Went to my dealer to see 135i and M3

[PersonaNonGrata]

I know that both of these cars have been reviewed here before but I wanted to make a few observations. I've been busy and just didn't get around to my dealer sooner.

• There were two M3's; an E90 and an E92 on the floor. (I don't know if there were more in stock somewhere.) Neither had markups on them, at least not on the windows. They're nice but not selling and at $70,000 as optioned, will likely sit for a while. They had a very nicely optioned 550i Sport for $69,000. Different cars, different classes, but dollar for dollar, I'd take the 550.
• Jerez Black is very, very nice but unfortunately it's prone to swirling like Carbon Black is and a brand new E90 M3 in Jerez had been abused by the dealer's car wash monkeys, wearing lots of swirls as a brand new car.
• The 135i looks kind of funny in person. It's too stubby and tall.
• Despite looking tall, it is not for tall people. I sat in the back seat behind the driver's seat set for my position and I had just enough room to put my feet under the driver's seat and my head was touching the roof. I am 5' 7" so it'll be torture for a 6 footer. The front seats were reasonably roomy.
• The dealer had the misfortune of BMWNA sending them a 135i priced at, hold on, $47,000! It had all the options and will make a very nice demo vehicle because no one in their right mind would pay that for a 135i. I will say that the Glacier Silver Aluminum Trim is pretty cool looking.

It really makes it kind of tough to decide what BMW I want next. The 135i is really too small and unless it's a stripper, not worth it when compared with a 335i. The E90/E92 M3's are just too expensive. Maybe the next one will be a 335. It's just too good.

[Kewl X5]

Glad you had a chance to check it out. 335i is a very nice car for the price, but for $70K, 550i sport or M3, I agree that you'll probably enjoy cruising in the 550i!

Good luck.

[FSETH]

Swirl marks on a brand new $70k car! That sucks. I like both the M3 and the 135i. The M is out of my price range, so I have been paying more attention to the 135i. I saw a conv't 135 on the road and thought it looked good, but I haven't been up close on one yet.

I hear you on the 335 coupe. It is IMO one of BMW's best looking cars right now and with Procede can be fairly close to the M3 performance at a much cheaper price. It is a very good all around car.

[LeMansX5]

Facelift 335 is the way to go.

We need some carbon black and Jerez black comparison shots.

[PersonaNonGrata]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Swirl marks on a brand new $70k car! That sucks. I like both the M3 and the 135i. The M is out of my price range, so I have been paying more attention to the 135i. I saw a conv't 135 on the road and thought it looked good, but I haven't been up close on one yet.

I hear you on the 335 coupe. It is IMO one of BMW's best looking cars right now and with Procede can be fairly close to the M3 performance at a much cheaper price. It is a very good all around car.

Yeah, a brand new $70K car all swirled up. There were some very distinct ones and broad swipes, like when they wiped a rough towel across it. I would demand that they send it for proper paint correction. They know that I do not want my cars washed when I take them in for service.

You hit the nail on the head. The 335 with PROcede is so close to the M3 for so much less money. There are definitely some differences but 50% more cost than the 335? I'll pass. In fact, I did. I was first on the M3 waiting list and I never followed through nor did I get a call. The reality is that there is no need for a waiting list. Dealer allotments are good and demand is pretty low. I had a nice chat with one of the salesmen and he was being very candid with me about BMW's pricing. He had a client consider an M3 all optioned up and by the end of it, the guy decided just to get a 650i. Different kind of car but for the price, it felt more worth it to him. Even his initial comment about the M3 was that it's a very lofty price for an M3.

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Facelift 335 is the way to go.

We need some carbon black and Jerez black comparison shots.

I wish we could see that. Jerez definitely has the blue tones to it that Carbon Black has but I would say that Jerez appears darker. Whereas Carbon Black seemed to show more blue at a shallower view angle, Jerez requires a very sharp angle to show off the blue tones. I think the light has to reflect off it more because of a lesser degree of blue in the paint. The example I saw was in direct bright sunlight. (91 degrees too! )

A facelifted 335i sedan might just be the ticket for me next year. The lease on my E90 330i is up in June. We had planned on a Euro delivery of something next year and might still do it but the Euro is kicking our dollar's butt so it might prove too expensive a trip. If I do get a 335i I'll do an almost stripper. I have to admit that I over-optioned my 330i and learned from that.

[LeMansX5]

Originally Posted by PersonaNonGrata

I wish we could see that. Jerez definitely has the blue tones to it that Carbon Black has but I would say that Jerez appears darker. Whereas Carbon Black seemed to show more blue at a shallower view angle, Jerez requires a very sharp angle to show off the blue tones. I think the light has to reflect off it more because of a lesser degree of blue in the paint. The example I saw was in direct bright sunlight. (91 degrees too! )

A facelifted 335i sedan might just be the ticket for me next year. The lease on my E90 330i is up in June. We had planned on a Euro delivery of something next year and might still do it but the Euro is kicking our dollar's butt so it might prove too expensive a trip. If I do get a 335i I'll do an almost stripper. I have to admit that I over-optioned my 330i and learned from that.

Jerez has 4% more black, and less of blue but green instead.

Jerez Black Metallic
Paint code - A73
The mix is :
Color ( % of total mix )
Black ( 80%)
Pearl Blue ( 7% )
Dark Violet ( 5% )
Light pearl blue( 4% )
Laser Green( 3% )
Pearl White( 1% )

Carbon Black Metallic
Paint code 416
The mix is :
Color ( % of total mix )
Black ( 76%)
Special Red ( 5% )
Pearl Blue( 12% )
Dark Blue( 4% )
Brilliant silver( 2% )
Silver( 1% )

[Quicksilver]

What exactly do you call a stripper??

[vinuneuro]

Thanks for your observations Kevin. Seems that there's starting to get some overlap in terms of performance/$$ in the BMW line-up; but they've got customers covered pretty tightly in terms of finding exactly the car spec'd exactly to meet your needs.

In terms of value I think the M3 loses out to both the 135i and 335i. Procede and a lsd don't cost that much relatively speaking.

Between the latter two, it depends on what you want/need/value. There's a $7k base price between the two, and the 135i has a 400lb weight advantage. The better looks and greater space might be worth that $7k to one person; while another might want the performance advantage of the 135i, and the fact that it's $7k (or whatever the difference when optioned) cheaper would be a bonus. 135i and 335i customers will be of distinct groups.

[statdoc]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

What exactly do you call a stripper??

[Quicksilver]

Took you long enough.

But seriously i was just wondering what kev got this last time that he wouldn't get the next time.

Originally Posted by statdoc