[Tardi5]

Hi All!

This is my first post, so I have a few questions!

I went and test drove a 135i (with M-Sport) and was sold on the first corner, what a lovely car.

I live in Edmonton Alberta, Canada, and so have some general questions about the winter.

1. Since it has an aluminum engine, you cant put a block heater in it, only a trickle charger. Does anybody have any experience starting the car when it is -30degC? I don’t have a heated garage, and can’t afford a summer and winter car. Does the car start well?

2. Does anybody have the trickle charger that they sell, and if so does that help for cold starts?

3. A friend of mine had an E46 328i and mentioned that below a certain temperature (~-30degC) the mechanism that lowers the window a centimeter when you open the door would stop working, so if it was that cold, he couldn't get in his car? Anybody have or know of this issue?

Just some general questions:

4. Anybody have the leatherette? Is it exceptionally hot and sticky on a hot day, or fairly manageable? I have heard that it can be a lot like vinyl, i.e. like cars from the 60s and 70s.

5. I am thinking of a Le Mans Blue with M-Sport, Leather Seats, and heated Steering wheel. I would like to get the Savanna Beige, however, according to the BMW.ca configuration online it won’t allow the le mans blue and Savanna Beige combination? Why is this? I was browsing the forums earlier and was reading about "Priority 1" options - what are these? Is this why I can't configure that option?

6. For the above mentioned car, I was offered $2k off of MSRP. Does anybody have any experiencing bargaining a bit? How Much room do dealers have to move on this car?

7. For those of you who have had a 135i for some time, are there any common problems failures that occur? Issues with getting them repaired under warranty, or has it all been as smooth as the salesman promised?

8. I might be interested in getting some Dinan options on it, I was reading in a different forum about how the new 2011 N55 engine (single turbo) might be harder to tune - is this the case?

9. After further reading about "overheating" and "hpfp" problems, I'm now a little scared - how prevalent is this? I don't want a lemon.

Thanks in advance!