZHP here in houston!

after i realized i could not buy neil's beautiful SG coupe listed on this site, i was feeling pretty bummed. didn't even feel like looking at postings anymore, but for some reason i checked out CL (after months of searching CL and finding nothing). just so happened that same day somebody posted a zhp. she's a 2004 coupe, metallic grey, 50k miles, alcantara, 6mt, just perfect. PPI came back clean. owner wanted 19, we settled on 18, might be a bit overpriced but this car is mint. not a scratch on it. wasn't the seller's main car, he bought it at 32k in 07, only 18k miles in 4 years is impressive.

closing the loan on monday, will report back w/ pics thereafter

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Webster, congrats!

[webster]

just bought my ZHP coupe! will get some pics up tonight, hopefully.

god i love having a 6mt again!

i have so much learning to do. fist step is to reset the service interval. advice on how to do that is appreciated!

[danewilson77]

Congrats.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[edlvrt]

WOOT! :roundel Congrats. As for resetting the service interval, I think there is a way to do it by pressing the odometer trip reset button in a certain sequence. I'll see what I can search and dig up, but the other way is to buy a code reader that will read fault codes and reset the oil and service indicators.

How was the ride home?

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Congrats, Webster.

[danewilson77]

#28 below brutha.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?1830-BMW-E46-ZHP-DIY-and-Preventative-maintenance&p=37358

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[webster]

thanks for the linkage! the ride home was great, although honestly i was babying her the whole way. i did let 'er rip a couple times and quickly had to check myself. the brakes work well :)

it did take forever and a day to close my loan at this podunk little credit union 40 minutes outside of town. but at 3.45% it was worth the drive :)
time to crack a beer.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Webster, shoot me the for-sale thread of the car you bought when you get a chance. Thanks.

Congrats again.