Bye bye Bimmer!

Soooo, I sold the bimmer lol!!! It was almost 3 years, almost! I bought it for $6500, sold it for $3900. I always like to evaluate how I came out on the financial side of things with my cars. I have a very tight budget and so I'm conscious of where my money goes. I have typically lost about $2000/year on all my cars. Let’s see how the bimmer fared.
I replaced the radiator fan for $200, control arms and poly bushings for like $350, Konig Hypergram wheels and Acellera (who?haha) tires for like $1200. I did sell the BMW wheels for $450 so that makes the wheels/tires about $750.

The bimmus 330ci at work with the "winter mode" wheel/tire setup. Doesn't look half bad but its much more sedate than the Konig Hypergrams

$6500 - $1300 (major maintenance and mods) + $3900 = $3900. Divide $3900 by 3 years and that's about $1300 cost of ownership per year. That's really good actually. Huh...All said I really enjoyed BMW ownership. The car was a ton of fun to drive and own. When washed up it was good lookin' fo sure.

I was originally going to write about the new car I bought (1999 Honda Civic DX Hatchback in Roma Red) but I have too many things to say to close out the ownership of the bimmer including why I sold it. So, the new car post will be a separate one.
So, after reading my December 2017 update, there isn't a whole lot to update on. :) 2 main things I did with the bimmer was take it to Bonneville Speedweek in August 2018. I drove out to the Salt Flats on the Friday night, camped out at Lands End and enjoyed checking out the hot rods and racecars on the Great White Dyno on Saturday.

BMW 330ci at the Bonneville Salt Flats next to the SCTA trailer!

Here are the pics I put up on my KSL.com classifieds ad. Didn't end up needing the ksl as Pantera Corey's brother/niece ended up buying it! Very happy its staying in the family! Hope to see it out autocrossing soon!

Konig Hypergram 18" wheels on Accelera PHI-R tires and H&R Cup Kit

Tan Leather Premium Package, it grew on me. I love the heated seats in the winder. 

UUC short shifter an knob. Loved this set up. Very direct and had a quality feel.

Tan leather was easy to keep clean an stayed much cooler in the summer heat than black

Then a couple months later I was invited by Pantera Corey to try AutoX with him and his brother/sis-n-law/niece/nephew here in Farmington at the Legacy Events Center.

Utah SCCA Legacy Events Center OktoberFast Event-330ci and my first AutoX. Pantera Corey's Mazda6 is in the background 

 The Utah SCCA makes it very affordable (was like $35 for your first time) and lets you borrow a helmet. Had to go with lucky #78!

Can't remember who took the photos and shared them on Facebook but thank you bro! Here's the 330ci dodging cones!

I've done multiple longer trips in the bimmer. I went to St. George twice this year for baseball tournaments plus last fall for an Electric R/C flyin with my dad and bro. Heading out to Bonneville is fairly quick and easy. Not much to see though.  I took a cool picture of the bimmer in front of the SCTA trailer. I love the flats!

The AutoX event was so much fun! It was super helpful to have a friend who knew what they were doing as well. I think I had 6 runs between 2 sessions. I got faster on each run as I learned the course and as I pushed the car harder. One of the most interesting things was I learned from an experience driver guiding me along that I as I went slower in I was able to go faster out. The bimmer and the Accelera tires performed great. It was late October in Utah so it was like 60 degrees, perfect for not stressing out my equipment.
I really enjoyed seeing a ton of cool cars go hard at the cones. I loved hearing the engines and screeching tires. There was a white EG civic sedan that was gutted with some 15" meats and it was FAST. The Miatas were also fun to watch. They were able to carry so much speed through the turns.

OK, so the bimmer was #goodtimes but I was itching to move on. It has been about 3 years anyway. :) The reason I sold it was to get into a car that I could afford to modify. Modifying is the part of this hobby that I enjoy the most. I hit the limit with the BMW. There was really nothing I could have done to the engine to really boost power significantly. Sure, I could have spent a $100+ on an intake kit and gotten another 5hp. There are no headers that are smog legal since the catalytic converter is in the exhaust manifold. I could have done coilovers but it already had H&R springs and shocks. Plus it had 157k miles with some minor things that were bugging me. The car is heavy per my specifications. It's 3300+ lbs and only 225hp stock. Its a great cruiser. I just wasn't inspired by it anymore.
Every time I start getting the itch to sell and buy something different, I always start looking at 90's Hondas and Mustangs. In my past I've already had 2 Civics and a Fit. I just enjoy the lightweight, nimble character of Hondas. I enjoy the practicality and affordability. I commute 72 miles per day (20k/year) so having a commuter that I can call my project is also the best use of my dollars, the best fun per dollar.
The problem with Honda is the only ones I like are from 1988-2000. These are the lightest best handling Civics with the biggest aftermarket. The 2000 and newer Civics are heavier, bigger and they lost their 4 wheel double-wishbone suspension design. :( Booooo! Progress is not always better.