Long story and I'll try to keep it short and sweet, I am bringing a beautiful AW / Red spec 135i back to life after a horrible history with repossession and what appears to be a cover up from a track accident...
At the beginning of Covid (BC) I was looking for a replacement vehicle for my wifes Ford Focus Titanium 12' she bought 6 years ago. I managed to short sale it a bit for 4500. Giving a budget of only 4500 and what I was willing to put in for an upgrade at the time. Keeping in mind she wanted an X1 first gen or 1 series first gen I set about looking at vehicles.
I'm no stranger to flipping and buying cash cars. That being said I have never bought a car without first taking a look at it in person. This is the first and possibly last time I will do this
Based on the requirements that she refused to drive a manual, my only real option IMO was a DCT car which was made for the 11'-13' years. Didn't want to consider a smaller motor or 4 cylinder turbo without a manual. Already got stuck with the 4 cylinder tragic ford for 6 years so this time I would have to make the gamble.
Found this car well below any 135i or X1 35i listed anywhere for N55.
Sitting on a lot in Texas with a clean title and 4 owners. First sign of how bad I expected it to be was the headlights being miss matched, the terrible plati-dip all over the car probably hiding terrible paint or unpainted parts. The good news is that it had the exact interior exterior color combo, transmission the wife wanted. It also had a DINAN Exhaust indicating someone did modify the car at some point.
OK so $7000 plus shipping later the car arrived
HOW BAD WAS IT?
The list is long and I probably wont remember everything but I'll try
Repairs and Maintenance needed:
Cooling System Overhaul | Valve Cover Gasket | Oil Pan Gasket | Oil filter housing gasket | Oil filters | Oil | Wheel lugs | Tires | Front radiator | Front Radiator Fan | Front Core Support | Oil Cooler Brackets | Bumper Support | Hoses | Plugs and Wire harnesses needing repair or replacing | Underbody panel cover | Front right fender liner | Headlight Bracket | Headlights broken tabs front and left | Right headlight Ballast | Right headlight adaptive sensor | OBD cover | Spark Plugs | Ignition Coils | Confort access module | TPMS Bumper sensor | Confort Access bumper sensor | O2 sensor
For the body:
Front bumper stained with plasti dip
Right front fender stained
Side skirts damaged
Front left fender is wrong color
Hood appears unpainted or black and stained
Roof cannot get the plastidip all the way off
2 Gallons of dip dissolver and 3000 psi pressure washer
10 hours of spraying and removing plastidip
New front fenders, new 1M style front bumper, new OEM style sideskirts
Used 18" e92 313 (with tires I will be replacing)
Alpine white Paint, paint clarifier, sanding paper
Bought a whole front end from a salvaged car
Tried buying a used right front headlight and using it for parts and repair, unfortunately I will be buying a set of front headlights as this is an issue
Currently the bodywork is being painted by a friend (fingers crossed it comes out well). The repairs listed above have all been made except the front bumper sensors and the headlight brackets on back order. She is mechanically 100% but looks completely like a Frankenstein (we nicknamed her Zombe1 on the license plate)
See current pictures below
I will be posting updates and pictures as the body parts come in and the car gets possibly repainted or paint matched.
Currently the roof is an issue,
finding headlights is expensive,
wife wants a cf hood,
Comfort access still isn't fixed and has thrown me for a loop
she still needs new tires and an alignment.
Body parts came back from the painter friend.
Battery was having phantom draining issues. Completely dead and had to be towed to my mechanic. After inspection the coolant leak was an o ring, headlight brackets should arrive tomorrow. Waiting to see how she looks with everything put on except the hood.
Stay tuned