New (to me) 135i!!

[dtsol]

Hey All, just wanted to say hello and thank everybody on the forum for all the great info here--I spent four days obsessively reading posts and reviews of the 1-series. and on Sunday traded in my 2005 Boxster S and took home a mineral gray 2013 135i, with only 12K miles on it. I do a 90-minute each way mountain road commute, and this car is going to be great for that. It's a CPO car; really nicely optioned, with M-sport, Premium and Tech packages--beautiful, comfortable, drives great.

I am IN LOVE with this car.

Nice to meet you all.

Dan

[Esteban]

Beautiful car. Congrats and welcome. Curious, why did you want to trade the Boxster?

[dtsol]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Beautiful car. Congrats and welcome. Curious, why did you want to trade the Boxster?

Reason 1: Three hours a day every day in the Boxter just wasn't working for me ergonomically. It's great for an hour but after that was getting uncomfortable. I couldn't move the seat far enough back to stretch my legs out, etc...

Reason 2: I love learning about and getting different cars--I seem to have about a 2 year cycle with each car I own--and I fell in love with the 1-series. These cars are just so nicely designed--elegant and rowdy at the same time.

– D

[methodz]

Very nice car but 2 things first.

1. Get some rest subframe bushings
2. Remove the ///M badge

Then you're good to go. Congrats from a fellow vert owner!

[TheCaptain]

Awesome car! DCT or stick? And yeah, take that M off. Anyone who knows what the M means will also know it's not an M car. How does the ride/speed/handling compare to the boxster?

[Fade135is]

You guys are good. I didn't eve spot the ///M badge. Congrats on the car I know you will love it.

[Matticus91]

Looks great, jealous of your commute! Welcome to the crew

[dtsol]

Originally Posted by methodz

Very nice car but 2 things first.

1. Get some rest subframe bushings
2. Remove the ///M badge

Then you're good to go. Congrats from a fellow vert owner!

Could you please elaborate re the subframe bushings?

Is the M badge something the previous owner put on themselves, rather than something that came with the car? (I thought it seemed unusual...)

[dtsol]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

Awesome car! DCT or stick? And yeah, take that M off. Anyone who knows what the M means will also know it's not an M car. How does the ride/speed/handling compare to the boxster?

DCT. I've been driving a manual for the last ten years--love it, but with the long commute, it's wearing on my body, so I went with DCT.

Comparing with the Boxster S: the Porsche is more sinewy, if that makes sense. A bit more raw. Smooth power band all the way through. Stays more level in the corners. It was a great car--it was hard to part with it. But the Bimmer is just so nice a combo of comfort and great driving experience. The ride is stiff in a different way from the Boxster. The 135 is fast in a more refined way. They're like two different flavors of really high quality ice cream.

[methodz]

Yes, there is no M135i like there is for the 2 series. There is a 1M which your car is not so it makes the car look a little poser.

If you're going into the twisties I'd upgrade your RSFB because the stock ones are very soft, too soft. It was the first thing I noticed when I drove home. When I changed mine out I think I might have overdid it with the M3 bushings. If I had to do again I'd probably go with the inserts unless you plan on hitting the track.

[Tenspeed]

Nice car!

I have a DCT in my 135i convertible and it is nice when you are loafing around town. It gets angry real quick with a couple of moves and out shifts a manual every time (ask the guy in the M6 convertible that let me catch him when he missed a 2-3 shift).

I looked at a 6 speed Boxster S (2003 with 60k miles) before I bought the 135i, but the oil sample showed issues, so I steered away from it. The Boxster drove great and the sounds were addictive, but my wife prefers the room in the 135 over the Boxster.

Enjoy your new ride!

[YearOneOne]

Looks good welcom

[TheCaptain]

DCT is great. The M-Sport package has Ms on the steering wheel, wheels, and door sills, but definitely not the trunk.

[squidge]

Welcome! 90-minute commute through the mountains -- must be taking 17 up to the bay area? I don't envy doing that every day, but at least you're doing it in a fun car!

And yeah, the rear subframe bushings (or the inserts) are a nice, easy place to start as far as improving the feel of the car, with minimal cost and no real downsides. Careful though, it's a slippery slope. Enjoy what you've got for a while.

(Bushing inserts lead to control arms and tension struts, which leads to ditching runflats, which leads to wanting camber plates, which leads to wanting better dampers, which needs higher spring rates, which leads to...)

[YearOneOne]

Which leads us to what!! To what!!! Tell us more

[3ics]

Love the color! Welcome to another convertible owner!

[methodz]

Originally Posted by squidge

Welcome! 90-minute commute through the mountains -- must be taking 17 up to the bay area? I don't envy doing that every day, but at least you're doing it in a fun car!

And yeah, the rear subframe bushings (or the inserts) are a nice, easy place to start as far as improving the feel of the car, with minimal cost and no real downsides. Careful though, it's a slippery slope. Enjoy what you've got for a while.

(Bushing inserts lead to control arms and tension struts, which leads to ditching runflats, which leads to wanting camber plates, which leads to wanting better dampers, which needs higher spring rates, which leads to...)

So true! I had the rsfb then the performance suspension and now I think it's too harsh for the street and now I'm looking to move on to some Michelin pss

[mackeroni]

Welcome. I like your colors. Nice to have you join the forum, but please remove the M badge on the trunk. Use a hair dryer or heat gun to carefully warm up the adhesive, then use dental floss to gently work the badge off. A little Goo-B-Gone will remove any remaining adhesive.

Atta boy.

[thewubwub]

Congrats on the pick up! I just picked up a 135i as well, these are fun cars!

[dtsol]

Originally Posted by mackeroni

...please remove the M badge on the trunk. Use a hair dryer or heat gun to carefully warm up the adhesive, then use dental floss to gently work the badge off. A little Goo-B-Gone will remove any remaining adhesive.

Atta boy.

I like the spot of color the M badge adds. But I get why it matters. Planning to remove it when I get a chance.

Dan

[spangler]

Great looking car! Glad to have another vert owner on the forum!

[mackeroni]

Originally Posted by dtsol

I like the spot of color the M badge adds. But I get why it matters. Planning to remove it when I get a chance.

The last time I drove down I77 South from Ohio to South Carolina to visit my folks, I played hopscotch with a dark blue 128i convertible most of the day. Someone, presumably the driver, had removed the 128i numerals and replaced them with an 'M' badge. I laughed, honked and thumbed my nose every time I passed this guy, but he never waved back. Go figure.