My 2002 BMW Z3: The Best Car I Have Ever Owned Arrived When I Needed It Most

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– Posted on July 5, 2026

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To make sure I could get to college in Las Cruces, some 300 miles away, it was clear I would need a newer, more dependable car. One afternoon, while killing time in Santa Fe, my dad stumbled across a lightly used 2002 BMW Z3 at Santa Fe BMW. He texted me to ask if I was interested, and my first question was what transmission it had. It was an automatic, and like an idiot, I immediately dismissed it. I wanted a manual—preferably the same six-speed that was in his 540i.

Still, the Z3 lingered in the back of my mind. That evening my father pulled up the dealer listing, and I finally got a good look at it. I had no idea then that the Z3 would turn out to be the finest car I would ever own.

The listing showed a beautiful car: Alpine White with a tan convertible top and matching interior. It had clearly been someone’s midlife-crisis toy, ordered with nearly every available option and apparently spending most of its life tucked away in a garage. It looked almost factory fresh. The next morning I asked if we could go see it. By that point there was no realistic chance I wouldn’t graduate, so I skipped school with little guilt and we went to inspect it.

Z3 at Pond 1200

The salesman was more than familiar with my father at that point, as my father had purchased two cars from him and they would often chat while service was done to his cars. This was probably the only reason the salesman let me test drive the Z3. It was a good thing he allowed me; I still had serious compunctions about the automatic transmission. One test drive later, and I no longer gave a damn how many pedals it had; I was hooked.

The car’s automatic is a 5L40E, a 5-speed GM automatic, with “steptronic” shifting. To help mimic a manual better, the torque converter has a variable lock-up. This made the car far more engaging than an average slushbox. This transmission was a great match to the engine: the M54B30 3.0-liter inline six, already familiar to me from our old X5. In the X5, it was a gem of an engine, providing ample power and torque to move the relatively heavy X5 with authority. In the Z3, it felt like cheating. The Z3 weighed at least 1000 pounds less than the X5. That made a huge difference; 0-60 came in under six seconds.

The M54B30 also has quite good low-end torque, building to about 220 ib-ft at 3500 RPM, at which point the power band hits, leading to 228 horsepower at about 6000 RPM. A quick jab at the throttle in third gear will motivate it enough to get you ahead of traffic. Needless to say, the Z3 was quick for 2002, and it was still quick for 2012. The steering is quite precise, and the road feel and weighting are far better than any modern car.

Z3 Desert

At the end of summer 2012, I left for Las Cruces, following my parents in their new 2012 X5 50i. We learned during this drive that the Z3’s 12.5 gallon tank only lets the car run about 250 miles. We managed to find gas somewhere south of Socorro, and future drives between Las Cruces and Los Alamos would include a gas stop in Socorro.

I kept pace with my parents at about 90 MPH. This was bearable, so long as I kept the radio loud enough to drown out the wind, but it became clear to me that day the Z3 was not a road trip car, and my first pang of regret hit me; the Z3 was not a comfortable car, and I was now in it for the next four years at least.

This feeling did not last long, however, as the Z3 was quite a car to have, regardless of whether it was the best choice for a young college student.

We arrived in Las Cruces late in the afternoon, and the following morning, I checked into my dorm; Monagle Hall. I would start as a Mechanical Engineering Major, and because NMSU apparently hated its stem majors, the engineering “community” was placed in Monagle Hall, a rundown mid-century modern building that would, at the end of my first year, be closed for unsafe conditions.

Yet, I loved it. A friend of mine from high school was in the room directly across the courtyard from mine, and I quickly made friends with his roommate, who would become my best friend for the next three years. My suitemate was also similarly friendly. My roommate was not as fun, and he really just wanted to party. However, he also did not want to live in Monagle, and he moved out within a week.

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Room for two, and barely that

My freshman year of college was difficult for the sole reason that I had neither the aptitude nor inclination to be an engineer. I did not and do not understand math, nor chemistry, nor any of the other basic concepts that underlie engineering. The only classes I was any good at were English, History, and Government—the “bullshit” classes. I struggled to keep up.

The Z3 kept me sane, and my new best friend and I would frequently make excuses to run out into town just to blow off steam. The other way I stayed sane was texting my ex-girlfriend, L (She would stop being my ex-girlfriend after my first semester). My sophomore year, however, would be my best one. Not academically, mind you; it had become apparent halfway through the first semester that I did not understand physics, calculus, or even drafting, despite spending hours hunched over furiously studying and practicing. Finally, my parents told me to change majors, something I had not even considered.

I inquired at the History department and made an appointment to meet with an advisor before I could switch majors. After meeting with an advisor who was neither polite nor personable, I became a government major instead.

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Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I was playing hooky

The second half of my first semester was quiet. I had dropped physics and stopped going to Calculus II. During this time, the Z3 kept me sane, and I made a trip to Caballo one day when I had no classes. It would be the last time I traveled for fun for three years. The next semester, my first as a liberal arts major, I would make mostly A’s. I would repeat this performance until my last semester, when I made all A’s, and thus made Dean’s List. None of it felt real. This was the happiest time of my life, for the most part. It all came crashing down near the end, though. L went back to being my ex-girlfriend just before my senior year. My best friend transferred to UNM, and most of my other friends were either busy with their new lives, had graduated, or transferred. Ultimately, I ended my time at NMSU mostly alone.

Z3 at 22 2 1200

In 2016, I graduated. I did not bother walking. I did not care. A degree in government felt useless then, and ten years later, it still feels useless. Instead, the morning of graduation, I packed up the Z3 and made my way out of Las Cruces. I would not return for several years. Despite the noisy little Z3’s best efforts, the ride felt eerily quiet.

Five months later, the 2016 election would come and go, and prove that my degree was useless. I began working at the local Smiths, as LANL had no use for a government major, and no local government agency would hire me—indeed, the Sheriff’s Department downsized the day I turned in my application. For a year, I worked diligently at Smiths as a Customer Service Clerk as my life fell apart around me. L was now engaged to be married and pregnant, and everybody I knew from high school had made something of their lives and either left town or made their way to LANL. I lived in my parents’ basement and got yelled at for a living. I had never felt like more of a failure.

Home sad

On my 23rd birthday, I came home from work to an envelope from my parents. It contained the title to the Z3, and so the Z3 became the first car I ever actually owned. It would be followed shortly by the second car I would ever own. Obviously, the Z3’s story is not over. I did not stop owning it after I took title, and there are more stories to tell. But a number of other cars had made their way into my life, and we shall discuss them first.

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