[trpt]

My lease was ending on my 2012 328i Sport Line w/ 6MT (30 month lease 18k miles/year). It was my first BMW (and first lease), which I bought off the lot. The F30 was mineral gray and lightly optioned with leather, cold weather package and HK stereo.

(For reference, I previously owned a 1991 NSX for 10 years followed by 2001 S2000 for 10 years).

Decided to "upgrade" to the F36 for something a little different, which I had to order to my specs to keep the price reasonable. The sport suspension and seats were a must. I debated getting an M Sport but prefer the sport line wheels which also saved a few $. And I'm partial to mineral gray, so I stuck with that..

The Build:
428i GC Sport Line
Mineral Gray
Black Leather Dakota
Cold Weather Pkg.
Driver Assistance Pkg.
Navigation System
MSRP- $49,400

Timeline:
Order placed on 10/21
Received Production # and VIN on 10/22
Production completed on 10/30
Departed Bremerhaven on 11/10
Arrived Baltimore USA on 11/27 (Thanksgiving!)
At dealer on 12/7

The Deal:
Discount on MSRP, innovations credit (available when I ordered), holiday cash credit (available when I took delivery), and USAA rebate. Taxes and fees rolled into lease; no MSDs, no cap reduction. Got the 39 month lease BMW is offering right now, this time for 15k miles/year. Payment = $555/month. Drive off was first month payment only. The dealer also made a little profit on the acquisition fee ($925 vs. $725), as well as a doc fee ($349) to do all the title work, etc. But overall I am satisfied with the deal (comments welcome).

Impressions:
I've put about 1000 miles on it so far. The car overall feels like a very nice upgrade. The steering feel is way improved. The throttle sound is nice and throaty with acceleration. The utility of the hatch is great. I've got plenty of room in the car (but I'm only 5'9").

I didn't get the DHP because I thought the non-adaptive M sport suspension on my F30 was just about perfect as is. The F36 sport suspension however is definitely a bit more taut. Not sure if that's due to the design difference/philosophy of the 4 series versus the 3 series, or if my F30 suspension had just softened after 50k miles. But the F36 drives great and inspires more confidence on the road than my F30. No regrets.

Giving up the manual transmission however was a regret I had going in. As a positive I feel like I can actually accelerate faster with this AT, or it's easier anyway. On the other hand I think I can drive the MT more efficiently. I always manually calculate my MPGs with each fill up and I achieved a bit better gas mileage with the F30 (no matter what the EPA says). The F36 still gets great gas mileage though.

The xenon headlights are just awesome. Big difference from the halogens on my F30. Highly recommended.

The stock stereo is just okay compared to the HK stereo in my F30. I can live with it. I do notice however that the sensitivity and selectivity of the FM tuner is improved.

Biggest regret- I had really wanted to do the Performance Center Delivery experience but it turns out that I didn't order the car soon enough. I didn't realize there would be such a lag between the car getting to the port and getting a PCD slot. I was offered slots in mid-January but by then my lease would have been well over. And I really didn't want to get a lease extension as I was already well over my mileage allowance and bumping the end of warranty coverage (50k miles). Oh well, maybe next time...

Here are a few cell phone photos at the dealer of my F30 next to my new F36:

And another photo from when I got it home:

If anybody is interested the rest of the photo album is on line HERE

[tboooe]

Thank you for the writeup! Great color too by the way.

As for your deal, I think you did well especially since you only had to pay 1st month at delivery. In comparison, my car was $52K MSRP. I ended up getting it for $1000 below invoice or $46,800. Same lease terms as you I ended up putting $3500 down which includes first month, my monthly is $500 including tax. To be clear, you paid $550 + acquisition + doc fee or $1,824? Does your $550 payment include tax?

Enjoy!

[trpt]

Originally Posted by tboooe

Thank you for the writeup! Great color too by the way.

To be clear, you paid $550 + acquisition + doc fee or $1,824? Does your $550 payment include tax?

You're welcome! Happy to share; I've learned a lot on this board.

No, I only paid $555, the first month's payment to drive off. The fees were rolled into the lease and the monthly payment includes all taxes.
(They actually gave me money back since I had put down a $1k deposit to order the car!)

[tboooe]

In that case you did great!

[nicknaz]

out of curiosity, why didn't you go with max MSDs? It's such a money saver and if you don't plan to break the lease early there is no downside

Congrats on the new car! GC body style is pretty cool

[tboooe]

Originally Posted by nicknaz

out of curiosity, why didn't you go with max MSDs? It's such a money saver and if you don't plan to break the lease early there is no downside

Congrats on the new car! GC body style is pretty cool

WTF! Never even heard of MSD before! Dammit!! Oh well.

[Kre62]

Why did you put upgrade in quotes? Are you implying its not an upgrade?

[sr5959]

Congratulations OP, and great write-up!

I also think the Sportline wheels look better than the M-Sport, but I went M-Sport for the steering wheel.

I think you chose a great combination of options too while keeping the cost reasonable, these cars have so many options the price can quickly get ridiculous.

[tjh94607]

Originally Posted by trpt

You're welcome! Happy to share; I've learned a lot on this board.

No, I only paid $555, the first month's payment to drive off. The fees were rolled into the lease and the monthly payment includes all taxes.
(They actually gave me money back since I had put down a $1k deposit to order the car!)

I didn't see you stated it or i missed it.

[adhrp]

Lovely looking car! I just love how streamlined and sleek the 4 GC looks.

How are you finding the rear view visibility as compared to the F30? I feel like that might be a problem area.

[trpt]

Originally Posted by adhrp

How are you finding the rear view visibility as compared to the F30?

Rear visibility is okay- definitely better than I expected! That's one of the reasons I got the backup camera, but I haven't really needed it.

Originally Posted by Kre62

Why did you put upgrade in quotes? Are you implying its not an upgrade?

It turned out to be an upgrade for me but the F36 is basically price equivalent with a similarly configured F30, which many still prefer over the 4 series.

Originally Posted by sr5959

I also think the Sportline wheels look better than the M-Sport, but I went M-Sport for the steering wheel.

Agreed! Wish I could somehow have both the sport line wheels and M-sport steering wheel... I hear getting the steering wheel installed separately is pricey.

[NHman]

OP, congrats! Nice looking 4GC and good choice on staying with Mineral Grey.

[the_phew]

Originally Posted by trpt

Agreed! Wish I could somehow have both the sport line wheels and M-sport steering wheel... I hear getting the steering wheel installed separately is pricey.

I picked up some 397 wheels/tires off Ebay for my 320i, since they are also my favorite. The tires are basically "free", since I would have needed to buy a second set of tires before lease turn-in anyway.

Wheels are much easier to trade/buy/sell than steering wheels!

[sr5959]

Originally Posted by the_phew

I picked up some 397 wheels/tires off Ebay for my 320i, since they are also my favorite. The tires are basically "free", since I would have needed to buy a second set of tires before lease turn-in anyway.

Wheels are much easier to trade/buy/sell than steering wheels!

How much did you pay for them?

[the_phew]

Originally Posted by sr5959

How much did you pay for them?

In the neighborhood of $1600, but that included TPMS that I sold for like $200, and the tires had full tread (original owner had a 335i and immediately switched to aftermarket 20" wheels after delivery). You can get wheels alone for ~$800 if you are patient.

[sr5959]

Originally Posted by the_phew

In the neighborhood of $1600, but that included TPMS that I sold for like $200, and the tires had full tread (original owner had a 335i and immediately switched to aftermarket 20" wheels after delivery). You can get wheels alone for ~$800 if you are patient.

Interesting...I might try to get a set for winter driving on my GC.

Do you think the 397 wheels would look weird on an M-Sport GC?

[LMK5]

OP, I'm curious about the interior room of your new car vs. the F30.

[NHman]

Originally Posted by LMK5

OP, I'm curious about the interior room of your new car vs. the F30.

The rear seat area is where there's a difference both in headroom and width. If traveling with adults, the 4GC is really only practical with 4 adults. If the passengers are tall, say over 6 feet, their heads could touch the headliner. For front passengers, there's plenty of space.

[trpt]

Originally Posted by LMK5

OP, I'm curious about the interior room of your new car vs. the F30.

I agree with NHman above. The interior room is better than I thought. No difference up front. I tried the back out myself, which is fine but I'm only 5'9". Only difference is I wouldn't/couldn't put 3 adults back there. For me that limitation is basically made up by the utility of the hatch and configurable cargo area- a nice trade off I'd say.

[DrivenByE30]

Congrats...

[jasnh]

OP thanks for the side by side pics! I currently have a 335 and when the lease is up was considering a 435 GC MSport...this clinches it for me. While I really like my 335, I love the lines of the F36 compared to the F30. I'm going to be staying with Mineral Grey too.
Awesome looking car...congrats

[DantonIzzo]

OP -- Do you currently have all seasons on your setup? Do you plan getting winter tires?