[kind of long]

#0037, 2001 NBP ITR, is finally out of my hands.

Went to the local BMW dealership about 3 hours ago and signed the title away. Spent about 2 hours yesterday cleaning it inside and out and took some pictures one last time. It's now someone's else problem and worry, I honestly feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Of course, it didn't start out this way. Some background:

1. Bought the car brand new, with 11 miles on the odo, on Jan. 6, 2001.
2. Took it to its first track day on March 6, 2001, with only 800 miles on it.
3. Between March 2001 and October 2004, I tracked the car about 22-25 times (need to find my track receipts to confirm exact count)
4. Until I got my second car in 2003, the ITR served as a track car + daily driver for a good 2 years. I never once let me down.
5. This was by far the most fun and hands down best car I've ever owned.
6. It has made me a very good driver, both on and off the track, no question about it.
7. And it showed its worth one last time, as I got an incredible $18K trade-in offer. Combined with the M3 discount I'm getting, this was too good to turn down.

So why did I sell? Well, the number one reason was my declined interest in tracking. I'm not old or anything (just 30, ) and fully intend to return to tracking and possibly racing in the next 2 years. After 4+ years, I just lost interest one day. Since I already have a daily driver, the ITR began to see less and less driving time.

But what put things over the top was the out-of-control theft problem, which really took a turn for the worse in the last 6 months, especially in the Seattle area. You're all aware of the ITRs that kept getting stolen around here, including 2 that got jacked from the Microsoft campus in Redmond.

Put those 2 together, and ITR was driven maybe 100 miles in the last 6 months. The battery died on me twice because the car sat in my garage for weeks at a time, collecting dust. It was a shame really to see that happen, and I realized the right thing to do was to sell it, and hope that it found a good home. Ideally whomever gets it takes as good care of it as I did, and uses the car for its intended purpose. With only 23,800 miles, it has many, many more productive years left, so I wish good luck to the new owner. You'll be getting one heck of a car.

As for me, I can't wait the replacement, an E46 M3, scheduled for mid-Oct delivery. I'll be hanging around here for a while, as I have many quality parts (mostly brand new and almost new, Toda, Spoon, Mugen, ATS, etc) to sell, which I never got to put on the car.

Some pics:

 

nice hopefully the transmission on the new m3's wont be as previous models.

thats the only thing ive hated owning high end cars..(bmw m5's mercedes s500) it brings you down quickly when **** starts taking a dump. and no way in hell can just any mechanic fix things on those cars....

 

PM sent. What happens to your 330? I still have mine, what a great car. ///M3>330 though

 

Man...after buying all those sick parts for it, you decided to sell?

Not to knock the M3...but you'll be back.

 

sad to see an R owner go. Good luck with the new ride though

 

What bmw dealer did you get rid of it at?
i've been looking for a low mile itr to pick up
been kicking myself ever since i got rd of the 2000 gsr and picked up an sti and now i want another gsr or itr

 

Sucks to see it go but with the high theft rate, everyone can understand. Man I would love to have an R someday. $18k for trade in value is AMAZING. Looks like you took very good care of it and hopefully the new owner will as well.

 

Car was really maintained as good as can be, washed and serviced regularly. Being a track guy, plus my own detailed nature, I always kept it in perfect condition, inside and out.

I traded it in at BMW Seattle, but expect the car to show up either at Acura of Lynwood or Acura of Bellevue. And expect it be listed around $23-24K, as I was told! There aren't that many low mileage 2001 ITRs around anymore.

fastfour, as soon as the M3 arrives, I'll be putting up the 330ci for sale.

I think everyone made out OK on this deal.

 

what is insurance on the m3's? fullcoverage

 

Sorry to hear about another R owner taking a different route. Seems like your pleased how everything turned out so that's all that matters

M3's are great cars. Totally different monster from the R. I'm sure you'll have fun.

Northwest + theives = anger and stress

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ross R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not to knock the M3...but you'll be back.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Amen.

 

that's an incredible trade in amount.. congrats on the new purchase!

 

E46 M3

 

you are gonna love the m3

 

u def made the right decision by selling both 330ci and R for an M3

I am too looking at an M3 to replace my R, cant afford a 2006 though, &gt;2001 is good enough. looking at $30k if all possible.

 

Hope that R are finds a good home

 

You're gonna total about 2 hours of sleep the week before your M arrives

What color combo did you get? SMG or 6sp? My buddy's got an '02 6sp and it's a blast. Have fun and get the extended warranty!

 

SMG suck..SMG's are basicly for ppl who want to shift but can't do the real shifting..as in clutch, shift, gas.

i personally like the E36 M3's, they look the best..

did you see the E90 M3? looks pretty good to me..http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphot...id/6050228.001

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iownzadc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">SMG suck..SMG's are basicly for ppl who want to shift but can't do the real shifting..as in clutch, shift, gas.

i personally like the E36 M3's, they look the best..

did you see the E90 M3? looks pretty good to me..http://www.germancarfans.com/spyphotos.cfm/spyphotoid/6050228.001</TD></TR></TABLE>

I decided to get the 6MT. No SMG for me, I need 3 pedals down there.

The E36 is one of my all-time favorite cars, but it's definitely getting up there in age, and low-mileage ones are hard to find these days.

I opted not to get the new E90 M3 because:

1) Won't be out for 2 more years
2) Still not sure about the styling
3) Will have a V-8. Have you checked the gas prices lately?

So, all in all, the E46 M3 should suit me nicely.

BTW, some of my parts have been spoken for relatively quickly and will soon be on their way to their new owners! I still have the following parts available:

Spoon N1 Damper Kit: $1800 OBO (&lt;500 miles, almost new)
Mugen Lowdown Kit: $1200 firm (&lt; 1200 miles, very good condition)
Mugen Front & Rear Strut Tower Bars (brand new): $575 shipped (prefer to sell as a pair)
2 Sets of brand new Cobalt Friction front pads (Spec VR): $125 each (compared to $150 each)

And as a good will gesture, every order will receive 2 bottles of Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil as a compliment. I need to move these items.

Send me IM if you're interested.