I bought a new car yesterday. Don't worry, my Cougar isn't going anywhere. My 1998 Honda Civic sedan, however, is beginning to show its age. The Civic was my first car when I got it in 2004, and for that reason it will always be special to me, but it was time for an upgrade.

Yesterday, I bought the 2009 BMW 328i sedan pictured below in a dealership photo; I'll have more pictures of my own later. Great condition with only 13,600 miles. The last owner was a diplomat who didn't drive it much, and sold it back to the dealership when he was recalled to France.



I initially wanted something more esoteric; I test drove a 2008 135i convertible on Thursday, and that was a lot of fun (that turbo has a lot of kick) but I couldn't justify getting a convertible as my daily driver when I already have one wildly impractical car. Really, if they sold the 1-series hatch here it'd be perfect. Instead I got an anonymous silver sedan of a model that is thick on the ground around here. Oh well. After reading lyrical reviews of the 3-series for years in magazines I couldn't pass it up. Wow, that engine is smooth.

Very nice car. Sadly, the straight six models are rare here now with most people getting 4 cylinder diesels.

Beautiful car indeed. Not yuppie but "urban haute bourgeoisie" is the preferred terminology.
Jeremy Clarkson once said that "BMW's are driven by people who are psychologically unfit to drive anything more powerful than an electric razor" but that's totally over now, replaced by Audi drivers. BMW drivers are cool.

Nice car Tim! Welcome to the Bimmer owners club. The first car I ever drove and ended up learning to drive with, was a 3-Series. So I guess the 3er will always hold a special place in my heart.

I do hope you have many years of good service, or for however long you keep it. Make sure you keep the leather conditioned often – a bit of advice from our BMW dealer (assuming BMW still uses the same kind of leather they did back in the 90’s). Perhaps you don't have to do that with the newer ones.

Congrats and enjoy!!

To answer your initial question: Yes, definitely.

Still, what a fine car! Choosing the straight-six over the four-cylinders was probably a good choice. Congrats from me, too!

Good, that cl82 came first, so he said it

Well, BMW-drivers have a specific reputation here in Germany. Not a good one. The reputation of specific owners of 3-Series Coupés and Convertibles is different, but even worse.

Thanks, everyone!

One week in we're still getting to know each other, but I think this is the beginning of a wonderful relationship.

@Neptune: Actually, this one has "leatherette" which I think is a fancy word for naugahyde. :3