Found my Le Mans Blue 128

[Almuliman]

So it all worked out for the best: Le Mans Blue (a.k.a. The Best Color, according to a friend who saw it the other day) over Oyster leather, M Sport, power seats, comfort access, sunroof, and iDrive. The iDrive is not great, but I'm getting used to it already.

3rd owner, just over 73K miles. Interior is flawless, a few minor issues on the exterior.

Some kind of coilovers in front and aftermarket springs and dampers in the rear. Detective work to come when I get time and opportunity. Also not the stock exhaust – sounds nice, though, but also TBD exactly what it is. Oh, and wheel spacers.

P.S. How would I know if it's a BMW PE jutting out the back there?!

P.P.S. SuprGnat is an enabler. The kind that gives ideas that hadn't even remotely occurred to me before seeing his build thread. I'm building a list of wants and to dos... Trying to resist that beautiful Rennline quick release fire extinguisher holder.

[desertman123]

Welcome!!! Beautiful car and spec - all the nice options checked. Xenon lights too!

Post of pic of the booty

[Suprgnat]

Copycat, lol. Same year, same exterior color, same interior color.

I must say you have good taste.

[Suprgnat]

Also, 1 of 10 Le Mans Blue over Oyster 6MTs made.

https://maxbimmer.com/forums/showpos...postcount=2575

[fast1eddy]

Congrats on a great find. My ideal E82. 128 in Le Mans blue with sport package and manual is a unicorn.

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by Suprgnat

Also, 1 of 10 Le Mans Blue over Oyster 6MTs made.

https://maxbimmer.com/forums/showpos...postcount=2575

We own 20% of these!

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by fast1eddy

Congrats on a great find. My ideal E82. 128 in Le Mans blue with sport package and manual is a unicorn.

Thanks. 1-in-10, as it turns out.

It posted on CL Tuesday, located about 2 hours north of here. I apparently responded within 20 minutes of it posting (email notifications FTW!), test drove it and had a PPI done Wednesday, and agreed to the purchase on the spot.

It went so quickly I didn't have time to get any sort of meaningful deposit together, but amazingly the seller agreed to take the ad down and complete the deal after the holiday weekend – all on a spoken promise. Super nice guy (but I didn't sleep particularly well over the weekend, what with the Beaverton experience so recent). As you can see, everybody held to their word and here I am.

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by desertman123

Welcome!!! Beautiful car and spec - all the nice options checked. Xenon lights too!

Post of pic of the booty

Thanks. Yes, it turned out Xenons were actually a deal breaker for me.

[b1aze]

That looks like a BMW Performance Exhaust to me!

Looks like a super find. Would you mind sharing what the sale price was? I’ve been very interested in the appreciation of these cars in ultra-premium specs

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by b1aze

That looks like a BMW Performance Exhaust to me!

Looks like a super find. Would you mind sharing what the sale price was? I’ve been very interested in the appreciation of these cars in ultra-premium specs

That's what I was hoping, but I only have pictures for comparison. It'll be a while before I can get it up in the air, but is there any way to tell without lifting it?

I paid $11,500. Asking was $13K, but it needs 4 new tires and isn't perfect. $2,500 less than the one that sold out from under me a few weeks back with the same mileage and in sliiightly worse shape, but with upgrades and in the right color. LMB over light leather has been my favorite color combo on any vehicle since I first saw it on E36s over 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure I got a screaming deal.

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by Almuliman

That's what I was hoping, but I only have pictures for comparison. It'll be a while before I can get it up in the air, but is there any way to tell without lifting it?

I paid $11,500. Asking was $13K, but it needs 4 new tires and isn't perfect. $2,500 less than the one that sold out from under me a few weeks back with the same mileage and in sliiightly worse shape, but with upgrades and in the right color. LMB over light leather has been my favorite color combo on any vehicle since I first saw it on E36s over 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure I got a screaming deal.

At least on the 135 version of the performance exhaust, there's a metal description plate on the muffler itself you should be able to see just looking underneath, that includes "performance" on it. I'm pretty sure it's the same for the 128 one too.

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by dtla1

At least on the 135 version of the performance exhaust, there's a metal description plate on the muffler itself you should be able to see just looking underneath, that includes "performance" on it. I'm pretty sure it's the same for the 128 one too.

Yes, yes it is. Present and correct. Nice post-purchase surprise.

[apex_prd8r]

I can also confirm that this looks to be a BMW Performance Exhaust, as those tailpipes match mine exactly.

You should be able to to tell by sound alone. A PE will be loud and burble-y on startup and accel from a standstill. The stock exhaust is nearly silent by comparison.

Welcome to the club. Mine is a slicktop 6MT MSport in LeMans Blue over Grey with PE.

[..Rush..]

When the 1 series first came out, alot of so - called "automotive writers" criticized the looks of the cars. They would refer to our cars as stubby, bathtub shaped vehicles.

Over a decade later, I truly believe that our cars have aged very well with regards to looks. Our cars have very clean and purposeful lines. Especially compared to what is currently being designed on the newer 2 series coming out soon.

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by apex_prd8r

I can also confirm that this looks to be a BMW Performance Exhaust, as those tailpipes match mine exactly.

You should be able to to tell by sound alone. A PE will be loud and burble-y on startup and accel from a standstill. The stock exhaust is nearly silent by comparison.

Welcome to the club. Mine is a slicktop 6MT MSport in LeMans Blue over Grey with PE.

Twins! Or nearly, at least. Lovely car. Mine is now that clean. Realized it was embarrassingly dusty after the drive home and being parked outside while I was making room in the garage, so I gave it its first wash with me. Touchless drive-through that is conveniently just down the hill from my house. Hand washing to come (along with some wheel detailing to get brake dust off).

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by ..Rush..

When the 1 series first came out, allot of so - called "automotive writers" lambasted the looks of the cars.

Over a decade later, I truly believe that our cars have aged very well with regards to looks. Our cars have very clean and purposeful lines.

I love the stubby upright look the more I look at it. I'm really not liking the short green houses on most modern designs. The bottom of the Volvo S90's side windows are just above my shoulder when I have the driver's seat in my driving position. Compromised visibility and not nearly enough light. Our cars are much closer to the upright tall green houses of the E30 that I prefer.

[minirips2]

Nice car. Very nice in fact, and well-bought IMO. You will love the performance exhaust. No drone on the highway, but makes amazing sounds under full load at higher rpm. People were saying I paid too much for my PE when I bought one while they were still available new. Look at used PE prices now, and it's clear I did not overpay. Good examples of 128i's are getting hard to find. Most owners daily drove them, with the exception of some convertibles. Most were automatics, and non-sport. I'm so glad I held out for the one I eventually found. Crimson Red sunroof delete manual with IDrive, which is pretty intuitive. The only thing I miss is not having xenon headlights. A set of Philips Extreme White lamps are a reasonable stand-in for the xenons. Enjoy that 1er, and take good care of that "unicorn"!

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by minirips2

Nice car. Very nice in fact, and well-bought IMO. You will love the performance exhaust. No drone on the highway, but makes amazing sounds under full load at higher rpm. Crimson Red sunroof delete manual with IDrive, which is pretty intuitive. The only thing I miss is not having xenon headlights. A set of Philips Extreme White lamps are a reasonable stand-in for the xenons. Enjoy that 1er, and take good care of that "unicorn"!

Thanks, planning to. I read recently you're only taking care of a car for its next owner, but—early in the relationship as it is—I think that's me. Feels like one I might never sell on. I'm finding iDrive to be far less of an issue than I'd feared. Low profile screen (<cough>Tesla) keeps it relatively unobtrusive and it shows what I'm playing from my phone. The adaptive Xenons are a-mazing. My first Xenons (what? We keep our cars a long time...) and I'm loving the lighting.

The PE sounds great on the freeway. I know it's there, but it's not droning at all and it flat out made me laugh out loud when I blipped the throttle from third to second in a residential neighborhood—so very low speed—the other day when I qhad the windows down and roof open. Fantastic sound.

[minirips2]

Originally Posted by Almuliman

Thanks, planning to. I read recently you're only taking care of a car for its next owner, but—early in the relationship as it is—I think that's me. Feels like one I might never sell on. I'm finding iDrive to be far less of an issue than I'd feared. Low profile screen (<cough>Tesla) keeps it relatively unobtrusive and it shows what I'm playing from my phone. The adaptive Xenons are a-mazing. My first Xenons (what? We keep our cars a long time...) and I'm loving the lighting.

The PE sounds great on the freeway. I know it's there, but it's not droning at all and it flat out made me laugh out loud when I blipped the throttle from third to second in a residential neighborhood—so very low speed—the other day when I qhad the windows down and roof open. Fantastic sound.

You need to find a tunnel. You will giggle like a schoolgirl.

[Almuliman]

Originally Posted by minirips2

You need to find a tunnel. You will giggle like a schoolgirl.

There's a nice long one "on the way" home from work

[lemansblau135is]

Ahhhh, nice color choice

[Converted1]

Congrats on a top notch find! I love the lighter interiors that were available. (I have SGM over Lemon)