My Fourth Car – The 2001 BMW 320i

I’m not quite dead yet, although sometimes…anyways. So today, or rather yesterday, by the time this post is published, I have officially purchased and driven home my fourth car. It is a 2001 BMW 320i sedan, black on black, automatic transmission. 140,000 kilometres on the odometer. The mileage (because there’s no such word as “kilometreage”) is slightly below average for its year. It’s got big 51 centimetre (20 inch) rims, and xenon lights. Everything else is stock.
Ever since I sold my 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, I have been fervently searching for my next set of engine on wheels. At where I live, and combined with my family situation, not having a car is a huge inconvenience. I spent nearly all my free time the past few weeks searching cars, researching cars, seeing cars, driving cars and talking to car salesmen and private owners. Even though the BMW 3 series was on the top of my list, I still considered other brands, so that I have a broader perspective, and also there may be a small chance that I may fall in love with a different car. After seeing what Toyota, Honda, Acura, Subaru, used car dealers, and of course, private owners, have to offer, eventually I came back to what my heart wanted all along. I found a BMW at a used dealership that fit my desires, and most importantly, my budget as well, and scheduled an appointment on Sunday the 14th.
I brought my secret weapon, my mother, to the dealer with me. After a quick greeting with the salesman, and visual inspection of the car I wanted, we went on a long test drive (without salesman in car) back home, then back to the dealer. Every electronics and accessories were working fine, except for a few warning lights on the dashboard that worried me. Salesman assured it’ll be fixed when the car is purchased. The windshield was cracked, as mentioned on the phone. When the test drive ended, I liked the car enough to pursue a deal. To make the long discussion short, at first salesman wouldn’t budge on price. We walked. Just as we were starting our own car, salesman came to us with a phone to his ears saying he’s trying to get a better deal. That’s when the real negotiation occurred and eventually we bargained a grand off the Craigslist price. A few handshakes later, I fully paid and picked up the fixed car today, er, yesterday.
And now I drive like when I first got my license. If you see a black BMW 320i driving below the speed limit in Vancouver, that’s probably me. Say hi.

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