Hello from new guy

[krhodes1]

Hello everyone,

I've been on the 3-series board for eons (I have an '11 RWD 6spd e91 I that I did Euro Delivery for), but I just picked up an '11 128i convertible to go with it. Well sort of, after this summer the 128i will be at my place in FL, my wagon lives in Maine.

6spd stick, Space Gray on beige leather, pretty low spec, just heated seats and the Value package for options (less to break). 46K. Several of the usual gasket suspects already dealt with, new brakes all around 1K ago. Full BMW dealer service history, and I paid too much for it at the Wichita BMW dealer but I don't care!

I will be driving it from Kansas to Maine starting tomorrow - oh boy...

I'll post some pics after I pick it up. It's replacing a 2018 Fiat Spider that I love, but finally had to realize that as a rather tall "boy of width", I don't really fit in comfortably. And the roads in SW FL aren't all that conducive to actual sports cars anyway. This is probably what I should have bought in the first place. Thankfully, I bought the Fiat for a silly low price as a leftover and did not lose my shirt on it.

I'm sure I will have lots of questions as I get to know the little guy. I do know for sure I will be wanting a homelink mirror, and assuming that e88s and e91s wear the same wheels, I may swap the 17s on my wagon for the 16s on the convertible. No plans for performance mods, but if an OEM Performance Exhaust turns up I would probably do it for the sound. I've had one on my wagon since it got off the boat from Europe.

[khoa@x-ph.com]

Grey on beige seems like a great combination. Post some photos once you get a chance OP. Congrats.

[dtla1]

1 Series wheel offsets are not the same as 3 series.

Welcome!

[Afam28]

Welcome!

[Esteban]

Congrats on the 1er.

Good group of people here, and lots of info to help you maintain/mod your new (to you) ride.

Enjoy in good health.

[NorthernDancer]

I believe both cars have the N52, so big bonus there as you likely know this engine well. Some parts are the same too. Hopefully you know realoem.com.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

I believe both cars have the N52, so big bonus there as you likely know this engine well. Some parts are the same too. Hopefully you know realoem.com.

N51 on this one. Conveniently ME is a CA emissions state so I get all the extra warranty stuff on it.

But yes, very similar. I do all my own work, so quite familiar with realoem.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by dtla1

1 Series wheel offsets are not the same as 3 series.

Welcome!

Not the same, but not far apart either. Tirerack seems to sell the same wheels for both cars. What are the official offsets? Did some searching in the Wheel and tire forum but didn't find it.

The runflats have GOT to GO! Continentals of some sort. So harsh over small ridges and whatnot - way worse than my wagon was with the original 17" runflats. I'm wondering of the tire pressure is something silly. Need to pickup a gauge and check. Really exacerbates the relative lack of chassis rigidity of the convertible.

[N54Yankee]

Hey there

[krhodes1]

Pickup went great! The car is actually just as nice as the pictures lead me to believe. To the point where I honestly don't know how the PO kept it this nice while putting 46K on it. There is literaly not a scratch, ding, or mark on the outside anywhere that I could find. and the interior has only a few scratches around the cupholder and some wear on the heel pad of the driver's side floor mat!

BMW of Wichita was great - sent a valet kid in an X5 to pick me up at the airport, had all the paper work done and on the road in little more than an hour. Just super nice and easy to deal with, but you definitely PAY for that. Can't complain though - the car is every bit as nice as it looked in the pictures and I think it was worth every penny.

Couple minor surprises - the good one - it came with the back seat wind blocker! Those things are expensive! The bummer - no Bluetooth! I'll need to deal with that. I don't use my phone in the car that much, but handsfree is a must.

Got out of the dealership at 2pm, got some lunch, and hit the road. Made it to Columbia MO before the car and I both ran low on gas and I stopped for the night. Plan to get to Columbus, OH tomorrow.

A couple pictures from the ad - I didn't get a chance to take any, but it looks just as good in person. Well, until I drove it 350 miles and got bugs and brake dust all over...

[IMG]BMW by kevinr1916, on Flickr[/IMG]

Inside by kevinr1916, on Flickr

I totally didn't notice the wind blocker in this picture - they took it out for the other interior shots.

[..Rush..]

Congratulations on the E88!
Love mine, and will never get rid of it.
Here's an inexpensive recommendation for bluetooth that fits into your AUX port. Picked it up online. Works great for playing music off my Android.

Tunai Firefly Bluetooth

[Tuxedo]

great find, the offset of those rims is et43, most e9x is et31 however some xdrves have et46

[SmallDave]

Hey - welcome and congrats on the car! Funny you're in Westbrook, I live right on the Westbrook/Windham line! I've love my 128i coupe. My only frustration is not having the time to do all of the upgrades I have planned

Enjoy!

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by SmallDave

Hey - welcome and congrats on the car! Funny you're in Westbrook, I live right on the Westbrook/Windham line! I've love my 128i coupe. My only frustration is not having the time to do all of the upgrades I have planned

Enjoy!

Very cool! I only live there in the summer now, but we should meet up at some point. Covid-permitting, of course, sigh. If you ever need a hand, I have a huge garage with a lift and lots of tools. I'm on Park Rd by the mill.

If you have ever considered joining BMWCCA, the Maine chapter are a super nice bunch of folks. We are doing virtual meetings now, the next one is Wednesday night - I can forward the link if you are interested.

In Brattleboro VT tonight, almost home. And oh boy was this thing fun coming across Rt9!!

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by ..Rush..

Congratulations on the E88!
Love mine, and will never get rid of it.
Here's an inexpensive recommendation for bluetooth that fits into your AUX port. Picked it up online. Works great for playing music off my Android.

Tunai Firefly Bluetooth

Thing is, I really only want it for phone calls. I never stream music off my phone, I have a 32Gb thumbdrive in the USB slot chock full.

I've been using my BT earpiece for this trip, and it's "OK", but I don't like wearing that thing.

[WeryPert1]

The base head unit should do BT phone calls, shouldn’t it? My (recently purchased) ‘10 does: it won’t stream music but it does do calls.

[Converted1]

I think that has a moonlight roof! Nice touch over black. I have the same exterior combo. While it tends to show creases, it goes really well with the space grey. Congrats!

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by WeryPert1

The base head unit should do BT phone calls, shouldn’t it? My (recently purchased) ‘10 does: it won’t stream music but it does do calls.

No, my car doesn't have the BT option sadly. Looks like there is a retrofit and coding option though.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by Converted1

I think that has a moonlight roof! Nice touch over black. I have the same exterior combo. While it tends to show creases, it goes really well with the space grey. Congrats!

It does indeed! And yeah, it definitely shows some creases, though overall the top is in great shape.

The color combo is definitely growing on me. I would not have ordered it this way, but used car beggars can't really be choosers.

I'll post some pics of my own once I get 1800+ miles of road grime and bugs off - yuck! A family portrait with my wagon too, since after this summer it may be a LONG time before they are together again.

[SmallDave]

Originally Posted by krhodes1

Very cool! I only live there in the summer now, but we should meet up at some point. Covid-permitting, of course, sigh. If you ever need a hand, I have a huge garage with a lift and lots of tools. I'm on Park Rd by the mill.

If you have ever considered joining BMWCCA, the Maine chapter are a super nice bunch of folks. We are doing virtual meetings now, the next one is Wednesday night - I can forward the link if you are interested.

In Brattleboro VT tonight, almost home. And oh boy was this thing fun coming across Rt9!!

Oh very cool! That would be a lot of fun! Strangely enough, I think you parked right behind my X3 at Napa this afternoon. I was there buying another t40 as I keep breaking them swapping out my control arms. Anyways, the car looked great, congrats on getting it home!

[Gangplank]

Welcome to the club. Where in SW FL? We're on the Treasure Coast. There are quite a few FL members on here.

[krhodes1]

Originally Posted by SmallDave

Oh very cool! That would be a lot of fun! Strangely enough, I think you parked right behind my X3 at Napa this afternoon. I was there buying another t40 as I keep breaking them swapping out my control arms. Anyways, the car looked great, congrats on getting it home!

Wow! Small world - yup, picking up some fuses for a friend of mine.

Thanks!