My next vehicle purchase - fun vs responsibility vs stupid

[tortillasoup]

Did we ever figure out what job he got? Why has trident finally decided on a BMW after all this time especially if he already has a car.

 

[jlee]

Do you even drive fast? The real difference between a mazda 3 and a fast car is a serious ticket vs. arrested for reckless.

It appears so.

 

[TridenT]

In the process of purchasing the 135is.

No warranty, FYI. It was sold as a CPO at one point but CPO goes away once it's not private party to private party sell anymore. Go big or go home, boys!

Test drove a 2013 Ford Focus ST. My passenger didn't like the seats. The seats themselves were okay for me but the dealer put way too much stuff conditioner or oil on them. Made them super slippery and eh. Clutch basically caught fire right as I started driving too. It was a lemon car. Didn't get to drive it that fast but there sure was a fucking lot of torque steer even in just my short drive and a brisk pace.

Test drove a 2014 Mazda3 w/ mod exhaust, tower bar, and some modified headers or who knows. Meh. I didn't know it was modded when I went to see it. Doesn't matter. Mods or not, it wasn't great. Steering was very direct. Seemed nice overall but didn't really speak to me. The tires it had were *really* loud. Definitely needed different tires. Even then though, just seemed like a noisy car to drive on the freeway.

Got in the 135is, started fiddling with it a bit, almost immediately liked it. Don't like the turn signal mechanism and the paddles feel meh. And there is a hesitation from a stop. I'm not sure what that is about. Maybe auto start-stop? I couldn't tell if it was. There was this hesitation where I'd put my foot down 10-20% and it'd take like 0.5-1.5 seconds for a response. If I put down 40%, still some hesitation but it'd go more. Rather annoying to me. Maybe it was the clutch engagement for first gear not being great. Again, not really huge issues. Just annoying. And when it got going, it got going. Although, it didn't feel *that* fast. Quick and brisk, yes. Ability to get to 80-90mph without any trouble? Yes. "Holy shit" fast? No. Maybe I'm jaded from having been in enough cars that go similar speeds.

Me and my passenger were both rather impressed with the amount of road noise. It was rather quiet. Quieter than the civic I've been driving frequently. We thought with the soft top that it'd be rather noisy. Nope! Fantastic.

 

[agent00f]

It appears so.

"One reason I had 0 confidence in turns is mostly because of the forced computer controls. You could turn off stability control but that's it. You'd still upshift, you'd still have traction control on... etc. Basically you could opt into throwing yourself into a ditch."

I don't get the impression he's a better driver than traction control.

 

[XavierMace]

Got in the 135is, started fiddling with it a bit, almost immediately liked it. Don't like the turn signal mechanism and the paddles feel meh. And there is a hesitation from a stop. I'm not sure what that is about. Maybe auto start-stop? I couldn't tell if it was. There was this hesitation where I'd put my foot down 10-20% and it'd take like 0.5-1.5 seconds for a response. If I put down 40%, still some hesitation but it'd go more. Rather annoying to me. Maybe it was the clutch engagement for first gear not being great. Again, not really huge issues. Just annoying. And when it got going, it got going. Although, it didn't feel *that* fast. Quick and brisk, yes. Ability to get to 80-90mph without any trouble? Yes. "Holy shit" fast? No. Maybe I'm jaded from having been in enough cars that go similar speeds.

Me and my passenger were both rather impressed with the amount of road noise. It was rather quiet. Quieter than the civic I've been driving frequently. We thought with the soft top that it'd be rather noisy. Nope! Fantastic.

The DCT opens the clutch when you're stopped at a light. A light tap on the gas before hand will close the clutch. Launch control will also remove the delay.

Saying it's quieter than a Civic is setting the bar really low. That said, the road noise takes a back seat to the creaking from the plastic. If that one doesn't have any, give it time, it will. The vert is quite a bit worse than the coupe in that regards. My 135i (2011 Vert) has far more noise than any of the other cars I've owned/driven in recent history:

2013 BRZ
2007 ES350
2007 GX470
2001 IS300

It's a BMW, I shouldn't be getting in a Hyundai and thinking "this is way quieter than my car". I don't regret buying mine but if I had to list the top annoyances with mine, the noise level is definitely at the top of the chart. No, I take that back. BMW's decision to not have a failed water pump trigger a CEL even though the computer knows the pump has failed would be the top. But noise is next. Followed by the water pump itself, which as JLee mentioned is $500 (just the pump itself) and is only "expected" to last 70k miles or so and it a gigantic PITA to replace yourself.

Not sure what you're expecting with the paddles. They're paddles, there's not much you can do with them.

 

[TridenT]

The DCT opens the clutch when you're stopped at a light. A light tap on the gas before hand will close the clutch. Launch control will also remove the delay.

Saying it's quieter than a Civic is setting the bar really low. That said, the road noise takes a back seat to the creaking from the plastic. If that one doesn't have any, give it time, it will. The vert is quite a bit worse than the coupe in that regards. My 135i (2011 Vert) has far more noise than any of the other cars I've owned/driven in recent history:

2013 BRZ
2007 ES350
2007 GX470
2001 IS300

It's a BMW, I shouldn't be getting in a Hyundai and thinking "this is way quieter than my car". I don't regret buying mine but if I had to list the top annoyances with mine, the noise level is definitely at the top of the chart. No, I take that back. BMW's decision to not have a failed water pump trigger a CEL even though the computer knows the pump has failed would be the top. But noise is next. Followed by the water pump itself, which as JLee mentioned is $500 (just the pump itself) and is only "expected" to last 70k miles or so and it a gigantic PITA to replace yourself.

Not sure what you're expecting with the paddles. They're paddles, there's not much you can do with them.

From reading online, seems the rattles are fixed by messing with the trim pieces and adding little dabs and bits of stuff to not let them rattle. Annoying, yes. Fixable? Plausibly.

I didn't hear any rattling. One problem with the car that I will fix on my own somehow is that the convertible is pulling up one piece of rear trim just a bit as it's going up. Not a huge deal but rather annoying. Means the top needs some minor adjustment. It's not a huge adjustment required but some is required. That'll probably take forever to figure out. I'm currently looking into how I can get access to the relevant service information for my year and model. Not a lot of stuff is easily available online. I don't expect to go to a dealer for most things. Seems I won't need to if I do enough googling.

 

[XavierMace]

That sometimes fixes it, temporarily. Most report they come back sooner or later. Usually sooner. And most have to pull off most/all of the trim pieces to figure out which ones are actually rattling/squeaking/creaking.

If by service info, you mean the maintenance schedule, you won't find a set schedule because BMW doesn't have one. They use "Condition Based Service". Meaning "Wait for the car to tell you to come in". The closest thing you'll get to an actual schedule is http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=528846. You'll need a BMW reader (not a standard OBDII) and the relevant software to get more info without taking it to the dealer as well as to reset the CBS light when you do fix something. I think you said the one you're looking at is at 50k miles so you're looking at an oil change and spark plug replacement in the near(ish) future. I recommend http://www.burgertuning.com/bavarian_technic_cable_diagnostic_reset_tool_BMW_Mini.html. While having EVERYTHING using sensors and computer controlled can be annoying at times (car doesn't have a dip stick for example), it is nice being able to plug in my laptop and have it tell me exactly what is wrong. Like the above mentioned water pump.

Other items to keep in mind...

Most bolts on the car are metric hex bolts. So if you're going to work on your car, you need a hex socket set. I went with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054KBNW0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. If you're doing all your own maintenance, get a spark plug socket at the same time.

It's STRONGLY recommended (not just by BMW) that you only use BMW approved oil. You can find the full list of approved oils floating around but most aren't available in the US. Or at least not my part of the country. My recommendation would be https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007G7PUMS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. The 135i uses 6.8 quarts. I specifically gave an Amazon link because none of the closest Autozone's, Oreilly's, or WalMarts to my old house carried ANY oil on the approved list.

BMW uses wheel bolts rather the normal studs and nuts you find on most cars. I personally hate this as it makes tire installation annoying.

BMW has rubber pads to use as jack points. But if you just jack the car up using them, you're going to end up destroying them. You want a jack pad adapter like this https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Jack-Pad-Adapter-BMS/dp/B006VC8UI0.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Lol I guess I'm not getting a BMW until I can buy it new and pay people to fix it for me. I don't want to sound like I'm hating on BMWs but man that sounds like a roundabout way to fix everything.

 

[TridenT]

That sometimes fixes it, temporarily. Most report they come back sooner or later. Usually sooner. And most have to pull off most/all of the trim pieces to figure out which ones are actually rattling/squeaking/creaking.

If by service info, you mean the maintenance schedule, you won't find a set schedule because BMW doesn't have one. They use "Condition Based Service". Meaning "Wait for the car to tell you to come in". The closest thing you'll get to an actual schedule is http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=528846. You'll need a BMW reader (not a standard OBDII) and the relevant software to get more info without taking it to the dealer as well as to reset the CBS light when you do fix something. I think you said the one you're looking at is at 50k miles so you're looking at an oil change and spark plug replacement in the near(ish) future. I recommend http://www.burgertuning.com/bavarian_technic_cable_diagnostic_reset_tool_BMW_Mini.html. While having EVERYTHING using sensors and computer controlled can be annoying at times (car doesn't have a dip stick for example), it is nice being able to plug in my laptop and have it tell me exactly what is wrong. Like the above mentioned water pump.

Other items to keep in mind...

Most bolts on the car are metric hex bolts. So if you're going to work on your car, you need a hex socket set. I went with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054KBNW0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. If you're doing all your own maintenance, get a spark plug socket at the same time.

It's STRONGLY recommended (not just by BMW) that you only use BMW approved oil. You can find the full list of approved oils floating around but most aren't available in the US. Or at least not my part of the country. My recommendation would be https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007G7PUMS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. The 135i uses 6.8 quarts. I specifically gave an Amazon link because none of the closest Autozone's, Oreilly's, or WalMarts to my old house carried ANY oil on the approved list.

BMW uses wheel bolts rather the normal studs and nuts you find on most cars. I personally hate this as it makes tire installation annoying.

BMW has rubber pads to use as jack points. But if you just jack the car up using them, you're going to end up destroying them. You want a jack pad adapter like this https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Jack-Pad-Adapter-BMS/dp/B006VC8UI0.

Yeah, I've been reading up on most of this and known most of the things that go with owning a BMW. I've already downloaded a copy of all the BMW software from 2013. (Which should be fine for my model year 2013 (made in 2012)) I'm looking at cables... and that one seems mighty expensive compared to the ones I saw on DCAN Amazon ones for <$30. I'm guessing it comes with some software you can use some things with the car though. I mostly got the BMW software because I believe it has all the technical documents that I'm going to be needing to work on the car too.

First thing I'll be doing within the first two weeks is changing fluids, spark plugs, and filters. I don't have maintenance history on the car and I tend to like to reset the maintenance history on my cars when I get them. I imagine it'll take me at least a week to just get parts and what not. Couple weekends shouldn't be too bad. I'll be sure to order an adapter or few. I need to figure out where all the proper jack points are located. I know the regular four but are there others? How do I lift the car unless I have one of those special jacks and jack stands that allow you to lower the jack onto a jack stand?

Thanks for the info. Helpful.

 

[jlee]

Lol I guess I'm not getting a BMW until I can buy it new and pay people to fix it for me. I don't want to sound like I'm hating on BMWs but man that sounds like a roundabout way to fix everything.

I strongly considered a 335i (or xi) for a winter car, but didn't want to deal with the maintenance nightmare so I bought a Mazda. They are getting incredibly cheap, though.

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/5872408020.html

 

[XavierMace]

Yeah, the BavTech cable uses their software. The software is a free download but only works with their cables. The DCAN cables use the BMW software. I prefer the BavTech based on my friends lack of luck getting the cheap DCAN cables to work with the BMW software. I've never used that software so I can't compare features/usability between the software. In my admittedly limited perspective the BavTech software does everything I could possibly need ever and probably more. I don't know why I'd want to put the top up or down using the software or the windows, but I can.

Beyond the four obvious side ones, the other two jack points are the pad on the bottom of the engine (you can see it when it's on the ground but good luck getting a jack to it) and technically the rear diff, but the manual states not to lift the car using the diff. I use ramps + a normal jack with the pad adapter.

Oh, and the first time you take off the plastic shroud, you're going to get under the car and go WTF, this doesn't look like any of the pictures/video's. The convertibles have difference chassis braces than the coupes. Larger and longer. Every pictures/video I found was done using a coupe. To get the water pump out on the convertible you have to unbolt the brace at the front so you can swing them out of the way.

Lol I guess I'm not getting a BMW until I can buy it new and pay people to fix it for me. I don't want to sound like I'm hating on BMWs but man that sounds like a roundabout way to fix everything.

Yeah, for a lot of the stuff, I don't disagree. I'm not a wrench guy, I need help/supervision to do much beyond change my oil. But some of the stuff I just look at it and go "WHY?". All my other cars have been Japanese, so I don't know if the hex bolts is BMW thing or a German/European car thing in general. The $500 water pump is just dumb. There's no way around that. The price would be acceptable if it was better than an $80 "normal" pump for my IS300. But no, it's expected life is substantially less than the cheaper "normal" pump. The software/cable doesn't bother me because I'm getting a lot more access/control than I'd get with a standard OBDII reader. The wheel bolts annoy me too, but that could just be my general two left thumbs when it comes to working on cars. Oh, and the battery (which is in the trunk). But good god is it more fun than the Lexus.

 

[XavierMace]

I strongly considered a 335i (or xi) for a winter car, but didn't want to deal with the maintenance nightmare so I bought a Mazda. They are getting incredibly cheap, though.

https://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/5872408020.html

Keep in mind, that's an N54. As I mentioned previously, the "big' issues (HPFP) were drastically more common on the N54's.

 

[jlee]

Keep in mind, that's an N54. As I mentioned previously, the "big' issues (HPFP) were drastically more common on the N54's.

I see a pattern of HPFP failures with the N55 too, but it seems more like one in 80k vs three in 80k.

 

[XavierMace]

What's your source for this as I did no shortage of research before buying mine and I can't find any sort of volume of complaints of HPFP failures on the N55's like you can on the N54's.

 

[jlee]

What's your source for this as I did no shortage of research before buying mine and I can't find any sort of volume of complaints of HPFP failures on the N55's like you can on the N54's.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1067421
Posts 12, 19, 23, 27.

Certainly seems far less frequent than the earlier ones, though (where you'd see people on their fourth HPFP by 100k).

 

[XavierMace]

12 is running an upgraded turbo and they (PureTurbo's) flat out tell you not to do that on the stock HPFP as there's not enough fuel. So, there was a likely contributing factor there.

Regarding 23 and 27, don't specify a HPFP failure, but a long cranking start. I've seen other reports of dealers replacing the HPFP for that specific issue, purely because they are assuming it's the HPFP due to the N54's long running issues. I've seen other reports that a software update resolved the long cranking issue.

Not saying none have ever failed or ever will. But the N54's were widespread, repeated failures. Vastly different story. You've found two actual confirmed failures, one of which is running a modded car which makes it's inclusion invalid. If I used your MR2 as an example, I'd assume MR2's break all the time too.

 

[jlee]

12 is running an upgraded turbo and they (PureTurbo's) flat out tell you not to do that on the stock HPFP as there's not enough fuel. So, there was a likely contributing factor there.

Regarding 23 and 27, don't specify a HPFP failure, but a long cranking start. I've seen other reports of dealers replacing the HPFP for that specific issue, purely because they are assuming it's the HPFP due to the N54's long running issues. I've seen other reports that a software update resolved the long cranking issue.

Not saying none have ever failed or ever will. But the N54's were widespread, repeated failures. Vastly different story. You've found two actual confirmed failures, one of which is running a modded car which makes it's inclusion invalid. If I used your MR2 as an example, I'd assume MR2's break all the time too.

My fuel pump hasn't failed. I would say, though, it's generally expected of a 25 year old car with 265,000 miles making 2.5x factory power to have some problems. That's a vastly different story than a 5yo BMW.

If the problem wasn't solved in post 23, I don't imagine he would have said "I haven't encountered any major problems" afterwards. Post 27 doesn't say anything about long cranking start. I've already said that there appear to be far fewer HPFP failures with the N55. It's probably for the best, as owners are pretty busy keeping their cooling systems operational.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I think certain 335is were given an extended warranty on the HPFP and water pump because they were having so many issues. I know one guy went through 2 HPFP and one water pump in about 10 months

 

[jlee]

I think certain 335is were given an extended warranty on the HPFP and water pump because they were having so many issues. I know one guy went through 2 HPFP and one water pump in about 10 months

This guy says the 2012+ redesign may have fixed it, and the three N55 failures listed in that thread are all 2011. Hopefully the 2012+ part is now a final fix!

 

[XavierMace]

My fuel pump hasn't failed. I would say, though, it's generally expected of a 25 year old car with 265,000 miles making 2.5x factory power to have some problems. That's a vastly different story than a 5yo BMW.

If the problem wasn't solved in post 23, I don't imagine he would have said "I haven't encountered any major problems" afterwards. Post 27 doesn't say anything about long cranking start. I've already said that there appear to be far fewer HPFP failures with the N55. It's probably for the best, as owners are pretty busy keeping their cooling systems operational.

Other people with the slow crank issue reported it went away all by itself. My point is your initial statement of a "pattern of HPFP" failures doesn't seem accurate. The N54's had a pattern of it to be sure. The first run BRZ's and FRS's had a pattern of random limp mode like mine did. I'm not seeing enough reports of N55 HPFP issues to make me think there's any widespread issue with them. All cars have issues of some kind at some point. If you recall, we worked with somebody who went through 2 timing chains on a 2011 Juke.

You keep laughing about the A/C. I'll laugh at your garaged MR2 while I'm out driving tonight.

 

[TridenT]

Bank approved everything. Check is in the mail. Got insurance (spendy). I'll probably get the car by Friday. There are a few details to work out but all is going well so far.

Hoping it works out and there are no surprise gremlins.

I'm creating a to-do list of sorts for the car for when I get it. After I drive it for about 300 miles, I'm going to make an order and start doing all the fixes. Any suggestions on first orders of business and things to buy?

 

[nakedfrog]

Bank approved everything. Check is in the mail. Got insurance (spendy). I'll probably get the car by Friday. There are a few details to work out but all is going well so far.

Hoping it works out and there are no surprise gremlins.

I'm creating a to-do list of sorts for the car for when I get it. After I drive it for about 300 miles, I'm going to make an order and start doing all the fixes. Any suggestions on first orders of business and things to buy?

First order of business, post a pic of yourself in the car.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

First order of business, post a pic of yourself in the car.

With proof of identity. A credit card number and SSN should do.

 

[snoopy7548]

 

[SearchMaster]

Oh damn, lurker pwnage.