Confusion on Model Designation 2013 135i vs 135is

[champignon]

I posted aspects of this at the end of a tire and wheel thread elsewhere on this board, but this is a separate issue.

I'm in the process of purchasing a 2013 135i 6MT vehicle, that is listed as a 135i/is on Carfax, and on the VIN Lookup sites appears to be very similar in configuration to verified 135is vehicles when one looks at the various components. I believed initially that it was a 135is, not because the seller said it was but because everything i found out about the car led to that conclusion. I even called BMW of NA two different times, spoke with 2 different people, and both of them told me the car was a 135is, not a 135i.

But the wheels in the pictures were clearly not those found on the 135is, and the badge on the back was 135i.

The VIN number is literally 79 minus the VIN # of a verified 135is, and production date was very close to that other car, within a month. In fact, on comparing the components and options on the vehicle I am buying and the verified 135is, there was nothing engine or performance related, other than the wheels, that I could find was any different. Both the "real" 135is and my car has the "power" on the VIN lookup listed as "225," and the vehicle type on both is "UC9C." Production date of my car was mid-July 2013.

The vehicle I am purchasing has the M-Sport Suspension and Sport Seats, but no mention is made of the M-Steering wheel nor was the M-Sports package mentioned, even though pictures of the car in question's steering wheel and the steering wheel of the real 135is I found appear to be identical as far as I can determine from the pictures. The wheels on my vehicle to be are apparently stock (2FA 372 Light alloy)18" 135is wheels

I read elsewhere in this forum a post from a Canadian member who said that for a while at the end of the manufacturing run of these 135i and 135is vehicles, that one could order (in Canada) a 135i that was identical to a 135is other than for a couple of badges.

Now I realize that there are more similarities than differences between the 135i and the 135is. I am not looking to start yet another thread on "what are the differences between this and that" sort of thing. Rather, I am wondering if towards the end of the run there were 135i vehicles made that had some components of the 135is, perhaps because there were some extra 135is parts lying around in the assembly plant, and that these vehicles might be different than some garden variety 135i vehicles? I did call the original selling dealer and he told me that they had no record or order for the M-Sports Suspension in my car-to-be, however this clearly shows up in both of the VIN Check sites I visited for this car.

It is also curious that BMW itself told me that this car is a 135is, and only when I questioned the 2nd person very intensively did he suggest that I call the selling dealer to find out if their records showed something else (which they did; the car they sold was a 135i as far as they were concerned).

Thanks for any information, I am genuinely curious about this.

[gregthegr8]

As a resident IS expert, can you post the vin or a link? I can tell you in 2 seconds if it's a 135is. Or PM me and I can help you out.

[MightyMouseTech]

Post some pics of the car.

[Esteban]

Yes, please post some pics. All 135s come with the M Sport suspension, "is" parts are installed at the port, and the wheels that come on a 135is are 313 style wheels and look like this:

[gregthegr8]

I'd be willing to bet good money it's not an IS-model.

Just check the vin lookup for P7MFA - Edition Sport as the easiest confirmation.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

As a resident IS expert, can you post the vin or a link? I can tell you in 2 seconds if it's a 135is. Or PM me and I can help you out.

PM sent; thanks.

But I don't think it is a 135is, just maybe it has some components on it that may have been leftover from the 135is run.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by EvenEsteban

Yes, please post some pics. All 135s come with the M Sport suspension, "is" parts are installed at the port, and the wheels that come on a 135is are 313 style wheels and look like this:

Not these wheels, as in my post. Perhaps BMW of NA doesn't know what is installed at the port in their own vehicles?

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by champignon

Not these wheels, as in my post. Perhaps BMW of NA doesn't know what is installed at the port in their own vehicles?

Maybe the Lifestyle limited edition? Anybody?

[champignon]

Originally Posted by gregthegr8

I'd be willing to bet good money it's not an IS-model.

Just check the vin lookup for P7MFA - Edition Sport as the easiest confirmation.

I don't see P7MFA on either the real 135is or on the car I'm buying. The VIN lookups I've used are

bmwvin.com and

bmwarchive.org/vin/bmw-vin-decoder.html

I am wondering if either of these sites list port installed options, as they appear to come out of Germany, in one case in German with English translations.

[IEDEI]

Originally Posted by champignon

Not these wheels, as in my post. Perhaps BMW of NA doesn't know what is installed at the port in their own vehicles?

look for these things:

313 wheels
Performance Exhaust
135is badge inside
Hexagon Aluminium trim
PPK2 cooling kit with engine management
Black with blue leather stitching (a lot of 135is had this...but not required)

"M sport" stuff doesn't really mean much.....came with all 135s as mentioned before....but the 135is would come standard with sport seats.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by IEDEI

look for these things:

313 wheels
Performance Exhaust
135is badge inside
Hexagon Aluminium trim
PPK2 cooling kit with engine management
Black with blue leather stitching (a lot of 135is had this...but not required)

"M sport" stuff doesn't really mean much.....came with all 135s as mentioned before....but the 135is would come standard with sport seats.

Thanks very much.

I'm just really surprised that BMW of NA either doesn't train their people well enough, or their own onsite data is so limited, that they would tell a customer calling up 2 different times that a car is something that it clearly is NOT.

As I posted before, I wanted to pick up another 1-Series low mileage 6MT car for my little "collection," and had initially intended to get a 128i, but couldn't find one configured the way I liked at a price I could tolerate. Then I started to look at 135i vehicles, and stumbled onto this one that I thought was an unrecognized 135is being sold as a used car by a domestic car dealer.

But, as a clean car nearly fully loaded with most available options, with <15K miles on it, 2+ years of warranty remaining, and "only" $28K with some other concessions, I thought it was a pretty good deal for a car that has sat on a lot for the last 6 months only getting driven about 50 miles in that time period.

Had it been an "is" it would have been the deal of the century, but for what it is I think I could have done a lot worse. Buying cars at a distance is always a risky proposition, but I have confidence in these people after working with them over the last few days. We shall see!

[gregthegr8]

When I went to a dealer to test drive a 135is they had in stock, giving him the stock # and everything, he started arguing with me and said, I'm sorry sir, no such car exists, you must mean the 335is. Um, no....I had to show him the info on the bmw website where he could build his own if he so desired, and then even had to look it up on his computer in the system to show that he had one in stock.

Another dealer told me that there was no mineral grey available on a 135is, only space gray, even though they had a mineral grey one in stock, that I'd seen and test driven one the day before, and was clearly an available color on the build your own website.

So much bad and misinformation out there which is shocking, considering you'd think their only job is to know the cars they're selling, and these are the BMW people!

[dtla1]

Post some pictures and or the for sale link?

[champignon]

Originally Posted by dtla1

Post some pictures and or the for sale link?

I'll post it when the car ships out, or when I get it and can take some decent pictures.

The pictures included in the listing were bad cellphone pictures taken by a salesman who needs training in how to use his cellphone :-)

[MightyMouseTech]

The problem with going by VIN's, is the "is" was not really a separate model, so the VIN could be a 135i or 135is. It was purely an option package thrown together by BMW USA, not a real different German model, that is why it only exists in the USA.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

The problem with going by VIN's, is the "is" was not really a separate model, so the VIN could be a 135i or 135is. It was purely an option package thrown together by BMW USA, not a real different German model, that is why it only exists in the USA.

Ahem, and Canada of course

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Ahem, and Canada of course

Sort of.

They never called it the "is", but it was built in Germany with all the same option codes.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by champignon

I'll post it when the car ships out, or when I get it and can take some decent pictures.

The pictures included in the listing were bad cellphone pictures taken by a salesman who needs training in how to use his cellphone :-)

I don't think that posting pictures at this time would be very helpful, being as the ones I have are poor quality cellphone pictures that look like your brother in law borrowed your cellphone (with which he is unfamiliar) and took pics on a dealer's car lot. It just looks like a 135i with a black metallic exterior and black leather interior.

Here are the basics and you can tell me if you think I got a good deal:

2013 135i 6MT originally sold 10/2013 in the SE USA, driven about 8500 miles over 11 months, then traded in to a domestic car dealership in a rural SE location. Resold by this domestic car dealer after about a month to a second owner who owned it for 6 months and ran the odometer up another 4000 miles to below 13000 miles. Car traded back in to same domestic dealer and then sat on lot at this domestic car dealer (reportedly 2.5 hours drive from the nearest BMW dealer) for 5 months during which less than 100 additional miles were put on, odo now at around 12,700.

Car had one oil change by the domestic dealer 50 miles ago (silly since could have gotten for free from BMW dealer).

No accidents, cosmetically in good shape other than for a couple of minor superficial scratches and 2 small roof dings, one easily reparable by PDR, other smaller and barely noticeable. Interior reported to be immaculate and never smoked in.

Car has Comfort and Premium packages, heated seats, Sport Seats, M-Sports suspension, comfort access, reportedly good quality tinted windows subcontracted out by original selling BMW dealer, Nav, leather seats, original RF tires still usable, but not the upgraded HK audio.

2 years and ~3 months remaining full BMW warranty. No mods of any sort.

$28,000 plus non-negotiable doc fee, plus heavily discounted shipping.

What do you think?

[anglocanadian]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Sort of.

They never called it the "is", but it was built in Germany with all the same option codes.

Except for the PPK !
I remember you educating me when I posted my M edition.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by anglocanadian

Except for the PPK !
I remember you educating me when I posted my M edition.

True, PPK and PE. But those were added at the port in the U.S., not at the factory. Same as if we added them ourselves after, which I did.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

True, PPK and PE. But those were added at the port in the U.S., not at the factory. Same as if we added them ourselves after, which I did.

Same here.

[parnet]

Bought mine in Dec with 2900 miles on it and it came with pin stripping which I think they all did