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05-06-2015, 10:59 AM | #1 |
Air India
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So I made an impulse purchase in September for a commuter car / secondary car / winter beater / city car etc. in the form of a Fiat Abarth 500. I had to get the automatic. This did neuter the car somewhat, but that wasn't the main reason that I disliked this car.
[IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...cd0f2ea5a4.jpg[/IMG] Honestly, there were some awful features about this car. The first was the seating position. It's too high and also the seats are awful. There is no after market solution for this. The second issue on this car, surprisingly, was the turn radius. For such a small car with such tight steering, it's amazing how many times my 991 could make a u-turn in one move, where as the FIAT required 2 or 3 additional steps. The next major issue was the build quality. Yes something I should have noticed before buying it, but I couldn't deal with it. A small annoying issue is that the time wouldn't display on the radio screen. Small but annoying. This is an incredibly small detail but pissed me off - I couldn't use defroster and other angled vents. Only defroster and feet. I like a more independent system So I have been trying to get out of this car since January. I tried to get into a BRZ but my old dealership's sister Subaru store seemed like they didn't want to sell me a car. Wouldn't work with me at all on the price or the finance terms. A few months pass by, and I start looking for possible replacements. Here were my requirements - manual transmission - naturally aspirated - good aftermarket parts community - wanted a white car - rwd was preferred. Do not like AWD or FWD - car had to be under 27k since I would be rolling in about $8,500 negative equity. So I started my search with the usual suspects: - GTi - WRX - 320i - e46 m3 - s2000 - BRZ/FRS These cars all had there strong suits but I couldn't fall in love with them. The s2000 was a strong contender, but at the time I couldn't find what I wanted and when I did, they either had no warranty or were molested beyond repair. I found some posts that TheStig had posted and saw his signature of 130is. I had no idea wtf he was talking about and did some more research. The e82 1 series! A few years ago, I had a 135i loaner and I took it up to Bear Mountain, and fell in love. Although the rear end did have a loftiness to it, the space and balance of the car reminded me highly of the e46 m3. Could this be a chance for me and BMW to rekindle? Perhaps. As a former owner of a 09 N54 powered 335i xDrive, I was familiar with either turbocharged motors offered in the e82 135i cars. I did not want to deal with that headache again. Also could not stand the community that comes with the n54/n55. Also do not like how the car falls on its face after 5500 rpm. It's a good commuter car, but I did not want to go in that direction again. The only other option - the 128i. I began my search for one of these cars and believe it or not, there are a lot of them out there but literally one car matched my requirements: - manual - white - m sport - manual seats - heated seats - satellite radio - CPO warranty The only option this car did not have was sunroof delete, but we can't get everything we want. The only issue - I live in NJ and the car was in Michigan. I began the process. I sent in an inquiry on the car. It was available. We negotiated terms - I'm a sales man so I know that these people feed their kids and keep the lights on so I don't bust balls. the asking price on the car was $26,395. I asked for $26k plus plus plus. The bid was accepted and I arranged for financing. Here are some stock pics of the car [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...e79530cbbd.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...dd193860a4.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...51ec7fde44.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...1d393b79b5.jpg[/IMG] So with trade ins on a lease the way that it works is the payoff of the vehicle ($22,239) - the vehicles appraised value. ($14,000 ~ yes a depreciation of $10,450 since September of 2014) = your negative or positive equity ( in my case $8,239). This can either be paid off immediately or rolled into the financing. Some banks will not finance over 130% of the vehicles value; however, BMW FS will finance up to 160% I believe. So I financed everything. Why would I take a $8500 hit? Well if I continued to pay my lease for the remaining 31 months at $335.26 a month (31x$335.26) I would pay a total of $10,393.06. I would rather burn that negative equity asap. The other obstacle was the fact that this was an out of state trade. So you have two options - drive the car there or have the car transported there. I chose the less expensive option - drive there and back. You obviously run the risk of getting low balled once the car gets there and you get sucked into taking less than you wanted for your trade. Before I committed, I requested a hard offer ( a low offer and possibility of a higher # once the car was physically appraised.). So everything was approved and my monthly increased a little, but my insurance decreased. Overall a hit, but at least I would be happy with the new car! So I had planned on picking up the car on a Tuesday as that is my day off. I decided to start the 650 mile trip at 2am. Drive to dealership. Pick up car. Go to my aunts house for lunch. And get back on the road. Everything went to plan. Here are some pictures of the trip. [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...cbfa47efb4.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...269a17fb75.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...71affcb9ee.jpg[/IMG] And here are some pictures of the new puppy. [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...69c6cd91fe.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...ab8b3464bb.jpg[/IMG] The drive back was terrible. I couldn't go above 60mph just because I was losing focus. Red bull wasn't working. I didn't want coffee as I am lactose intolerant. Although I must say, the online 6 is silky smooth. Also the dimensions and neutral feel of the car reminds me of the E46 M3 chassis. I did make it home. I left at 1:50am on Tuesday morning and got home at 1:50am on Wednesday morning. 24 straight hours of driving. And now I am at work. Lol. Here are some pictures of the car. At some gas station in Ohio [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...0eda00564f.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...bde80aa4fe.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...e301359c1d.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...fe102f032b.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05...76e7bdce04.jpg[/IMG] List of mods - pay off car asap - e9x m3 subframe bushings - apex arc8 with pss - winter tires for these terrible 17s
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05-06-2015, 11:16 AM | #3 |
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Garage List F15 X5 xDrive35i [8.33]
E86 Z4 M [10.00] F10 550i (Retired) [9.17] F25 X3 xDrive35i (R ... [9.33] E82 135is (Retired) [9.46] E85 Z4 M (Retired) [9.33] E90 328i xDrive (Re ... [9.00] E86 Z4 3.0si (Retired) [9.18] |
Congrats Preeth! She's beautiful and no navi is a win!
Finding new Arc-8's for E82 will be tough. FYI I still have my winter setup off my E82 if you want. OEM 17's with TPMS. |
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05-06-2015, 11:43 AM | #4 | |
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Nice car.
Quote:
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05-06-2015, 12:34 PM | #6 |
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A 991 & E46 M3 owner buys a 128, how cool is that. Congratulations on the pickup and welcome aboard. AW M Sport is sweet and that I6 is obviously a great choice.
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05-06-2015, 12:37 PM | #7 |
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Nice write-up, and nice car. 128i is starting to get some love
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05-06-2015, 12:48 PM | #8 | |
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Enjoy the 5500-6700rpm power of your new ride. I'm sure you'll use that all the time during your commutes. |
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05-06-2015, 01:14 PM | #9 |
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05-06-2015, 02:04 PM | #10 | |
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The idea that the 128i would not have enough power for DD is HYSTERICAL to me. I was also happy to grab a NA engine while BMW is going all turbos. Congrats on the new car! Enjoy it! |
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05-06-2015, 03:15 PM | #12 | ||
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Quote:
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the slope gets more and more slippery
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05-06-2015, 03:33 PM | #13 |
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Congrats on the new car. I know a lot more people that autoX their n54/n55 cars than drag race them. The lack of tuning on an NA motor would drive me nuts.
I LOVED my test drive in the Abarth, but I couldn't bring myself to buy it because of the awful seating position. I felt like I was driving a bus that was fooling me into believing it was a tiny car. I can't believe you took such a huge hit on that thing though. |
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05-06-2015, 06:06 PM | #14 |
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Nice write up. Congrats!
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05-06-2015, 10:48 PM | #15 |
bimmerphile, technogeek
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Congrats!
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05-06-2015, 11:04 PM | #16 |
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Welcome! Congrats on the '28!
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'13 128i | 6MT | SGM | Black Boston | Black Gloss | Lighting | Premium | Tech | HK | Anti-Theft | [CDV-Delete | Clutch Stop | 30% Pinnacle]
Ordered 2.23 | Production Begin 3.7 | Ends 3.15 | Released to carrier 3.18 | At port 3.19 | Departed 3.23 (K-line to Brunswick) | Arrived 4.7 | Truck 4.12 | Dealer 4.19 |
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05-07-2015, 09:28 AM | #18 |
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05-07-2015, 09:41 AM | #19 |
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E88 Crimson Red Vert MSport 6MT - Listing your mods in your signature is lame. BMS DCI/MHD E30 Flash!!/AA Sport FMIC/VRSF CP w Tial BOV/VRSF 3" DPs/550i clutch w SPEC SMFW/Apex EC-7s/Whiteline RSFB/E92 M3 FCAs/Bilstein B12 Pro Kit/VRSF inlets |
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05-07-2015, 10:03 AM | #20 |
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05-07-2015, 10:50 AM | #21 |
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C'mon guys! We all have 1series cars, it just so happens that one is NA and one has FI.
No car is better than the other, it's just a matter of preference and what you can afford I guess. |
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05-07-2015, 11:23 AM | #22 |
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Welcome, enjoy the car. I think you'll find the 1Addicts community to be different than that of E90Post. If you give it a chance of course.
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