Though I may seem like a well-adjusted long-term car owner in my current life at Car Autance, I can assure you that in a previous life I was a car trading and selling lunatic. There was a time in 2017 that I purchased a BMW 330i ZHP 6MT for $5,700, after trading my way up to more valuable machines and working a side hustle parting cars out. This one is from the long-lost Chris archives.
- Car: 2003 BMW 330i ZHP 6MT sedan
- Location: “The ‘Duct” in Palmdale, CA
- Photog: Chris Rosales (IG + Twit @Chrishasacamera)
- Camera: Canon 70D w/ 50mm f/1.8
I was a much younger and less mature lad back then. Certainly, I knew the significance of the car I owned and just how very good it was to drive. It was my first car that I really hankered for, and actually had the means to purchase and enjoy, but just barely. I bought it pretty clean! It had some minor issues like worn rear trailing arm bushings and the beginnings of VANOS rattle, though it wasn’t severe. I remember vividly the first time the car had the classic M54 lifter tick after hard cornering, it startled my friends quite badly. Meanwhile, I knew it would clear up.
That car, the experience it gave me, was unbelievably special. Alas, my inexperience made me blind to it. I thought that most of my performance car heroes would simply be that good. Honestly, not many of my other 12 past or present cars have measured up since. It was a lot of car for a kid outta high school. I just wish I was wise enough to hang on to it.
As big as we could get it:
