M3
A word and a letter that describes not only a legendary vehicle but a type of person who knows about it.
On the way for my daughter’s doctor appointment as I was sitting on the back seat of my wife’s Honda Civic, I caught attention to a 2010 BMW M3 driving past us. I knew it was a 2010 because it actually had a sticker on its windshield. Because we were close to a used car dealership, I immediately made the connection that there was a BMW M3 that became available in our small town of Lawrence, KS. And someone was test-driving it.
Living in Lawrence, KS, we don’t often see fancy luxurious cars riding around in town. Especially not like in San Francisco (where we used to live) where we would see a Ferrari or a “Lambo” and the swarming amount of Tesla riding up and down the hills of the city. If we were to see the occasional Porsche on the flat road of Lawrence, after a few times of seeing it, you would realize that it’s the same one you saw a few days back. And after a few weeks, you could count (with one hand) how many people in town actually owned that car. And just like this BMW M3, I’m pretty sure it was the same one I saw on the parking lot of a Home Depot. Also the only Home Depot in town.
As a young boy growing up in Indonesia, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by cars. My dad is a big fan of the Mercedes brand. We used to give him a Car and Driver magazine for his birthday. The one with the Mercedes car on the cover of course. In 1980s, the brand was as rare as it could get and those who were fortunate enough to get their hands on one, would often take a photo with the car and make it their prized possession, if not only as a status symbol.
I remember when Bill Clinton visited Indonesia for a conference back in the 90s, they ordered a Mercedes Benz 300 SEL (the big long S class 4 door) for all the country leader that visited. It was a big deal. Both the conference … and the cars. My dad got a hold of one of them. We don’t know which country leader sat in it or drove it, but he sure felt like a president when he brought it home. I could remember his face and his excitement when he first let me sit in the car. I also remember when we first drove it around town and he would “high beam” another 300 SEL and actually got another “high beam” back. It was like they had a community of people that they have never even met. We wouldn’t say that we lived luxuriously with many exotic cars, like many teenage YouTube sensation nowadays, but I could say that my childhood stories were embedded with some car involved in it (the “baby benz” was probably the most memorable of it all).
It’s hard not to be romantic … with cars.
Almost immediately after my daughter’s annual checkup (first things first!), I passed by the dealership again on the way home. Sure enough, I saw the M3 just sitting there between a Jeep Cherokee and a Mercedes GLK. As I searched the car online, I found out it was $24,900 ($3000 below KBB) with cold weather package and an SMG transmission. In layman terms, it had heated seats and it could do both automatic or manual without a clutch. Two of the things that would be useful for me since my last escapade with a manual only Fiat Abarth.
I can feel my heart pumping harder as I read through the description of the car and this sudden urge of wanting to get it because of my fear of losing this opportunity. I told my wife about it verbally, I sent her the website address and just for extra measure, I sent the same link to my car enthusiast cousin who just recently got out of his way to get a used Porsche 996.
They both said … nice car. But all came down to the same decision that I needed to make for myself.
Is it the right time?
About 7 months ago, I decided to trade in my 2013 Fiat Abarth with a 2019 Honda Accord. It was a great decision. A decision that allowed me to rest left leg from the clutch and opened the two back seats for a child seat and actual doors. It allowed me to utilize Adaptive Cruise Control (aka, almost self-driving) to ease my commute to Overland Park that is 40 minutes away. It had a glimmering blue paint with lines that could beat a BMW 5 series. Most importantly it was a daily drive practical family car. It was just what I needed at the time.
Today, I am working from home, without the commute, I am sensing an urge of wanting something fun to drive around town to shake off the daily monotonous activity. So I have been looking at YouTube and Google for a used sports car. I thought it would be nice to be a convertible roadster or it would be nice to be a manual coupe. But I never thought of it to be an M3. An M3 is iconic for sure, but it always came with a list of fixes that needed to be done. It always came with a baggage of issues found along the years. But it will always be the car that lingers across everyone’s mind who grew up in the 90s and the 00s.
I imagined myself sitting in the car while hearing the roaring V8 as I put my foot on the pedal and glancing back at this black “batmobile look” as I walk away from it in the parking lot. Without being narcistic, there’s always a great ring to saying “I drive an M3”. It’s recognizable. It’s iconic. It’s masculine. It’s cool.
I can’t help being a romantic about cars because a car makes you feel different.
There was an article I read that said that BMW drivers are rude. They made some research that showed that people who drove BMWs bought it because they want status. Because they want to increase their status role by driving a car that is recognizable by other people for being rich and attractive. Well I think there’s a third component that this article missed.
The Story. The feeling.
It is easy to judge someone driving a BMW as “some rich guy” or someone driving a Shelby Mustang as obnoxious, but you will never know the story behind why they chose the car in the first place. Yes some may get the car because they like the noise and the attention they get, but some also buy cars from what they remember and how it felt. I remember the BMW M3 because I sat in it once in college and the V8 roaring on the back of my seat stuck in my memory. It stuck because being in cars and feeling a certain way reminds me of my connection with my dad. It reminded me of the pride he had when he drove his 300 SEL the first time. It reminded me of the unseen connection he had with other people driving the same cars. It reminded me of who I am.
As for the 2010 BMW M3 sold right now by Selection Auto in Lawrence, I will say thank you for putting that car in the lot. The time will come when you will receive another M3 that will be mine. But for now, I will stick with my 7 month old Honda Accord as I continue to embrace my connection with the car. When the time, money and opportunity arises, it will be my turn to test drive that M3.
