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Wish fulfillment: Just bought a 2000 Z3 Roadster (long)



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 22nd 04, 06:51 PM
B. Sanders
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Default Wish fulfillment: Just bought a 2000 Z3 Roadster (long)

Yesterday, I took delivery of an Impala Brown 2000 Z3 roadster. Man, is
this car SWEET!

This is my third BMW. The first two were an 1985 E30 325e sedan, and a
beautiful 1983 633csi coupe. Both were beautiful cars (especially the
coupe) and both were aggravatingly unreliable. The "big coupe" 633csi was
particularly annoying. I finally got tired of constantly repairing it, sold
it for a good price, bought a Honda Accord, and swore off BMW's.

FWIW: I was the founder of the Big Coupe Groupe, which I started as a
listserv back in 1996 to support the 6-series coupes. The list grew like
wildfire, quickly adding enthusiastic members from every inhabited continent
on Earth, sharing repair and restoration tips on their beloved - but
troublesome - BMW Coupes. After a while, Norm Grills graciously offered to
take over the list. He built the wonderful Big Coupe Groupe website, and
turned our online club into the definitive resource for repair and
restoration information on the 6-series E24 BMW's. I'm proud to have planted
the seed that, thanks to Norm's hard work, grew into such a wonderful
resource for Coupe enthusiasts.

But that was 8 years ago. It seems that BMW's have come a long way since
the mid 1980's. After test driving a '96 Z3 earlier this year, and being
very impressed with it, I went shopping online. Local prices were higher
than NADA blue book. But several weeks ago, I found this Impala Brown 2000
Z3 on Ebay. The bid was $13,400. Edmund's retail said $19,700. The photos
and records showed a well-kept car, free of any noticeable defects,
accidents, title weirdness, etc. "What's wrong with this car?" I thought.

On the last day of the auction, I was walking home from the library with my
lovely wife, enjoying the day, and just happened to remember the auction. I
decided to check-in and see what it sold for. When we arrived at home, I
fired up the laptop and checked: Still $13,400, with 1 bid and only 4
minutes to go. I said to my wife: "Do you want a Z3?" She said "Sure, why
not lowball and see what happens." So, with 2 minutes to go, I placed a bid
of $13,600; but nothing happened. Then I realized - the microwave was
running! It was knocking out the wireless network! My wife rushed over and
stopped the microwave. I re-submitted the bid with less than 30 seconds to
go. Then refreshed the page. 20 seconds. 10 seconds. 5 seconds.
Congratulations! You are the winner!

Huh? Nobody outbid us? I still don't know how we pulled that off; but it
does happen sometimes on Ebay.

I never thought I would buy a car on Ebay. I used to scoff openly at the
idea; but recently I had heard many success stories from people who had
bought cars on Ebay, for thousands less than they would have cost locally.
The more I looked into it, the better I felt about it, which is why I was
even bothering to shop for a Z3 on Ebay in the first place.

I went ahead and arranged financing through Ebay motors, which is actually
Household Automotive. They had my financing set up in just a few minutes,
and the following day a blank check arrived which I could use to pay for any
car from any seller on Ebay. I won't reveal my credit ceiling; but let's
just say that it offered me a very wide latitude for auto purchases. I was
impressed with how smoothly the whole thing went, and kept expecting to find
something amiss; but the contract looked good, no hidden gotchas that I
could see, and no front-loading or other foolishness. Just a good loan rate,
simple interest and hassle-free financing. The loan officer could have been
a little more patient; but that's my only very minor beef so far.

The Ebay dealer who sold me the Z3 - Lone Star Cars, Inc. in Plano, TX - had
449 postive feedback, with zero negative feedbacks. They only sell used cars
Knowing how contentious, unrealistic and ultra-picky people can be about
their cars, I was very impressed that any online dealer could have such a
perfect track record. That was what made me place the bid that won the
car - their exceptional feedback let me know I could probably trust these
guys. That trust seems to have been well-founded. Norman and Brad at Lone
Star made the buying process smooth and painless. They had a mechanic go
over the car, and detailed it nicely. They shipped the Z3 from Texas to
Illinois for $550 - by far the cheapest quote I found anywhere. They turned
around the paperwork very quickly, and got the car shipped to me within 10
days of auction close. It arrived exactly as advertised, with no hidden
problems that I could find, aside from a slight brake noise in the rear
(probably just needs pads). No dents, no dings, no rips, no wear, runs and
drives perfectly, shifts like a new car. The only defect that I've found is
a little bit of driveway rash on the lower lip of the air dam. You can't
even see it unless you get down real close and look. The truck driver who
delivered the car had notated some minor scratches that I had to squint to
even see. (He knows how picky people can be...)

I love my Z3. It's the roadster I've always wanted, but even better than I
expected. I'm back in the BMW club after almost a decade. Looking forward to
sharing experiences with other Z3 owners out there.

B. Sanders







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  #2  
Old October 22nd 04, 07:48 PM
Fred W.
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Default


"B. Sanders" > wrote in message
news:KMbed.302434$3l3.51828@attbi_s03...
> Yesterday, I took delivery of an Impala Brown 2000 Z3 roadster. Man, is
> this car SWEET!


Welcome back to the fold...

>

8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8<
8<

> But that was 8 years ago. It seems that BMW's have come a long way since
> the mid 1980's. After test driving a '96 Z3 earlier this year, and being
> very impressed with it, I went shopping online. Local prices were higher
> than NADA blue book. But several weeks ago, I found this Impala Brown
> 2000 Z3 on Ebay. The bid was $13,400. Edmund's retail said $19,700. The
> photos and records showed a well-kept car, free of any noticeable defects,
> accidents, title weirdness, etc. "What's wrong with this car?" I thought.


My guess? It's because it's brown. It is an unusual color and not very
popular. But if you like it, and it allowed you to get the car of your
dreams for a dreamy price, good for you!

-Fred W
'97 Z3 2.8 (Helrot / Tan)


 




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