Back in Febtober, you all helped me order a 135is (http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...-order-a-135is).
Since then, I ordered the car, sold my ZHP, drove a 1991 325iX and a Dodge Caliber, then took delivery on December 9th (or thereabouts). After a month and 1,200 miles, I'm ready to share some impressions and comparisons having moved on from a 3.5 year/75k mile experience in an IR/Alcantara 330i ZHP.
The Order
Not looking to purchase a new car, I went to my USAA account online to see if I could pay off my ZHP before the end of 2012. As I clicked around, I saw a shiny link that said, "Save $4,000 on a BMW!" Now, I'd always had a bit of a thing for the E82 since it came here in '08, even to the point that I contacted dealers in the Spring of '12 to see if I could drive a manual 135i. Not having any to drive, I forgot about the itch and enjoyed my ZHP.
Then this link winked at me, so I clicked it. Then I clicked a bunch more when it asked me to spec up the car I wanted. Then I clicked "yes" when it asked if I wanted to submit my inquiry to local USAA dealers. Then I clicked my e-mail inbox 5 minutes later to find a dealership in NY proclaiming that they could get me a 2013 135is for under dealer invoice (+ 7% off MSRP). Interesting. I e-mailed back that he'd have to do better. He did.
This caused the initial conundrum: I've procured the price I'm willing to pay for a car I think I want, but I've never driven one, and I still love my ZHP.
So I left it alone for a little while until I got a call from another local dealership responding to my request to drive a 135i from the Spring. Except this test drive would be with a 135is. And I had a price I was willing to pay. All roads were leading to a new car no matter how I tried to fight it.
I called up my car-purchasing partner (my dad), and we went to the dealership to drive the car.
It was parked right next to the building, which I didn't think was significant at the time. I took note of the style 313 wheels, the black mirrors, and the disappointingly chrome grilles, as well as the performance exhaust:
It all seemed to be standard E82, to be honest. Then my CA came out with the keys and started the thing. The Performance exhaust cold start reverberated off of the glass windows, called everyone to attention, and rumbled and growled its way to operating temperature. My father is typically not amused by this sort of thing; we both giggled and were basically amazed a car would come from the factory sounding like this thing does.
No turning back, I test drove the car. After, I sent Keith a picture text of it. His response was something to the effect of, "Looks like a Marc-mobile." Smart guy!
Driving the car convinced me I could move on from the ZHP, so we began negotiating price. The dealership couldn't match the USAA guaranteed price, then they insulted me for the trade-in on my ZHP, so I walked out and hastily made an illegal "feeler" thread here for my ZHP.
This is my ZHP leaving my driveway with its great new owner:
With my in a comfy-garaged new home, and I was without a car until I saw my friend and local CCA chapter president Larry at 7-11, who offered his extra bimmer to me:
In the meantime, I put in my official order with your help:
2013 135is
Space Gray
Coral Red
Heated Seats
I went back and forth with Space vs. Titanium, and I even seriously considered going with the LeMans Blue that I test drove since it's the "official" 135is color (as IR is the official ZHP color) and comes with the is-only blue stitching on the interior. Nevertheless, the poll you helped me with was conclusive.
At this point, the order was placed, my car was gone, and the wait began.
The Wait
The wait seemed to be interminable. Basically, I spent hours tracking the car's progress, calling the hotline, threatening to cancel the order, and watching every youtube video of every 135i ever made, twice.
I also ordered my winters during the wait:
Driving the 325iX was an absolute blast, and it was appropriate, because to me the E82 is more related to the E30 in looks and proportion and performance than the 2002 of its marketing campaign.
Driving the rental dodge caliber was gross.
Finally, after placing the order in early October, the car was ready for me in mid December.
Delivery Day:
Delivery day coincided with a weekend I was to spend with my two best friends from high school, so they and my original car-buying partner (dad) all saddled up and headed north to the NY dealership to pick up my new ride.
I arrived to the dealership with minimal fanfare. My car was nowhere to be found, and my CA wasn't there to greet me. The dealership was busily helping other customers. Once I found my CA, he took me to the delivery section of the dealership, where I saw the 1er for the first time:
Then I started it for the first time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db67dEbVzpQ
Then I stopped worrying about the coral red being too bright:
After I signed some papers, I was ready to take it home:
First stop, took my buddies to my place of work (where we may or may not have transformed the gymnasium into a modern-day american gladiator arena as we created our own version of the Eliminator):
Breaking In
I'm one who believes the BMW hype of break-in periods. As such, I pledged not to rev the car past 5k rpm, but I made no promises as to how I would get to 5k rpm. While I didn't have red-line fun during break-in, I had plenty of fun.
Mods
Ha, mods. I'm such an OEM fan that I never thought I'd ever have a section of anything entitled "mods." Still, I made three (actually 4 with clearbra):
Tint:
Winters:
Grilles:
Alright already, how does it DRIVE?!
This car is frantic. It does everything NOW. Insane acceleration? Yes, please, NOW. Darty steering? Yes please, NOW. Bumps and shakes thanks to the run-flat tires? Yes, NOW and ALWAYS.
It is easily faster than my ZHP below 5k rpm, and the steering is just as good as the E82 still uses a real-deal hydraulic power steering system. The suspension with runflats is as you'd expect the ZHP to be if it were plagued with runflat tires: harsh. With regular tires, it's perfect, so I plan to ditch the runflats in the spring and keep them in case I ever need to get rid of the car.
While there are a lot of similarities between driving an E82 and a ZHP, you can tell the E82 is a 1 and the ZHP is a 3. The ZHP is more refined, smoother, and it feels to be better put-together to me. I'm not complaining, because I've always wanted BMW to make a NEWER car LESS refined, and they've went and done it with this car, but if your desire is a refined, smooth, silky, performance car, then you're not going to do better than a ZHP (except for with an E46 M3, I'd say). But if you've got a hankering for some real power in a similarly communicative and well-proportioned package, well then it becomes obvious why everyone loves their 1ers.
I doubt I'll ever be more comfortable in any car than I was in my ZHP's alcantara and cloth heaven. But the 1's interior is as it should be: not so barren as the E90, and still driver-oriented and simple as I like. The steering wheel is beefy, the shifter (not my favorite) has a shorter throw and has more positive feedback than the ZHP's, and the seats with the adjustable lumbar and inflatable side bolsters are definitely a step up. The red is perfect - much deeper than pictures show.
Because this car is noticeably less refined than the E46 platform, you feel the performance exhaust run past 1,800 rpm up to 2,100 rpm. It vibrates your bottom and reminds you that you're not driving some luxo-barge.
So I'm loving it, very much, as it crackles and burbles its way into my heart.
My Favorite Parts of the 1:
- Space Gray/Coral is amazing each time I look at it.
- Performance exhaust is almost too loud, but I'd go into a depression if it wasn't on my car.
- The added power of the PPK2 makes this car more powerful than I'll ever need, so no thoughts of tunes or anything else of the like.
- The 313 wheels are incredibly impressive in person. Wasn't sure I'd love them, but I do.
- Low-end torque fits my driving style, especially around town. Having something near 300 lb/ft available at 1,800 rpm =.
- With the proper tires, this car will feel and handle as it should.
- Bluetooth is awesome!
- Cold start - it startles everyone!
Undecided on:
- Leather in general vs. cloth. Can't imagine I'll like the leather better in the end.
- Lack of a dipstick - I'm checking the oil frequently, but I don't know if the computer is accurate!
Dislike:
- Automatic wipers are stupid and can't be made to only go intermittently based on what I want instead of vehicle speed (looking to get this programmed out).
- Smaller gas tank = much shorter range than E46.
- Lack of donut spare (have BMW mobility kit like M-cars).
In all:
Do I miss my ZHP? Of course. But I think this E82 will be one to remember, and I think it'll provide me with about 3-5 years of Freude Am Fahren, which seems to be how long I keep cars before I get the itch for something else. This will be the first time I won't profess to keep the car forever, because we all know that won't happen. But in the meantime, it's causing lots of grins and keeping me young, as it seems to be a decidedly less mature car than the E46
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hahaha
Originally Posted by zhpnsnv
