Last moments with the 135i.. Final thoughts

Timberwolf · 02-26-2013, 12:40 PM

My Space Gray 135i goes back in the next 36 hours. Pound for pound, this car was the Roy Jones of cars. For 40k new, it was simply the best car I've ever had, and that says a lot as I've had many.
From 997 Turbo to Z06 vettes, Shelby's, and 8 different BMWs of which 5 were M cars etc...

After 38K miles, and plenty of abuse and mods to test the car's resilience, I'm amazed the stock clutch and drivetrain held up so well. With 400+ wheel hp via meth, jb4, DPs and intake, the car still hums like a finely tuned clock.
The only issues I had where a couple of fuel pumps and window motor, over 38 months. Very acceptable and all addressed under warranty.

Little quibbles I have are the following:
- No passenger vanity mirror light. (I had 0 options except M sport) Started many arguments with wife when she needed makeup retouch on date night lol

- Lack of limited slip diff separates this car from an M car and kills the ability to put power down, drift and corner tightly.

- Lack of intermittent speeds for wipers for those times when auto doesn't cut it. That and the light for auto requires Cirque du Soleil acrobatics to see. STUPID MOVE from the designers...

Everything else was amazing! Averaged 21.9 mpg with a mix of city and highway. My wife's 328 Xdrive F30 barely beats that at 22.8 (lead foot)
Very impressive for a car that runs low 10s 60 to 130 with over 450 ft lbs torque!

The only cars to ever beat me were ESS VT 600 M3s, which I could beat under 100mph, my Z06 Vette and my tuned 997 Turbo. Everything else lost!

Some of the wins: 5.0 Mustang., E90 M3s tuned without boost, 997 Turbo Cab stock, Aston Vantage V8, Audi S4 pulley/tune, 335s FBO, 750LI, STIs tuned, EVOs tuned, Lotus Exiges tuned, Carrera S, Dodge Challenger, C6 vette tuned and others not truly note worthy.

Even with snow tires, I never had issues in snowy conditions. I must say my impression of BMW have changed in the last 3 years. Service at my dealer needs work, but the brand is building solid cars. Hope the next one surpasses my expectations.

Thanks,

G

foghat · 02-26-2013, 12:49 PM

So what you replacing it with? I love my 135i and sure what I'd replace it with short of spending double the price.

cooler2442 · 02-26-2013, 12:51 PM

Good write up. Hope to see you back in a future 235i or M2 maybe?

IZAGLO · 02-26-2013, 12:58 PM

Indeed, the 135i is an amazing car for the money....and maybe one of the BEST car's to buy used...as they are going for half for what we bought them for...My last day is today as well...although the 135i stay's in the family...going to my son. I will hopefully be staying in the BMW family in the future as well.....Just PLEASE BMW do not screw up the M2....and PLEASE offer at least one of your X1,X3 boats with a 6/MT...or even a X1M.....the car i was waiting for and all you are offering is auto trans....The Ultimate Driving machine should offer a M/T for the folks who want to stay totally engaged in driving.....

Colt · 02-26-2013, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberwolf

- Lack of intermittent speeds for wipers for those times when auto doesn't cut it. That and the light for auto requires Cirque du Soleil acrobatics to see. STUPID MOVE from the designers...

This bugs the shit out of me as well. What's your next car?

135Pats · 02-26-2013, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angerman

This bugs the shit out of me as well. What's your next car?

Wow yes. Having to peek over the steering wheel to see if the green light is on is no good. That, and the auto wipers just suck in general. A small price to pay for the motor though.

Timberwolf · 02-26-2013, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angerman

This bugs the shit out of me as well. What's your next car?

Well my wife is 6 months pregnant so I need a couple of extra doors and some additional room, so it looks like I'll be moving 5 tabs down on the menu above. Can you guess what it is? (easy one)

Lol on the wipers...

Colt · 02-26-2013, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 135Pats

Wow yes. Having to peek over the steering wheel to see if the green light is on is no good. That, and the auto wipers just suck in general. A small price to pay for the motor though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberwolf

Well my wife is 6 months pregnant so I need a couple of extra doors and some additional room, so it looks like I'll be moving 5 tabs down on the menu above. Can you guess what it is? (easy one)

335 FBO?

mikead_99 · 02-26-2013, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberwolf

Well my wife is 6 months pregnant so I need a couple of extra doors and some additional room, so it looks like I'll be moving 5 tabs down on the menu above. Can you guess what it is? (easy one)

Lol on the wipers...

Lol, I think your signature says it all. Congrats, I'm sure that will be a great ride.

Bavarian54bimmer · 02-26-2013, 02:20 PM

It's Going back after, you mean it's a rental??? if so how can the dealer takes it back with all the FBO mods?? . you mean you can just put back the OEM's and they'll never even notice it and this car might be a CPO soon?

Timberwolf · 02-26-2013, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angerman

335 FBO?

Was not impressed with the F30's I played with and the notion of the N55 gives me a headache. Time for some S63 love.

Timberwolf · 02-26-2013, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bavarian54bimmer

It's Going back after, you mean it's a rental??? if so how can the dealer takes it back with all the FBO mods?? . you mean you can just put back the OEM's and they'll never even notice it and this car might be a CPO soon?

Car was put back to stock! It's a lease. Never went too crazy on the mod side so it was easy to reverse

Bavarian54bimmer · 02-26-2013, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timberwolf

Car was put back to stock! It's a lease. Never went too crazy on the mod side so it was easy to reverse

thanks for the answer sir

i don't know what's your replacement but even though you had a 997 tt MK1 i suggest you consider the 997 TT MK2 it's a totally different beast , no turbo lag and if you get it with torque vectoring you'll forget the old 1

and it's way quicker as well.

good luck

RnmEvo9 · 02-26-2013, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bavarian54bimmer

thanks for the answer sir

i don't know what's your replacement but even though you had a 997 tt MK1 i suggest you consider the 997 TT MK2 it's a totally different beast , no turbo lag and if you get it with torque vectoring you'll forget the old 1

and it's way quicker as well.

good luck

Not really, the 997.1 has the last of the true GT1 Metzger style engine, true dry sump, and is perhaps the greatest Porsche production engine ever with the G50 tranny.

NickyC · 02-26-2013, 10:35 PM

I have the same opinion of my 135i. I was looking sell my Stage 2+ car some months back, but could never justify it. There's simply nothing in the price range that even comes close in my opinion, when you take everything into account. Performance, looks, comfort, branding, etc. I simply love the fact of how simple my car is inside, no stupid iDrive, not buttons all over the place, just a simple interior. About the only luxury feature I have is heated seats, as the seats themselves aren't even powered. They are just great little cars, and I look forward to adding some more things to mine over the coming years.

02-26-2013, 12:40 PM	#1
Timberwolf Captain 196 Rep 785 Posts Drives: People crazy Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Location, Location iTrader: (0)	Last moments with the 135i.. Final thoughts My Space Gray 135i goes back in the next 36 hours. Pound for pound, this car was the Roy Jones of cars. For 40k new, it was simply the best car I've ever had, and that says a lot as I've had many. From 997 Turbo to Z06 vettes, Shelby's, and 8 different BMWs of which 5 were M cars etc... After 38K miles, and plenty of abuse and mods to test the car's resilience, I'm amazed the stock clutch and drivetrain held up so well. With 400+ wheel hp via meth, jb4, DPs and intake, the car still hums like a finely tuned clock. The only issues I had where a couple of fuel pumps and window motor, over 38 months. Very acceptable and all addressed under warranty. Little quibbles I have are the following: - No passenger vanity mirror light. (I had 0 options except M sport) Started many arguments with wife when she needed makeup retouch on date night lol - Lack of limited slip diff separates this car from an M car and kills the ability to put power down, drift and corner tightly. - Lack of intermittent speeds for wipers for those times when auto doesn't cut it. That and the light for auto requires Cirque du Soleil acrobatics to see. STUPID MOVE from the designers... Everything else was amazing! Averaged 21.9 mpg with a mix of city and highway. My wife's 328 Xdrive F30 barely beats that at 22.8 (lead foot) Very impressive for a car that runs low 10s 60 to 130 with over 450 ft lbs torque! The only cars to ever beat me were ESS VT 600 M3s, which I could beat under 100mph, my Z06 Vette and my tuned 997 Turbo. Everything else lost! Some of the wins: 5.0 Mustang., E90 M3s tuned without boost, 997 Turbo Cab stock, Aston Vantage V8, Audi S4 pulley/tune, 335s FBO, 750LI, STIs tuned, EVOs tuned, Lotus Exiges tuned, Carrera S, Dodge Challenger, C6 vette tuned and others not truly note worthy. Even with snow tires, I never had issues in snowy conditions. I must say my impression of BMW have changed in the last 3 years. Service at my dealer needs work, but the brand is building solid cars. Hope the next one surpasses my expectations. Thanks, G __________________ 991 Turbo 993 GT2 Outlaw
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02-26-2013, 12:49 PM	#2
foghat Captain 59 Rep 913 Posts Drives: 2008 135i Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Great White North iTrader: (1)	So what you replacing it with? I love my 135i and sure what I'd replace it with short of spending double the price.
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02-26-2013, 12:51 PM	#3
cooler2442 Brigadier General 477 Rep 4,154 Posts Drives: 1/18 Monte Carlo Blue E92 M3 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Los Angeles iTrader: (6) Garage List 2016 Porsche GT4 [0.00]	Good write up. Hope to see you back in a future 235i or M2 maybe?
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02-26-2013, 12:58 PM	#4
IZAGLO Mbira 30 Rep 1,011 Posts Drives: Sedonna Red 09 135i SOLD Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Garage cleaning Brake Dust iTrader: (3)	Indeed, the 135i is an amazing car for the money....and maybe one of the BEST car's to buy used...as they are going for half for what we bought them for...My last day is today as well...although the 135i stay's in the family...going to my son. I will hopefully be staying in the BMW family in the future as well.....Just PLEASE BMW do not screw up the M2....and PLEASE offer at least one of your X1,X3 boats with a 6/MT...or even a X1M.....the car i was waiting for and all you are offering is auto trans....The Ultimate Driving machine should offer a M/T for the folks who want to stay totally engaged in driving..... __________________
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02-26-2013, 02:20 PM	#10
Bavarian54bimmer Second Lieutenant 54 Rep 216 Posts Drives: Alpine White 2008 135i Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Montreal , Canada iTrader: (0)	it's going back??? It's Going back after, you mean it's a rental??? if so how can the dealer takes it back with all the FBO mods?? . you mean you can just put back the OEM's and they'll never even notice it and this car might be a CPO soon? __________________ 2008 135i Alpine White 6MT/ BMW SSK / top HiFi logic 7 / Red Boston / Michelin PSS / PPK1 / OE Perf Discs with Cool Carbon /CDV Delete .
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02-26-2013, 10:35 PM	#15
NickyC Lieutenant General 17474 Rep 10,662 Posts Drives: M4 CS. Former G82, x2 F82, F80 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Jacked out of my mind iTrader: (23)	I have the same opinion of my 135i. I was looking sell my Stage 2+ car some months back, but could never justify it. There's simply nothing in the price range that even comes close in my opinion, when you take everything into account. Performance, looks, comfort, branding, etc. I simply love the fact of how simple my car is inside, no stupid iDrive, not buttons all over the place, just a simple interior. About the only luxury feature I have is heated seats, as the seats themselves aren't even powered. They are just great little cars, and I look forward to adding some more things to mine over the coming years.
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