Millennial Invasion or What?

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by MGM135is

Nice.

My toys:



The 848 has had some work on it. Full Ohlins suspension (25mm fork cartridges and TTX shock) sprung for my weight and fork tube polishing, 1198 Brembo monoblock front brakes, and Acculign rearsets.

To keep this post relevant to the thread, I'm the original owner of my 2013 135i DCT with PPK2 and some other minor mods.

S1000RR and me at VIR this year

[Gray_Panther]

27 here and original owner of 2012 128i.

I feel we will soon be flooded with 18-24 year olds that will be so attracted to a cheap 135i that we will be bombarded with the new posts The TC mentioned.

I really hope that those who want to act the big shot but ball on a budget will steer away from the E82/88. Because, let's face it, after taking a 15k loan and dumping another 3k on wheels, stance and tune they will want to be heard by whoever.

This is a unique car from BMW, and it has attracted unique drivers who mostly care about one thing....the pleasure of driving.

[MightyMouseTech]

Bought my '13 1er new right at the end of production, luckily they started offering the special "M Sport Edition" right when I was ordering it. Will be keeping it for a long, long, looooooong time.

I make both kinds of posts.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Bought my '13 1er new right at the end of production. Will be keeping it for a long, long, looooooong time.

I make both kinds of posts.

No plans to part with mine as well.

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by MotoWPK

Waving is great. In the days of my first cars, Triumphs in the '60's, it was common for drivers in sports cars to wave at each other, but that died out quite a while ago (too bad). Still, I'll often wave at another cabrio coming down the road with their top down, BMW or other, as I'll get a wave in response about half the time.

I applaud your efforts to rejuvenate this cordial tradition.

I have distinct mixed feelings about waving. It would be great if other 1-Series owners would acknowledge me, because they are so rare where I live (NE Ohio). But very few return the greeting when I flash my high beams or wave.

On my motorcycle, it is a completely different story. Everyone on two wheels thinks that it is somehow important to give "the wave" every time they pass someone on any form of motorcycle. I can understand this phenomenon on those rare warm days in January, or on the first great riding day of Spring when there is one biker every hundred miles or so. But in the height of the riding season, it is aggravating to have to return a wave every 15 seconds or so. Can you imagine if everyone driving any make or model of car felt the need to wave at you as you tried to drive somewhere? Argh!!

Color me unsociable when I am on two wheels...but please wave to me when I am in my 135!

Peace

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by MGM135is

Well shoot. Now I've got drool all over my keyboard.


Here's my current ride somewhere in New Mexico, I think...

[FrostyDC4]

Originally Posted by e34m5

Original owner. 2008 135i. PDC. 150k miles.

OP: There are no stupid questions. Only stupid people asking questions.

How has your car held up?

[FrostyDC4]

Originally Posted by Esteban

No plans to part with mine as well.

Same here

[drunkenup]

There is a thread just like this on M3post that reeks of elitism and entitlement to some sort of superior master status. Not sure what to make of a discussion on the same topic towards a much cheaper and more mundane model. I won't speak for the stancers, but this is almost a decade old platform, if the potential for power, looks, and competition is what makes this car desirable (or just badge), so be it.

I'm 20 years old and took out a small chunk for it. I bought it to autocross, hpde, you name it. E82s need a ton of work to be competitive and the knowledge behind that only comes around later on, which is quite ironic, because, the general population on 1addicts is *still* so conservative when it comes to wheel/tire fitment you actually have to turn to the the stance crowd to figure out how to get the most tire under the fenders. I'm happy for everyone who bought these cars new- but if you want a 9 year old community that doesn't ask for a silver platter of answers you need to buy a pcar or better, or, just ignore the trash discussions. Just my 2c, no big picture here.

[mackeroni]

Yeah. That's about right.

[snub-nose 28]

Originally Posted by drunkenup

There is a thread just like this on M3post that reeks of elitism and entitlement to some sort of superior master status. Not sure what to make of a discussion on the same topic towards a much cheaper and more mundane model. I won't speak for the stancers, but this is almost a decade old platform, if the potential for power, looks, and competition is what makes this car desirable so be it. >>sniped for brevity...<< E82s need a ton of work to be competitive and the knowledge behind that only comes around later on, which is quite ironic

Elitism is not generally synonymous within our mundane vehicle 'community' IMO. Elitism usually has a Big$$ component. 1 series never did, new or old. More elite BM's were awarded those accolades due to an excellent range of performance offerings. So it cannot be elitism for 1addicts.

Cannot speak for anyone else here. Simply stated: Weight is The Enemy. Age of platform happens, as it does to the 993. High water marks happen, recognized in the fullness of time.

Either company chases constantly moving target(s). Will they capture the magic again? Yes, witness the Cayman GT4. Will BMW achieve another pocket rocket? Will Porsche make another Speedster?

The 1-series began cheap and cheerful. That they can be improved, that potential is their essential appeal. "Need a ton of work to be competitive..." indeed! That they're rare underscores un-profitability of premium small cars in the market broadly.

The Irony: BMW's fundamental engineering exercise based upon a flawed performance premise for the retail market: engineer it heavy, but make it 'lighter' !... by adopting run-flats?

What?? Save the weight of a spare (+ some tools), then comprehensively compromise its ride/suspension performance recipe? In a BMW?

Why the forum(s) appeal? It responds mahvelously to fixin' all that compromised stuff ($$). It remains at essence, when summoned: a rowdy-yet civilized-sports car. or a DD, or a long-distance tourer-dare I say GT. or a track toy? Yes certainly.

For you millennials I suggest wiki to recall in part the original Speedster, a Max Hoffman concept requesting that they add lightness. Not a focus group in sight...

Checks a lot of the boxes on my humble list! End-of-the-line and, my ramble.

[tock172]

I've definitely got some pretty strong feelings about this. I am not an original owner, but I've been a member of this board since I first considered purchasing a 1-series, and I previously owned 6 other BMWs and an Audi S4, all of which seemed to be a bit past their prime in one way or another. I've been through the ringer in terms of maintenance, repairs, and everything you can imagine, all of which makes me incredibly appreciative of my 135i which I worked very hard to get. I've easily spent the cost of my 135i in maintenance and nonsense on my previous cars, so it's a really nice thing to own a car that hardly needs anything that's only driven when I want.

My birth year definitely makes me a millennial, but I have very little in common with with what the term implies in popular vernacular. One thing I've definitely noticed which I'd like to emphasize are the 135i Facebook groups. I joined two at some point over the past year and they are downright awful. They are full of millennials and if you aren't interested in tuning your engine within an inch of it's life, don't bother joining. I was lambasted and physically threatened with violence for articulating my position on the N55/N54 debate. It seems like a lot of the 2nd and 3rd owner's of these cars bought them for one purpose: to modify and beat the hell out of. I've seen the same thing on the E36 and E46 forums, but I fear it's even worse with the 135i because of the tuning potential of the turbo engines. This forum remains a welcome relief compared to the discussions on the Facebook groups.

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by snub-nose 28

Elitism is not generally synonymous within our mundane vehicle 'community' IMO. Elitism usually has a Big$$ component. 1 series never did, new or old. More elite BM's were awarded those accolades due to an excellent range of performance offerings. So it cannot be elitism for 1addicts.

Cannot speak for anyone else here. Simply stated: Weight is The Enemy. Age of platform happens, as it does to the 993. High water marks happen, recognized in the fullness of time.

Either company chases constantly moving target(s). Will they capture the magic again? Yes, witness the Cayman GT4. Will BMW achieve another pocket rocket? Will Porsche make another Speedster?

The 1-series began cheap and cheerful. That they can be improved, that potential is their essential appeal. "Need a ton of work to be competitive..." indeed! That they're rare underscores un-profitability of premium small cars in the market broadly.

The Irony: BMW's fundamental engineering exercise based upon a flawed performance premise for the retail market: engineer it heavy, but make it 'lighter' !... by adopting run-flats?

What?? Save the weight of a spare (+ some tools), then comprehensively compromise its ride/suspension performance recipe? In a BMW?

Why the forum(s) appeal? It responds mahvelously to fixin' all that compromised stuff ($$). It remains at essence, when summoned: a rowdy-yet civilized-sports car. or a DD, or a long-distance tourer-dare I say GT. or a track toy? Yes certainly.

For you millennials I suggest wiki to recall in part the original Speedster, a Max Hoffman concept requesting that they add lightness. Not a focus group in sight...

Checks a lot of the boxes on my humble list! End-of-the-line and, my ramble.

Some good thoughts here. Thanks for taking the time.

Peace

[champignon]

As these cars decline in value they will attract some owners who are looking to buy the most car they can get for their limited dollars. The same applies to any aging automobile.

The 1 is however more or less the end of the line for the type of car that BMW used to make rather unceremoniously, that appealed to a certain sort of driver who wanted to be "one" with the car and who didn't really care all that much about prestige. Those days are long gone in the house of BMW, and basically nothing they offer now fits that description.

Twenty years ago basically everything that BMW made was designed for the joy of driving, and it didn't matter how many horsepower were under the hood. The attempt to compete with Mercedes, and later the Japanese luxury brands changed all of that. And then finally they (BMW) more or less abandoned the people who used to be their fan base, those who valued performance and "connectedness" over luxury and prestige.

It didn't use to be necessary to buy an M car in order to get a BMW that was fun to drive. Even now, the only M car remaining that is connected and is fun to drive, in the classical sense, is probably the M2, although I infer that from what I have read, never having actually driven one. I can draw conclusions from the many other BMWs I have been given as loaners (I do have 4 BMWs in my stable and I use the dealer to service all of them, so I have driven lots of loaners, 3's, 5's, X's, electrics, etc), and those conclusions are NOT good. I wouldn't take any of the cars I have been loaned FOR FREE.

The 1 Series cars were and are fun to drive in the classical BMW sense. The 128i isn't particularly powerful but it corners well and is every bit a real BMW. The 135i is really more or less like an M car in my view, lots of power and most of them came with performance options such as sports seats, and all of them had sports suspensions. Throw an M steering wheel on there and you have an M, as far as I am concerned. Hydraulic steering just rounds out the picture on both models.

I have 3 of the 1 Series cars, all bought used, and I don't plan to sell any of them.

[ejm3]

The OP answered their own question; the cars aren't $35-$50k anymore. They sell for half that now.

So the demographic skews younger because now younger people can afford the cars.

I don't think its good or bad. I still get good info here.

[Matticus91]

This kind of evolution will happen with pretty much any car. As the car is retired or goes through new generations you'll obviously see less posts about order options and more about maintenance. As cost declines the number of younger owners will increase.

I'm 25 and bought my first 1er last year at $21k (2011 135i), lost her to a flood and bought the current 1er (loaded '13 135i) at nearly $30k all said and done.

[tock172]

Another automotive friend of mine coined the acronym FPFQ, for falling price, falling quality as it relates to cars. Essentially the perfect term to describe what happens to cool cars when they depreciate to the point where lower tier people can afford to purchase them, but not properly maintain them.

[Angelo_E82]

The 2013 135is was my third car and I unfortunately totaled it a week ago. But since I loved it so much I bought another one. Got lucky and found another of the 5xx sold in North America (had to drive a bit lol) but I 100% agree forums are flooded with with young people with sometimes dumb questions but it does in the end leave anyone needing to know anything with a lot of info which is the whole point of a forum.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Angelo_E82

The 2013 135is was my third car and I unfortunately totaled it a week ago. But since I loved it so much I bought another one. Got lucky and found another of the 5xx sold in North America (had to drive a bit lol) but I 100% agree forums are flooded with with young people with sometimes dumb questions but it does in the end leave anyone needing to know anything with a lot of info which is the whole point of a forum.

Off topic - sorry about your previous "is". Hope nobody was hurt. Congrats on your new one. Carbon Black (new one?) is an awesome color. Hopefully your luck is better with this one.

[tock172]

Originally Posted by Angelo_E82

The 2013 135is was my third car and I unfortunately totaled it a week ago. But since I loved it so much I bought another one. Got lucky and found another of the 5xx sold in North America (had to drive a bit lol) but I 100% agree forums are flooded with with young people with sometimes dumb questions but it does in the end leave anyone needing to know anything with a lot of info which is the whole point of a forum.

If you think the forums are bad, don't go near the Facebook groups. This forum remains a breath of fresh air compared to most of the other communities out there.

[Gray_Panther]

Originally Posted by tock172

If you think the forums are bad, don't go near the Facebook groups. This forum remains a breath of fresh air compared to most of the other communities out there.

Different car manufacturer but:

It still irks me what happened to the VW MKIV forum on vwvortex. That place used to be so cool, filled with really unique and creative ideas until the MKIV's became so cheap that posers invaded it. With all the stance and wheels posts and flaming anyone who didn't modify their car to match their 'unique' VW.

[desertman123]

Some of the crowd around my school is annoying for these reasons. Once people see I got the 128i and not at 135i, they usually walk away uninterested. Basically gotta have mommy buy you at new 335i with FBO to get attention around here.

Originally Posted by tock172

If you think the forums are bad, don't go near the Facebook groups. This forum remains a breath of fresh air compared to most of the other communities out there.

Facebook groups are on another level of stupidity. I'm a part of a ton of mechanic/car repair ones and it's a constant shit show of who can out-dumb the other.