Long time listener, first time caller.
I did a thing. Even though i've got two cars and a motorcycle here in Texas. I had to do it. 2013 BMW 535i.
I'd gone to see a 528i (2.0 liter 4 cylinder turbo) but they were doing some needed maintenance. I'd driven a Jetta and a Passat earlier and come away ... not whelmed. (Reason why i'm driving cars follows.) Sales man says "I hear you man, you want that same feeling of solidity and invicibility that your Benz has" and i was Yeah, exactly. He says, "I got you dude, try that one there, it's a 535i, but other wise similar to the one you came to see." Gets a copy of my drivers license and insurance, and gives me the keys.
I liked that car way too damn much. That turbo torque hits hard, and it pulls like a locomotove when you step on it. I came back in fucking love, but I wanted the 240hp 4 cylinder, not the 300hp 11 billionty torques turbo monster that is the N55 6 cylinder. I came back to drive the 4 cylinder the next day, loved it, but wasn't sold on the black paint (cars here in Texas are white or black, don't ask me to explain it!) Plus my Bilstein equipped E320 has a firmer (but not hard) suspension that felt better than the 528i. For $1000 more i'd take a fuel economy penalty and have to buy more expensive tires when the time comes. But the 535 had my preferable color and a less worn interior. Plus the venerable BMW straight 6. SOLD!
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So, still got the OG BMW 2002 still in LA at my buddy's house.
I've had a 1995 Mercedes E320 sedan since about 2010. Lovely car, but ...
Got myself a Honda Africa Twin in 2016. My brother wrecked it. I liked it enough to get another one, 2017, only difference was the color. Loved it. Some lady decided she didn't want me on that bike and rear ended me while I was on it. Ruined it. I really liked that bike. Did I mention that? Well, I bought a 2018. This time the only change was, you guessed it, the color. Love it. Been riding my motorcycle almost non stop since 2016, which means the E320 has mostly sat. Outside. First in the So Cal sun then in the Dallas Texas sun. Paint got burned. It looks a mess now.
But I chanced upon a 1991 Mercedes 250TD; wagon, diesel, 5 speed. The so called unicorn. Snapped it up in late 2020. Not a turbo, so slow us an understatement.
N E way, my 95 has an inoperable drivers window. It's stuck in the down position and has been for about a year maybe. I took the door card off to see how easy it is to replace, and yeah, I could do it, but it requires drilling out three rivets that hold the bracing for the door mounted mid/ sub woofer. I really don't want to go buy a drill just to drill 3 rivets then never use it again. So I haven't. It's also got a broken left front signal lens, inoperable sunroof, headliner that's started sagging (the hot Texas sun melted the glue holding it on!) needs brakes, and will probably need a new transmission soon ish. The transmission surges between shifts, a tell tale sign according to the Mercedes afficionados online. Meh.
N E way, my brother was driving my wagon while I was in ZImbabwe recently and messaged me "dude, something is wrong with your car, it lost power steering." It's an old diesel, so the only thing it really could be is that it ate the serpentine belt. No biggie. Took it to the mechanics, they replaced it, drove home.
Suddenly it was pissing oil everywhere I parked it. I mean aggressively marking it's territory. Parked it. No biggie. I ride the bike most days anyway. Only really drove it to go do my laundry at my cousins. No biggie.
But, I don't know if you remember this, we got snow last week. Not the best weather to ride a motorcycle, even if you have the gear to do so. Got the old girl still, E320; haven't donated her. She didn't want to start so I took out the battery and charged it over night and throughout my day off. Rode the bike that last day with good weather, then drove. The bike didn't want to start. Took out the battery and charged it. Installed it, but it didn't want to start and ran funny then died. Then didn't start. Check engine light.
Drove the old car that day and the next day in the snow. Window down and errthang. Coming back that second day, ABS light comes on, airbag light comes on, dash lights dim. Fuck, either the belt (still got power steering, so not likely) or the alternator is gone. Car died as I was parking.
So i've had to ... assume some debt. I hate being in debt. I like this car more than I hate debt apparently.