I HATE THAT PHRASE! However I corrected it for you to reflect the actual American meaning of the phrase when they say "its just a car".

In my household and how I was raised your vehicles were things you OWNED, were your second biggest investment after your house, and was the single biggest reason you get from point A to point B safely, and not only that, the way your car is seen is an expression of yourself!

I used to yell at my girlfriend at the time (now wife) that she needed to take better care of her car, regular cleanings, stop leaving trash in it, not eat in it (its not a friggin drive through) and although it took a few months, when she saw how well I cared for my vehicles she "got it", so to speak. Now she enjoys having her car clean and takes pride in it, since it is something she pays for monthly (2011 Rav4 she financed it for 60 months).

Now my mother in law on the other hand? Buys a brand new 2013 Toyota and runs it through the auto car wash once every 6 months, dog hair, blankets, garbage, snow brushes, etc, all in the car, its a friggin pig sty.

I told my mother in law that as the Vice President of an insurance brokerage you'd think she'd have a little more pride in the presentation of her vehicle, she told me "I don't have time for it Jay its just a car".

Some people you just can't change. However, in MY household, my wife was heavily pushed in my direction but I'm happy to say she did it almost on her own, just took a little bit of eye opening but she no longer uses that phrase, thank God.

I've been there brother! I gave my wife my 2001 e46 330ci Sport (I think its what you guys have as the ZHP in the States but without the ZHP gear box) in 2007 when I bought an M3. She loved it for a while but when the novelty wore off, she stopped looking after it. After a few years (the value of them had dropped considerably by this point), it was in a bad way and needed alot of work. I had given her countless lectures on looking after it but they fell on deaf ears. I had done some of he maintenance work needed at first but I realised that she was not learning the valuable lesson like this. I backed off...

Eventually she had to sell it for alot less than it could have been worth if looked after and ended up in a 1999 Lexus IS200. Having to drive the Lexus everyday made her realise what a fool she was in neglecting what was once a great car. I told her I'm not giving her another car but if she saves, I will match her savings to get her a better car. Eventually she saved enough that with my contribution she could get an e60 5 series.

She now looks after it extremely well, cleaning it inside and out almost more often than I do mine. If I tell her it needs this that or the other in terms of maintenance she will stump up the cash for it. Because of this I will usually just pay for it myself most of the time. I just want to make sure she is willing!

That guy should have had his driver's license taken away for life, and had his cojones cut off and left on a fire ant hill to suffer... Who in their right mind neglects a car, let alone a BMW, like that??? :dunno:

Happens every day. Visit any dealer and walk through the shop bays and you will be amazed at what is hanging up in the air. Examples of "Parking by Sound" (you know crunch.. "oh, I can pull forward now"), "oops, never learned to parallel park youknow", "So that was that noise!", or my favorite, "My last car did not do that", or "What's that for?"

The poor indys see the same stuff but only in later years. It is nothing to see M3, 5 series and 6 series cars with all four wheel looking like hitting the curb provided extra points. Cars at 80 - 100K with only oil changes having been done and now all that deferred maintenance comes due. Simple stuff, like cabin filters with enough dirt in there to grow plants in the cavity. Cars that become the Home Depot hauler, loose bulk mulch, 6X6 treated lumber, drywall, paint, Christmas trees in the back seat, etc. The original universal vehicle. What? I just washed it last Fall!!!!

"Honey, time for the new car as the repair shop called and it's going to be $2,500 for the oil change". Wife response: "That is crazy! Trade it. Time for a new car."

The three year (36 month) lease cars are also fun. "What??? Why do any of those repairs when I am just going to trade in XXX months?" This is the main reason cars hit the auction blocks with just a wash and a vacume done to them. The next owner gets the deferred maintenance bill, or the third, etc.

Best cars to buy are ones owned by people who have the resources to own more than one car, maintain all of them, repairing everything as necessary, and drive them as intended.

I am sure we all have seen more than enough on the forums and parking lots to keep this conversation going forever on the topic of "What car damaging thing did you see today on your commute/drive?"

I will go first:
Woman shaving her legs in traffic with shaving cream and a razor, observed last year while driving to a meeting in Wash DC. (eye damaging)
Older Honda with a microwave on the dash cooking something for the 5 people on the way to the jobsite.
The older Chevy with...count them three space saver spare tires mounted on it, driving down the interstate. (note: Temporary use only).
Or ...The IDIOT at Home Depot with the volvo convertible, who was stacking 10 sheets of drywall, two 5 gal buckets of drywall mud, and 12 2X4's on the roof (top UP) on his new car- temp tags and all. No, I did not wait around to see what happed at the first bump out of the parking lot.

One more... The older three series at Bimmerfest east with the roof cut off (winshield too) at the door arm rest level. Lowered to the point of total impact to asphalt. I am sure some father was spitting out "Honey, your date is here", just before dialing up the local mob enforcer to solve that future in-law possibility.

Wow I missed that gem. Pic?

Camera broke on click.....

Primered beast chopped up not a well done mod project.

Are you insane, not yes but HELL YES...LOL!! But hey you already own one (is it a 6cyl or 8cyl?) so you know what to expect, I think you'll be fine. By the way there's one other member who has/had his and her E53s, but the repairs were killing his wallet so he finally let one go, and I believe he was thinking about letting them both go, do a search and you can his find thread. Looks good!

The "Old" one is a 4.4.:bustingup