BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      03-19-2008, 07:16 PM   #1
Thud
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My own humble thoughts on seeing the 135i in person...

United BMW in Roswell got theirs so I went and checked them out before they closed. I'll schedule a test drive for Saturday.

I took a couple of pics, but they're nothing new since they're the same demos that a lot of other dealers have been getting - a black/red 135i, and a sedona red 128i so I haven't uploaded the pics yet.

My thoughts... WOW! The car does look really good in person. It does look rather compact, especially from the rear-3/4 view, but it does not look tiny. I didn't get the "scared cat" impression in person that I see in the pictures.


Other notes and observations I made but that I haven't really read from anybody else:

* The red interior is nicely done. It's a bit more subdued than the red inside my Z06, I was afraid it would be too much red inside the 1er, but it's just shy of being in-your-face while still looking sporty. I think they picked exactly the right shade of red to use for an interior. I ordered Terra and I'm expecting that to look great as well.

* Gray poplar trim looked excellent, although I just know that it's going to reflect the sun into my face.

* One of the best feeling steering wheels I've felt in a car... ever (it had the sport package)

* Trunk was bigger than it looks in pictures. Not quite as deep vertically though, as I thought it was going to be. But there's plenty of room back there for luggage or a couple of corpses. This car might be practical after all.

* Exhaust note (I had somebody fire it up for me)- throatier than I expected, and nice and deep at idle. Well, it's not like my vette, but it's a nice different kind of sound. When you rev it, you can hear just enough whistle to know that there are turbos. Not quite as exotic sounding as the 335i... more of a smooth hum, but I expect to put some tasteful aftermarket exhaust on mine.

* The cupholders in the center console (in navless cars) look kind of cheap. Oh well... they're cupholders.

* Not at all cramped inside, but it's definitely going to be a fun go-kart kind of feel!

* Brake calipers look mighty impressive in person.

* Sedona red looks like burnt orange in the dealer showroom. I'd like to see what it looks like in natural light.


When I got there, a salesguy had just finished taking the 135 for a spin, he pulled up and the first thing he said to me was "This thing'll get you in trouble!"
:roundel:
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      03-19-2008, 07:20 PM   #2
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Thanks, Thud. Really looking forward to reading what a guy who drives a Z06 thinks about the 135i.
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Crimson Red/Terra 135i, delivered 4/19/08, traded in 9/8/08. Recovering addict, still a fan.
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      03-19-2008, 07:21 PM   #3
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Awesome! I saw Sedona for the first time today on a 128i, and was surprised how much brown there was in it. It's nowhere near as orangey as I thought it would be from pictures. It's a nice color.
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      03-19-2008, 07:22 PM   #4
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That's funny......my CA drove one and came back and said "We sell, and I have driven, all types of BMWs including the M cars here and I gotta tell you this car is SCARY FAST.
The owner of the dealership took one home last night and came in this morning with the same scary fast feeling.
So...It's not just us that know this thing is special.
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      03-19-2008, 07:22 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thud View Post
When I got there, a salesguy had just finished taking the 135 for a spin, he pulled up and the first thing he said to me was "This thing'll get you in trouble!"
:roundel:
Thats what i wanted to hear!:roundel:
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      03-19-2008, 07:24 PM   #6
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Thanks for your insight. I had the same thought about the red seats. They are actually pretty cool, but I figured they would be too much when I was looking at the pictures of it.
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      03-19-2008, 07:54 PM   #7
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I to went to the local dealer today.

The car was to big for a near useless back seat. Yep,,, Im in the it should have been smaller lighter camp. Car looks great! I was very impressed with the dash. It looked cheap in all the pictures Ive seen and honestly. Out dated. Looked great in person.

The 135 and 128 coupes they had were presold. They had two rag tops on the lot. The coupes looked way better. One of them had the metallic black paint. I was impressed with the fact it had very little orange peel. A lite wet sanding and a good polish and it would have been mirror finish. But for $475 bucks it should have been perfect. Told my SA. The paint has orange peel in it it will cost you. My time cost money also. Also hated to see $800 Xeons on the 128 rag tops.

Over all impressed with the car I went ahead and got pre approved and we did a work sheet on my two preferred configs.

First car: 135 coupe 6MT, Red, Red and Black Leather Alum. trim. Sport Package, Comfort Access.
Second car: 135 coupe 6MT, White, Tan Leatherette, Walnut trim. Sport Package, Comfort Access.

All in all a interesting car!

I was kind of mean today. When I first went to this dealer sometime ago I was snubbed by some fat ass salesman. Dropped me for GQ guy that walked in behind me. I made a point to go find him today with my pre approval package. Flipped the lid open where he could see the numbers and made sure he should never ever judge a book by the cover. Explained to him. The boots on my feet, the dirty jeans and the ill fitting tshirt make me a very good living. And the Mazda3 out front does a great job of carrying me 80 to 125 miles a day back and forth from work. My SA Ive been with since fat ass snubbed me was LOL in his cube/office. And then I told fat ass. OOOOO I have a real office with a jug in the drawer. Where is your? My SA was coming unglued.

So it was a fun moment after work.
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      03-19-2008, 09:12 PM   #8
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I don't understand the need

to show up a salesperson. He's trying to make a living and if you look like a bum and some guy looks the part, he's playing the percentages.
These guys work hard and should be cut some slack.
/rl
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      03-19-2008, 09:34 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psyshack View Post
I was kind of mean today.
Yup, you were.
You're clearly proud that you don't wear flashy clothes, yet you tell us a couple of times that you've been pre-approved to buy a flashy car (some would still call you a snob). You mock the salesman for being a fat ass, then you arrogantly try to teach him that appearances shouldn't matter (some would call you a hypocrite). Ah...the contradictions.
Welcome to 1Addicts. You're going to fit right in here.
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The 1-series is compact, endlessly involving, and absurdly fast...It is also more fun than a caffeinated circus monkey. - Automobile.

Crimson Red/Terra 135i, delivered 4/19/08, traded in 9/8/08. Recovering addict, still a fan.
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      03-19-2008, 09:53 PM   #10
Stew
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psyshack View Post
I to went to the local dealer today.

The car was to big for a near useless back seat. Yep,,, Im in the it should have been smaller lighter camp. Car looks great! I was very impressed with the dash. It looked cheap in all the pictures Ive seen and honestly. Out dated. Looked great in person.

The 135 and 128 coupes they had were presold. They had two rag tops on the lot. The coupes looked way better. One of them had the metallic black paint. I was impressed with the fact it had very little orange peel. A lite wet sanding and a good polish and it would have been mirror finish. But for $475 bucks it should have been perfect. Told my SA. The paint has orange peel in it it will cost you. My time cost money also. Also hated to see $800 Xeons on the 128 rag tops.

Over all impressed with the car I went ahead and got pre approved and we did a work sheet on my two preferred configs.

First car: 135 coupe 6MT, Red, Red and Black Leather Alum. trim. Sport Package, Comfort Access.
Second car: 135 coupe 6MT, White, Tan Leatherette, Walnut trim. Sport Package, Comfort Access.

All in all a interesting car!

I was kind of mean today. When I first went to this dealer sometime ago I was snubbed by some fat ass salesman. Dropped me for GQ guy that walked in behind me. I made a point to go find him today with my pre approval package. Flipped the lid open where he could see the numbers and made sure he should never ever judge a book by the cover. Explained to him. The boots on my feet, the dirty jeans and the ill fitting tshirt make me a very good living. And the Mazda3 out front does a great job of carrying me 80 to 125 miles a day back and forth from work. My SA Ive been with since fat ass snubbed me was LOL in his cube/office. And then I told fat ass. OOOOO I have a real office with a jug in the drawer. Where is your? My SA was coming unglued.

So it was a fun moment after work.
:smm7:
Brutal lol...but I definitely can relate. While I agree there is no real need to show off how much better your job may be, I think these kind of SAs need to be made aware that serious buyers dont all fit the same sterotype. Hopefully losing the sale to another SA will encourage him to become better at spotting serious customers other than by apperances alone. I've been to two dealers so far and neither of them seemed interested in selling me a car, oh well. Must have felt nice to show off the approval package tho =]
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      03-20-2008, 12:14 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rl in NJ View Post
to show up a salesperson. He's trying to make a living and if you look like a bum and some guy looks the part, he's playing the percentages.
These guys work hard and should be cut some slack.
/rl
If I dropped a cust. like that on my job. I wouldn't have one.
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      03-20-2008, 12:21 AM   #12
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Thud - I was there at the dealership next to you looking at the 135. I had just gotten done taking it for a spin before the guy at the dealer did. When do you get your car?
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      03-20-2008, 12:35 AM   #13
psyshack
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None the less. I really enjoyed looking over the 1's. I could of driven a rag top. Just didn't see the point. When the coupes looked sooo much better.

My SA said there 135 demo should be in the next load. Asked him to call me after all the staff had beat the crap out of it and it had a few thousand miles on it. Explained to him I would like to drive one after its been treated like a rental car. Should give one a peek into how it will feel once owned for a few months.

All ways fun to have something to look forward to....
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      03-20-2008, 01:02 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psyshack View Post
None the less. I really enjoyed looking over the 1's. I could of driven a rag top. Just didn't see the point. When the coupes looked sooo much better.

My SA said there 135 demo should be in the next load. Asked him to call me after all the staff had beat the crap out of it and it had a few thousand miles on it. Explained to him I would like to drive one after its been treated like a rental car. Should give one a peek into how it will feel once owned for a few months.

All ways fun to have something to look forward to....

I feel for the poor saps who end up with these black/coral demos. I was one of the first to test the local dealer's 135...it was not a gentle ride. The semi-manual shifting on the automatic tranny was new and rather awkward for me, I embarrasingly managed to downshift once when I meant to upshift resulting in a very excessive redline. Of course all that was combined with numerous full throttle take offs and a rather short adventure into the triple digits. I'm sure I'm not alone in thrashing the demo car...although I do feel ever so remotely guilty.
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      03-20-2008, 06:45 AM   #15
Thud
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ssiddiq1 View Post
Thud - I was there at the dealership next to you looking at the 135. I had just gotten done taking it for a spin before the guy at the dealer did. When do you get your car?

Weird! Was that you standing there with your wife? I hung around for about 10 minutes waiting for my chance to get inside the car. Finally I did just as one of the guys was about to put it away for the night.

I haven't driven it yet, but I'm going to go back on Saturday. I ordered my car in January. It finished last Monday and now it's waiting for transport.
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