Kinda wish I had a six speed...

[Dr. Jello]

I got my 135i as a daily but I really wish I had gotten a 6 speed
Not gonna lie, I miss smashing through the gears on the twisties....

Love my car though, I really want some angel eyes but I'm afraid they will flicker and break my adaptive headlights and shit... LOL.
I'm thinking about picking up a Injen intake as well or maybe a M2 or a V8 m3 -HAHA well that escalated.

Naw seriously my next mods are gonna be the intake and perhaps a Berk Racing Exhaust.

Couple of Pics

[IEDEI]

trade it for a manual...

[ChillFill]

doesnt it already come with angel eyes? mine does

[JH135is]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

trade it for a manual...

they are increasingly hard to find in good shape or how we want them optioned.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by JH135is

they are increasingly hard to find in good shape or how we want them optioned.

135s?? tons of them around!!

[Cavpilot2k]

There are plently of them, but it is hard to be picky about color. When I was hunting for mine this time last year, it took me a few months to find a low-mileage, properly optioned (M-sport w/heated seats) 6MT in the color I wanted (either black). But if I didn't care about color, there were tons of options on Auto Trader and BMW used site.

[JH135is]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

135s?? tons of them around!!

I guess I should have been more clear...within a 500 mile radius of where I live there are only about 6 ( on the major websites) 135i/135is coupes that I would even consider ( condition, mileage, price) 6 spd, etc....while I don't consider them rare, in the NE east at least I can say that they are fairly uncommon.

[PA135i]

I know this doesn't help you.. but that's the chance you take for not buying new.
I believe it's better to buy used.. but you may have to go with your second or third choice on colors and options.

I have a 6MT and wish I had a second car as a daily. Summer time with no school and less traffic is fine but otherwise it's a bitch.

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by PA135i

I have a 6MT and wish I had a second car as a daily. Summer time with no school and less traffic is fine but otherwise it's a bitch.

To each his own, but I daily drive with a lot of stop-and-go, and I still enjoy my 6MT and not once have I ever wished I had the convenience of an automatic. But then again, every car I have owned in my 20+ years of ownership has been a MT, so for me it isn't inconvenient or more work, it's just what driving is.


OP: why are you set on w/in 500 miles? I had an excellent experience buying my current 135 sight-unseen from a dealer in Florida and having it shipped to Boston. I considered flying down to check it out and maybe even driving it home, but opted not to because I knew the dealer was reputable and the car came with a CPO warranty.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

To each his own, but I daily drive with a lot of stop-and-go, and I still enjoy my 6MT and not once have I ever wished I had the convenience of an automatic. But then again, every car I have owned in my 20+ years of ownership has been a MT, so for me it isn't inconvenient or more work, it's just what driving is.


OP: why are you set on w/in 500 miles? I had an excellent experience buying my current 135 sight-unseen from a dealer in Florida and having it shipped to Boston. I considered flying down to check it out and maybe even driving it home, but opted not to because I knew the dealer was reputable and the car came with a CPO warranty.

totally agree. i drive my 1M every single day through 120 miles of NYC and Long Island traffic jams and have NO issues. In fact i'd much rather drive a manual in heavy traffic than an automatic.......hate riding the brakes all day with an autobox.

and yes if one is shopping for a used car...it should be a national search. why limit to 500 miles!?

[JH135is]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

and yes if one is shopping for a used car...it should be a national search. why limit to 500 miles!?

I dot think the OP is, that was me that mentioned 500miles and I was just pointing out that depending on where you are finding a 6spd that may or may not match your criteria is not all that easy....Most people aren't comfortable with purchasing sight unseen or spending the money to travel to a dealer on to find out that car isn't what they thought it was...would I do it...sure..but Im still more inclined to work with someone somewhat local....My advice to the OP, keep your car, it looks great

[drewster99]

I flew from NY to Oklahoma to pick up my car because it was the only low mileage red/6speed/M-sport for sale in the country at the time.

So worth the extra time and hassle to get exactly what I wanted.

[ShocknAwe]

Drove 9 hours each way to go buy mine. Whatever it takes to get what you want. Was my first choice on color inside and out, transmission, engine, everything. I would have gone cross country if needed.

That being said:

Get yourself some PIAA H8 bulbs for your angel eyes. The stock E82 angel eyes were designed to work with halogen bulbs. I did the LED kits and they never worked well, are expensive, and clutter up an already very tight spot. PIAA makes bulbs in a fairly wide color temperature range. I love my 2500K rings. But they make a Pearl White and other similar colors at 5000ish Kelvin that are virtually pure white and extremely bright.

Once you do that, use the Carly/BMwhat app to turn up the voltage on the AE DRLs. It's a factory BMW option hard set into our cars coding options. Works great.

[Cobber77]

Coming from 2 BMWs with auto trans - I was finally able to find everything I wanted in my 135i -- 6MT, sport package, cold weather -- and a great color -cashmere silver. I wasn't looking for a 1 -- until that all came together.

[champignon]

Carmax usually has a number of them, and they will transfer cars around for an acceptable price, depending on the distance. Then you can check it out and you will only be out the transfer fee if you don't buy.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

There are plently of them....... there were tons of options on Auto Trader and BMW used site.

Manuals are hard to find and you have to be careful of the websites. Many of them will state "Manual Transmission" in the listing. But if you look at the interior pictures of the car it is not a manual six speed transmission.

I flew out and drove 1600 miles home to find my car - a low mileage CPO, manual trans, deep sea blue coupe with manual sport seats and no sunroof. It's only lacking the sport suspension which I will correct later this year (and do it my way).

[PA135i]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

To each his own, but I daily drive with a lot of stop-and-go, and I still enjoy my 6MT and not once have I ever wished I had the convenience of an automatic. But then again, every car I have owned in my 20+ years of ownership has been a MT, so for me it isn't inconvenient or more work, it's just what driving is.

Your exactly right. to each his own. I have been driving stick for 30 years.. so I know what it's like in all conditions. But, in heavy slow moving traffic it is a PIA that's just a fact. (Now I know I'm going to get 100 comments on .... why they don't mind it.) But, I could do without that chore of feathering the clutch every 3 seconds only to advance 20 feet..lol.. I have recently had that experience.. what a joy that was and it lasted for over an hour.

I love shifting.... love driving my car. But, would not mind having a second car for many reasons. Including Winter travel. perhaps a 2005 Rav4 or similar.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by KNS

Manuals are hard to find and you have to be careful of the websites. Many of them will state "Manual Transmission" in the listing. But if you look at the interior pictures of the car it is not a manual six speed transmission.

This is by far the most frustrating part about looking for used 128i and 135i/is cars.

You also find it with E46 cars with SMG, which usually get listed as manuals when no one wanting a manual would take one.

At least half of my time looking for used 1-Series cars was wasted narrowing down a list of cars, most of which turned out to be automatics once I started looking at the pictures or using the VIN lookups if the pictures were not useful.

Even the BMW CPO website lists some autos as if they were manuals.

Only Carmax was almost 100% correct in their listings.

[Cavpilot2k]

Yeah, I sifted through more than my fair share of "manuals" that were revealed by photos to be otherwise.

Also, it is worth noting that the 135 I bought sight-unseen from Florida was my second 135 of the same (2012) model year (my lease was rear-ended with frame damage, so I didn't want to buy it at lease end), so I didn't need to test drive or anything, since I already knew exactly what I was getting.

[e36addict]

I love the DCT for the sound and the traffic situations. Getting back in the 1er after driving the Zed for a while is always a relief. I'm getting lazy!

[KNS]

To avoid confusion in website ads for enthusiast cars they should state very plainly: "This car has a clutch pedal". Saves everybody a lot of time.

I remember making a few phone calls inquiring about cars and the sales guy would say "Sure, it's a six speed". You really need to ask "How many pedals does it have - two or three?".

[Dr. Jello]

I was just expressing a little buyers remorse. Hahah, a little... My car before was a Mustang with a heavy ass clutch, so I thought the DCT would be a good change of pace.

Probably will make this my daily and pick up a E92 or Boss 302 as my weekend warrior.