Introduction:
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permalink (in case the images don't show up in the future).
2008 BMW 328i Touring
Original listing:
2008 BMW 328i Wagon Sport 6MT Alpine White/Terra (original was deleted, so see it
copied here)
VIN: WBAVS13598FV95160
Technically this is my wife's car. This replaces her manual 2003 VW Beetle (she still has it and will sell it soon). We were thinking we needed a 4-door car, and were looking at new 2015 (3rd-gen) Mazda3 hatches (we also test drove a manual turbo Kia Forte5 hatch) but just didn't love the dealership experience and weren't sure we wanted to spend the $25k for the top-spec model we convinced ourselves we wanted. For a lot less, we could get a whole lot more used car. We settled on looking for a manual RWD wagon, and this was tough. The easiest things to find were the BMWs, so we focused on those. We saw a few in California that might work, but nothing perfect.
We wanted a white car if possible, with non-tan interior, RWD, manual transmission (obviously), no navigation/iDrive if possible, heated seats, and less than 100k miles. Stretch goals were sports seats, sports suspension, non-wood interior trim, and maybe a few other things I can't remember.
It took 12 months, but we found our unicorn. For reference, it only took 9 months to find my Coupe. We found an E91 that ticked every single box we could have ever imagined (except for the wood, but it looks great with the leather color), and it was pretty close to us. There was one other car like it in the country, but they were asking $45k for it, and at one point went as low as ~$35k or so but they turned down an offer for $28k from what I was told. This other car we found however was listed for $21k and it was probably worth about $18k. I wrote to the seller telling them what I thought it was worth, but that the absolute top of our budget was a little less at $17k, and hoped for the best. We had been scooped on other East coast cars in the recent past so we wanted to give it our best shot . We didn't end up coming to a deal, so my wife and I kept looking. A month went by and the car was still for sale, and the owner had lowered their price a bit to $19,995. We'd saved some more money and I reached out again with an offer for the $18,000 I thought the car was worth. I believe the seller realized this was the best offer they were going to get any time soon, and they accepted.
I'm sure it helped that I'd primed them a month earlier.
My wife having driven the Beetle for so long was a bit worried the car would be difficult to drive, or too big, or not great in some way. After driving it home on the highway she was in love. It is just as easy to shift as her Beetle, and it is quieter and more stable on the highway so she is extremely happy with it. :bigthumbup:
The good:- Manual transmission
- Rear-wheel-drive
- White exterior
- Milk chocolate brown interior (Terra Dakota)
- No navigation/iDrive
- Built-in compass! (I use it all the time)
- Under 100k miles (85,555 miles in fact)
- Aux input for audio
- Heated seats (cold weather package)
- Sport seats
- Sport suspension
- ZHP shift knob
- Comfort package (key-less entry, etc.)
- All components like the tonneau cover, dog net, floor mats, tool kit, etc. are all present
- OEM roof racks included by seller
- Aftermarket black grill trim (not a fan of the factory chrome)
- Memory settings for seats/mirrors
- Hill-assist is not obnoxious
- My wife loves it!
The neutral:- Debadged by a previous owner
The bad:- The rear hatch BMW badge is fading.
- There are a few tiny rock chips all around the car, some already filled in with touch-up paint.
- The front bumper is sagging at the bottom a little.
- There is a small crack in the wood-trim of the center console.
- BMW's idiotic contemporary turn signal stalk operation.
- Turning off traction/stability control and adaptive steering takes a 3-second button press every damn time I get into the car.
- Cruise control will not engage with traction control off.
- The fuel economy is not great, and really no better than my Coupe around town.
The ugly:- No engine oil dip stick
- No coolant temp gauge
- The stock wheels it came with are hideous. (Plans to fix that are underway.)
- The left-upper side of the black aftermarket grill looks warped/melted. (The plan is to replace it eventually.)
Driving impressions:
Not much to say other than that it is excellent to drive under all conditions. The clutch/shifter action is great and the pedal placement is typical BMW making heel-toe action effortless. The car eats up the miles on the highway and tucks nicely into sharp corners with way more confidence than it should. The sport suspension must really help here, as I've driven some boat-like BMW wagons in the past. The brakes probably wouldn't hold up on the track, and the open differential is a big problem when trying to put the power down with the current tires. I think the only room for improvement right now would be better brake pads, a limited slip diff, and a better wheel/tire package. The wheels and tires are coming soon, but the rest may or may not happen.
I guess one could also ask for more power. The 335i swap is pretty common, but since this is Katie's car it will likely remain stock power.
Future plans:
As mentioned already, wheels and tires are probably number one priority. Then I'll eventually want to replace the melty-looking grill piece and mount the lower bumper cover a bit better. We'll see what ends up happening when it needs brakes, if I go with something more aggressive or not.
There isn't much else realistic, but dream plans would be a limited slip diff, and then eventually an entire M3 front and rear bodywork conversion. Who knows... We'll see.