Think our whole family fared out well after this. The E46 was still drivable so we bought it back and sold it to a friend who has a body shop in Cleveland; in the end, it was still a clean title E46 (8 years old so insurance didn't need to salvage title it) but we couldn't deal with the repairs on it and made some money by selling it.

We now leased a '12 Subaru Impreza 5-speed. Finally got my wish for a manual transmission car and the lease is much cheaper than getting my father another car (probably a BMW). I like the Subaru as I can beat and rag on it and only worry about oil changes. The drivetrain has to take a beating as I just learned how to drive stick, my father needs to relearn and I let one of my friends try it out too. We also part with it after 3 years which is right when the warranty ends too. The benefits of it outweigh the fact that it isn't a BMW and I have to relearn most controls.

__________________