I bought the M3W for the smiles. I've broken it, had it towed twice and done a number of repairs myself as well as getting it to the dealer for things I cannot fix. No regrets. My other car, a 2008 Toyota Tundra pickup truck has over 65,000 trouble free miles on it. It is utterly reliable. I've crossed the country in it a number of times with no problems. It is also utterly boring to drive.
My very first car was a 1967 Datsun Fair Lady Roadster. I took to having a toolbox in the trunk with an amazing assortment of tools and widgets in it to repair it while on the road. It was used a great deal. Once I warped the head in Northern California due to a faulty thermostat. Ripped the head off, walked over to a machine shop to have it milled and had the engine put together and all the valve gaps set by the end of the day. I thought nothing of it. It was all part of the price for tootling around in a very fun set of wheels.
Sometimes on this forum I have groused about being a Beta Tester but I still drive the damn thing and will do so today for something as mundane as going to the Post Office and checking out a very good hot dog stand for a nice bratwurst!
It's all great fun and having rediscovered the joy of tinkering it is all worthwhile. My father loved messing around with boats. I still love messing around with cars. This one you can actually work on!
