Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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As far as doing the retrofit or not, there is no doubt whatsoever in mind that I want the retrofit, even if I have to go back for an alignment after that. It improves the sporty feel of the car dramatically and especially if you have the SP, it will retain its value much better over time.
Maybe I have too much faith in people, but I would tend to think most dealerships who aren't doing the alignment are simply not familiar with the steps (although in my case, mine was the first retro done by my dealership and they got it right). If these guys are skipping steps to make money, that's just pathetic.
1. Do you notice the same drivability at 85+ mph?
2. I've read that there is a whistling noise with the Dinan CAI that you can hear at off-idle speed. Do you notice this on your car?
3. Would you recommend doing the triad (CAI, exhaust and chip) or just the CAI? Why?
I understand that your dealership has a working relationship with ECIS and I see a conflict of interests here. You'd do yourself and the board a favor if you try to sell the ECIS products in a more balanced way instead of drumming that they are the best thing since the creation of ice cream. I am very interested in hearing more FACTS about this but we are all intelligent people and can think for ourselves.
As far as blowing the competition away, I have never posted about lesser cars. It's always been about cars that have significantly more powerful motors and only about those that try to run with me and try hard. I just put to shame an MB CLK 55 AMG (0-60 sub-5) a couple of days ago with my lowly 325i. It was driven by an Arab sheik-looking type of guy who was trying harder than you can imagine. Well, in the end, it's about driver skill more than anything else. A CAI might make this a little easier but it sure is more fun doing it with a less powerful car. There is no glory in outrunning a car half the power of yours. It's the other way round.
http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=aarona&album_id=32810
Now having picked up the car ( 330i Steel blue/gray, PP, SP, CW, CD, Zenon, auto) I have a question for those who have their cars. How long did your sales rep take to present the car and do the final paper work? All told for me it was 35 minutes and that included signing the papers, presentation, and me following the rep to a gas station to fill the tank. I felt like I got the proverbial "bum's rush" compared to when I purchased my Lexus GS300. Lexus has it down perfectly.
I did not get taken to the service area, had no one explain the key programming features, and when I wanted to order the Home Link, I was told to call the service department. This guy's fast explanations reminded me of those old Fed Ex commercials. The sales rep told me he made more money on most deals - this one was just the $2k over invoice. I never called him or BMW once after placing my order on 6/20 and he spent maybe 20 minutes with me during the entire test drive process. All he had to do was hand me the keys the 3x I drove the car. We negotiated over the phone.
So before I get tight and tell his boss, I thought more opinions were in order. Is this standard practice for BMW dealers? Is this how you do it, Gurumike?
I have to admit that I like Garlyn Shelton of Temple, Texas, and will probably buy from them again, but my particular salesman wasn't very polished.
My car got hit by a small rock this morning, now there is a small chip on the windshield. Any suggestion please? I am afraid it may become a crack and will get worse. I know there is no way to keep the car perfect forever, but it is only 36 days old since I picked it up from the dealer. Thanks in advance. Meg.
megrdh, the same thing happened to me with a chip. My insurance let me pick a place and I took it to them (they will also come to you). They charged my insurance company $50 - I paid nothing. You can still see where the chip was, but it's not in my line of vision. They do guarantee against any further cracking.
Give the salesperson a chance to respond to your information. Hopefully he will learn a lesson here. But if he still doesn't meet your satisfaction, then I'd take it to his boss.
And don't forget that you can buy the Homelink mail-order and install it yourself easily.
changer that is compatible with the factory
installed radio. (Not Harmon Kardon, with single
CD in dash). Thanks
Regarding your windshield chip...I had the same thing happen a few years agon on my Miata. I got the repair, and it was ok for about a year, but then the resin stuff deteriorated, so I went ahead and had the windshield replaced. In my case, I have a $0 on comprehensive coverage, so there was no benefit to me in have the repair versus the replacement. I was willing to try repair in order to save my insurance company some money, but I don't think it worked very well. It depends a great deal on the nature of the damage. I had one of those "bullet hole" type of rock dings. Good luck with it, though.
Regarding the Universal Transmitter: The install job is a breeze, once you can find the wiring harness. It almost seems as though BMW goes to great lengths to hide the thing so that people will break down and go to the dealer for installation. In the case of the 3 series with sunroof, there are 3 unused wiring harnesses in the headliner. One is a 6 pin with a white plug, one is a 3 pin with a black plug (for the cell phone mic), and the last is a 3 pin with a white plug. The last one is the one you want.
The range of the HomeLink unit is not nearly as good as the transmitter that came with the garage door. I used to be able to open the door out on the street before I ever got to my driveway. Now I need to be actually on the driveway, perhaps 10-15 feet from the door.
Although it doesn't seem to work as well as the original transmitter, I do like not having to have a garage door opener transmitter lying around or clipped to the visor. And the install looks very good and quite professional. It looks like a factory install. And, at night, the numbers below the buttons illuminate in the same lovely reddish orange glow of the dashboard gauges.
When I ordered my car, The rep was good to me but follow up call about the status of my car have not been too courteous. I feel like I am being a bother rather than an eager owner-to-be. I am not expecting even 30 minutes with mine when my car arrives.
http://www.homelink.com/faq/faq.html#
Check the suggestions for improving the transmitter range. I found that reprogramming my UT using a new battery in the original garage door opener improved the range by about 20 feet.
Hope this helps.
1. No. It's a little better.
2. No.
3. Depends on who it's for. Although I have in the past done exhaust etc, I'm quite happy now with just the intake. I'd say that you either just do the intake or the whole lot. Some people do the exhaust for looks/sound. Jon Shafer recently got a Racing Dynamics exhaust and the ECIS intake but he has yet to do software. It looks quite good (2 fairly large round tail pipes) and surprisingly has little extra noise. It's a bit boomyer but not loud like some. From a performance perspective, the exhaust is not really worth doing unless you do the other 2 items too. Since 1996, U.S. cars have had OBD 2 (on board diagnostics). One of the biggest differences between OBD1 & OBD2 is that OBD2 doesn't "permit" the fuel flow to be increased from a factory setting. On 95 and earlier cars if you, for example, put your intake on, the mass air flow sensor sees that a larger volume of air car enter the engine and it turns up the fuel supply accordingly. An exhaust would only provide a small improvement, but that's a small improvement more than it would on an OBD2 car. In a normally aspirated engine (no turbo/supercharger), especially our BMWs, the exhaust is already efficient enough for the flow of exhaust gas at the pressure it's delevoped. That's why you need a "chip". The new software will match fuel supply, as well as numerous other engine operating features, with the engines potential. Remember - increasing efficiency means better gas mileage as well as quicker (although not at the same time!).
What is this "working relationship" with ECIS about which you speak? Although I did, coincidently, tell the parts manager that he could become a supplier for their offerings, we are not right now. I got mine directly from ECIS. I, like errikson, had spoken with Sean at ECIS who was quick to point out their policy of maintaining a fair price but that, as part of their distribute agreement, no-one is allowed to sell them for less than their (low) retail price. I could have gotten 20% off the Dinan part and I'm sure one of the techs would have put it on for me for cheap. It was only because of the reviews people had given ECIS at bimmer.org that I was swayed. That and I really didn't want my car being taken apart for the first time since it left the factory for anything but an absolutely essential repair. I am sorry if my enthusiasm for my new toy was excessive but I really am that stoked on it. What made you think that I/we have a "working relationship" with ECIS ?? PS - I'm fairly sure a CLK55 would walk away from anything this side of an M3. Holding the gas peddle down doesn't require a great deal of skill!
kiski - I am sorry to hear that your delivery experience was less than it should have been. But you needn't worry about calling the guys manager about the problem, unless you really want to. In about a week after you get a new BMW, Sky Alland (a marketing company who work for JD Power &assoc) will be calling you for a "CSI" survey. The customer satisfaction index is extremely important for the dealership, as well as BMW. Even on an ordered car where all the credit apps have already been done and the delivery evolves just your signing the paper work and being shown the car and around the dealership, I usually will take at least 2 hours. Just the car will be the better part of an hour. BMW has several very clear expectations of what needs to happen at delivery. Questions on the survey include "Were you introduced to the parts and service dept". With the exception of weekends or after service hours, I take my customer to the service dept, introduce them to a specific service advisor, tell the service guy what they just brought ("congratulations etc") and take one of their business cards for the owners books. Then it's off to parts. "Thorough explanation of vehicle controls". Well, I'd wager that if you were in and out in 35 mins which included signing papers, this likely didn't happen! "Explanation of warranty" - was it? "Contacted since delivery" - I have spoken to people that didn't hear a word from their sales man after they drove off in their new car! This is one I can not imagine missing! You will have this opportunity to share you feeling about that standard of delivery with all (BMW, your salesman, his sales manager and the owner!!!). BMW expects no less from it's representives than Toyota expects of it's "Lexus" people.
Again, sorry to hear that. I hope that you find the car so good that that will just be a distant memory. One philosophical rule I try to remember - "product and service are remembered long after price is forgotten". Some sales people think there is a sliding scale of service that relates to how much $$ they made. I think that profit is just a reflection of the model you selected and that all that matters is that even a Dodge Neon customer is making a $12 plus THOUSAND sale. When I purchased my Allen Edmunds shoes at Nordstrom, I got the red carpet treatment for about an hour. I "only" spent $300. Your car was about ONE HUNDRED TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE !! You deserve at least the same treatment!
megrdh - I get a new chip on my windshield once every couple of months, if not even more often (a lot of this is a speed factor). I wait till I get a few chips and then replace the whole windshield. The insurance companies typically cover it no questions asked but make sure to get a BMW factory windshield. I do have a 1/4 inch crack right now but it will be fine for at least a year. I do too much driving (road warrior type) to worry about chips and waxing...
aaron330 - nice looking car!! One thing I especially like about the 330 is the aluminum inserts around the tach and speedometer. The contrast makes for easier reads.
guru - good response, thank you. Looking forward to seeing the pictures. As far as the exhaust, a lot of BMW tuners claim an HP and torque gain due to the exhaust only. I am surprised to hear you say that the ECIS exhaust is mostly for sound and looks. Are they reselling AA exhausts BTW? Oh, I thought you'd mentioned once that your dealership was very close to becoming an official ECIS distributor.
As far as the MB CLK 55 AMG, it should walk away from just about anything, maybe even an E46 M3. And that exactly is my point: on the mostly congested interstates, there's only so much HP can do. All you need is a well-handling and braking car with reasonable HP. The rest of it is driving it well, especially keeping it in the right gear and having a feel for the traffic. Probably most of the guys in my kart racing league would easily walk away in a CLK 55 but most owners of really fast cars don't know how to get the most out of them. It must be really embarrassing for an owner of an 85-grand brand spanking new super-fast AMG car to have their beep whipped by a 325. Conversely, it was a lot of fun for me and the Shtroumpf.
I was browsing this "forum" on behalf of a friend who is considering getting a 3-series for his son, and caught your post.
No the CLK55 will not walk away from an M3. I have driven both recently and extensively, along with an M5 and E55. I can personaly assure you that, in terms of performance and handling, the M3 is definately a more "fun to drive" car (although a less luxurious ride) than the CLK55. I did the comparisons to confirm my previous decision to get one and am on track to take delivery of a 2002 in November / December. My dilemma was between the M3 and M5, and I've basically traded the practicality of a four door sedan that can more comfortably seat my family for the pure fun factor of the M3. We'll likely be trading our SUV for a Mercedes Wagon next year, so the wife and kids won't be suffering.
By the way, the CLK55 was not as impressive as I thought it would be. Handling was only marginally better than a CLK430, which, although not bad, is not in BMW's "M" league. Supposedly, the new C32 will be the hot performance car from AMG. The Mercedes dealer tried to pursuade me to wait. However, without a manual transmission, the fun factor just wouldn't be there for me.
I'm glad I went through the seat of the pants testing for myself. It was fun and enlightening.
Now, he did not throw in a t-shirt or keychain, as I recall Brave received (via his honey), but I didn't give that a 2nd thought, as I received a fantastic deal on the car.
Believe it or not, since he knew it would be late in the evening when I arrived home (about 2:00am), he asked me to email him when I got home, so they knew the car and I arrived home safe. I found that thoughtful. He followed up several times after the sale via email and phone to make sure all was going well, and to answer any questions I may have had.
Guru is spot-on about the survey. They will ask several questions about your experience - front to back, and ask you to rate your satisfaction.
That is sad!
Brave - I didn't say anything specific about an ECIS exhaust. To the best of my knowledge, ECIS don't make an exhaust, they off the (highly acclaimed on bimmer.org!) Active Autowerks part (as you noted). I believe my comments to be true on any after market piece. On the CLK55 note, a new M3 would out class it. The new C32 AMG does do 0-60 0.2 quicker (4.6 vs 4.8) but the M is still considered the better sport sedan. I think a CLK55 is somewhere in the mid 5s to sixty.
It's a toss up. I own a 3.2TL and it's quick and fun to drive, but I want something better. I'm in the market for a fast, sporty, good lookin' car? (pretty easy right?)
Here is what it comes down to:
1. BMW 330Ci with ALL options $43k: I like the looks, and speed.
2. Lexus GS300 with Navi
3. Audi 2.6T
I really have my heart set on the bimmer. It looks great, drives well and is decently quick (automatic). My only concerns:
1. Getting a good deal! I want at least $1.5k off MSRP, you think they'll go for it?
2. How good is the navigation system? The screen is kind of small. How bout it's functionality? I personally like the Acura navigation systems. Easy to use and DVD map thus whole US? Anyone have any comments?
Any other comments and suggestions would be great. What do you except to pay for this BMW 330ci?
Brave1heart, I understand your thoughts on spending what might seem like an inordinate amount of $$$ on a watch (I was actually shopping at Bailey, Banks, Biddle in Copley this afternoon, btw). However, the same argument could be applied by many regarding spending large $$$ on an automobile! The bottom line, as you pointed out regarding your 3, is that it is something I wanted and fulfilled whatever strange needs I have as to its purchase. I didn't buy it to impress anyone as I'm sure 98% of the population would not know an IWC from a Timex!
I currently drive a Chrysler 300M, which is a major surprise to anyone who knows me (a domestic? A Chrysler?!?), however, I am thoroughly enjoying this impressive (and large!) auto. I post on the 300M board, but thought there might be more watch afficianados over here...
Enjoy your rides and thanks for allowing me to participate!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
But anyway, the car feels a lot sportier and makes me feel I am driving a true BMW. This is even spotier than the E36 sports coupe I used to own buta much better car. The dealer did perform a 4 wheel alignment. The car feels a lot better than when it was brand new now that I got the steering done and the new gas pedal assembly.
I am very happy that I had this done.
For those who are hesitating, Go for it!
Dan
Who was your dealer? I found out that my car is now at the VPC, and I'd like to give my dealer my memory key settings. I hope my dealer will provide a better presentation when I pick it up, otherwise, I think I'd politely ask him for a little more if he tries to give me the "rush job". I'm so excited! HOWEVER, I just decided to move in another apartment complex with my girlfriend, and it has one attached garage per apt., and she's says it's HERS, no arguments! On an odd note, the guy moving out of the apt has a 323i...
Also, the form they send is an abbreviated form, it doesn't have all the settings that can be made, only broad categories. The FAQ you're looing for is at:
http://e46fanatics.com/~pete/e46_custom_config_01.html
The above page is no longer available, though, since they seem to be doing a site redesign.
The first time I take my car in to get serviced, I'll be making a couple fine tuning changes.
Thanks for your feedback. I'm particularly pleased to learn that the texture of the seats did not change (I don't like the wet/soft look).
bmwagonmaster & tcn2k,
Thank you for the unexpected help with the Universal Transmitter's short range. I've been living with it but starting to get annoyed. I'll try the new battery, farther distance re-program tonight with my car not running this time (since their site hints that the UT's low range may be caused by noise during programming).
Am I correct in assuming that I have to clear out all memory before re-programming?
The guy also said that to improve transmitter range:
1)put new batteries in hand-held opener, and re-train your universal transmitter. In addition,
2)check the antenna on the garage door opener unit to ensure it has a clear path to the universal transmitter.
3) also, ensure there are no obstructions between the UT and the garage door, b/c this further weakens the signal.
I think wagonmaster may have mentioned these remedies previously, but I couldn't remember.
The Homelink customer service people are happy to review the steps needed to improve transmitter range, and the info is available on their website.
yes, you will need to 'clear out' your old codes. the transmitter must be reset to the default codes anytime you retrain it...
I was wondering at what date the 2002 model begins manufacture? I've heard that DSC will be standard, which is a $2500 benefit on our options list down under!
Any thoughts?
I agree with laurasdada. No, a nice watch isn't necessary, but how many of us really need anything more than transportation. A Camry would do fine. As a side note, I'm not a big fan of Tags as dress watches but I've owned one of the Tag plastic dive watches since the time when there were no diving computers--13+ years ago. It's still running strong without ever needing a service.
V1: I installed the remote display this weekend. Took half an hour and it's easy to completely hide the line. Positioning the display is another matter. It's hard to find the perfect spot. Right now I've got it on the aluminum trim right below the vinyl that surrounds the instrument panel. (I used Scotch mounting tape as the velcro that comes with the unit is useless.) I can view the display through the steering wheel. The mute button is easier to reach and softer than on the main unit. The main unit is runs dark. On the whole, I think I like this addition. Once I get used to looking down rather than up, the placement will be more convenient and it should be easier to mute without looking.
As far as choosing the M3 over the CLK and M5, I salute your choice. I would have done the same hands-down, except I would have also considered the Boxster S in the 60 G's price range. The CLK 55 looks great but it seems that it would be a status person's choice. The M5 is a great car but I cannot justify the 20-grand premium over the M3. BMWNA is well aware of the fact that a lot of buyers would opt for the M3 if it were offered in sedan trim and that is the only reason they offer the M3 in coupe form only. Another thing about the M5 is that once you get up to 80 G's, the Porsche 911 gets my money no questions asked. Neither the M3, nor the M5 would be considered even a short-distance family hauler and in your situation that's one more reason to get the M3. Keep us posted.
My daughter's 330xi with manual transmission, build wk 14, received the recall about two weeks ago. However, my 325xi wagon (with manual trans.), also build in wk 14 but at the Regensburg facility has not received one.
Have any wagon owners with cars built in the Feb to April time-frame received a recall notice?
Check this link out for the latest recall update someone working at BMW in Arlington:
http://www.bimmer.org/3series/messages/archive/msgsy2001w31/2734.html
pryan2,
Bother brave1heart about that one. I think he did the same thing to his coin holder.
It was fine today, but of course I've already got it with service. That said, I'm still totally satisfied with the car!