Al Hindik modifies BMW

Noah Siderhurst, Editor-in-Chief|December 21, 2018

Senior Mohammed Al Hindik has done quite a bit of work to his 2007 BMW 335i. You can see more photos of his car on his instagram: @mo_707_lv.

You may have seen senior Mohammed Al Hindik’s 2007 BMW 335i in the parking lot. It has red wheels and stripes, and as of a few weeks ago, a gigantic rear wing.

“Since I was young, I’ve liked cars,” Al Hindik said. “I had a Dodge Challenger before, but I didn’t do as much to it as I did to this one.”

Al Hindik liked the Challenger for its size and presence on the road, but like the BMW because, well, it’s a BMW.

Al Hindik used to own a Dodge Challenger, but has since switched to a BMW 335i. Photo courtesy of Mohammed Al Hindik.

“For my first American car [the Challenger] wasn’t bad; I really liked it. A BMW is kind of small on the street, but Dodges, when you see them from far away you’ll be like, ‘Damn, it’s thick on the street. It’s taking all of it,’” Al Hindik said. “It’s not just about how fast [the car] is… This one is just a BMW, German stuff. It just looks good.”

In Iraq, where Al Hindik lived before 2012, he could drive at a much younger age. So when he came to the US, it was a bit of an annoyance waiting until 16 to get his license.

“I’ve been driving since I was 12 years old because in my country you can just drive. I came here, and I couldn’t drive,” Al Hindik said.

But that didn’t hold him back. In Iraq, Al Hindik had experience with BMWs, so it’s been on his bucket list to get one for a while. When he saw one in Richmond about three months ago, he jumped on it.

More images of Al Hindik’s BMW can be found on his instagram: @mo_707_lv.

So far, he’s changed and painted the wheels, done some body work, replaced the exhaust, put an M3 logo on the back and, of course, attached a huge wing.

Al Hindik’s snow-covered BMW makes a turn. The red, blue and light blue decal are the colors of the BMW M series. Photo courtesy of Mohammed Al Hindik.

“None of my parents actually like my car very much. They’ll be like, ‘You screwed up a BMW. You messed it up. All these colors,’” Al Hindik said. “I’m like, ‘Hey, I like it, so it doesn’t matter.’”

Al Hindik loves his car but doesn’t see it as a gateway to a career. For him, it’s just fun.

“I’m not a mechanic; I’m not planning to be a mechanic after I graduate. It’s just a fun thing for me to do,” Al Hindik said. “I would like to work on my car sometimes more than hanging out with my friends.”

Al Hindik has many improvements he’d still like to make.

“I don’t think I’m going to stop,” Al Hindik said. “I’m going to keep going and do more and more.”