general questions on 135i

[RPM90]

Hi everyone.

I am a returning BMW owner. I had a 2006 325i sport that I drove for 3 years. Then, I went with an Audi A4 quattro 2.0T sport.

I'm going with a 135i this time, either a coupe or vert. I'm not positive yet.
At first I wanted the vert, but now I'm thinking the coupe may be more practical for this Chicago weather.

So, I want to keep the options minimal...I think.
Here's what I MUST have:
6 spd. manual
M-sport/sport pkg.
Blue Tooth

That's it. However, I've been spoiled with Audi "luxury" items in my A4, so I may go with the premium pkg., to get the dimming mirrors, power seats, and leather.

My main questions are:
1. Is the upgraded "hi-fi" system worth the nearly $900?
I work in video/audio production, so I want better sound.
I heard the Logic 7 in the 335i, and I think it's quite nice for a stock system. I could live with it for 3 years.
But, if the 135i hi-fi isn't as good as the Logic7 setup, the I'll just do my own setup.

2. Are the manual seat adjustments great? I mean, do they offer finer adjustment control nearer to power seats? My 325i had power seats so I'm not familiar with BMW manual adjusters. I have a spine issue, so it's important that I get my seat just right.

3. Does the sunroof take away too much headroom?
I drove the 135i vert and the headroom is of course vast. Does the 135i coupe have decent headroom with that sunroof?

4. The stock seats were actually pretty nice.
Are the sport seats in the 135i nearly the same as the 335i sport seats? They look almost the same.
The sport seats in my 325i were excellent, and the 335i sport seats feel about the same.
If the 135i sports are the same as the 335i sport seats, then I'm set.

I hope the dealer can find one out there I want, but if not, I don't mind ordering. Maybe a port car if they are out there.

Oh, one more thing, I see the 3 series sedans are selling for under invoice on edmunds.com. What about 1 series? Anyone seeing invoice deals out there, or maybe even BELOW invoice? The economy still have turned to good yet, so I'm looking to deal, deal, deal.

[gyrfalcon]

1. Do your own. You'll be happier that way especially if you are in the A/V business.

2. They work great for me. If you are the only person driving I can see no reason to get the power version other than for lumbar support.

3. I'm 5-11 and I can fit easily while wearing a helmet so it's not too bad.

4. Trust me. Get the sport seats.

[themyst]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Hi everyone.

I am a returning BMW owner. I had a 2006 325i sport that I drove for 3 years. Then, I went with an Audi A4 quattro 2.0T sport.

I'm going with a 135i this time, either a coupe or vert. I'm not positive yet.
At first I wanted the vert, but now I'm thinking the coupe may be more practical for this Chicago weather.

So, I want to keep the options minimal...I think.
Here's what I MUST have:
6 spd. manual
M-sport/sport pkg.
Blue Tooth

That's it. However, I've been spoiled with Audi "luxury" items in my A4, so I may go with the premium pkg., to get the dimming mirrors, power seats, and leather.

My main questions are:
1. Is the upgraded "hi-fi" system worth the nearly $900?
I work in video/audio production, so I want better sound.
I heard the Logic 7 in the 335i, and I think it's quite nice for a stock system. I could live with it for 3 years.
But, if the 135i hi-fi isn't as good as the Logic7 setup, the I'll just do my own setup.

2. Are the manual seat adjustments great? I mean, do they offer finer adjustment control nearer to power seats? My 325i had power seats so I'm not familiar with BMW manual adjusters. I have a spine issue, so it's important that I get my seat just right.

3. Does the sunroof take away too much headroom?
I drove the 135i vert and the headroom is of course vast. Does the 135i coupe have decent headroom with that sunroof?

4. The stock seats were actually pretty nice.
Are the sport seats in the 135i nearly the same as the 335i sport seats? They look almost the same.
The sport seats in my 325i were excellent, and the 335i sport seats feel about the same.
If the 135i sports are the same as the 335i sport seats, then I'm set.

I hope the dealer can find one out there I want, but if not, I don't mind ordering. Maybe a port car if they are out there.

Oh, one more thing, I see the 3 series sedans are selling for under invoice on edmunds.com. What about 1 series? Anyone seeing invoice deals out there, or maybe even BELOW invoice? The economy still have turned to good yet, so I'm looking to deal, deal, deal.

I got my 135 for 100 over invoice, which was a sick deal. In terms of getting bluetooth on your 1er, it only comes with the premium package, which is a 3000 dollar add-on. A better alternative might be to get a GPS unit that has bluetooth built in and use that. I have a Garmin 265WT and the bluetooth, although not great, is acceptable.

[cagekicker]

the stock sound is great!

[RPM90]

[quote=BrokenVert;5054566]

Originally Posted by themyst

In terms of getting bluetooth on your 1er, it only comes with the premium package, which is a 3000 dollar add-on. QUOTE]

Thats not true. You can get BMW Assist separate for $750. That includes Bluetooth.

As far as seats go, yes sport seats all the way. I will tell you that headroom is sacrificed with the power seats. Im 5' 9" and my head is an inch and a half lower than the top of the winshield pillar with the seat in it's lowest position.

I test drove a 135i vert and I noticed that the top of windshield sill is kinda low. But, the seating position on the stock seats was very nice, even better than the 3 series. These were powered stock seats.
They didn't have a 1 series with the sport seats, so that's why the questions.

I drove a 335i with sport pkg and sport seats. In that car the sport seats feel good. The seating position feels a bit high. However, the sales guy told me to keep fiddling with the power seat controls and sort of "rock" the seat back and forth and it would go lower. IT DID!
At first, I pushed the up/down all the way down and though that was it. But, then I pushed the front tilt down and front dropped lower, then I pushed the rear tilt down and the seat dropped lower and leveled.
It was about 1" lower than before. It's very odd how they made that work. In my 325i, you push the up/down button down and it went all the way down. If I then pushed the front tilt down it had nowhere to go cause it was all the way down. I could only go up from there.
But, the new pwrd seats in the 3 are different.

Can you try this on your 1 powered seats and see if it drops lower?

BTW, I'm 6'1" with a 30/31" inseam. I have short legs and a tall torso.
In the 135i vert I had PLENTY of headroom with the stock powered seats.
According to BMW's brochure the coupe loses about .75" of headroom, probably due to the sunroof.

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by cagekicker

the stock sound is great!

Sorry to disagree, but I MUST.

The stock stereo was barely acceptable. It's enough to make loud sounds, but not loud music. The Logic7 in the 3 series, now that was a vast improvement.

BTW, I do not like all this DSP crap in a car. What's the point?
Multi channel fakery only makes the music sound unnatural.
Unless the engineer mixed the sound with multi-channel space, the DSP is simply going to mess things up. I tried it in the Logic7 and every setting was awful. It made the music sound unnatural and distant.
Leave it in simple STEREO and the sound system was very nice.

Can anyone compare the hi-fi setup in the 1 series to the Logic7 in the 3?

[flyburch]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Sorry to disagree, but I MUST.

The stock stereo was barely acceptable. It's enough to make loud sounds, but not loud music. The Logic7 in the 3 series, now that was a vast improvement.

BTW, I do not like all this DSP crap in a car. What's the point?
Multi channel fakery only makes the music sound unnatural.
Unless the engineer mixed the sound with multi-channel space, the DSP is simply going to mess things up. I tried it in the Logic7 and every setting was awful. It made the music sound unnatural and distant.
Leave it in simple STEREO and the sound system was very nice.

Can anyone compare the hi-fi setup in the 1 series to the Logic7 in the 3?

I think the stock stereo is great also not sure what your talking about

[Linoleum87]

I'm not a fan of the stock sound system. My last car had an upgraded pioneer system in it, with a 10" woofer in the trunk. The sound from it was pretty tight (and powerful) and may have spoiled me, but I was hoping for more out of this car.

[1speedbike]

If you have a spine issue, I'd recommend the power sports seats for finer adjustments and more adjustable parameters (notably lumbar adjustments and side bolsters). The premium package would add the power seats, add BMW Assist with bluetooth, give you leather, and some other goodies..

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by flyburch

I think the stock stereo is great also not sure what your talking about

It's a sound quality thing.

If you can be more specific in your question I can give a better answer,
I think.

[tbird]

For my two cents, and all its worth

Stereo=My brother has the Logic7 in his 335ci, and I have the upgraded stereo in my 135, and he said that mine was infinitely better than his, and once I compared them, he was correct. However, after saying that, if you are an A/V guy, if you feel comfortable doing it yourself, then it would behoove you to ask your BMW Service Dept if you could put in your own and not interfere with any of the other electronics in the vehicle.

As for the seats, I have the sport leather seats in mine, and I love them. The seats in my last BMW were not bad, but they certainly were not great. Also, there have been numerous posts in here about the seats in either the 1 or the 3 and how if you need any sort of comfort, you have to get the Sport Seats. So you have to determine your comfort level and if you are willing to get them or not. If you have a spine issue, then it probably would be a good idea to get the sport seats so you get the lumbar. The lumbar bit is really good in the 1. Much better than in the Audi.

As for getting invoice price, the 3 is the bread-and-butter BMW, they are all over the place, so getting deals on them is easy. The 1 is not in an as-high-production, so there are fewer, and therefore not as much bargaining room. But, of course, it depends on the region and the dealer. Down here, at FLL BMW, they have almost no 1's on the lot, literally only 4-5 or so that I see. But in Miami, the dealerships have 20-30 of them. You just have to do homework on that.

Other than that, Sport package and the BMW Assist (Bluetooth) are definitely handly, and you are all set.

Good luck. You will not be disappointed with the 1. It is literally an addictive car....literally.

[flyburch]

Originally Posted by RPM90

It's a sound quality thing.

If you can be more specific in your question I can give a better answer,
I think.

i just dont think the stock radio is bad at all and i wouldnt pay 900 more to have the dance hall sound in my car.

[ptack]

You just go down to a dealer and hear them for yourself. Just bring a CD or ipod with you. I went for the premium and love it. The stock sound system in every other car I get in now sounds terrible by comparison. As others have noted in the Audio forum, the quality of the components used in the premium system are quite good so there are not too many areas worth tweaking (at least that would produce a noticeable improvement). Upping the power is one obvious thing, but unless you plan on entertaining the neighborhood, it's not required.

[flyburch]

i bet the premium system rocks the house but i think the stock sounds good thats all im saying never heard the premium one but im happy with the stock one

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Pirate

I suggest that you order the car the way you want it. I like the new wheels of the MSP more than the '08's. Do bring a high quality CD for audio testing. I happen to like black leatherette for practical reasons and the stock audio system was good enough for me. I kept it simple, my only options are SP, Steptronic and SGM.

You are in for a treat!

Thanks for the info guys.

So, it's regular sport pkg, prem pkg, manual trans of course, and maybe the hi-fi upgrade.
I have a good $500 over invoice deal ready to go

As far as the stereo, when I leased my 325i I put in a very nice setup with Rockford Power series 4ch amp., audiobahn 6.5's in the front, and an Infinity Reference 12" sub in the trunk. This was not a nighclub thump setup. I prefer balance sound and I like to hear nuance when playing music with acoustic instruments. Yes, there was 125 watts per corner RMS, and 425 watts RMS to the sub, but the power is there for clarity not just for volume. I put that into the leased 325i, and I kept the install clean. When I returned the 325i I reconnected the wiring with good connectors and reinstalled the stock speakers.

I haven't had a chance to hear the "hifi" system in the 1 series because they didn't have one. I only got to hear the Logic7.
But, if the hifi sounds better than the logic7, I wouldn't mind going with it.
Over a 36 month lease, I'd only be paying for 40 percent of the price.
And, I wouldn't have to do a bunch of wiring and panel removal, and losing trunk space for the sub.

Now, it's just a decision on the color combo and my order should be in early next week. OH YEAH.

[warmtoes]

If you are an A/V guy you can be satisfied with the stereo but it is certainly not top notch and if you tend to be one who is picky about audio then you will probably dislike it. It is way better than what came in the E46 but not as good as a Dynaudio system in a Volvo or a Levinson in a Lexus or the B&O in the Audi's.

[sparoz]

1. I haven't got my car yet, but most people are very happy with the premium hi fi on the 1. My wife's standard is okay on the 1, even better than the 3 series harmon kardon on my e46 in terms of dynamic depth but definitely not ery well balanced. I've ordered mine but not my wife's, so I can do a comparison when both cars come in next month.
2. You can try it out. I don't remember what the 120D was like because I always unconsciously just change the adjustment without realising what the adjustment is like.
3. I am happy with mine, but I am only 5"10.
4. Get the sports seats - the stock's okay, but the Sport Seats something else.