[The HACK]

Let me tell you a little story. I signed up for BMW CCA membership in 2000 for a LIFETIME membership, back when lifetime membership cost $350. I also signed up my wife as an associate member (free). Back then, I was on my 3rd BMW ('97 Z3 1.9L, '00 323Ci for me, '00 323Ci in red for my wife) and have just gotten started in getting to know the community. I was a car enthusiast, but not necessarily a BMW enthusiast, but I will admit, my teenage dream-car was an E30 M3.

Anyway, $350 was a lot to pay, I guess, for membership, but I did it thinking, what the heck, I'm probably going to buy another BMW sometime in the near future, and the rebates alone would be worth it. Had I had the foresight to sign up for BMW CCA when I bought my '97 Z3 1.9L, I would have saved $1,000 in rebates for the 2x 323Cis I bought in 2000. But that's neither here nor there. That $350 membership ended up paying for itself very soon.

'03 Z4 3.0i: $500
'04 545i (CPO): $500
'06 MZ4 Coupe: $500
'08 E90 328i: $500

$2,000 in rebates earned for my $350 membership fee. But that's not the best part.

In 2002 I started going to BMW CCA HPDEs. First was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where I met and made a bunch of friends. Most of whom I still speak with on a regular basis. At one point, my circle of "BMW" friends grew so big, that at local HPDEs we would have a tent city built, with about 12 cars parked nearby. Eventually, everyone sort of moved on to other makes (Porsches, mostly), but we mostly stayed in touch either via other BMW CCA events or via forums like this.

But wait, there's more.

The friendships I made via all these BMW CCA events and activities come to impact my daily life, in a positive way. During the 2008 recession, a friend offered me a job at an automotive aftermarket manufacturer. Another friend I made through these events is a lawyer that got me out of a "straight to jail" speeding ticket. Another is an insurance agent that saved me hundreds a month on my auto and home policies. One is my ophthalmologist that saved my eyesight. And that's not even including all the other friends who are top of the license in their respective fields that *I* have leveraged throughout my career for help, advice, guidance, and sometimes free work.

Which isn't to say I'm a total free-loader. I offer help when my skills are needed to these same friends. I even volunteered and served on my chapter's board briefly. It was fun, it allowed me to make MORE friends. Eventually I gave it up because a full time job and a family requires more time than I have to serve the chapter, but I'll tell you this. I've gotten WAY more out of the BMW CCA than that initial $350 has ever bought me, that's for sure.

But let's not kid ourselves. I've gotten a lot out of the club, not because of the monetary investment, but the amount of engagement and activities I was involved in. Yes I am on first name basis with people in the club, from local chapters all the way on up to the highest levels on the national board.

In reality you're not paying for the magazine or the discount or the vehicle purchase rebates. You're paying for the PEOPLE in the club. From the local levels, on up through regional and all the way to the national directors and presidents, you'll not find a better group of auto enthusiasts than BMW CCA.