What was your "I gotta have that!" moment?

[nemex12]

just had an "I gotta have that" moment with an m3 being driven around a track by NASCAR pilot Pepe Montaño with me as a copilot . I used to think "I want an m3", but now I think "I need an M3!!!" well, as long as I can keep my loved z, that is

[bdn3d]

Originally Posted by nemex12

just had an "I gotta have that" moment with an m3 being driven around a track by NASCAR pilot Pepe Montaño with me as a copilot . I used to think "I want an m3", but now I think "I need an M3!!!" well, as long as I can keep my loved z, that is

I see you are in Florida as am I, can you please elaborate? Where? When? How?...etc?

[BDO]

I was looking for a 3.0(s)i Roady, and went to testdrive a Z4M just to see if I'll actually fit in a roady with the top up. When I heard the familiar thrum of the S54, and heard the metallic, tinny rasp of the exhaust as it's meant to be, with the top down (I had a E46 M3 before), I knew that I should stop looking for the 3.0.

[msh441]

I've always "liked" the Z4... but it was never a car I "desired" until I saw the Coupe Concept in pictures. Living in Washington State, the idea of a convertible as daily driver was out of the question (for me, that is), and the lines on the coupe's roof and hatch (to my eye) turns a nice looking roadster into an achingly beautiful sports car. It really pulled at my heard strings.

It went from a "want", to a "strong desire" when the M model was announced and the indications that the amazing S54 would be phased out with that very car. Unfortunately in '06-'07, the pushing $60k out-the-door price tag kept me away. Instead, I bought a new MINI Cooper S which eventually got the JCW kit and a bunch of Alta and M7 goodies.

The MINI was my first brand new car. I was 35 at the time and with both my wife and I being public employes, $30k for a car is nothing to sneeze at.

My "must have" moment was fall 2011 when I saw a Z4M coupe for sale at one of the local dealerships. It was used, and had 48k on the clock. It had 3+ owners and the dealer wanted top dollar at $36k. I drove it, though... and MY GOD... the MINI went up for sale the next day! The car was sublime. More than I'd ever imagined, even. The feel. The sound. The looks in person: even better than in pictures. I HAD TO HAVE ONE SOMEHOW (just not THAT one)!!!

Thankfully, the MINI sold fast and I got top dollar for it (benefitting from the "economical yet sporty" reputation, I think). Shopped ither cars too (trying to stay open-minded), but found an M Coupe in the very color I wanted (TiNa) with low(er) miles (27k) and a MUCH better price $29,000 (further benefitting from a soft sports car market). Only a $6500 difference between the M Coupe and what I got for the MINI! And the M Coupe was unobtanium in my mind just a few month earlier!

I had it shipped from Chicago and have been driving it every day since. So happy. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to own such a car. I'm on cloud 9.

[Finnegan]

It's quite a machine isn't it? Enjoy!

[Jmanscotch]

I had been driving my E46 for a few years and while a great car, being a car guy had me simply wanting to try something else. User KGolf31 on here, had been trying to talk me into auto-xing the E46 for some time and finally I got a chance to sneak out to an event to atleast do a ride along with him and see what the fuss was about.

Well, he had just picked up his '07 Z4MC....a few runs in the passenger seat and I started looking for a Z! (though a M wasn't realistic for me, but a 3.0 is plenty of fun IMB).

[Z4MLover2012]

I fell in love with the Z4M Coupe at the New York Auto Show in 2006. I waited a few years and bought the Z4 3.0Si Coupe and loved driving it every day. Nothing made me happier after a bad day at work, to get in, turn the key, and drive. It was a great stress reliever and it never failed to put a smile on my face. I miss driving it every day.

[davesz4mc]

I originally fell in love with the z3 wagon of all cars =-). I loved the rear fender area and the way it tied into the rest of the car. I walked into the z4mc as a friend could no longer afford it and I bought it off him to help him out. Have not looked back since and will not trade it for anything...!

[baege]

Originally Posted by msh441

I've always "liked" the Z4... but it was never a car I "desired" until I saw the Coupe Concept in pictures. Living in Washington State, the idea of a convertible as daily driver was out of the question (for me, that is), and the lines on the coupe's roof and hatch (to my eye) turns a nice looking roadster into an achingly beautiful sports car. It really pulled at my heard strings.

It went from a "want", to a "strong desire" when the M model was announced and the indications that the amazing S54 would be phased out with that very car. Unfortunately in '06-'07, the pushing $60k out-the-door price tag kept me away. Instead, I bought a new MINI Cooper S which eventually got the JCW kit and a bunch of Alta and M7 goodies.

The MINI was my first brand new car. I was 35 at the time and with both my wife and I being public employes, $30k for a car is nothing to sneeze at.

My "must have" moment was fall 2011 when I saw a Z4M coupe for sale at one of the local dealerships. It was used, and had 48k on the clock. It had 3+ owners and the dealer wanted top dollar at $36k. I drove it, though... and MY GOD... the MINI went up for sale the next day! The car was sublime. More than I'd ever imagined, even. The feel. The sound. The looks in person: even better than in pictures. I HAD TO HAVE ONE SOMEHOW (just not THAT one)!!!

Thankfully, the MINI sold fast and I got top dollar for it (benefitting from the "economical yet sporty" reputation, I think). Shopped ither cars too (trying to stay open-minded), but found an M Coupe in the very color I wanted (TiNa) with low(er) miles (27k) and a MUCH better price $29,000 (further benefitting from a soft sports car market). Only a $6500 difference between the M Coupe and what I got for the MINI! And the M Coupe was unobtanium in my mind just a few month earlier!

I had it shipped from Chicago and have been driving it every day since. So happy. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to own such a car. I'm on cloud 9.

You capture very well the distinction between simply liking or wanting a car and desiring it. When I first saw the Z4C concept back in 2006 I desired the car and finally obtained one 3 years later. I have yet to have that feeling for another car that I can afford (I too have such feelings for the vantage v8). I had hopes for the new cayman, but the latest pics reveal a car that while beautiful lacks that je ne sais quoi that the Z4C has...

[The HACK]

When they announced at the Frankfurt Auto Show as they unveiled the Z4 Coupe concept that an M version will be coming. Put a deposit down as soon as my dealership started accepting orders in March of 2006.

Actually it went back further than that. Back in 2005 I took my Z4 3.0i to Buttonwillow, and was hounding the crap out of a Porsche 996 Turbo S. After a few laps of being glued to his bumper only to have him pull away on the straights, I finally came to the realization that 225hp is no match for 480hp. That, and how freakin' phenomenal the Z4 chassis actually is. After finally getting by with a late brake maneuver when the driver in the Turbo S made a big mistake coming off of Magic Mountain (a small hill leading to a fairly long straight) and by tucking into his wake, I realized that if they ever make the coupe version of this car with a proper engine, it would be a phreak on track.

[costa316]

Mine was when my wife finally agreed to let me get a two seater!

[Huz-Z]

I had my car shipped to the house, and it was there when I got home from work. Even though it was a damp, rainy day, the image of that thing sitting in my driveway is one I'll never ever forget.

[mbetoni]

Wow, it's really interesting how many people noticed and/or fell in love with the Z4/Z4C (variants included) before going to drive/buy one.

My own story is very different. I reached a point I had always aspired to, owning a true roadster, and set about finding the one I liked best. I drove every new iteration on the market in 2005 (S2000/TT/Boxster/MX-5/350Z/MR2/Z4) in the sub-$100k price range to find the best fit, and the Z4 won by leaps and bounds. Now on my second, an '08, which I plan on keeping for as long as I'm around.

For those interested, full story with pictures here (first post in this thread): http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1451514

[Aries326]

I remember when I first saw the Z3, I fell in love with the car. I've always wanted a roadster. Being in school for what seems like forever, I could only dream of owning a convertible. My desire for a roadster only grew after my brother bought his Miata which had a Jackson Racing SuperCharger. To me, that thing was awesome! I'd be content if I could also buy a Miata.

Fast forward many years later, I was driving past the local BMW dealership and I decide to take a peek. I had no intentions of buying a bimmer since my budget didn't allow for a new car. I was determined to zero out all my debt by 2013, except for my home and school loans. Well, sitting on the lot was an Alpine White 2008 3.0si and an Alpine White 2008 Z4M Roadster both with red interiors! I drove the 3.0si and fell in love immediately! I wanted to drive the Z4M as well but the dealer said they were sending it out to auction the next day. There was some damage to the car and for some reason, they wouldn't let me try it out. The front wheel well looked like it had been damaged. Who knows what else was wrong with it?

Anyway, the salesman let me have the keys to the 3.0si and I took it home with me for a test drive that night. My heart said yes but my mind said no. I had to stay focused on the budget and the goal. Well, my wife encouraged me to buy it. She knew how bad I wanted a new car and she said I deserved it.

That night, I took the stickers off the windows. I gazed at it in my driveway and in the garage. It look good. It felt right. I drove it to work the next day. I opened it up a few times on the road. Oh yeah... The deal was sealed. After work, I went back to the dealer and signed on the dotted line. Two days later, I found this place to feed my addiction.

[Nate4641]

I fell in love with the roadster style when I bought my Miata in Hawaii back in 2009. After I moved to California in 2010 I saw an M Coupe in the parking lot of Frys. I loved the hard lines on the body and the slope of the rear hatch. All it said on the body was ///M and I knew I had to have one. While I was in Afghanistan last year, every time I got a chance to get on the internet I was looking at craigslist and ebay to see if there were any M Coupes for sale.

Finally a couple months ago I saw a blue/tan with light sepang interior M roadster at a local CarMax and bought it a few days later. I still love the coupe, but top down driving in this beautiful Cali weather is unbeatable

[lonestarz4]

Same story as I posted in the "introduce yourself" thread - My wife had a 2008 Miata which we loved (you can drive top down in Texas almost year-round), but it was hit by an inattentive knucklehead and had to have the entire front end rebuilt. Despite numerous trips back to the shop, it never really drove right so we traded it in on a 2011 328i Coupe.

Fast forward a few months and we decided to give my son my Honda Fit, so I was in the market for another car. I missed the Miata and love the wife's 328i, so the logical vehicle for me was a BMW roadster. After doing a ton of research and looking at a multitude of cars, I ended up getting an '08 Z4 3.0si last week. Love it!

[RADRACR]

Like many others, I loved the Z3MC styling but in those days I was in college and way beyond reach for me. Several years passed and the Z4MC finally came out, and I loved it infinitely more than even the Z3MC because it looked so much like a classic fastback that nobody makes anymore (the Nissan Z is close but not quite there). I was still poor in 2006 and I taped a Sepang Bronze Z4MC I had built online to my wall. Two years later, I made good on it and bought that Sepang Bronze brand new.

[sipman]

MIKe86, I'm guessing it was F360c. He's got a white one and does NJMP a lot

[danlauz]

I had seen the car when they started to sell And the look had amazed me since day 1. My first contact with the car happened at the bmw perfomance center where i decided to take a 1 day M lesson. I was able to drive it ( and also m5 and m6) but, the one that surprised me the most, which i felt immediatley in lovd was the MC. Since january 2010, i am the proud owner of this one. Found it in chicago and drove back to canada (20 hours long journey and, not 1 pain in the back). Enjoy

http://www.bmwmregistry.com/detail.php?id=9243

[gigtime]

When it first came out, I thought the Z3 looked like a glorified Miata. But when BMW updated the body style it had a lot more appeal. My friend had a Z3 so I'd gotten to see one up close but hadn't driven it.

I test drove a Honda S2000. I enjoyed the drive but not the feel of the interior. It felt a little claustrophobic. At the time, I was driving an 88 Mercedes 560SEL. The AC went out and it was 108 degrees in Austin that day. My indy mechanic told me it could cost over $3k fix the AC.

I drove straight to BMW and test drove a 2000 Z3 2.5. I drove it home that night. I've owned a lot of cars but this one was more fun than all of them and it was my first convertible. The Z4 was already out at that time but, at the time, I preferred the Z3. I felt it was more of a classic style that would still have appeal 10 years down the road. I loved the low doors and how it almost felt like riding a bike. I replaced the stereo with a nice Alpine deck with JL audio speakers and had some great road trips in it. Probably the only thing I disliked was the plastic rear window and the lack of interior storage space.

In March of 2007, the Z3 was getting some miles on her and there was that nagging potential subframe issue. By then, the Z4 had grown on me and I traded the Z3 in on my 2003 Z4 2.5. I preferred a 3.0 with a manual and there weren't many used M's around. BMW of Austin had some 3.0's but they either had automatics or were a funky color. When my sales guy called to tell me about the black Z4 with SMG, I'd never heard of SMG. When I test drove it, I loved it and decided to pull the trigger rather than wait until the right 3.0 turned up.

The Z4 interior is more comfortable than the Z3 and it can easily handle luggage for 2. It's also nice having a little bit of storage in the console. The audio system is miles ahead of the Z4 and I've left it as is. The run-flats are gone so the ride is quieter and more comfortable. To me, the Z3 was actually more fun to drive. Not saying better but just more fun. That may be partly due to the manual vs the SMG. Both cars have about the same amount of power.

In retrospect, I wish I'd worked a little harder to find a 3.0 but I've had a great time mine. I'll have had it 5 years next month. I may trade it in on a 2008 3.0 or M at some point because I'm not a big fan of the trunk space in the E89 when the top is down and I like to take long road trips without having to put the top up.

[Gripster]

Honestly, I was never a fan of the Z3 or Z4. I had driven a Z4M coupe as a loaner from BMW of San Diego back in 2008 - yes really they had this thing as a loaner! I remember being impressed by it at the time, but I found it hard work to drive and generally unpleasant. It is clear to me now that this car had been abused - the clutch was shot and the whole thing was so lumpy and temperamental that they had a hard time selling it and put it into the rental pool. The reason that I bring this up at all was that this could have been a gotta have it moment, but it wasn't. In fact I was turned off by the car.

Fast forward to 2011. I have a bit of a mid-life crisis. I had bought and sold a Kawasaki Ninja and was looking for a different toy. I am too in love with my perfect E90 330i to sell it just yet - we did European Delivery in it and the car is special to us for this reason. My solution? An M3 as a second car. I search and search. I am in the ~$20k-ish range (this is a second car).

Every M3 I see in this range is ratty - or missing key service records. I take a few for PPI's and uncover major issues. I look at E36 M3's and find one, but something makes me hesitant. It's too similar to my beloved E90, so I expand my search to include other stick-shift BMWs and some Z4's show up... (I did also look at some 911's but that's another story)

Now, the wife drives an SLK, so I didn't want a roadster. However, this silver-gray Z4 3.0si Coupe catches my eye. It has 76k miles, the price is right. In fact, the price is low - the Lexus dealer it was at didn't know what he had and priced it incorrectly. I tried hard to ignore it for a couple of weeks, but it kept coming up in Autotrader searches. So.... I bite the bullet and take a drive up to Orange County. They let me take it out on my own for a spin and it was perfect. Just so perfect. The snick-snick of the shifter, the communicative steering, the nice balance between sportiness and comfort. And the lines - those beautiful, flame-surfaced, sculpted lines. They looked awesome even from the iPhone pic that I snapped when I first saw it.

I went home and could not stop thinking about the car. I looked again for M3's and none were right. The Z4C kept playing on my mind. I logged onto ZPOST and began reading. I Googled for every Coupe tidbit and video that I could find. My 'gotta have that' moment had arrived.

Within a couple of days I got my financing set, the PPI done, final negotiations in place. And she was mine.

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by msh441

I've always "liked" the Z4... but it was never a car I "desired" until I saw the Coupe Concept in pictures.

^ This. I liked the Z4 when it first came out. All the hoopla over Bangled cars...psh...I cared not. Anyways, I never really considered the Z4 since I'm not one to own a vert.

Time rolled on and the coupe concept rolled out.

Eventually, rumors of the ///M flavor of the Z4 came out and I started getting tingly. Then BMW plunked the S54 (love that S54) into the Z4 and rolled out the Z4M in both coupe and roadster flavors (okay...so more went into it aside from the engine ).

Roundel, C&D, Automobile, and other auto publications I read were had all been indicative of BMW slowly gravitating towards FI in their lineup and away from the i6 in the E90 M3.

Meanwhile, I was still driving my beloved ZHP. One day, I got a call from a saleslady I knew at a dealership downtown. She said they had 2 M Coupes standing idle and wanted to know what I thought. I had just bought a townhouse a little over a year prior and wasn't really looking to pick up a high car payment since my ZHP was almost paid off and I didn't want to be house or car poor. Then we talked price. Evil thoughts about betraying my ZHP formed in my head.

For kicks, I test drove one of the coupes they had. Pulled onto LSD during my test drive, got on the throttle a little, and...oh my...

As much as I loved my ZHP, I was in love the the Moupe. I could've kept both but didn't want the debt so I helped them sell my ZHP (yes, I helped them sell it) for a good price and shaved a little more off the price of the coupe. My out the door price was less than my boss' on his new Accord.

A month later, I picked up an old ZJ off of CL so I could let me baby sleep in the winter.

-----

If it must be known when I was sold on the Jeep, lol,...well....4.0L i6 is pretty bullet proof, it had no rod knock, the trans shifted fine and the fluid wasn't burnt, and.....<drum roll>....oh that beautiful ground clearance!

The Jeep is gone now....couldn't fix a harness problem so I replaced it with a '01 MCS.