6 month review

[Huecifer]

Hi,

New to the forum, already have found some great information, so thanks, everyone!

Fair warning, you may not like what i post below. I don't mean to anger, i just need to get this off my chest!

In Nov of last year I got a great deal on a 2010 128i with 30k miles:
6MT
Space Gray
Sport Package
Xenon
Sunroof
Heated Seats

I was deciding between a new Hyundai Genesis Coupe (too expensive, large/ponderous), a new Subaru BRZ (the interior is a joke, even the "upgraded" one) and a used Infiniti G37 coupe (transmission/steering have SO MUCH SLACK).

While I generally like the car, I think its fundamental problem is the car I had before this: A Lexus IS300 5MT. I don't expect most of you to understand this, but that car was an anomaly in the Lexus lineup: RWD, 3100 lbs, MECHANICAL LSD, paint like you wouldn't believe, and a stereo that blew everything out of the water. The engine absolutely purred no matter what the revs, and the transmission actually audibly clicked from gear to gear. To top it all off, it went 150k miles without ANY problems.

I knew when I was trading her (Saki) in, that I'd never find a car that good again. I think the BMW (Dieter) was a good replacement, and here are my thoughts:

The good:
Size (so easy to park, OMG)
Turning circle
Interior design
Speed (fast enough for me)
Roof rack! (the clip-style on the Lexus leaked)
Headlights/high-beams (the high beams are effing LAZERS)
Frameless windows (pretty)
The lock sound (like a vault)
Highway smoothness (80 in this is like 65 in the Lex)
6th gear (see above)
The seats (obvi)
Traction Contol (no terribly intrusive)
BMW care (or whatever it's called)
Long service intervals (finally, logic!)
Visibility

The bad:
Sports suspension (too stiff, too bouncy)
Key fob range (whats the point of the window/sunroof open function when they don't open by the time i reach the car?!)
Homelink range
Brake dust (it's not even easy to clean, ARG!)
Brakes/feel (no bite, no confidence)
The tires (non-run-flat Hankook snow tires i put on rode smoother/quieter than all-season good years)
Confusing controls (sunroof, wipers, and cruise control, I'm looking at YOU)
Tinting (there's so much of the weird black outline/dots around the rear and rear passenger windows, it makes for less than desirable results when you put full window tint on)
Fog lights (don't come on automatically, not terribly bright)
No temp gauge (wtf!?!)
Sun visors (i literally laughed when i touched them)
The stereo (absolutely, embarrassingly awful)
Only one power outlet
The cupholders (if you want to call them that)
The DRL lights turning on with the turn signals and steering angle (corny, useless)
The STUPID EFFING CHIMES FOR EVERYTHING (STFU!)
The e-diff (slow, inconsistent, wears brakes down)
Warning triangle (do we need the warning triangle in TWO SPOTS within an inch of one another on the displays?? And, when there is a warning, thanks for not allowing me to see the 10ths of a mile. Stupid. Very, very stupid)
TPS (malfunctioned all winter, then just went away once it warmed up. I coach a ski team and drive to different ski resorts every weekend. Do you understand how annoying/difficult it is to NOT EVER see 10ths of a mile all winter b/c your TPS sensors are malfunctioning? Keep in mind I'd often be in the middle of nowhere in WV with no cell service either)
BMW dealership people (generally assholes, no matter where I've gone: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Cleveland. The guys in the parts department at P&W are an exception)

I'm going to end with the handling. The BMW corners flat and almost feels like it can pivot around turns, but it doesn't communicate as much as i want through the controls, and it goes from understeer to oversteer with no play in between. It feels heavy and dimwitted in comparison with my old Lex, which felt lighter, lither, and had the ability to steer with the throttle. Both cars start with understeer, but applying some gas in the lexus just tucked the nose in. In the BMW, it just understeers more until the tires break away and then it snap-oversteers. Don't get me wrong, it's still fun, it's just personality-less... it doesn't have the verve of the Lexus.

Thanks for reading this far!

[BrokenVert]

First off dont judge BMW dealers by Burdick in cuse...theyre a joke. And the drivers village thing is hilarious. (30 dealers on the same plot of land all stacked up on eachother)

Anyway Burdick is so bad that whenever I need work done I drive 300 miles to Habberstad on LI (my parents dealer). I use it as an excuse to visit them for the weekend.

The point is that good BMW dealers are hard to find. But they make up for it by being the best possible place to get any work done.




To your other points. BMW decided to cheap out in 2010. They removed the second lighter in the ash tray (its now the small cubbie at the bottom of your center stack) and they put a lower quality stereo in. This changed the following year after everyone bitched about it.


Your other problems are spot on. The tires suck, the suspension sucks because its designed for rubbish tires and even after 5 years I laugh at the visors - ive been in 94 corollas and those had more lavish visors.

We typically spend a few thousand each to fix the suspension.

[doublevanosrc]

I hate to break it to ya but anyone that complains about cup holders and lack of power outlets in their BMW bought the wrong car. You should of gone with another Lexus IS or RX.

[1addyfan]

Originally Posted by Huecifer

The Bad:

Sports suspension (too stiff, too bouncy) -- Suspension is fine with me... It's friggin' sports car. What did you expect? It to ride like a Cadillac Escalade?

Key fob range (whats the point of the window/sunroof open function when they don't open by the time i reach the car?!) -- Range could certainly be better, but I wasn't expecting much from the factory fob to begin with.

Homelink range -- Seems fine to me... Are you trying to use it from the Highway?

Brake dust (it's not even easy to clean, ARG!) -- "Low Dust" Aftermarket Brakes are your friend... and perform better (overall) imo. It's one of the first things I change on all my cars.

Brakes/feel (no bite, no confidence) -- Once again, Aftermarket brakes are your friend and are a relatively cheap DIY.

The tires (non-run-flat Hankook snow tires i put on rode smoother/quieter than all-season good years) I'm not a fan of the stock run flats, but I also don't have to worry about snow over here either... As soon as my set of RFT's are done, I'm getting rid of them though.

Confusing controls (sunroof, wipers, and cruise control, I'm looking at YOU) lol Now you're just nitpicking...

Tinting (there's so much of the weird black outline/dots around the rear and rear passenger windows, it makes for less than desirable results when you put full window tint on) -- My tints always look great... Good installer solves that problem.

Fog lights (don't come on automatically, not terribly bright) -- I don't care about Fogs, as I barely use them... but okay, if that's your gripe, then I guess.

No temp gauge (wtf!?!) -- Yeah, I knew this before I bought the car... Not sure what the reasoning was for leaving that out.

Sun visors (i literally laughed when i touched them) I laughed when I heard you laughed when you touched them... They are fine to me.

The stereo (absolutely, embarrassingly awful) -- My car has the premium HiFi upgraded sound system... Not sure what you have, but don't blame us if you decided to cheap out. Even if I didn't have great sound, I'd prefer aftermarket speakers anyway.

Only one power outlet -- Now you're just nitpicking again.

The cupholders (if you want to call them that) -- Now you're just being silly.

The DRL lights turning on with the turn signals and steering angle (corny, useless) -- Who really cares about this stuff? Are you standing in front of the car when you turn?...

The STUPID EFFING CHIMES FOR EVERYTHING (STFU!) -- Not a fan of the chimes either... but the only one that bothers me is the seat belt chime (I solve that by wearing my seat belt though).

The e-diff (slow, inconsistent, wears brakes down) -- Not one of my favorite features, tbh... but it hasn't been an issue for me so far.

Warning triangle (do we need the warning triangle in TWO SPOTS within an inch of one another on the displays?? And, when there is a warning, thanks for not allowing me to see the 10ths of a mile. Stupid. Very, very stupid) // TPS (malfunctioned all winter, then just went away once it warmed up. I coach a ski team and drive to different ski resorts every weekend. Do you understand how annoying/difficult it is to NOT EVER see 10ths of a mile all winter b/c your TPS sensors are malfunctioning? Keep in mind I'd often be in the middle of nowhere in WV with no cell service either) -- lol Okay...

BMW dealership people (generally assholes, no matter where I've gone: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Cleveland. The guys in the parts department at P&W are an exception) -- I've always had a good experience at my dealership... and the girls there are hot. Move to California... Problem solved.

I'm going to end with the handling. The BMW corners flat and almost feels like it can pivot around turns, but it doesn't communicate as much as i want through the controls, and it goes from understeer to oversteer with no play in between. It feels heavy and dimwitted in comparison with my old Lex, which felt lighter, lither, and had the ability to steer with the throttle. Both cars start with understeer, but applying some gas in the lexus just tucked the nose in. In the BMW, it just understeers more until the tires break away and then it snap-oversteers. Don't get me wrong, it's still fun, it's just personality-less... it doesn't have the verve of the Lexus. -- I love the steering on my 135i... It's the best I've experienced in a long time. Go buy a lexus next time, if that's what you want.

Thanks for reading this far! -- Right back at you!

My Car: BMW 135i M-Sport 6 M/T

[WGScales]

I'm sure I must have missed something here. Did you buy this car my mail order? I actually looked at mine and drove it before I paid for it. Not sure why you would have bought it if there is so much wrong with it.

[Huecifer]

Originally Posted by doublevanosrc

I hate to break it to ya but anyone that complains about cup holders and lack of power outlets in their BMW bought the wrong car. You should of gone with another Lexus IS or RX.

What a productive and insightful comment! As a user of both an iPod and cell phone, and one who frequently travels on long journeys with a passenger who also has a cell phone, one power outlet does not cut it. Sorry, but if a 10 year-old, cheaper Japanese car can do it, you'd think the ultimate one might try to as well.

I don't know if I made it clear before this, but if you're insinuating that the BMW is more of a drivers car or something you clearly missed the last point of the article. My anomaly of a Lexus was more of a drivers car (handled, shifted, braked, and sounded better) and still managed to have 4 usable cupholders. God forbid.

And I still do like the BMW. It was the most suitable replacement. In fact, I just got home from a 5-hour drive... for fun!

[Huecifer]

AJx:

Thanks for the feedback. I am nitpicking, but that happens when you drive 12k miles in 6 months, you spend lots of time with the car... I actually had to go to Cleveland to get the car, and the suspension unfortunately felt great out in the burbs on smooth roads... In the city of Pittsburgh, however, my head bounces off the headrest like I'm a headbanger.

Originally Posted by WGScales

I'm sure I must have missed something here. Did you buy this car my mail order? I actually looked at mine and drove it before I paid for it. Not sure why you would have bought it if there is so much wrong with it.

I couldn't afford one new, and had to look all over the place to find the one closest to what I wanted. Sadly, the one option it didn't have was the nicer stereo... Guess I'll have to upgrade. Maybe someday I will comfortably be able to afford 40+k for a car... although I'm not sure this would have been my choice in that case.

[simianspeedster]

The easiest and most impactful change you can make to any modern BMW is ditching the horrific run-flats (though not the cheapest change, of course). Even with the Sport Suspension, I think you might be much more satisfied with the ride quality and handling feel if you changed tires.

[Stupenal]

.

[earthconfed]

To me the brake on the 135i is one of the best stock brake I've driven in a car, but they are different than the 128i brakes.

[vertebra]

I have to agree. My MKV GTI had numerous outlets, adjustable armrest, a usable glovebox, a sunglass compartment, usable rear seats, pockets in the back of the seats and a stereo that didn't suck. It was much more comfortable as a daily driver but nowhere as much fun.


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