Hello! New member here.

[JCip91]

Hello everyone!

I purchased a used 135i last week and I thought I would say hi. But a little background info first. Why? Cause my only class today is golf and it starts at 1.

For tl;dr skip to bottom.

My BMW lifestyle started in 2010 with a fully loaded black on black 2004 330ci 6-speed. It was amazing. The silky smooth straight 6 and 6 gears to manually sold me on this master race that is BMW. I was hooked on day one. Unfortunately I do not have pre-mod pictures. These two will have to do.

Attachment 1280378
Not me. A close friend wanted to take pictures with his new camera.

Attachment 1280379

The mod bug hit me hard. I looked up tons of performance parts ranging from "Electronic Superchargers" to whistler tips to cold air intakes. Since this was my first real car I was naive. Luckily e46fanactics saved me. I spent the first 2 years of ownership doing preventive maintenance.

In 2012, to finally end the maintenance phase, i dumped money into the car. I bought an entire coolant system refresh, better brakes, brake pads, CCV, and fuel filter. I was tired of wrenching on the car without directly feeling the results.

Finally finished with maintenance I was able to start performance stuff. First thing was a BMW Performance SSK followed by the H&R Touring Cup Kit. Both were great mods. I had a Dinan Strut Bar given to me during my first year of ownership and that along with the Cup Kit really made the car corner hard.

Go fast mods were a Shark Injector and a Dinan Intake. Did not really add horsepower but it definitely increased the throttle response. I also was convinced from a good friend to do a muffler delete. The sound was awesome and for the money you can't really beat it.

I could list everything I did but it would be too long. I loved the car and even though it was not fast in the straights it was a dream in the corners. Anyone who drove an e46 knows how nice these cars are in driving feel and responsiveness.


Then tragedy struck 4 weeks ago when the e46 was rear ended and forced into the car in front of me. It was totaled and I was heartbroken. I had a Dart to fool around in for the next 3 weeks. The dart was not all that bad. It was slower than the 330 but it was comfy and very quiet. My mind started to get tainted with ideas of Darts and Dart mods. I thought I was lost until I saw a 2012 TiAg 135i in DCT near where I go to college. I quickly went for a test drive and I fell in love all over again.

Well I ended up buying the car. The DCT is awesome and launch control is a blast. I wanted a DCT instead of a manual because my fiance cannot drive manual. I tried to teach her in the 330 but to no avail. She is the only person though that I know that shifted from first to second without using the clutch. I tried but could not do it.

I love the 135i so far. The torque is intoxicating and the overrun is an eargasm. I was a lurker in the e46 forum but I will try to help where ever I can here! Pictures are not working for me right now...I will post when I can.

tl;dr: Wrecked e46 330 and bought an e82 135i in DCT.

Also if anyone can point me to a VIN decoder that would be great. I tried to use the one here in German but it did not give me anything...nothing at all. Every field was blank.

[Esteban]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new ride. Sorry to hear about your E46 but the 1er will help you forget. I have the DCT as well and love it. Hope you have better luck with your new car.

Here is a link to the English version VIN decoder but it doesn't seem to be working right now.

http://www.bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

Edit: VIN decoder is currently working, but now it's in German.

[tock172]

I owned and totaled 2 330i sedans, a 2002 and a 2004. I put 50,000 miles on the '04 and modified it tastefully for autocross. I do miss my E46 from time to time, but the E82 is a superior vehicle. Welcome!

[Matticus91]

Welcome! Can't see the pics though

[Schalldampfer1]

Welcome!

[JCip91]

Thank you everyone! The e82 is helping forget the e46. And pictures are still not working for me...I need to lower the resolution.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Welcome !

[swagon]

Willkommen!

[edisapimp]

Welcome here. I'll never sell my e46. Not because I love it, more because it'll probably only fetch about $50.

But I love it. Good luck and happy motoring.

[SD_E88]

Welcome! Can't see the pics!

[JCip91]

I hope these work. Still can not upload pictures... If they are too biig I am sorry.

[Esteban]

Pics work fine. Too bad about your E46. Nice looking 1er!