BMW Recall - What Loaner Did You Get? :)

[dorkdog]

Originally Posted by Clovef

What did you guys think of the x1?

I had an X1 as a loaner a couple months ago. Felt cheap and was not 'ultimate' to me. My wife's Santa Fe feels more luxurious. It didn't seem as tight as my coupe. In a word --- forgettable.

[1thirtyfizzo]

Originally Posted by CL 19

Really? 6 series as a loaner? Or I misread something. I wish I could get F30 335i since F30 has quite good transmission so I'm just curious

No u did not misread. They gave me a 650i convertible as a loaner. I drove with the top down around town for like an hour. It sure is luxurious comparing to my 135i coupe and 335i convertible.

[Clovef]

Originally Posted by ejm3

I had an X1 with the same N55 motor as my 135i.
I was impressed it was quite quick and handeled very well for an SUV, better than most cars.

It has 2 main downsides I could determine, maybe 3:
1) Its very small for an SUV. If you really need room for more that 4 people or a small amount of stuff then the X1 won't cut it.
2) The $48k sticker was hard to swallow even though I liked it. Maybe the smaller motor would be cheaper but likely not as enjoyable to drive.
3) Not sure really how capable it would be in the snow if that matters to you. You would definately need to upgrade the tires to snows and likely the wheels too. If you don't live where it snows this might not matter to you however.

Overall definately worth a test drive but be aware of the cost.

Thank you, that was helpful to me. My wife would be fine with the turbo 4 but we would get the AWD package. We do get snow and my 135i sucks in it so that would be helpful. As far as size, she likes small nimble cars with good visibility. We don't have kids and we are not planning on it so that is okay. We also just rent a truck if we need to carry big stuff around.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[ejm3]

Yeah if it fits your lifestyle and budget I would definately put it on the short list.
As another poster said its not particularly luxurious though, especially at $48k.
Inside feels like a basic 1-series.

The one I drove definately had a pretty sporty suspension, which I'm guessing comes with the bigger engine? If you can get that suspension with the smaller engine I would.

Made it feel much more competent than any SUV I've driven. Much more of a drivers car than my RX, thats for sure.

[Clovef]

We will need to go drive one, it may be more responsive than she wants to be honest. She says she gets nervous driving my car because of how responsive the steering is and she thinks it has too much power. That is the result of her getting on the throttle to pass, the transmission downshifted and surprised her with some boost while she was looking over her shoulder. Rather funny considering she did not rear end who she was going to pass while looking over her shoulder. The X1 is probably more of a car I would hope she likes because I would not mind having to drive. She surprised me this afternoon by telling me she thinks she might want a Jeep Wrangler. I guess that means I need to start working on convincing her that the Rubicon package would be needed.

[CL 19]

Originally Posted by 1thirtyfizzo

No u did not misread. They gave me a 650i convertible as a loaner. I drove with the top down around town for like an hour. It sure is luxurious comparing to my 135i coupe and 335i convertible.

Lucky you sir! Almost all of Niello's courtesy cars are 328i either E90 or F30. I wish I'm older so they consider to give me sportier car.

[thetuna]

My hopes were high, as the two before me left in an x3 and an x5.
I got a 2013 328xi for my loaner.
It had navi, but that's about it, and the seats were particularly cheap feeling.
I left it in sport mode the whole time and tried to have some fun with it, but I just found myself wanting the 1 back.
One thing that was surprisingly easy to get used to was the auto start/stop.
By the time I was off the brake the car was ready to go again so it wasn't a big deal.

[tracer bullet]

Also got a 328xi, both times, first time when I dropped the 135i off for the recall and some free maintenance (brake fluid flush and oil change), and again when it went back for a brake issue, DSC actually, of some sort (likely related to the brake fluid flush).

It's a perfectly fine car, but after having it for a couple times now for seveeeral days each time, I've realized 2 things: 1) Not all BMW's are equal, the 1-series is so damned much more fun than the (non-M) 3-series it's unbelievable, and 2) If it was my money and I wanted a bigger car w/ 4 doors, I can't possibly imagine paying twice the cost of an Accord / Camry / Altima for what feels like an only incrementally more fun car to drive.

[ba83]

Got a 328i Sedan , Nav and some other stuff, no sport. Steering was so bad on the car that it didnt feel like a BMW at all. I havent driven the M sport yet, but this one was awful

[ptack]

Am currently in an X3 loaner while they wait for an oxygen sensor for my car.
Verdict - blah
Same annoying shortcomings as the F30 328i. The stop/start feature is absolute crap. It probably would meet expectations if this were a Rav4 or something way cheaper, but in a BMW I expect it to be barely perceptible. Something that can save gas while being unobtrusive. Ha, this thing shudders, jerks, and growls. It pretty much undermines everything else about the car because just when you forgotten about it - BRRMNM/lurch - it's back to remind you how awesome it is.

[BlackBMiLuc]

i was hoping to get the new 3 series but nope. dealership ran out of all their loaners that day and had to reserve to a local enterprise leaving me with a toyota corolla. lol.

[1thirtyfizzo]

Originally Posted by BlackBMiLuc

i was hoping to get the new 3 series but nope. dealership ran out of all their loaners that day and had to reserve to a local enterprise leaving me with a toyota corolla. lol.

U got the top of the line Corolla type S right? Lol

[BlackBMiLuc]

Originally Posted by 1thirtyfizzo

U got the top of the line Corolla type S right? Lol

Lol. At the least!

[Hokie135Hi]

2013 128i M-Sport

I like the car...just missed my engine.

[Hops128i]

I got a x1 (with sport package) loaner today, it had the n20. I tried to keep an open mind to it, even though I do NOT like suv's or (what ever marketers are trying to call them). It accelerated strongly, but felt big and dumb. In 'manual' mode the transmission will downshift for you if you give it enough throttle (maybe there's a way to defeat this). And the sound of n20 is just awful. Now, i'm not against 4 cylinder engines, i love the sound of a s2000, but this thing reminded me of a generator, or some kind of construction equipment.

I couldn't wait to get back into my 128i. I immediately redlined in an underpass and felt an instant sigh of relief.

I'm at a loss as understand to why people won't buy a 1 series hatchback, but will buy this thing.

[2totalled2months]

Dropped mine off today, got a 328i with the turbo four. As far as the engine goes, wonderful power from a four, its not a 135 but its quick and nice growl not whine. The trans is pretty awesone, standard dci. Handling is crisp and precise but zero road feel from steering wheel. I did notice a bit of problem with maintain a constant speed, engine seems to seek power then let off. Gas mileage was awesome so far at about 26 around town. The on off feature sucks and is very abrupt when at a light and u remove ur foot from the break, the engine starts and jumps. Ride quality was pretty BMW, smooth and effortless,,,,too much effortless in the steering as mentioned before. Its overly light and doesn't let u feel the road, inside was typical BMW which declines year after year, must every car b loaded with plastic? Overall, Id buy for a highway traveler, great gas and smooth ride, power when needed. Not a 135i

[doublevanosrc]

Ha I'm going in this week, told my adviser that i wanted an F30 328 as well. Looking forward to the compare BMWs new direction.

[doublevanosrc]

Just got a basic no line F30 with premium pkg, impressions so far it's a nice and comfy car but that turbo 4 is just awesome!! It's probably the highlight of the car so far that and the 8 speed box. The ride is comfy but sort of disconnected just like steering. Probably gonna have it over the weekend so i should have some more time to evaluated it.

[Larz]

I had mine done a couple of weeks ago and got a brand new Hyundai Elantra. It had the worst steering feel and floated all over the road.

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by 1coupe

I had mine done a couple of weeks ago and got a brand new Hyundai Elantra. It had the worst steering feel and floated all over the road.

[Vigilante375]

I had a F30 sport line 328i with a HUD comfort access and some other stuff that brought the price up to something like $10k over the base price. It had over 7k miles on it so it was broken in quite well. It felt ok but the steering did feel off and sport mode was weird. It stayed revved over 2k even when the cruise was set to 65 on a flat stretch of road. Then braking was like hard since it was engine braking being so high up in the revs.

I did like the back up camera, HUD (polarized lens made it hard to see) and the keyless entry and go feature. Nice car but I not impressed. The steering wheel buttons were totally different and I only used the cruise and volume buttons.

[zoomnad]

My wife's Honda CRV. I do my own work or use a independent shop.