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07-19-2018, 01:06 PM | #1 |
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Introduction & Help finding my first BMW :)
Just wanted to introduce myself and get some insights from the community. I recently decided to start looking for a 135i. I've been needing/wanting a new car for a year or two now to replace my 2004 Impreza daily driver. But, nothing out there was interesting to me and wasn't in a rush. Recently, after a trip to Germany, a ride in my uncle's M2 and some internet car porn I'm pretty set on a 135i.
I compromised with my last car and if I get a 1er it will be a bit of a splurge so I want to be 100% happy with the purchase. I've been doing a lot of researching to familiarize myself with years/models/options/maintenance...etc as well as a lot of looking at for sale ads. Boy are there a lot of options and configurations! It seems to me like prices vary WIDELY so I wanted to check in here and see what you guys thought and whether I was being realistic or not. So, here's what I'm looking for: Must Haves: - Coupe - Leaning towards holding out for a 6spd, this might be a must have but I need to drive a DCT. So far 6spds seem pretty hard to find. - M Sport Package - White with red or black interior - <70k miles (but the lower the better since this will be a daily I want to be reliable for years to come) - VERY good exterior/interior condition with only the most minimal visible flaws - All maintenance done, good tires...etc - Xenon headlights - Clean title Would like's: - The more M goodies, the better - PDC would be nice - Premium audio - iDrive/Nav (just for the screen) - Prefer no sunroof but don't really care - Prefer no headlight washers Is there a premium for white? for a 6spd? Do you guys think prices for what I'm looking for are stable? Decreasing? Increasing? I'm not sure where on the price curve we are at the moment so a little unsure if I should be in a hurry or if it may even be advantageous to take it slow. Originally, I was shooting for a budget of $16k out the door but then I started doing more research and am leaning towards only 2011+ due to the n55 engine change. With that I was hoping for more of an $18k all in budget and I've found a couple at/around that price but not in white+6spd. I'm also seeing them priced $20-24k and wondering what these cars are actually selling for vs what they're listed at. Any insight or help here is greatly appreciated. |
07-19-2018, 01:14 PM | #2 |
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I just picked up a 2012 135i M Sport, White, 6 spd in the ball park of 20k with only 15,000 miles. So 18k shouldn't be that hard once you find the car.
That said, finding the exact car will be tough. You have the same 'need' list as me, so I pounced when my car came up.
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Colin Len4.00 |
07-19-2018, 01:35 PM | #3 | |
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Going to a BMW meet this weekend and hoping to see some 1ers out there. If I have time I'd like to find a couple local ones to test drive as well - none that fit what I want but I'd like to test out manual vs DCT as well as just start familiarizing myself with these cars in person vs just online. Also, any specific places you suggest looking? I've been looking on 1addicts, Craigslist, Offerup, Autotrader, Cars.com, Carmax, Edmunds and Ebay. |
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07-19-2018, 01:46 PM | #4 | |
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I found mine on Cars.com. I also looked on CarGuru. Only advice is to open your search to any distance. I got lucky and mine was only a few hundred miles away, but you can always have them take the car in for a prepurchase inspection at a dealership before putting a deposit down and flying out or just having them ship it. They're kind of hard to find, so open up that net. Good luck.
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Colin Len4.00 |
07-19-2018, 01:53 PM | #5 |
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I've been searching nationwide to get familiar but if I bought today I'd want it to be local. Once I get a chance to see and drive some more local cars I'm hoping I'll be familiar and educated enough to be confident buying sight unseen from across the country.
My main concerns are minor imperfections that I'm picky about but which often sellers won't even bother disclosing. In my experience it's been tough to get a true gauge of paint condition without seeing it yourself or with primo sellers who really detail everything out. |
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07-19-2018, 01:55 PM | #6 | |
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07-19-2018, 02:03 PM | #8 |
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$100-$300 depending on thoroughness. Most dealerships have a flat rate.
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07-19-2018, 02:06 PM | #9 |
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All 1 series are coupes, so no issue there
Drive both, see what you want, me I prefer 6 speed as well since this is my fun car (my X3 is an auto and that's fine, it's an SUV I sit in traffic in and haul my toddler around with) M-Sport package I'd recommend as well, though much of what it has can be added but I don't think it's worth the cost / effort / and they are definitely better seats, etc. so I'd stick with this as a must-have You will have to open up your color options or severely limit your already limited options When you find what you want it'll probably be lower miles, though you will want to factor this in Very good condition is a given Maintenance history is a given as well, though I wouldn't be concerned about the tires, these are easy to swap though it adds to the cost I don't think you'll find a 135i M-Sport without xenons but could be wrong M goodies can be added, it's a bonus if your car has these but don't limit yourself over them Stereos can be upgraded but yes the idrive screen is nice to see what you are listening to, this can be a factor but you might have to concede this one, like the color might have to be conceded You'll just have to make a spreadsheet of what cars you see, what's on them, what miles they have, etc. and after a while you'll know what things should cost. You want my car, I considered selling it but decided to keep it. White M-Sport, 6-speed, 27k miles, xenons, meticulously maintained, exhaust / spoiler / tint / LCI taillights, HK Audio, Nav w/ screen, sunroof, heated seats, etc. This took me almost 6 months to find so all I can say is - you'll get there, just be patient. And be prepared to spend a little extra when you do find the one you want. |
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Colin Len4.00 |
07-19-2018, 02:08 PM | #10 |
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Some 1 series are convertibles.
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07-19-2018, 02:49 PM | #11 |
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07-19-2018, 02:58 PM | #12 |
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Be patient. Don't be antsy. The right deal will appear and you will jump on it. Until then, hold on. I know it's exciting, but don't cheat yourself out of what you truly want just for instant gratification.
Biggest thing is don't sell yourself the car before you buy it. Then you may have a tendency to overlook flaws and undesirable options. BUT. Be ready to make a move. If you see THE car, DO NOT SLEEP. You'll know when you find it, don't hesitate, because someone else WILL snatch it up. Use BMWVin.com to verify options, do not trust dealers. They often use generic VIN scanners which aren't always accurate. I got lucky when I got mine. I looked for about 3 weeks before I found it, only 20min away. It was such a fresh listing there wasn't a price or any pictures. They literally got the car in on either Friday or Saturday, and I bought it Monday. I called to verify its existence, they told me if I showed up today they'd knock $1000 off, and that's all I needed to hear. Also use every resource you can. I used Cars.com for a while which found some decent results, but I found my car after taking a peek at Autotrader.com which I hadn't really been doing. AutoTempest is a good aggregation site.
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Colin Len4.00 |
07-19-2018, 03:10 PM | #13 | |||||
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Well, I meant slicktop vs convertible. Most of the for sale sites differentiate this as coupe vs convertible.
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07-20-2018, 10:37 AM | #14 |
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1. I prefer private sales; you can really get a good sense if the car has been well looked after. Especially quiz about maintenance and repairs.
2. 1 or 2 owner 3. maintenance records: this is critical. The 135's can have lots of issues-you need to know what has been done and what has not. Needless to say, a PPI is recommended. Records should show at least 2 oil changes per year. 4. no paint work (or minimal) hence no accidents. My car had a hood scratch repaired due to kids basketball. I've had my car 8 yrs now-no problems. 5. ask the owner what brand tires on car. If they know=good. If they don't=not so good. Tires-Michelin, Bridgestone, Toyo (and most of the tires sold by The Tire Rack) = good. Wang Ho Super=not so good 6. join BMWCCA immediately. There are hundreds of CCA members in your area who would be more than willing to help you out. They know the cars and they know the best garages. Good Luck; I flew down and drove back 1200 miles to get the car I wanted. |
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Colin Len4.00 |
07-20-2018, 11:58 AM | #15 |
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Your list of wants is pretty much the same as mine was, except for the colors. I bought my 2012 135i M Sport 6MT with 33k miles in 2017 for $22k from CarMax and love it. I don't think they list their cars on any other website so search CarMax as well.
I actually prefer to buy cars without iDrive so that I can upgrade with a screen myself to the latest tech. Here's what I did for around $500: https://www.1addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1510420 . It has Android 8.0 so you can run any app you want, supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and I added a trunk handle backup camera for $35. |
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07-20-2018, 12:39 PM | #16 | |||
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I'm very comfortable doing audio mods although would prefer not to spend much time in that arena these days. I was mainly thinking idrive for the screen so that I could upgrade/adapt with other stuff. For example the backup camera kits I've seen (although they seem very pricey). I actually saw your thread about that Joying head unit and I'm really intrigued. In your post you have a picture of the side of the head unit as seen from the passenger side. It looks like part of the "guts" (for lack of a better term) of the head unit are exposed. Is this just a "during install" pic or is that how the head unit sits? |
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07-20-2018, 02:33 PM | #17 | |
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The headunit does sit like that because I adjusted the mounting points to raise the screen but then the ribbon cable connector on the screen also rises outside the single DIN opening and hits the fascia of the dash kit. You can use these mounting point extenders that they give you, but then there's also an optional metal shield that goes along the top and sides which won't fit well with the extenders, leaving the mounting points exposed. So I ended up just pulling the headunit out a little, not using the extenders, and using the shield, as shown in that picture. I suppose I could fashion a better shield out of a black plastic folder or something, but since you don't see it from the driver's seat I can't be bothered. |
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07-20-2018, 03:02 PM | #18 |
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Good luck finding one, Colin! It seems like you know what you want. Getting the color you want makes it tougher. It will probably take a while, but don't settle for something other than what you want. You'll be kicking yourself if you do. Local will be a tough thing to find, but definitely look for a sun state car. Northeast and northern Midwest cars will have corrosion issues if they are daily year round drivers, not with body so much as fasteners and brake lines. Welcome to the forum, and keep your eyes on the cars for sale forum-you never know what will pop up!
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07-20-2018, 04:21 PM | #19 |
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07-20-2018, 06:27 PM | #20 |
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These are for the 2013 models but will be similar for back to 2011.
https://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=692312 The 'ordering guides' will have a better breakdown of what the available options are. If you're using a advanced search method checking some boxes might be removing cars it shouldn't. I looked for about 9 months before I found/bought my car. Drove 2 others locally and mine fit what I wanted. Been very happy with it. Far as price curve, I had watched prices pretty close trying to make sure I wasn't going to overpay too much. I missed it by about 8 months. Prices fell sharply and I paid about $2k more than I should have. But I'm so happy with the car I really don't care. So I'd say right now you're in a bubble. Give it a year and they will come down a fair amount. Part of my thought is at that time more used 2'ers will be filtering into the market. Warranty was 4yr/50K miles. So they are due to start coming back. That will drive prices of older generation cars down. Part of the 'jump on the car you want' mentality is correct. At the price they are going for many are buying and modifying (I did). So if you wait longer you might end up with someone else's modified problems. It's always nicer to start with a clean slate. BUT, there can be good value in buying an already modified car. Catch 22. |
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07-21-2018, 11:30 PM | #21 |
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It's kind of funny to be reading this thread; no disrespect meant to the OP.
The marketplace has been telling us that these 1-Series cars aren't worth jack shit for at least the last couple of years. Any highfalutin expectation that these cars would ultimately be valuable has been repeatedly shot down. And yet, you can't find a good one, or at least not easily. Someone please explain this to me.
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07-22-2018, 06:48 AM | #22 | |
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