Used car buying is a pain

The last month and a half I've been on the lookout for a used car to explore the BC interior, and with the covid restrictions on travel to adjacent regions lifted, the itch to explore as been pretty bad. Now the last car I had was a convertible, so this time I want to experience life with a coupe/sedan. But not just any car will do, I have needs (tm) - it must be 

• Rear wheel drive, or awd with rear bias. Non negotiable.
• Front double wishbone - ideally. Strut front is fine, bloody porsches are struts on the front.
• Sunroof - non negotiable.
• White or Yellow exterior - I would like to say this is non negotiable but waiting for either of these to pop up for the specs I want is excruciating.
• Not fussed with interior colours so long as it matches the exterior.
• Manual transmission - ideally.

The car that easily matches my requirements is the E82 128i. These are old cars (08-12), but in my tests these cars pull (230HP on a 1.4 ton car is pretty damned good) just perfect for road use, and the handling is pretty solid. It is still a pretty big and heavy car so you do feel it but I'm looking for more of a gt/cruising experience, so in my opinion its perfect. The width of the car is also excellent, only four centimeters wider than my NC MX5, and it is a pleasure to drive in the city, and really easy to parallel park. 

A newer version of the 128i, the F22 228i was also on the board, but ultimately I decided I was too cheap to afford the high insurance on the car. But I did test drive it and I would say, if I could justify the car, this would be my go to. For a start, the interior of the car, while feeling a bit on the cheaper side, is just perfect for a drivers car. No extra technology required. The variant I tested was awd, with a rear bias. Handling unfortunately was the numb electric power steering, but on the highways it was easy to handle, and in low speed corners, the relatively narrow body (7cm wider than my mx5) made for easy threading of the city streets. 

One thing I found really interesting on the 228i was its "mild hybrid" technology. Unlike a proper hybrid, the mild hybrid tech uses the alternator of the car to recover energy while braking into a 48v battery that would be used to power the air conditioning and other electrical functions. Very cool!

Now BMWs are known to be "unreliable" so more reliable options were on the board - primarily the second generation IS250 cars from Lexus. Videos abound on how crazy reliable the IS250s are, and from what I see, apart from wearables, is the engine being a direct injection, thus liable for carbon buildup on the valves needing a walnut blast every hundred thousand or so kms (i guess?!). Later models apparently sorted it out. 

Next up.... er... not much choice really. The brz/frs have no sunroof options, so they are out. And personally from the one I've taken out on occasion, the ride is a bit harsher than I'd like. Genesis coupe? I don't know enough about the car, and from the specs its really heavy. Infinity? Again, I never really got into Nissan's upmarket brand and their cars don't appeal to me. Honda's only two rear/awd cars, the S2k and NSX are too old and not appealing to me for the former, and the later obviously not affordable.

On the german front, the affordable audis never appealed to me (FWD platforms, I mean, they are volkswagen based, aren't they?), and the R8 is obviously not affordable to a mere slave worker. Porsches... now that's a car I would like. These supposedly have amazing handling, together with a ride that is not too harsh. Sounds perfect for me. Unfortunately these hold their values amazingly well, and I think I'll put them off until I'm more settled in life. For example, what I'd pay for a 2012 128i, would pay for a late 90s to early 2000s boxster. Some check on mechanic prices on porsches and I'm like.. nope nope nope. These are supposed to be reliable cars though.

I also did look into other interesting cars that I could not afford or found really cool:

• CT200h - very cool upmarket prius. If I had to daily drive a car, this would be the one. It's FWD, with a CVT though but it is quite the looker, especially the f sport variant.
• M4 Cabrio. Just looks bloody sleek. Price wise and size wise it's a nah for me.
• 3rd Gen IS250/350 - Looks damned cool and hits all the above boxes but in reality it's too much car for a single person. Its pretty damned big in person!
• ND MX5 - Too compromised for my taste. Bit tight, 12v socket is in a terrible position, no glovebox. Lovely to rent out for drives though!
• Supra - I have zero interest in this car from an ownership perspective, but it does look good and from reviews the handling seems pretty damned good!
• C300. MB is unfortunately a brand I never really cared about, though I do find the C300's interior simply sublime, especially with the panoramic roof.
• LC500 - I consider this the best looking current car. It is a chonker though, too big for me.
• F Type - prices of the F type appear to have ballooned during covid. 
• 350z Convertible - I saw one on the road, it was a darkish silver backlit against the evening sun. I was like... man that looks good I want one. IRL nah. 

So with the list set out, I went on the hunt for cars. With the 128i as my top choice, I went to see several cars, all were duds:

- "Mint condition" pain bubbles on fender, dents - obviously been in accident.

- "Some Paint chips" - fucking clear coat was falling off

After these two 128is, a perfect is250 popped up, I checked it out and it looked really good. However, while the owner claimed the car had no accidents, I ran a carfax and it had over twenty grand worth of damage. One tell sign was the headlights, one of them was badly yellowed, but the other was clear and new. I read that could indicate car was in an accident, and had to have a headlight replaced.

Bailed on that one. Waited a week or so and another 128i popped up.

- "Well loved car" - this one has a short story. Car was located about 2hrs+ away from me, and seller had agreed to let me test drive it and take it for a PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection - always do a ppi ppl!). When I arrived, they were all smiles telling me to take the car for a drive. I was like... hold on, let me check the car out from the outside and stuff. Car drove fine, but the brakes were extremely sketchy, and midway through the drive, told me sorry, if you want the car, you buy it now no inspections, we got people in line for it. 

I walked away. Car is still being advertised lol.

This brings me to yesterday. Another 128i exactly matching the specs I wanted, manual to boot. Lots of servicing records on the carfax. Dude refused to budge on price, and also willing to let me take it for a PPI. Only "issues" was the car is located on an island hours away. But you know what, a manual 128i that has been well maintained? I'm willing to travel the distance.

Arrived after a short flight and checked out the car. Visually, it looked good, paint in near perfect condition, and drives really well, electronics inside all work. So I took it to the dealership for a PPI, which is not cheap (300cad with tax!) and oh my god the engine required 3 seals replaced. I also knew from the age of the car, it would need the water pump done just in case, and clutch (and possibly flywheel) replacement was on the boards. With all that added up, I could have added a grand or two and bought a 2014 fsport is350. I backed out of that one.

The return trip was.... long. Took me close to 6hrs with a combination of buses, one ferry and the skytrain. Sigh. Flight in was 270cad, and return ferry/bus/train was 20 odd dollars. 

At this point in time I'm debating just getting a mazda 3 and calling it done. But there is nothing like attacking the corners of the BC interior in a rear drive vehicle, and I may just get another convertible just so I can go drive. I'm gonna take a break from this car search for the next few days and hopefully figure out what to look for next.