former BMW Corporate car, Alcantara dash trim?

[thothtp]

Hey guys, I am thinking about joining the 1 series community and have a couple questions. I found a used 2008 135i that has some interesting accessories to it, and was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the story behind them.

Just a short background, I currently lease a 328i whose lease is up in 3 months. When I leased this car originally I really wanted a 1 series, but they were not quite out yet and the lease rates were garbage, so I could not afford it at the time. Now 3 years later, I was looking at buying or leasing a new 135i, when I came across this used car for sale.

Apparently, the car was owned by BMW corporate, until being sold off at auction a year ago. Its currently in inventory at a local dealer, and I went and checked it out last night.

The unusual part about it is that is has dark charcoal colored Alcantara trim. I'm not talking about just the steering or the shift boot, but the whole trim, dashboard, door handles, ect. The dealer said that it was a port installed special option, along with the performance LCD steering wheel.

Otherwise the car is perfectly normal, but that Alcantara is really odd. I searched around a bit, and could not find anyone talking about Alcantara trim except for on the wheel or shift boot. Any idea what this is? Is it really a BMW port installed accessory, or did they do it DIY style? I guess being owned by BMW corporate it can't really be called DIY, but still. Here is a picture.



Also, is having an ex corporate car a disaster waiting to happen? The dealer seemed to think that it was driven around to BMW dealers to show them the new 1 series that was coming out. Part of me says great thats all highway miles, the other part says I bet they beat the crap out of it. Am I setting myself up for problems in the future, or is this a good buy? The price is right compared to others I have seen, and the options and color are exactly how I would want it.

Thanks for the help guys, Looking forward to finding the 135i I always wanted!

[KingOfJericho]

Sometimes those cars are just owned by staff of BMW Corporate. I had a Volvo C70 with similar history.

[Caleb]

I've heard that exec cars can be a mixed bag. Somtimes they are taken care of, sometimes they are thrashed.

I do know that they extend the warranty / maintenance by a little. Like 3 months / 5k miles. Plus I don't think they can be driven more than 10 or 15k miles before they have to sell them.

If the price is (really) right, it's probaby worth it. Especially if your going to lease.

[AchtungF80]

That might be the MWERKS press car. What is the exterior color? If Alpine White, then yes.

[thothtp]

I'll be damned, I think your right. Everything seems to check out. Yes its white, and it was previously registered in NJ, and the parts and options all match up, as well as the dates on the history report.

So now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

[AchtungF80]

Originally Posted by thothtp

I'll be damned, I think your right. Everything seems to check out. Yes its white, and it was previously registered in NJ, and the parts and options all match up, as well as the dates on the history report.

So now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

From what I remember, MWERKS used the car to evaluate all the BMW performance accessories, H&R Coilovers and sway bars, and Breyton GTSR wheels. There was one video where they did a slalom, but as far as how the car was treated, it didn't seem to be abused on video.

[E92BSM10]

that dash trim looks horible!!!

[sb335is]

lol its unique id take it

[BlackjackMulligan]

I'd keep looking if it were me....

[NL-J]

Then I guess, this is how they fitted the alcantara http://www.mwerks.com/gallery.html?c...%203;i=50;pg=2

[BrokenVert]

Mmmm...fuzzy and sweat stainy material...

[MarkR171]

Yea... I'm not a fan of the Alcantara trim at all.

[thothtp]

Here is a better picture, from Mwerks.



Alcantara fan or not, what do you guys think of an ex-press car? I Have read through the project articles, and it seems like they didn't thrash it to badly, a few cross country trips, one day at a track, and a couple slalom tests when they were installing suspension parts. The part that has me worried is that they mentioned in the first article that it was used at a press day at Laguna seca before they got it.

Assuming tires and brakes have been replaced, is the car going to be hurting down the road because of its hard early life? Or does it really not make much difference except to the consumable parts?

[ptack]

The devil's in the details - tell them you're interested, but you have concerns about how hard the car was driven and would like an extended warranty as part of the deal.

[Alex_bm]

Those cars are often being used in press and other types of events, where they are being heavily abused.
Maybe if it came with significant discount and extended warranty...

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

Those cars are often being used in press and other types of events, where they are being heavily abused.
Maybe if it came with significant discount and extended warranty...

Or.... the car could have been a car driven by the parts dept rep. maybe they used this car to display the Alcantara trim for photo shoots? To make the US brochures. This stuff happens.


I have a friend with a 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo. Only problem is Porsche first imported that model in 1986! And to further confuse matters... my buddies car had a 1984 vin that was stamped out and changed to a 1985 M.Y. Complete with DOT and EPA plaques that I have not seen before or since! IF he did not have all the paper work to documenting this... I would have said he was full of BS. But I have seen and driven his car... and it has lots of cup car goodies that the parts rep used it for photos and parts catalogs shoots.

The story on his early 944Turbo was it was brought in as a prototype mule. Used for photo shoots for the parts catalogs - and then sold to a lady from the French Embassy. But she wanted a 911 and sold the car in the papers. My buddies knew the car was special and bought it! Now... when we look at it... alot of small things are special about the car. It has the specs of a 1988 cup car... but it looks normal. Interesting.


I think IF you like this Alcantara trim... then I would go for it. You would indeed have a "special" 1-er on your hands. Maybe in time... you will find out more about your car?

[thothtp]

Like I said above, it turns out the car is the former MWerks press/project car, they did the alcantara mod, not BMW. It looks nice in person, and I personally am kind of indifferent of it vs regular aluminum. At least its unique.

My concern now is being a former press/project car that has been run on the track a couple times, am I going to have more trouble with reliability down the road. Or should I not be too concerned, and take the car as it is, a slightly used car with all the options I would want for a good price. Its going to be awfully hard to find another 135i with the options specced out right, especially in my area. Everything is automatics and all wheel drives up here :-)

[Dackelone]

Most likely the car was taken care of. Bc... BMW does want some shit box to give to the press core. They want one FINE example to show off their products.

Things like tires and brakes have most likely been replaced too. Maybe use the fact that it was a press car and see what kind of discount they can throw your way. It sounds to me that you want this car... and use that to your advantage. I would rather buy a car that was run a litlle bit on the track or autobahn.... then some garage queen that is all carbon'd up and never had an oil change.

As long as your getting a warranty... I would go for it.

[TP 135i]

Is the car certified as a CPO car with the extended 100K mile warranty.
If so you're covered for failures if there was abuse.
And you would have a very special 1er.

[thothtp]

It is not a CPO car. The dealer is a small dealer that specializes in slightly used high end German luxury cars, but is not an official BMW Dealer. Used cars only. They do say they offer extended warranties though, so maybe I can get them to throw one in to the deal. I just worry about getting a timebomb.

[TP 135i]

Originally Posted by maxnix

BMW extended warranty only if it is not CPO.

Well, I guess that technically you are correct. It is not an "extended warranty"
The CPO warranty is a 2-year, 50,000 mile warranty that begins when the original 4-year, 50,000 expires.
Bottom line is that you end up with 6-years or 100,000 miles of coverage which isn't any different than the extended warranty.

[thothtp]

Can you get BMW Extended warranty on a used car that is not from a BMW Dealer but an independent used car dealer? If so I will probably try to negotiate that.