It also has service records back to 1987, and a whole list of major work done in 2010, including the timing belt..
The crack with the tape is on the bottom of the spoiler, not the bumper... (and, cheaper to fix).
The seat needs work... but, that is pretty typical for any BMW sport seat of that age... A decent interior trim shop should be able to fix that..
He is pretty detailed in his description of the car.. Does his own maintenance... Just bought an E39 540i, and has Porsches.. It sounds like it has no mechanical needs... comes with another set of basketweaves and winter tires, as well..
I've looked at quite a few, and if the car matches his description, then I'll try to buy as cheaply as possible. I'm starting to find (or not find, actually) that nice ones are rare..
Wagons: She hates wagons.... she likes SUVs and AWD.. Pretty simple.. Wagons, hatches and minivans need not apply.. She'd be more likely to take a sedan, than any of those.. (but, it still wouldn't be what she wanted).
I've got time.... no hurry.. deals might be better next month.
If I needed AWD, I would buy neither as the former is too expensive (E-class money easy) and the latter won't be especially good in snow. If it was simply on money, the later is a far better value.
Where exactly was Rob hanging around discussing his search for a piece of crap (er., new car) for his wife? So, will spam it!
Stopped to look at a private sale(as in, on the guys front yard) on the way home from work. Sounds perfect. Other maybe than the price, but that ain't my problem!
1999 BMW 528i. Blue over tan, Premium pack, and nice alloys (including a 5th in the trunk). AT. Looked nice and clean, deep sneakers, shiny, etc.
Only 151K on it. Guy has had it since 2001 (22K). All maintenance done at a local MB/BMW only shop that IIRC is top notch, so records available. Started right up, seemed to run fine.
I pulled up as another guy was just starting to look. He drove, I left.
Items of note:
Front pass. window motor out. Guy claimed it happened right after he bought the replacement (a 745, current style), so he did not fix. Also saw condensation in the headlight lenses. Other than that, from a quick walk around and peak under the hood, look nice and clean.
Asking $4,500 OBO due to the As Is factor. Claims to have had multiple offers, I'm sure much lower (due to the As Is factor!)
If you want to put in on the pile, I got a phone number! It's near me in Voorhees.
It's probably the regulator. A common E39 Malady and a relatively easy DIY job. Regulators can easily be found for less than $150.
Guy claimed it happened right after he bought the replacement (a 745, current style), so he did not fix.
The RR regulator died on my E39 the night before the new owner was to pick it up. I hadn't lowered that window in months. :mad: We used the same indie shop so we agreed that the shop would fix it and I would pick up the tab.
Also saw condensation in the headlight lenses.
It's hard to find a pre-facelift car that doesn't have that problem...
Asking $4,500 OBO due to the As Is factor.
I'll be living in the garage if I bring another stray Bimmer home. :P
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
This is only half the info you really need (ask car_man for money factors) but this link shows you the ALG 5-star rated models, which ought to be cheaper to lease:
We should start up a club for Flex lovers anonymous. I don't think I know anyone that owns one but I know loads of folks that love the look of them and I'm right there.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I coach hoops and one of the other coaches has one. Ford guy, had a pair of Windstars, then an Explorer, now a Flex. Wondering which Ford he'll buy next.
His is maroon with the white top, pretty cool. Well equipped, too.
Those things are lo-oooooong. Like a stretch Limo version of a crossover.
Any how, an EcoBoost model with AWD would appeal to me, sure. They get spendy, though.
Took the day off on Wednesday to go to the ballgame (not off from Edmunds, of course... 24/7 dedication..)
My friend works downtown, so we parked in his downtown office building parking garage.. Lady gets on the elevator on the way up to the lobby... notices me in my team gear, and says, "Going to the game? Where are you sitting?". I told her we had really good seats behind the dugout, and she said, "Oh... I was hoping I could upgrade you. We've got a dozen club seats going unused for today's game". (Club seats: under cover, free food).
Well, it was an on/off rainy day... She said we could have a pair of seats anyway, just for the free lunch. So, we followed her towards her office. Now, my friend works in the building, but he had no idea who she was, or who she worked for. The free food was perfect, as we were heading to lunch before the ballgame, anyway..
She asks us to wait on the mezzanine, while she walks toward her office at the other end.. About halfway down, she turns around and starts back towards us, and asks us to come on down with her (wait a minute... this is starting to sound like Penthouse...lol). As we are walking towards her office, she turns to me and says, "What kind of car do you drive?"
.. the nice lady who was getting us club seats asked me what car I drove..
"Today, I'm driving a BMW Z4." She then turned to my friend (who by now, knows who she works for). "And, what do you drive?" He tells her he has a Toyota and a VW..
"Did you get that Toyota at XYZ Toyota?" He cringes a little and tells her he is sorry (hey, those are $80 tickets she is giving us), but he didn't.. It's about now that I notice a display outside of the office suite, and it's full of car brochures.. Then, I look at the door and notice that it says "XYZ Auto Group".
XYZ is one of the bigger independent auto dealer groups in town.. I think they have about 12 dealerships. And.. one of them was the Audi dealership that I was at, just last Saturday with my wife. Where we test drove the Q5. But, of course, I had no idea that their headquarters was in a downtown office building.
Now, the light bulbs are going off in my head! So, I tell her all about our shopping excursion, and how nice the salesman was (even remembered his name, off the top of my head). How much my wife really liked the Q5 and how her lease was coming due next month, yada, yada, yada... but, that we still hadn't made a decision on what to buy.
So, about now, someone in the office brings out an envelope with the tickets.. she gets out a post-it note and writes a name and phone number down and sticks it on the envelope.. "This is the Sales Manager at XYZ Audi. You tell him that I said to give you the F.O.XYZ. deal." (Friend of XYZ)
Now, this is really nice, but I've noticed that it never goes that well, when you walk into a place and say, "Hey, someone more important than you said to do this for me". So, I asked her if she could take my name and number.. She said sure... .and, then as she was writing it down, says, "Do you want me to have him call you?". You bet I did..
So.. we shook hands, thanked her for the tickets... and then, left for the game..
Looks like this will be our time table or maybe into the fall, I'd like her to get a 2013 model but we'll be well into 100k territory by then. But I think the Mazda will just be up to the challenge. Might need to give her some new sneakers in the next few months but it's better than laying out about $18k or so. Luckily I can read about all the new cars y'all get in here. On a side note, saw a new Rabbit in red on the way home earlier, a four door sedan. Looked very classy in that color!
I am,
The Sandman :sick: :shades:
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Not sure how much TV y'all watch, but if you watch any, you've probably seen ... or sped through on your DVR ... the Suzuki "Kisashi Kicks" commercials.
They set up shop in the parking lot of my local outlet mall this past weekend, so I stopped by for a look see.
I wasn't pre-registered, so I had to fill out some paperwork .. usual stuff. There were two parts to the display. The first was a comparison of some interior bits of the Kisashi, an A4 and the C300 - specifically, the shift level and surround, AC interface, steering wheel and drivers side door panel. I was asked to mark a sheet with what I thought was the Suzuki version of each.
Got only 1 of 4 right .. the AC interface.
Second part was a test drive of the Kisashi. In the parking lot, they had set up a circle with sand on 25% of it, then a sheet of plastic that was wet .. they were to demonstrate the stability control and AWD systems. I got a top model SLS - red with black leather.
The circle part was interesting as the guy who rode with me kept telling me to add more power. We went around the circle twice and got dizzy by the time we were done. The AWD demonstration was pretty straight-forward. Since the Kizashi has a switch to engage AWD, he first had me accelerate from a dead stop in FWD mode. Lots of tire spin. Then, with AWD engaged, he had me floor the throttle and away we went - no drama at all. Got to take the car on a short (5 minute) test drive of the streets around the mall.
Many things to like about the car - specifically the interior bits, but if I were to buy one, I'd have to go with the manual transmission. The automatic is a CVT that can be moved into "sport" mode and shift with paddle shifters. Played with that a bit and didn't really much care for it.
Told the guy riding with me that I'm not really looking for a sedan this go around - am leaning towards either a hot hatch (GTI, Mazda Speed 3) or coupe (Mustang, 3-Series).
After all was said and done I got a goody bag with the following:
Kizashi brochure $25 Shell gas coupon with test drive from Suzuki dealer (fortunately, there is one in my town) $500 Bonus Coupon if I should buy a Suzuki by 10/31/2011 Suzuki hat Suzuki "Kizashi Kicks" t-shirt
The t-shirt is not my size (it's a size L) and I'm willing to send it to someone on this board if you respond publicly to this post in 25 words or less why I should send it to you. I am the sole judge of this impromptu competition and I'll take submissions until midnight Wednesday (9/29) - I'll use the posting time in the forum as the entry time, so you folks on the east coast get an extra 3 hours.
Friday, 16 Sept. – Picked up at the Munich airport and chauffeured to the Welt. Took delivery of the new BMW. Drove out of the city - south and east, then west into Austria. Stayed overnight in Krimml.
Saturday, 17 Sept. – Hiked around Krimml Falls and then crossed the Gerlos Pass \ Alpine Road and headed toward Innsbruck. Turned south and stayed the night in Verona, Italy.
Sunday, 18 Sept. – Drove south to a B&B located in a tiny village [ Pitelli ] near La Spezia.
Wednesday, 21 Sept. – Toured a couple of other local tiny villages, right on the La Spezia area coast = S. Terenzo and Lerici.
Thursday, 22 Sept. – Drove north to Switzerland. Stayed overnight in San Bernardino.
Friday, 23 Sept. – Drove north then east to Memmingen, Germany. Toured the old city in the afternoon.
Saturday, 24 Sept. – Briefly toured other areas close to the hotel in the morning and enjoyed the local farmers’ market. Drove to Munich Airport & flew back to the US.
Overall comments: This was a terrific experience for my daughter and me. We were very fortunate, weather-wise. We had some rain overnight the first night, but it cleared by mid-morning. It rained cats & dogs & buckets during the latter part of the drive to the La Spezia area, and was quite windy much of the overnight – but it cleared by morning, and that resulted in more surf than one would expect on the Mediterranean coast, while we toured the Cinque Terre villages. The scenery and the weather those days and driving while in Austria and Switzerland were almost literally breathtaking.
Oh, and the BMW 335iS Coupe [ Le Mans Blue, Gray, DCT ] ran flawlessly the whole time – just over 1,000 miles. Counting the days now until [re-]delivery.
I plan to post details here about several of the days, with links to photographs on photobucket – but that may take another few days.
Well, there it is. Haven't actually brought it home yet because the seller did not have the title at home with him. I'll go get the title tonight and then pick up the car on Tuesday.
Its a 1986 300E with just 93k miles. It is really in near perfect condition. If I detail under the hood, I feel like we could take it to local shows. Interior is flawless. Exterior is really nice, too. Undercarriage is perfect and the paint only shows a few very light imperfections that are typical to late '80s Mercedes paint (for some reason, the paint under the clearcoat actually develops these whispy kind of brush stroke looking "scratches"), but hardly noticeable.
The exterior is a bit more yellow-gold looking than this pic shows. I'm not even sure I could capture it in a pic. Maybe in the bright sunlight. Its a neat color. Different, anyway.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Sounds like you got a winner, real period color there too. Looks like a nice car, and if it cleans up that well, you really could take it to MBCA events with pride.
Most excellent find. My parents had a 1990 300E. They sold it with just over 135,000 miles and it ran like a top. I'm sure you already know this, but watch out for a leaky head gasket.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD, 2025 Toyota Camry SE AWD
yeah, unfortunately, I do know that. And it might possibly have one. There is a leak, but its minor right now and tough to tell if it is the head gasket because it seems to be coming right from the front corner of the engine behind the timing chain cover. Could even be the valve cover gasket and its just running down because that was a little wet, too.
In any case, it wasn't dripping. Just wet. And if I have to fix a leak, so be it. That's the joys of owning and driving a 25-year-old car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
They can suffer from leaky head gaskets and valve cover gaskets both. Was it oil leaking, or coolant? Other common issues are valvetrain wear (you'll see the smoke), main seal leaks, and some kind of fuel injection part failure - happened on my W126 300SE, not expensive to fix, just annoying (gas smell). I don't think it's a tough car to work on, lovely smooth I6, almost silent in some driving conditions.
The timing chain cover is also a common leak, so it is one of those. It is just oil as far as I could tell.
The seller had the fuel injection thing (I want to say injector pump, but I don't believe that's the correct term here) rebuilt and replaced the injectors.
It seems a bit simpler underhood than my '92 and '93 2.6s did, so that's probably a good thing.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
You sound like you could do most all of that yourself - even an indy will charge a bit.
I want to say it was called like a FI modulator or regulator or something - mine failed nearly 10 years ago, name slips my mind as I sold the car over 6 years ago. New injectors sounds premature for that mileage, maybe the owner over-did things, which is a good sign. Also on my M103 car, some kind of relay failed - all the idiot lights were on and it would run rough. I fixed that myself, something like $80 right from the dealer, in stock...so not too bad.
I think you made a good choice, nice to see the car go to someone who will keep it up rather than go to a high school girl or something.
I personally would have preferred a nice E28 or early E34 535, but I just couldn't track one down. Guess you don't get alot of the proverbial "little old ladies" driving those.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Oh, this car will never see the inside of a professional shop under my care. I just don't trust anyone to work on my cars but me.
Funny you mention the high school girl thing. My in-laws are looking for my niece right now, who is turning 17 in 2 months. I commented to my wife "you want to flip this to them for a small profit?" Hahah.
And, no, I wouldn't do that because I don't want to hear it when things go wrong.
What year and model was your m103?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Every now and then I see W201s and W124s driven by kids - relatively safe and cheap, I guess. I suspect most will be run into the ground. Not the worst fate for an old car, but that's for one with twice the miles and half the condition as yours. Your car has been preserved, none age so gracefully without effort.
W126s tend to get miled up, and really nice low mileage ones carry steep asking prices.. Mine was pretty much at 200K when I parted ways, and that was many years ago - I bet it has a bit more on it now.
Oh yeah, something else on those cars, the white painted exhaust manifolds always seem to discolor and even pick up surface rust. I don't know what it is with those.
Your car looks excellent - no seat bolster wear, no dash cracks, headlight bezels look good, black trim looks good - car has obviously been cared for. I hope it is as nice to live with as it is to look at - hard to believe that's a 25 year old car.
Comments
It also has service records back to 1987, and a whole list of major work done in 2010, including the timing belt..
The crack with the tape is on the bottom of the spoiler, not the bumper... (and, cheaper to fix).
The seat needs work... but, that is pretty typical for any BMW sport seat of that age... A decent interior trim shop should be able to fix that..
He is pretty detailed in his description of the car.. Does his own maintenance... Just bought an E39 540i, and has Porsches.. It sounds like it has no mechanical needs... comes with another set of basketweaves and winter tires, as well..
I've looked at quite a few, and if the car matches his description, then I'll try to buy as cheaply as possible. I'm starting to find (or not find, actually) that nice ones are rare..
Wagons: She hates wagons.... she likes SUVs and AWD.. Pretty simple.. Wagons, hatches and minivans need not apply.. She'd be more likely to take a sedan, than any of those.. (but, it still wouldn't be what she wanted).
I've got time.... no hurry.. deals might be better next month.
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If I needed AWD, I would buy neither as the former is too expensive (E-class money easy) and the latter won't be especially good in snow. If it was simply on money, the later is a far better value.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Stopped to look at a private sale(as in, on the guys front yard) on the way home from work. Sounds perfect. Other maybe than the price, but that ain't my problem!
1999 BMW 528i. Blue over tan, Premium pack, and nice alloys (including a 5th in the trunk). AT. Looked nice and clean, deep sneakers, shiny, etc.
Only 151K on it. Guy has had it since 2001 (22K). All maintenance done at a local MB/BMW only shop that IIRC is top notch, so records available. Started right up, seemed to run fine.
I pulled up as another guy was just starting to look. He drove, I left.
Items of note:
Front pass. window motor out. Guy claimed it happened right after he bought the replacement (a 745, current style), so he did not fix. Also saw condensation in the headlight lenses. Other than that, from a quick walk around and peak under the hood, look nice and clean.
Asking $4,500 OBO due to the As Is factor. Claims to have had multiple offers, I'm sure much lower (due to the As Is factor!)
If you want to put in on the pile, I got a phone number! It's near me in Voorhees.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
It's probably the regulator. A common E39 Malady and a relatively easy DIY job. Regulators can easily be found for less than $150.
Guy claimed it happened right after he bought the replacement (a 745, current style), so he did not fix.
The RR regulator died on my E39 the night before the new owner was to pick it up. I hadn't lowered that window in months. :mad:
We used the same indie shop so we agreed that the shop would fix it and I would pick up the tab.
Also saw condensation in the headlight lenses.
It's hard to find a pre-facelift car that doesn't have that problem...
Asking $4,500 OBO due to the As Is factor.
I'll be living in the garage if I bring another stray Bimmer home.
:P
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Bummer, is the GTI too small?
I don't think the Tiguan is much bigger, to be honest. The Tig reminds me of my older Forester, the 1998 model. Our 2009 Forester is bigger.
Have her test drive a GTI (or even a Golf TDI).
https://www.alg.com/deprratings.aspx
TL-S has SH-AWD, S5 ($$$), CR-V, G37x, Cooper Countryman, Rogue, Forester, and Impreza offer AWD.
Golf is listed, too, but no AWD (when's the next R supposed to come?).
Top 10 Deals of the Month for September 2011 — Cars
Number one is the Z4.
Flex is on there. It's an oddball car but I like it. Reminds me of a super-sized Mini Cooper.
His is maroon with the white top, pretty cool. Well equipped, too.
Those things are lo-oooooong. Like a stretch Limo version of a crossover.
Any how, an EcoBoost model with AWD would appeal to me, sure. They get spendy, though.
GTI? I love it... the kid loves it... the wife thinks it looks nice... but, no way...
But, I've got a great story...... might save me a thousand on a Q5.. will post it when I have time...
(to be continued)
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My friend works downtown, so we parked in his downtown office building parking garage.. Lady gets on the elevator on the way up to the lobby... notices me in my team gear, and says, "Going to the game? Where are you sitting?". I told her we had really good seats behind the dugout, and she said, "Oh... I was hoping I could upgrade you. We've got a dozen club seats going unused for today's game". (Club seats: under cover, free food).
Well, it was an on/off rainy day... She said we could have a pair of seats anyway, just for the free lunch. So, we followed her towards her office. Now, my friend works in the building, but he had no idea who she was, or who she worked for. The free food was perfect, as we were heading to lunch before the ballgame, anyway..
She asks us to wait on the mezzanine, while she walks toward her office at the other end.. About halfway down, she turns around and starts back towards us, and asks us to come on down with her (wait a minute... this is starting to sound like Penthouse...lol). As we are walking towards her office, she turns to me and says, "What kind of car do you drive?"
Oops... gotta go...
(to be continued)
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Mark156
"Today, I'm driving a BMW Z4." She then turned to my friend (who by now, knows who she works for). "And, what do you drive?" He tells her he has a Toyota and a VW..
"Did you get that Toyota at XYZ Toyota?" He cringes a little and tells her he is sorry (hey, those are $80 tickets she is giving us), but he didn't.. It's about now that I notice a display outside of the office suite, and it's full of car brochures.. Then, I look at the door and notice that it says "XYZ Auto Group".
XYZ is one of the bigger independent auto dealer groups in town.. I think they have about 12 dealerships. And.. one of them was the Audi dealership that I was at, just last Saturday with my wife. Where we test drove the Q5. But, of course, I had no idea that their headquarters was in a downtown office building.
Now, the light bulbs are going off in my head! So, I tell her all about our shopping excursion, and how nice the salesman was (even remembered his name, off the top of my head). How much my wife really liked the Q5 and how her lease was coming due next month, yada, yada, yada... but, that we still hadn't made a decision on what to buy.
So, about now, someone in the office brings out an envelope with the tickets.. she gets out a post-it note and writes a name and phone number down and sticks it on the envelope.. "This is the Sales Manager at XYZ Audi. You tell him that I said to give you the F.O.XYZ. deal." (Friend of XYZ)
Now, this is really nice, but I've noticed that it never goes that well, when you walk into a place and say, "Hey, someone more important than you said to do this for me". So, I asked her if she could take my name and number.. She said sure... .and, then as she was writing it down, says, "Do you want me to have him call you?". You bet I did..
So.. we shook hands, thanked her for the tickets... and then, left for the game..
(to be continued)
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But, I punched my CCBA card, today.. (2nd time this month, but who's counting?)
Link to pics, in case you missed them the last time
regards,
kyfdx
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You are getting to be as bad as me! Congrats on the purchase!
Looks like we are holding off until next summer for our next punch.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I am,
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
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They set up shop in the parking lot of my local outlet mall this past weekend, so I stopped by for a look see.
I wasn't pre-registered, so I had to fill out some paperwork .. usual stuff. There were two parts to the display. The first was a comparison of some interior bits of the Kisashi, an A4 and the C300 - specifically, the shift level and surround, AC interface, steering wheel and drivers side door panel. I was asked to mark a sheet with what I thought was the Suzuki version of each.
Got only 1 of 4 right .. the AC interface.
Second part was a test drive of the Kisashi. In the parking lot, they had set up a circle with sand on 25% of it, then a sheet of plastic that was wet .. they were to demonstrate the stability control and AWD systems. I got a top model SLS - red with black leather.
The circle part was interesting as the guy who rode with me kept telling me to add more power. We went around the circle twice and got dizzy by the time we were done. The AWD demonstration was pretty straight-forward. Since the Kizashi has a switch to engage AWD, he first had me accelerate from a dead stop in FWD mode. Lots of tire spin. Then, with AWD engaged, he had me floor the throttle and away we went - no drama at all. Got to take the car on a short (5 minute) test drive of the streets around the mall.
Many things to like about the car - specifically the interior bits, but if I were to buy one, I'd have to go with the manual transmission. The automatic is a CVT that can be moved into "sport" mode and shift with paddle shifters. Played with that a bit and didn't really much care for it.
Told the guy riding with me that I'm not really looking for a sedan this go around - am leaning towards either a hot hatch (GTI, Mazda Speed 3) or coupe (Mustang, 3-Series).
After all was said and done I got a goody bag with the following:
Kizashi brochure
$25 Shell gas coupon with test drive from Suzuki dealer (fortunately, there is one in my town)
$500 Bonus Coupon if I should buy a Suzuki by 10/31/2011
Suzuki hat
Suzuki "Kizashi Kicks" t-shirt
The t-shirt is not my size (it's a size L) and I'm willing to send it to someone on this board if you respond publicly to this post in 25 words or less why I should send it to you. I am the sole judge of this impromptu competition and I'll take submissions until midnight Wednesday (9/29) - I'll use the posting time in the forum as the entry time, so you folks on the east coast get an extra 3 hours.
Good luck, and happy writing!
Friday, 16 Sept. – Picked up at the Munich airport and chauffeured to the Welt. Took delivery of the new BMW. Drove out of the city - south and east, then west into Austria. Stayed overnight in Krimml.
Saturday, 17 Sept. – Hiked around Krimml Falls and then crossed the Gerlos Pass \ Alpine Road and headed toward Innsbruck. Turned south and stayed the night in Verona, Italy.
Sunday, 18 Sept. – Drove south to a B&B located in a tiny village [ Pitelli ] near La Spezia.
Monday & Tuesday, 19 & 20 Sept. – Toured Cinque Terre villages.
Wednesday, 21 Sept. – Toured a couple of other local tiny villages, right on the La Spezia area coast = S. Terenzo and Lerici.
Thursday, 22 Sept. – Drove north to Switzerland. Stayed overnight in San Bernardino.
Friday, 23 Sept. – Drove north then east to Memmingen, Germany. Toured the old city in the afternoon.
Saturday, 24 Sept. – Briefly toured other areas close to the hotel in the morning and enjoyed the local farmers’ market. Drove to Munich Airport & flew back to the US.
Overall comments: This was a terrific experience for my daughter and me. We were very fortunate, weather-wise. We had some rain overnight the first night, but it cleared by mid-morning. It rained cats & dogs & buckets during the latter part of the drive to the La Spezia area, and was quite windy much of the overnight – but it cleared by morning, and that resulted in more surf than one would expect on the Mediterranean coast, while we toured the Cinque Terre villages. The scenery and the weather those days and driving while in Austria and Switzerland were almost literally breathtaking.
Oh, and the BMW 335iS Coupe [ Le Mans Blue, Gray, DCT ] ran flawlessly the whole time – just over 1,000 miles. Counting the days now until [re-]delivery.
I plan to post details here about several of the days, with links to photographs on photobucket – but that may take another few days.
Cheers,
- Ray
Happy BMW driver . . .
Well, there it is. Haven't actually brought it home yet because the seller did not have the title at home with him. I'll go get the title tonight and then pick up the car on Tuesday.
Its a 1986 300E with just 93k miles. It is really in near perfect condition. If I detail under the hood, I feel like we could take it to local shows. Interior is flawless. Exterior is really nice, too. Undercarriage is perfect and the paint only shows a few very light imperfections that are typical to late '80s Mercedes paint (for some reason, the paint under the clearcoat actually develops these whispy kind of brush stroke looking "scratches"), but hardly noticeable.
The exterior is a bit more yellow-gold looking than this pic shows. I'm not even sure I could capture it in a pic. Maybe in the bright sunlight. Its a neat color. Different, anyway.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD, 2025 Toyota Camry SE AWD
In any case, it wasn't dripping. Just wet. And if I have to fix a leak, so be it. That's the joys of owning and driving a 25-year-old car.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
The seller had the fuel injection thing (I want to say injector pump, but I don't believe that's the correct term here) rebuilt and replaced the injectors.
It seems a bit simpler underhood than my '92 and '93 2.6s did, so that's probably a good thing.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I want to say it was called like a FI modulator or regulator or something - mine failed nearly 10 years ago, name slips my mind as I sold the car over 6 years ago. New injectors sounds premature for that mileage, maybe the owner over-did things, which is a good sign. Also on my M103 car, some kind of relay failed - all the idiot lights were on and it would run rough. I fixed that myself, something like $80 right from the dealer, in stock...so not too bad.
I think you made a good choice, nice to see the car go to someone who will keep it up rather than go to a high school girl or something.
Amazing how much more modern that looks, compared the '87 BMW that I just got...
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I personally would have preferred a nice E28 or early E34 535, but I just couldn't track one down. Guess you don't get alot of the proverbial "little old ladies" driving those.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Funny you mention the high school girl thing. My in-laws are looking for my niece right now, who is turning 17 in 2 months. I commented to my wife "you want to flip this to them for a small profit?" Hahah.
And, no, I wouldn't do that because I don't want to hear it when things go wrong.
What year and model was your m103?
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
My car was an 89.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD, 2025 Toyota Camry SE AWD
As promised, here are pics after driving it home today.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Not to nit-pick, but see if one of those headlight restore kits will shine up those headlights. Bet it would look even better with polished lenses.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Oh yeah, something else on those cars, the white painted exhaust manifolds always seem to discolor and even pick up surface rust. I don't know what it is with those.
Your car looks excellent - no seat bolster wear, no dash cracks, headlight bezels look good, black trim looks good - car has obviously been cared for. I hope it is as nice to live with as it is to look at - hard to believe that's a 25 year old car.