Looks my road to the FR-S is over... Bought something else
 

Well, after following the FR-S since it's introduction as the FT-86 years ago, my road to one is finally over. I swore up and down I'd buy one as soon as they came out, and initially, I stuck to my guns. I phoned dealers all over the FL area trying to track one down to test drive, drove an AT just to get a feel for it, then finally found a MT to drive. Chassis felt good, suspension felt nice, seating and pedal position were good... but I just wasn't super excited about it anymore.

I don't know if I overhyped the car in my head or what, but I felt compelled to see what was out there in the used market for the same price. I wasn't going to dump $25k on something I wasn't ridiculously excited about, so I figured I'd peek around first. If I didn't find anything that sparked my interest more than an FR-S, then I'd return back to one. I knew I had plenty of time because none of my local dealers had an FR-S in Whiteout with a 6spd, which was the only combination I was going to buy.

So I looked around. I initially looked at a 370Z. Enjoyed the car, but it just *felt* so big despite being fairly small. I thought about going back to a 91-94 NSX (used to own a 92), but had a hard time justifying the 20 year old purchase when the car had to double as my daily. Not really interested in doing the two car thing again at this point in my life. I even found a well built 300ZX Twin Turbo (have had two of those) that I was tempted to go back to, but those tend to be questionable in the reliability department and again, it had to double as my daily.

So I started looking at E46 M3s. I figured it was the best of both worlds. Great power, comfortable ride, practical. Sure, maintenance was a bit more and the gas mileage sort of sucked, but maybe I could live with that.

But then... I stumbled across something that I had no idea was in my price range. Something that is absolutely on my automotive bucket list of cars that I had to own. An M Coupe. I stumbled upon a 2006 BMW Z4 M Coupe that had decent miles, and was absolutely in my price range. It was 9 1/2 hours away from me in NC, but I had a BMW dealership there do a pre purchase inspection on it, and three days later, drove up to NC and purchased it. :)

Unfortunate that I won't end up with an FR-S, but I have to say... after driving 750 or so miles in the M... I am in love. The thing is just awesome.

Here are some pics:

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With my now departed S2000...

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Nice ride! Those are pretty awesome rigs. I love German cars (but not necessarily their upkeep).

Yeah... I swore after my E36 M3 and my ZHP E46 that I wouldn't buy another BMW just because of the maintenance junk, but I just couldn't help myself with the Coupe. Here's to hoping I haven't shot myself in the foot. :D

Have always loved that car!! Nice buy. So what did you pick it up for? There are no back seats. That is the kicker for me. Have to have them. The only other option in the Brz price range would be the Hyundai.

Those are nice cars sir!

Very nice car! It is a tough decision to buy "more" of a car but used for the same money as a new BRZ/FRS, I've considered getting an early used Cayman for about what my BRZ will cost me, but I like warranties and knowing I shouldn't have any money out of pocket for repairs for at least the first three years, and very little maintenance cost.

very nice choice. I was just looking at one the other day and couldn't help but notice how similar both the M coupe and BRZ/FRS look... I'm sure you will enjoy the car.

nice choice. i wouldn't have swapped an s2k for a brz (my bro has the former, and is always poking fun at me now for the latter :p) - z4m is a solid switch though.

R U gonna paint it candy white?

Awesome car.

Thanks for the compliments everyone!

I picked it up for not far off what a new, base, no option FR-S would cost me. Simply add Bespoke, and you paid more than what I paid for this thing. :)

The back seats didn't matter much to me... The FR-S/BRZ backseats are more or less useless anyways, so it didn't bother me much to sacrifice those.

The maintenance thing definitely worries me, as cost of parts and everything on BMWs is ridiculous... but I just couldn't help myself. The FR-S was absolutely the "sensible" choice. It gets better gas mileage, is a touch more practical, is cheaper on upkeep, and has a warranty, but this purchase was definitely driven by emotion. I was never drawn to the FR-S the way I was drawn to the M Coupe, which is honestly the prime reason there's one in the garage right now.

Screw sensibility, you only live once. You made a great choice with the M! :D

Nice pick! After reading about the cars that you used to own, buying a Scion would seem more of a downgrade.

Funny, my friend has the exact same car. He's going to trade it in for a BRZ.