[Jk356]

I thought I would share a story about my son and a silver coupe from Munich and how they met in Washington DC.

Let me start off by saying I come from modest means but through endless schooling, hard work and a bit of good fortune, I have been blessed with some financial success. I have tried to instill these values as a parent and have succeeded for the most part with 3 wonderful kids.

In a moment of weakness or questionable sobriety ( i really dont remember which), I challenged my middle son that if he could get straight A's in junior high and high school, I would buy him a BMW.

This statement was subsequently forgotten by yours truly.

But wouldnt you know it, on this kids 17th birthday-he says "remember that bet you made? that if I got straight A's, you would buy me a BMW!!

The excuses jumped out of my mouth
“Uh, I dont remember saying that” and
“I was just kidding”

But I suppose a deal is a deal and truthfully- he is a really good kid
that never asks for anything and always gets the hand-me-downs from his older brother.

so, ok…….
lets get you a BMW

the hunt is on

The first question is……

what kind of BMW?

-Nothing too old - i want a car that will be reliable and have modern safety features
nothing too fast - enough said
nothing too big-plenty of time for that when you are older.

To me, the 2 series captures the essence of BMW.

[Jk356]

I grew up with the BMW’s from the 70’s and 80’s, so 2002, e30 and e36’s are my nostalgic favorites. And i think the current 2 series is the modern interpretation of the 2002 and the early (pre e90) 3 series. The size seems right too me- not too big not too small. It is nimble and responsive in a way that the bigger 3 series isn’t. And although I will always have a soft spot for the inline 6 cylinder motor that is in the m235, I thought the turbocharged 4 in the 228i was in keeping with the motors for the 2002 and early 3 series. Plus, I drove the 228i and thought it was pretty damn quick.


So-228i it is.

we scoured the country for weeks on end looking for that perfect 228i.
We wanted the sport package-because it looks so right with the aggressive front spoiler, upgraded wheels and sport steering wheel.

lighting package-because the standard halogens were not impressive
cold weather package- we live in the midwest
driver assistance package-seemed like a good idea for a beginning driver.

A used car made sense to me as well- something that was a little bit broken in - with a couple a scratches -so he wouldn’t feel so bad about his first mishap o getting to close to the curb and raising one of the rims

We finally found the car in Washington DC. One owner. Low miles. The color and packages we wanted, All the service records, clean carfax. Advertised at a BMW dealer.


Inquires were made, offers tendered and a deal accepted.

I have a great idea

Let’s fly down there and drive it back.

“Mom,can i miss school on FRIDAY?”

For me, the best part of this whole endeavor, was engaging with my son. This was a chance to spend some quality time with AJ and do some bonding over this wonderful adventure.

We found some reasonable one way tickets to Washington national airport and that is how we found ourselves on a clear but cold morning in February driving to Ohare airport.

After a quick flight, we get our rental car and a 15 minute drive gets us to the dealership early in the morning, We drive around the lot looking for the car and…..
there it is
like a puppy at the pet store waiting for its new owner,

As soon as I saw it, I knew this was the right car fir AJ.
Of course we gave it a careful inspection- see if there was any evidence of body or paintwork (none) examine the interior ( very clean (the seats and steering wheel leather look brand new), plenty of tire tread left brake rotors feel new.

We head inside and meet our sales advisor ( a nice, polite and friendly gentleman).

Time for the test drive. And the car is great-
no creaks no rattles
tracks straight
it drives like a new car (and on the drive i begin to appreciate what wonderful cars BMW makes).

Lets get this deal done and get on the road!

As a side note, during this whole trip i was keenly aware of the national weather forecast and i din not want to get caught out in a storm on the drive from washington DC back to our home in the midwest - especially since this car was not the XDRIVE and had summer sport tires!!!


I would like to say that it gave my heart supreme joy to see AJ take the wheel of his first car on this sunny Friday in February and begin our journey home

[Jk356]

we had our tunes
we had our snacks
we had a full tank of fuel
and the open road ahead of us

We visited Gettysburg

we took the back roads though the Appalachians

we got caught in a snow storm near pittsburgh ( and that rear wheel drive 228i with summer tires on curvy mountain roads was absolutely perfect!

love those late night gas station photos!

[Jk356]

we drove thru the flat interstates of ohio and indiana and a bit of the hooligan came out on a flat and empty stretch of 1-80 in eastern indiana

[Jk356]

AJ did most of the driving and i was more than happy to be the passenger.

We made the trip over 2 days and the car behaved flawlessly.

I was deeply impressed with the car. The ride comfort on the interstate was quite good (better than expected given the short wheelbase and m sport suspension. Yet in the corners the car was firm and composed.
And BMW remains so skillful at balancing these two seemingly opposite characteristics-

the sport seats were extremely comfortable -This car did not have the premium package and as a result didn't have lumbar support.
I was concerned that the seats would be uncomfortable on this extended drive- but they were fine

The tech features were also impressive- the drive system is much more intuitive than mercedes in my opinion.

The engine is adequately powerful, and yet delivered 29 mpg on the highway at 75 mph. The automatic transmission delivers crisp and smooth shifts.

Not much to complain about then...

I think sometimes we get so jaded by the technology that is part of our daily world that it is difficult to step back and appreciate how good we have it.

The drive back to in this bmw 228i reminded me that we live in wonderful times.

Of course, This car is a jewel. But more importantly, the trip itself was something to remember.
I got to spend time with my son, and go on this crazy adventure.
I think the memories of this trip will last longer than the car


AJ-I hope you get as much joy owning this car as i did on this trip with you.

You only get one first car--I glad yours was a BMW

[josem235i]

Originally Posted by Jk356

AJ did most of the driving and i was more than happy to be the passenger.

We made the trip over 2 days and the car behaved flawlessly.

I was deeply impressed with the car. The ride comfort on the interstate was quite good (better than expected given the short wheelbase and m sport suspension. Yet in the corners the car was firm and composed.
And BMW remians so skillful at balancing these two seemingly opposite characteristics-

The tech features were also impressive- the drive system is much more intuitive than mercedes in my opinion.

The engine is adequately powerful, and yet delivered 29 mpg on the highway at 75 mph. The automatic transmission delivers crisp and smooth shifts.

Not much to complain about then...

I think sometimes we get so jaded by the technology that is part of our daily world that it is difficult to step back and appreciate how good we have it.

The drive back to in this bmw 228i reminded me that we live in wonderful times.

This car is a jewel.


AJ-I hope you get as much joy owning this car as i did on this trip with you.

You only get one first car--I glad yours was a BMW

I'm also a young owner

You made a great choice, the car is great and he won't have issues with it at all honestly
(At least I haven't had any)

The only thing he has to do is take care of it and don't go crazy because these cars have a lot of power from factory (stock).

I have two buddies around my age that have them so if he ever wants to talk to us and know more about the car etc. he can always send a message I would be more than interested in helping him

Instagram is @bagged_f22 if he wants to check it out

I'll attach some pictures

[Le frog]

Congrats! By any means, your son deserved it, and I am sure he will return you the favor by making you proud later in life. I hope that me too, one day I will get my daughter a fun car, IF she deserves it (I have time, she's only 7). And also, she WILL have a to drive a stick shift

[piesauce]

Good for your boy! And props for being a great father.

I remember when my parents promised me a new vehicle.. ahh, how the memory loss came into play when I tried reminding them.

Anyway, no worries, here I 10 years later and am planning my purchase of an M240i .

[BEM-S4]

Smart move sticking with the 228 and not going for the 235. Money aside kids will be kids. I cannot tell you how many guys I grew up with whose "cool fathers" got them M3, 911, M5 etc with disastrous results.

[mumps]

Valuable lesson - hard work pays off.

Great job and congrats to your boy!

Chris

[Jk356]

BEM-S4

agreed

the 228 seems plenty fast especially with a novice driver behind the wheel.

Thankfully, he is a very cautious and careful driver

but I also like how well the 2 and 3 series did on the iihs crash test

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Jk356

BEM-S4

agreed

the 228 seems plenty fast especially with a novice driver behind the wheel.

Thankfully, he is a very cautious and careful driver

but I also like how well the 2 and 3 series did on the iihs crash test

I've driven just about everything you could drive at one point or another all the way up to most exotics. I've had a 228 for a couple days as a loaner and it's more than quick enough to have fun with and get yourself in some trouble.

Maybe next semester "bribe" him with a trip to one of the performance centers for the intro driving course. I think for the day it's like $750 or something and they get through all the emergency braking, skid pad, etc.

It's a lot of fun and to my way of thinking anyone can benefit from advanced safety and handling courses, especially budding gear heads.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by Jk356

BEM-S4

agreed

the 228 seems plenty fast especially with a novice driver behind the wheel.

Thankfully, he is a very cautious and careful driver

but I also like how well the 2 and 3 series did on the iihs crash test

This is a great story! One would imagine that a kid smart enough to pull a 4-point for that duration would have a very keen memory for "promises from dad!" The 228i is certainly fast enough for a first car...fast enough for me as my (first) retirement gift to myself, and it hits 3 digits surprisingly quickly and steathily...remind him to check the speedo more than me might otherwise. 2 Series impact management is indeed good, but best to avoid those situations. I suggest a 2 day course at Bob Bondurant Teenage Defensive Driving....fantastic program, but requires a trip to Phoenix...

https://bondurant.com/advanced-teen-driving/

This is a serious training ground for new drivers. I sent both of my kids through, and it was extremely beneficial. This can take his caution and add a significant set of skills for a young driver...this isn't racing...it's about safety and control. BTW, my eldest daughter's first car was a 4 cylinder, three door, short wheelbase (they used to make those) Plymouth Voyager! Times and situations do change!

[bryan_G01]

Get him into a bmwcca hpde, and autoX in the area.
He will be a very good driver in no time.

[Jk356]

that is a great idea

I wonder if we could do it in south Carolina ( at the bmw track?)
otherwise road America is close to us and I know they offer performance schools

[bryan_G01]

a performance school will cost big money and he wont be driving his own car.

Look for the local bmw cca chapter in your area, than look for events that are close to you.

http://www.motorsportreg.com/ shows all the events including, bmw, porsche, audi etc...

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Jk356

that is a great idea

I wonder if we could do it in south Carolina ( at the bmw track?)
otherwise road America is close to us and I know they offer performance schools

Yes they definitely offer a course at BMW in SC. I'm going over the summer actually BMWNA is picking up the tab so why not.

They have different level of courses he needs the one day intro one. All the details are on the website.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by bryan_f22

a performance school will cost big money and he wont be driving his own car.

Look for the local bmw cca chapter in your area, than look for events that are close to you.

http://www.motorsportreg.com/ shows all the events including, bmw, porsche, audi etc...

Could not disagaree more. At his age and neuromuscular development, this is NOT about performance. This is about learning and tuning his basic skills and reflexes. This is not what you get at the chapter events. The skills are completely transferable from the teaching car to whatever else he drives. After learning emergency avoidance manuevering in a Mustang GT at the school, my daugher came home and happened to be behind an 18 wheeler in her minivan when the truck tire chassis had a sudden failure and flew directly at her in pieces. She executed a perfect avoidance manuever, and noted right after that it was exactly what she was trained to do at Bondurant and she didn't think she would have reacted so well, without losing control (as many young drivers do with excessive inputs) without the training. If you want your son to learn high performance/racing, yes, local events can help. But, for basic skill elevation for safety, courses such as Bondurant (or Skip Barber, etc.) are in a completely different category.

For example, when was the last chapter event with a specialized skid car on rollers for training? Or, had emergency lane changing in response to multiple sets of traffic signals set up with electric eye triggers as cars approach at increasing speeds?

[bryan_G01]

Our local chapter, and i think all of them, offers a Teen Driving School day every year.

Look out for that day and sign him up.

http://time.com/money/3842351/bmw-te...ving-school-2/

[BEM-S4]

Here's the link to the BMW one. They do a one day or two day teen school.

https://bmwperformancecenter.com/school/classes/bmw

[xtremcarl]

When I turned 16 my parents had me do a driving school where you bring your own car to the track and practice safety and handling skills and then got to drive around the track at high speed. If memory serves it was Phil Wicks driving academy. My dad actually did the course with me and it was an amazing experience. Learned a ton of great skills and felt much more comfortable behind the wheel having experienced skids and such in an non emergency situation. I enjoyed driving his 3 series around the track a lot more than my ford taurus station wagon. I would highly recommend doing some type of program like this. Well worth the money.

[Jk356]

got it.

thanks for the links guys!!