Crashed my daily... looking for a new daily

[freeskier7791]

I got an n55 335i 11 stick and have put 50k hard miles on it in 2 years(I drive ~2 hrs everyday M-F on desolate state roads). Really have enjoyed the car. We also have a 17 320 and its just so slow in comparison very happy with the purchase. It's a great platform I have boltons (chargepipes catless intercooler) plus a mhd backend flash surprises a lot of people.

N54/N55 is such an underrated motor. 

[digitalsolo]

So I made the boring (smart?) choice and did NOT get the Porsche Panamera, haha.   I did get the "reasonable Dad car" choice of the 428i xDrive Gran Coupe.   It's super nice, the nicest car I've owned since my Infiniti (the last BMW I owned was an E36 and this is sure a lot nicer).   It's a nice combo of reasonable and still fun to drive.   A 435i would have been faster, without a doubt, but honestly, this is about the same 0-60 as the Focus ST was and it's more than enough for me on a DD basis I think.    The auto trans actually doesn't suck, and it's honestly nice not having to shift on the drive to work in traffic (have I mentioned I'm getting old?).

The color combo is BEA-utiful.    I went in and told them I wanted something not black/dark and no light interior.   I bought a dark brown/gray car with white seats.   LOL.   The color combo was just too damned good.   It's officially "Jatoba Brown Metallic" with "Oyster" interior, but here's a link to the car (this will go away I'm sure):  https://www.bmwfortwayne.com/certified/BMW/2016-BMW-428i-98c398e70a0d04fe4deeffa990bae522.htm

I did order a programming cable so that I can screw around with the coding a little bit because I can't leave anything alone.   I'm also looking at getting the bumper/mirrors clear-bra'd and probably some AC Schnitzer lowering springs.   But beyond that I'll probably leave it alone for the reasonable future.    Hopefully I don't have the issues I had with my other BMW products (the Mini was fine other than the POS Peugeot engine).    I will say the dealer experience at the BMW dealership was WAY nice.   I was certainly the least fancy person in the building, LOL.   They were fantastic to deal with though, even the finance guy was good, he didn't try to hammer me on the dealer extra stuff, which was a nice change from most places I've purchased from.

[AV8rZ]

Good to see everything worked out for you.  That is a great looking car for sure!  I have never considered owning a BMW because I have heard the maintenance and cost of ownership over several years is pricey from people I know that have had them in the past.  Those statement may not apply to you if you’re doing your own maintenance though.  They really are beautifully engineered


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[wickedrx7]

Congrats!  That is a really nice car!! My buddy has an M4 and really dig it. The only problem is now you won’t be able to go back...

[digitalsolo]

Maintenance will be a pain I’m sure, long term.   Nice thing is it’s CPO so it has 23 months of warranty left (unlimited miles).

In my research most of the newer cars seem to be pretty close in reliability on average.   The cost is in labor/parts markup mostly.  My Focus was good, but still failed a brake caliper, high pressure fuel pump, gauge cluster, ballast and sway bar endlink by 65k miles, which was a little annoying.   If this car is at least that good, I’ll be content.   Parts are pretty cheap/plentiful for the drivetrain and there is a good community for them, so hopefully it will work out.   Famous last words, right?  Haha

[Exidous]

My Wrangler is becoming the same. Mechanically it's been pretty good but the electrical, not so much. The infotainment freezes and the whole car had to be turned off. The windows won't go up sometimes. Again, the battery needs to be completely disconnected to get them to go up. All started around 65k miles. I'm going to blame Fiat.

[Venom13132]

I figured you were going to get the 428.   They are nice cars for sure.   You made the smart choice not getting another sports car or project.  I have to tell myself time and time again to not spend money on my 650i coupe and keep the focus on the FD.

[freeskier7791]

I think you will be happy Blake, too bad you only got the 4 cylinder lol.  I think BMW has come a long way with maintenance and such

[Venom13132]

ECSTuning is where I order everything for my and my wife's BMW.   They make good oil change kits and such. 

[gnx7]

I knew you wouldn't get the Porsche.... but the BMW seems a valid choice.  I would've gotten the IS-Fsport as mentioned simply due to no brainer reliability.... plus I keep my cars for well over 100K miles.

My work beater '06 Tundra 4.0 V6 has 170K miles (bought it with 115k miles for $6K 3 years ago) and the only major service work for me has been replace the p/s lines, new radiator.... plus normal fluid changes.  It has no issues at all and keeps on ticking.... but I'll probably sell it (for probably $5K) and get something newer simply for the write off.  I'm a huge fan of Toyota/Lexus reliability and performance (albeit a turbo BMW engine is more fun.... just would have me waiting for the check engine light to come on).  I've owned nearly every generation of 4Runner and LandCruiser which are also some of the most reliable vehicles on the planet.

[digitalsolo]

I looked at an IS F-Sport, but the person at that dealership was kinda off on trying to sell it to me, I don't know why.   Anyway, it was a really pretty blue with a red interior and looked SHARP, for sure.

I got my settlement info on the Focus yesterday, looks like I come out pretty far ahead on it, which is nice.   At least it'll cover my downpayment on the Bimmer and a few little things I want to do for it (ACS springs, Weathertech mats and a clear bar for the front bumper, maybe some small wheel spacers).   

[largeorangefont]

Congrats Blake.

[Cobranut]

I looked at an IS F-Sport, but the person at that dealership was kinda off on trying to sell it to me, I don't know why.   Anyway, it was a really pretty blue with a red interior and looked SHARP, for sure.

I got my settlement info on the Focus yesterday, looks like I come out pretty far ahead on it, which is nice.   At least it'll cover my downpayment on the Bimmer and a few little things I want to do for it (ACS springs, Weathertech mats and a clear bar for the front bumper, maybe some small wheel spacers).   

So, tell us what happened with the Focus... 

[digitalsolo]

Long story short I hit a Mazda (irony).    I was heading through a green light at about 25-30 MPH (coasting) and I looked down to try and change the stereo from AM/FM to USB (MP3).   I usually used the voice control for everything, but I didn't know how to change sources by voice, and was trying to switch it back as the station was playing Radiohead...  and I hate Radiohead.    Anyway, I looked down at the stereo, then looked up and MAZDA.   I don't know why traffic stopped at the green light, but it doesn't matter, it was my own fault.   I was probably still doing about 20 MPH.    I know better, but doesn't change the fact that I screwed up.   Lessons learned...

Fun fact.   The BMW has heads up display for radio controls.   It appears that's a useful feature.

[Cobranut]

Hey, shit happens. 

Hopefully no-one was hurt.  They make new Mazdas and Foci every day.

Good luck with the BMW.  The only reason I didn't buy an M Roadster a few years back was the parts cost scared me off.  They are nice cars though.