2006 BMW M3

[Senor_Taylor]

I'm just really happy to make those RTABS my bitch and get revenge for my nightmare of an RTAB job last year.

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[Jake]

Well those aren't particularly sexy projects but I'm sure it's nice to have them out of the way!

I've gotta find someone with INPA or whatever, or maybe have BMW scan it when I do my driver's airbag. My DSC/yellow brake light has been coming and going. Is the sensor you refer to part #34521164458? I hadn't heard of those before.

Yep, that's the sensor and that's how mine has behaved as well.

[Jake]

Finally got it aligned after dealing with three (!) Merchants shops that claimed they could do it - I chose them because the first one is nearly next door and they swore they could align the car, which meant I didn't have to scrub it down the road on new tires and a fucked up alignment. After they all were rude and unable to do the work, I went to Arlington Auto Care in Clarendon, who did a bang-up job on the first try. Nice guys who really know their stuff.

Here's where it is after the tie rods, RTABs, and freshy-fresh alignment. DSC and Brake lights are coming and going, and I haven't replaced that pressure sensor yet. Too busy but will deal with it soon.

[ScottyB]

i know what you mean about trying to get to the closest shop but thanks for confirming Merchants is still hot garbage. i've never seen a more half-assed shop chain than theirs at every location i've had to go to.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Has your car been in a crash before?


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[Jake]

Has your car been in a crash before?

It's had a million owners so... probably? I know the last owner hit a tire tread on the highway and ended up doing a new bumper, radiator, fog lights, etc but that was relatively minor. My mechanic thinks it may have been hit in the rear, but that would have been years ago before Don owned the car (he had it from mid 2013 through late 2016).

What are you seeing that would indicate that? It seems to have a lot of negative camber up front for a "stock" suspension. I put new OEM top hats on the car when I did the shocks and springs over the winter.

[SlimKlim]

I'm guessing he's looking at the discrepancies in your front camber and caster, looks like it got tweaked/

[Jake]

Ordered a few small parts just now to clean this thing up. New trunk struts, headlight level sensor, and parking sensor are coming my way.

It might be up for sale in the next month or so. Trying to enable a move into DC proper and owning this does not make that any easier.

[JPolen01]

Trying to enable a move into DC proper and owning this does not make that any easier.

I thought you were escaping south?

[Jake]

Trying to enable a move into DC proper and owning this does not make that any easier.

I thought you were escaping south?

Job and relationship prospects have changed that for the time being. Figure I might as well actually live in the city for a year or two before I get out.

[Ryan T]

It might be up for sale in the next month or so.

:evileye: What might something like that go for?

[Jake]

It might be up for sale in the next month or so.

:evileye: What might something like that go for?

I'll message you.

[Senor_Taylor]

It might be up for sale in the next month or so.

:evileye: What might something like that go for?

A case of miller and a Dido cd.

[Jake]

So this car is actively posted for sale in a million locations now. Fresh trunk struts (y0!) and a replaced parking sensor so now PDC works like it should.

It's on Bimmerforums among other places. Really hoping to sell private vs trading it in and have a few prospects interested, so fingers crossed.

[Senor_Taylor]

Glws!

Solid advertising.

[Jake]

364 days and about 13,500 miles of ownership, and she's gone.





Sold to my buddy Robb from Virginia Beach. He's a fellow BMW nerd who owns a clownshoe Z3M coupe, and this will take over daily duties from his lifted 4Runner.

It was an incredibly fun car, that looked great and largely treated me well. Still felt pretty modern as a daily driver (which my E36 'vert did not). Great highway manners and decent mileage (26ish highway) made it a solid companion for the road trips it saw.

I took it to JMU a few times, Charlottesville and Richmond at least once apiece, New Jersey for a friend's wedding, and all over Northern Virginia. It saw a lot of the DC streets and thankfully not many DC potholes.

Unfortunately, owning an "un-bulletproofed" S54 was also pretty nerve-wracking. Maybe the internet got the best of my head, maybe the fears are real. Either way, my car had no subframe reinforcement, no VANOS work, and original rod bearings. It drove incredibly well, but I always had the idea of "either do this $1500 maintenance or deal with a $3k problem later" in the back of my head - and I didn't want to deal with either.

It was a fun year, but I was also very glad to see it go. This will enable my move into DC (well, once the trailer situation is updated) and for now, I'm fine daily-driving a cushy automatic brick of excess power. The S54 + 6 speed was fairly annoying in commuter type of driving, given the traffic I see.

Cheers, homie.